The RSPCA are hunting a man caught on CCTV dumping a bag of kittens that were clinging to life in a bag in a pub toilet.
Officials fear it was a “copycat” incident after four kittens were abandoned in the same place last year.
Footage shows the hoodie-wearing man walk into the Wetherspoons’ Ritz pub in Lincoln, holding a bag and trying to obscure his face from the cameras with his hand and with his hood up.
He makes his way to the men’s loos before emerging moments later without the bag. He appears to rush back through pub before leaving.
Hours later, on Friday 28 June, a staff member discovered the bag with four frightened kittens in, three female and one male.
1/14
A goat who got her head stuck between the bars of a metal fence in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees
PA
2/14
A fox cub who got his head stuck in the hole of an abandoned car wheel in Leyton, London
PA
3/14
A muntjac deer trapped upside down between two walls in Bedworth, Warwickshire
PA
4/14
The dog with his head stuck in the TV cabinet
PA
5/14
RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes with a dog after it got his stuck in a TV cabinet in Birkenhead, Merseyside
PA
6/14
A snake on a diswasher in Sheffield, Yorkshire
PA
7/14
A squirrel stuck in a toilet in a house in Southwark, London
PA
8/14
A cat who got wedged inside a tumble dryer air vent at her home in Kidderminster
PA
9/14
A cat after falling onto metal railings in London
PA
10/14
A badger wedged between branches in Harefield, London
PA
11/14
A fox was found wedged in a front car grille more than 12 hours after being hit in an accident
PA
12/14
A cat stuck in a gap between two electric doors at the Premier Inn in Luton
PA
13/14
A tiny handcrafted ladder made to get a hamster out of a pipe in Bridgwater in Somerset
PA
14/14
A hamster who got wedged in the tiny pipe for almost a week
PA
1/14
A goat who got her head stuck between the bars of a metal fence in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees
PA
2/14
A fox cub who got his head stuck in the hole of an abandoned car wheel in Leyton, London
PA
3/14
A muntjac deer trapped upside down between two walls in Bedworth, Warwickshire
PA
4/14
The dog with his head stuck in the TV cabinet
PA
5/14
RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes with a dog after it got his stuck in a TV cabinet in Birkenhead, Merseyside
PA
6/14
A snake on a diswasher in Sheffield, Yorkshire
PA
7/14
A squirrel stuck in a toilet in a house in Southwark, London
PA
8/14
A cat who got wedged inside a tumble dryer air vent at her home in Kidderminster
PA
9/14
A cat after falling onto metal railings in London
PA
10/14
A badger wedged between branches in Harefield, London
PA
11/14
A fox was found wedged in a front car grille more than 12 hours after being hit in an accident
PA
12/14
A cat stuck in a gap between two electric doors at the Premier Inn in Luton
PA
13/14
A tiny handcrafted ladder made to get a hamster out of a pipe in Bridgwater in Somerset
PA
14/14
A hamster who got wedged in the tiny pipe for almost a week
PA
The RSPCA, which took the animals in, said the kittens were too young to be away from their mother, and their lives were at risk.
Inspector Deborah Scotcher, who is investigating, said: “The man can be seen entering The Ritz pub with his hood up, carrying a bag that bears a striking resemblance to the bag the kittens were found in.
“These kittens were far too young to be away from their mum, and it was touch-and-go as to whether they’d survive.
“But I’m really pleased that they all pulled through thanks to the dedication of our fosterer who hand-reared them and fed them round the clock.”
She added: “We believe this man can help with our investigation so we’d urge him – or anyone who recognises him – to get in touch with us.”
Four kittens were also found in a bag in the pub’s loos last March.
