Essex, UK - The story of these defenseless kittens found inside a discarded Ikea bag in a park has left many onlookers heartbroken and animal rights activists up in arms.

Kitty Kat Rescue shared the heartbreaking tale on TikTok with pictures taken by a woman who discovered the bag by chance.

Someone had abandoned four kittens, each ten weeks old, in a park in Essex County, the animal rights activists told Newsweek.

As many animal shelters in the area were already hopelessly overcrowded, Kitty Kat Rescue took the kittens in.

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But all in all, the shelter said in their post that they were lucky to have found that the four little ones were even still alive.

As the bag was closed tight, the poor kittens would otherwise have suffocated over time – which would have meant an agonizing death.

The rescue organization emphasized the importance of supporting local shelters, which are often at capacity.

"Rescues are absolutely overflowing with cats and kittens and stories like this are why we urge people to neuter their cats to prevent unwanted pregnancies," said Kitty Kat Rescue. "Adopt don't shop."