Four tiny kittens less than two weeks old are being cared for following a dramatic rescue that saw them cheat a certain and grisly death.
The four 10-day-old siblings were found on Friday (May 10) huddled up inside a van which had been transferred to a scrapyard in Cambridgeshire from another site the day before.
Horrifyingly, the kittens had no idea that the vehicle they were hunkering down in was about to be pulverised by an industrial crushing machine.
Just moments before the van was to meet its maker however, a conscientious worker at the scrapyard heard faint meowing coming from inside the van.
Opening the door with curiosity, the worker was astonished to find four miniscule bundles of fur crying in unison.
The kittens were immediately taken to Woodgreen Pets Charity in Godmanchester, where they received an urgent health check.
Helen Stapleton, head of intake and rehoming at Woodgreen, believes the tiny moggies had a very close call:
“If they hadn’t cried out in time, it’s awful to imagine what could have happened,” she said.
“It’s because of the quick actions of the scrapyard worker that these kittens survived.”
After assessing the kittens to be just 10 days old, the Woodgreen team immediately hand-fed the super-hungry youngsters with a milk replacement formula.
They will continue to need feeding every few hours, around-the-clock feeding, until they get bigger.
The kittens – whom staff have named Mercedes, Mazda, Ford and Lexus – are now staying with an experienced Woodgreen foster carer where they are said to be doing well.
It is hoped that they will be healthy enough to find new homes when they are around eight- to 10-weeks-old.
Helen speculated that the kittens’ mum was likely to have been a stray who identified the van as a safe place to give birth.
Tragically, the mum was probably separated from her kittens when the van was transferred between sites.
“It’s likely the kittens had been without her for at least 24 hours, so they would have been very hungry,” Helen explained.
“Luckily, they were in surprisingly good condition; they all had their eyes open and were very vocal – something that saved their lives.”
Check out our gallery to see how the four lucky moggies are doing now!
1. Saved by a whisker!
This little one has surely used up eight of its nine lives Photo: Woodgreen Pets Charity
2. Saved by a whisker!
This tiny little bundle of fur was just moments away from meeting a very grisly end Photo: Woodgreen Pets Charity
3. Saved by a whisker!
The kittens were just 10-days-old when they were rescued - in the nick of time - from a certain and grisly death. Photo: Woodgreen Pets Charity
4. Saved by a whisker!
The four recovering siblings need to be fed every few hours, around-the-clock. Photo: Woodgreen Pets Charity