An Alloa woman who helped rescue seven kittens has spoken of her heartbreak at the cruelty of abandoning them over the festive period.
Jill Richardson received a phone call from her parents, Alan and Brenda Eccles, in December to say that they had discovered an emaciated black and white kitten outside their house near Woodland Park in Alva.
Alan had seen the little cat from his bedroom window, but then a neighbour notified them of another kitten further up the street.
Jill rushed along with a cat carrier to get the feline, which she said, “was just wedged into a little nook of a tree, it was just not moving at all” and that it was “in a bad state”.
She called the Scottish SPCA who got in touch with Donna at local charity, The Cats Whiskers.
The kittens were taken to the vets to get some fluids into them and both pulled through.
“I was so happy but heartbroken that someone could do this to defenceless animals.” Jill added.
She asked her mum to put up a note on her fence warning people to be aware of abandoned kittens and just the next day, Jill and her daughter found another one, before someone else later the same day spotted another.
“It was the following night that my mum said to me that somebody had knocked on her door, and they said that there was another cat up the lane, she couldn’t get it because it ran off into the field.”
Jill and her husband went up with a cat carrier, torches, and cat biscuits and eventually managed to get the kitten to come over to them.
But then, on Christmas Day, a couple who had been out walking their dogs had spotted even more abandoned kittens, and one of them was in a poor state.
Jill commented: “It was alive, but barely. My mum had covered it up and was keeping it as warm as she could, she tried to give it something to eat and literally it would have bitten her because it was starving, but it didn’t realise my mum’s finger was her finger.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t make it.
“It’s just heart-breaking, I’m still just as baffled as to why somebody would do it.
“Two were found on the first day, but we don’t even know if that was the day when they were dumped.
“It was quite an adventurous Christmas to say the least. You can’t comprehend how somebody could be so cruel.
“It’s horrible and on Christmas Day as well, that breaks your heart even more.”
In total, seven kittens were found and one passed away.
The remaining six young cats are now in the care of The Cats Whiskers where they will be until they are ready to go to loving homes.
Jill now wants to thank everyone who helped make sure the kittens were rescued and wants to give something back to the charity.
She’s hoping to arrange a fundraiser for them to help cover the costs of the kittens’ medical bills and food.
Speaking on the community effort to save the kittens, she said: “It was amazing how everybody kind of pulled together.”
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