Kittens rescued after being dumped in plastic bag in Huron field

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A playful litter of three week old kittens is on the road to recovery.

On Saturday, they were found tied up in a plastic bag, nearly suffocating to death.

The five tiny felines, each weighing less than a pound, were left to die in an onion field in Huron.

"It's really frustrating and it makes everyone angry, it makes me angry," said Alexis Oxford, who is now caring for the kittens.

Thankfully, Bianca Ibarra heard their cries, rescued them, and turned to Facebook.

Alexis Oxford is an Animal Care lead at Valley Oak SPCA in Visalia. When she saw the post, she jumped at the opportunity to care for the frail kittens.

"They were in pretty rough shape for the first 30 hours or so, it was kinda touch and go. I had to force feed them for a little bit because they are so used to their mother that they wanted to latch on to a bottle," described Alexis.

Alexis was raised around rescues -- her mom has a non-profit dedicated to animals in Coalinga.

She says the kittens require around-the-clock care -- constant bottle feeding to ensure they are growing healthy and strong is paying off and they'll be ready to find their forever homes in five weeks.

Valley Oak Adoption Lead, Tessa Johnson, says finding abandoned animals is sadly not uncommon.

"We currently have five parvo puppies that were found in a field somewhere. We try to take them on, but we can only operate based on donations," mentions Tessa.

Kennels at the no-kill shelter are sometimes at max capacity, but staff members say there are other shelters and locals willing to help.

Laving pets to suffer on the side of the road should never be an option.

"Euthanasia rates aren't great with Animal Control. There may not be a chance for that animal to make it out of the animal care facility, but it's better than starving to death on the side of the road or being thrown in a field in a trash bag," expressed Alexis.

Dumping animals is a crime.

There are at least a dozen shelters across Tulare Kings in Fresno County that help animals with nowhere to go.

Most of them operate on donations, so contributing money or your time can help make a difference and give puppies, kittens, dogs and cats a chance to live a happy life.

Valley Oak SPCA has an upcoming Wine and Wags Gala and auction fundraiser happening on July 13 at the Wyndham in Visalia from 6 pm to 10 pm.

For details, click here.

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