29-07-2025
Bag of kittens found dumped in park as city cat abuse runs rife
A bag of kittens was found dumped in a park in Southampton, as the director of a charity said that cat abuse is "absolutely on the increase" in the city.
One kitten has been left with an ulcerated eye, as the bag of four "could have easily died" if not for a chance encounter with a member of the public in Riverside Park on July 23.
Tracy Howe, managing director of The Cat Welfare Group, explained that this is just one of several abuse incidents that she has had to dealt with over the past two months.
She explained that a member of the public was walking in Riverside Park and happened to see a "gentlemen just drop a bag and walk away".
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"People walking past by chance are saving lives," she explained.
One of the kittens which was dumped in a bag in Riverside Park. (Image: The Cat Welfare Group) The member of the public opened the bag to find four kittens abandoned in the park.
This is just one of several abuse incidents that Tracy's charity has dealt with over the past two months.
On July 3, Hampshire police attended reports of a strong smell coming from a house on Thirlmere Road.
A group of Sphynx cats were left boarded up in a house with a mound of dry food. (Image: The Cat Welfare Group) Upon arrival, they discovered seven Sphynx cats had been left alone for weeks, left with a mound of dry food and no water.
Tracy described the conditions as "shocking" and "filthy", as cat faeces were all over the floor, pieces of carpet had been eaten away and flies were covering the walls.
Hampshire officers called staff from The Cat Welfare Group who attended and helped to rehome the cats.
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Tracy explained that officers "ring at all hours" to ask for the charity's help during visits like that.
This cat was found taped up in a bag in a skip on Greenacres Road. (Image: The Cat Welfare Group) Another cat was found on June 21 taped up in a bag inside a skip on Greenacres Road.
"That's the tip of the iceberg," Tracy explained.
"I wish I could say it's a rare incident but it's really not. It's absolutely on the increase."
Another of the kittens dumped in a bag in Riverside Park. (Image: The Cat Welfare Group) Tracy believes that during the coronavirus lockdown, people bought cats and dogs and did not neuter them, leading to a "population boom" a few years later.
"People get kittens who are very, very cute but they then have kittens, and it just keeps spiralling," she explained.
She believes it then becomes "too much" for some people, who decide to just dump or abandon their pets somewhere else.
"I appreciate rescue centres and maxed out and full, but we want people to reach out and let us help," she said.
"If we can't take them, we will try and find someone that can, and we will help with the transport for that as well.
"These cats die. That's ultimately what we're trying to save."
