Two kittens found zip-tied together at a shopping center were "fighting for their lives" Wednesday at Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe.
The orange tabbies, tentatively named Frodo and Sam, were found along with two other kittens tied together beneath a shopping cart up in Riverside by a rep for Blue Buffalo pet food who has a relationship with the animal shelter, officials said. The other two kittens did not survive their injuries, which were unspecified by the nonprofit, though Jessica Gercke, a spokeswoman for the animal shelter, told NBC 7 on Wednesday that workers there thought the felines had been tortured.
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The surviving kittens, who appeared to have never been fed since their birth, were taken to the center Tuesday night. The others died within a few hours of their discovery, Gercke said, who told NBC 7 that staffers originally thought all of the kittens might die.
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SIGN UP Helen Woodward medical staff determined the kittens were less than 5 days old, still had their umbilical cords attached and "were covered in fleas."
One of the kittens also sustained "significant damage on their rear left leg from the zip tie," center officials said. Gercke, who said that kitten's injury was likely to be permanent, said both of the young cats, now in foster care, are expected to live.
"Finding fosters qualified to bottle-feed is super important, because these little guys need to be fed every two hours," the center's adoptions director Kendall Schulz said. "Fortunately, we have an extensive network of qualified fosters who can drop everything and help out."
