Two ziptied newborn kittens found in shopping cart expected to recover

It seems kittens Frodo and Sam are fighters, tiny tabby furry fighters.

A month after they and three other newborn kittens were found zip-tied — and with umbilical cords still attached — in a shopping cart, the two orange tabbies are “going to make a full recovery,” the Helen Woodward Animal Center said in a news release Friday.

The Rancho Santa Fe-based nonprofit said “it’s looking like the brothers will live full, healthy lives.”

The other kittens did not survive. And who tied up and abandoned them remains a question. The law enforcement investigation has stalled; a review of surveillance cameras turned up nothing conclusive, the center said.

The newborns were found May 20 on the flatbed under a shopping cart by a PetSmart in Riverside County. Each kitten had its hind legs bound together, a center staffer said last month. The bound kittens were also tied together in one bunch.

When they were found, one of the kittens had already died, a center spokesperson said Friday. The remaining four were raced south to Helen Woodward Animal Center, which has an extensive network of foster care providers.

The prognosis was grim. Two of the four kittens were too far gone and did not make it through the night.

But brothers Sam and Frodo — named after “The Lord of the Rings” characters — were able to nurse. Now about a month later, it turns out, they have “voracious appetites,” the center said.

“Their foster volunteer said that Sam isn’t afraid to meow at her until she feeds them,” the news release states. “He’s even tried climbing out of their enclosure for second breakfast!”

When the kittens were initially found, their hind legs were tied in extremely unnatural positions, cutting their circulation, center staffers said last month. As a result, Frodo had to have a foot amputated. He’s a little less strong than his brother but, according the center, his foster care provider reports that he can walk, he’s starting to climb, and he’s a “champion eater.”

The siblings were at the center earlier this week for their four-week checkup and first round of shots. The center said its staff “marveled at just how large the two had grown and how much energy they had.” And the center’s medical director was “shocked by how well Frodo’s leg was healing.”

“After he lost his foot, I thought for sure we would have to amputate Frodo’s entire leg,” Medical Director Dr. Alexis Siler said. “But his wound is healing so well, he might end up getting to keep [his leg].”

The brothers will remain in foster care until they are eight weeks old and weigh 2 pounds. Once they hit those marks, they will be neutered and placed up for adoption.