A SIX-WEEK-OLD kitten has been described as a Christmas miracle after surviving an ordeal that included being tied in a bag, weighed down with rocks, and thrown into the sea.

The bag washed up on a beach near Aughris Head in Co Sligo last week, where it was found by a local woman who had braved the cold temperatures to take a walk along the shore.

She opened the plastic bag to discover two lifeless kittens and a number of heavy stones, which had been placed with the animals to ensure that they would sink and drown.

On closer inspection, the woman noticed that one of the kittens had somehow survived the ordeal and was still alive. She brought the tiny creature home and nursed it back to health.

A spokesperson for the North-West SPCA said the kitten, who has been named Skye, has been brought back from a “near-death” state and is thriving in her new home.

“Skye was placed in a bag with her sibling and rocks. By a sheer miracle, she survived as there was some air in the bag,” they explained.

Skye - a very good kitty.

“She was found on the beach near Aughris Head by Kirsten, who brought her home and brought her back from near death. She is barely six weeks old and is utterly loved and well handled in her short life.”

Skye in the bag.

Sadly, the kitten’s sibling was dead by the time the bag was found, and it has been hailed as a Christmas miracle that Skye did not succumb to the same fate, and will instead enjoy the warmth of a new home this festive season.

“To whoever was responsible for this, we hope you see this and will have to explain to someone – maybe even your own children – why [you did this],” said the North-West SPCA spokesperson.

She urged people not to “waste their energy” by being angry at the perpetrators of such cruelty, but instead “celebrate the kindness of strangers” who rescued Skye and offered her a loving home for Christmas.

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