Kittens, cat recovering at RSPCA after being dumped outside animal shelter and park

FIVE kittens and a cat are recovering at the RSPCA after they were dumped and left to die in two shocking cases of animal cruelty.

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FIVE kittens and a cat are recovering at the RSPCA after being dumped and left to die in two shocking cases of animal cruelty.

The RSPCA has labelled the weekend dumpings as “cruel, deeply concerning and unnecessary”.

Five male kittens were discovered, cold and wet, inside a laundry basket near the front gate of the RSPCA’s Lonsdale shelter about 8.15am on Saturday.

RSPCA South Australia Inspector Cheryl Doudle said the six-week-old kittens were lucky to have been found in time to be saved.

ADORABLE: These fur-tunate kittens were found cruelly dumped outside the @rspcasa's Lonsdale shelter in freezing conditions. MORE in #9NewsAt6 pic.twitter.com/FUpR7ocDFb

— Nine News Adelaide (@9NewsAdel) 19 June 2018

“There was a hailstorm warning in the Lonsdale area on Saturday, yet someone decided to leave these five vulnerable babies with nothing effective to protect them from the elements and no guarantee they would be rescued in time,” she said.

“The humane decision would have been to take the animals to an animal shelter during opening hours.

“We do not judge people who surrender their animals to our care because we understand that this is often unavoidable, as people’s circumstances change.”

The five kittens dumped at the RSPCA's Lonsdale shelter. Picture: RSPCA

The kittens had mild cases of conjunctivitis and cat flu but were otherwise in good health.

They will go into foster care until they are old enough to be adopted.

Inspector Doudle said the dumping of kittens outside the RSPCA’s gates was sadly not uncommon.

“We’ve had at least five cases this year, but many more boxes have been found in the mornings with holes from whatever was inside escaping,” she said.

In a separate case, a young cat was zipped up in a sports bag and left at a small park on Atkell Avenue in Campbelltown.

A young male cat was also found in a bag, dumped at a suburban park. Picture: RSPCA

The male, undesexed tabby cat was found on Sunday afternoon after nearby residents heard distressed cries.

The cold, wet and frightened feline, thought to be about a year old, was taken into the RSPCA’s care.

“It is totally acceptable to recognise that you are not able to care for an animal, but it is never acceptable to then treat that animal like garbage and dump them,” Inspector Doudle said.

“We urge people show compassion and never dump an animal, but rather give the animal to someone who has the knowledge and capacity to take good care of them.”

It is illegal to abandon an animal under the Animal Welfare Act.

Meanwhile, the RSPCA has launched an ‘End of Feline-nancial Year’ cat adoption campaign.

Until June 30, the organisation is slashing its adult cat adoption fees by 40 per cent to $30.

Cats available for adoption can be viewed online at rspcasa.org.au/adopt/cats/.

The bag the male cat was found in. Picture: RSPCA