AN ELDERLY cat has been found tied up inside a plastic bag and dumped in a rubbish bin.

RSPCA officers are now appealing for information in tracing the owner and finding out who was responsible.

The cat was only found after sisters Bethany, 14, and Tasha, 13, Taylor heard her pitiful cries for help.

The girls were out walking their dog along Broadwater Lane, Stevenage, at 7pm on Wednesday last week.

They stopped to investigate and discovered the weak and skinny cat inside the carrier bag. They found that the bag’s handles had been tied twice, making it impossible for the cat to escape.

The girls immediately took the cat out of the bag and ran home from where it was taken to a vet and the RSPCA was contacted.

The cat, an elderly female tortoiseshell, was extremely thin and her fur was matted. Vets gave her a full health check, and removed her matted fur.

The girls’ mum, Tina Hartwell, decided to take the cat back to their home in Mandeville, and if an owner does not come forward, the family have decided to offer her a permanent home. Bethany and Tasha have named her Lucky Star.

Tina said: “Words actually fail me. I cannot believe that a poor animal has had to go through such a harrowing ordeal. The girls were just so upset when they discovered her, and they begged me to keep her.

“Our neighbours have been so kind, they have offered to help with the vet bills and one even provided Lucky Star with a cat bed, because she is so skinny and needed a soft place to lie.

“We are just now waiting to find out if her owner comes forward, but if they don’t we are more than happy to give her a loving home. No animal deserves to go through this. She has been dumped like a piece of rubbish.”

RSPCA animal collection officer Nicola O’Brien is appealing for information regarding the incident.

She said: “I think it is horrendous what has happened to this poor cat. I just cannot believe that people can be so cruel.

“We really need to hear from anyone who may know who owns this cat, as it may not have been the owner who did this, but some random act of opportunist cruelty. We do not know how long she was left in the bin, but it must have been absolutely terrifying for her.

“We really need to know what has happened and we urge anyone with any information to contact the RSPCA cruelty line in confidence on 0300 1234 999.”

The cat is an elderly ginger and black female and has some teeth missing. She has white markings on her belly and legs.