Three newborn kittens were found almost frozen to death in a rubbish bin on Christmas Day in the town of Boom, near Antwerp.
The kittens were discovered by a woman and her daughter as they were out walking. They have since been transferred to the Stray Cats (Drifpuezen) animal shelter in nearby Rupelstreek.
"They heard squeaks coming out of a garbage can," Claudette of Stray Cats told the Gazet van Antwerpen. "At first they thought it was a bird, but when they figured out where the noise was coming from, they found a kitten. But the squeaking in the rubbish bin continued, and eventually they found two other young kittens hidden amongst the garbage."
Claudette added that when she found the kittens "one was still quite dry, but the other two were soaked and freezing cold. We warmed them up as best we could and gave them something to drink. By Monday morning they were already much better again and had eaten a lot."
Claudette cautioned, however, that had the kittens been discovered a mere few hours later "it would have been too late". She added that the kittens "are still young and remain extremely susceptible to disease", and stressed the need for them to be reunited with their mother.
"We are calling for the person who did this to bring the mother to us," Claudette said. "This can even be done anonymously. These little kittens need the love and warmth of their mother. In addition, her milk contains antibodies to diseases. And the mother must also be extremely upset. She will miss her little ones and will want to be with them. That's normal. We already had a little Christmas miracle: that the kittens were found alive. Now we hope for an even greater miracle: that we find the mother cat."
Claudette added that, because the kittens were discovered — and perhaps even born on — Christmas Day, they each received a Christmas-themed name: Vixi [the female form of 'Vixen'], Rudolf and Dasher — three of the names of Santa's nine reindeer.
