LUTON, England — Animal rescuers are racing to find a home for five cats abandoned in a cardboard box outside a hospital this week, just as their previous owners pleaded in a handwritten note.
On Monday morning, staff at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital discovered the sealed box on their doorstep, containing two adult cats and three 10-week-old kittens. Scrawled on the box was a message: “Need a home. Merry Xmas — please help them.”
Hospital workers alerted the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), which took in the felines. The group includes Elle, a 2-year-old tabby-and-white cat believed to be the mother; Dee, a 1-year-old tabby thought to be her daughter; and kittens Amber, Penny, and Lance.
Appeal for Information
The RSPCA is urging anyone with information about the cats—or who witnessed suspicious activity near the hospital before 8 a.m. Monday—to call their hotline at 0300-123-8018.
“Thankfully, they’re in good condition and clearly well cared for before this,” said RSPCA Inspector Melanie Fisher, who rescued the cats. “They’re socialized and friendly, but someone left them behind.”
Fisher emphasized that while circumstances may change, abandoning pets is never the solution. “If owners can’t care for their animals, we urge them to seek help responsibly,” she added. If no owner comes forward, the cats will be placed in new homes.
A Growing Crisis
The RSPCA anticipates rescuing over 10,000 animals this winter amid a surge in abandonments. In the U.S., the ASPCA reports roughly 3.2 million cats enter shelters annually, with 1.6 million adopted and 90,000 reunited with owners.
For now, the Luton cats await a holiday miracle—a safe home to replace the cardboard box they were left in.
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