Kitten nearly drowns after being stuffed in bag, tossed in canal

A kitten is recovering after it was dumped in a ditch and nearly drowned in Brevard County.

A concerned citizen saw someone throw a bag into a canal full of water over the weekend, and they jumped in to help.

"The kitten was not responsive, it was cold," said Nina Verruso, who founded The Kitten Angel Rescue and immediately responded to the concerned citizen’s call for help. 

Volunteers found the 5-week-old kitten clinging to life after it was tossed away like trash.

"It is basically killing the animal," said Verruso. "If you threw them into water, they are going to drown. Kittens cannot swim, it’s a terrible thing."

The kitten’s now named Lucky. He’s doing much better today thanks to the quick response from the dog walker and local kitten rescue.

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"The cat is so loving, so willing to be held and play with people. You would think they would want to run away and hide, but no," said Anne Riehl, who is fostering Lucky for now. 

Unfortunately, the volunteer run kitten rescue says this isn’t the first time they’ve seen baby cats dumped.

"A kitten was thrown out of a car into traffic," said Verruso. 

"I can’t even talk about it. It’s terrible," added Riehl. 

Lucky isn't the only cat they're raising. Right now, the rescue is swamped.

They’re looking for fosters and food and blanket donations to keep up with more than 100 orphaned cats in their care. 

If this kitten does make a full recovery, the end goal will be to find him a "forever home."

You can learn more about adopting a cat, how to donate and keeping up with Lucky’s recovery by visiting the rescue on Facebook. See their page here

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