A terrified couple who stumbled across nine black cats dumped by a busy roadside have named them after characters from Wicked.
Iola Thompson, 18, and her partner Ollie Desborough, 20 were shocked to find the abandoned moggies stuffed into a filthy carrier.
The couple discovered the four male and five female cats when their glowing eyes appeared in the darkness as the pair stopped in a secluded layby.
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Despite being spooked, Iola and Ollie grabbed the heavy, meowing carrier and immediately called for help.
Vets were later horrified at the cats’ condition.
Iola said: “We pulled off the road and I immediately saw the nine sets of glowing eyes caught in the headlights, beaming back at me from the carrier.
“I was really scared, I didn’t know whether it was a trap.
“It was 10:50pm and pitch black.
“I asked Ollie to get out and look which was when we discovered it was cats and maybe kittens.
“I knew we couldn’t leave until we’d found somewhere for them.
“We called our parents who rang the police, who couldn’t help, and the RSPCA, who were closed.
“Luckily, we have a dog so called our emergency vet and we were told to take them straight in.”
The couple had pulled over for refreshments on the A465 near Lock’s Garage, Hereford, when they spotted the eerie reflections shining back at them from the trees.
By half-past midnight the frightened felines were admitted to Vets4Pets at Pets at Home.
All around one to two years old, they were released from a carrier so foul it could barely hold them, as reported by Need To Know.
Vet Elliot Goodwin found them soaked, stressed and smeared in their own excrement after being dumped in wind and rain.
He said: “It was harrowing to see them so frightened and although we wanted to comfort them we adopted a hands-off approach to avoid adding to their stress.
“They needed time to rest and recover before we could carry out a thorough assessment.
“Over the following days, it was incredibly rewarding to see their personalities start to emerge as they learned to trust us, even during health checks and neutering procedures.”
The cats were transferred to Cats Protection and given Wicked-themed names: The Wizard, Elphaba Thropp, Glinda Upland, Madame Morrible, Doctor Dillamond, Dorothy Gale, Nessarose Thropp, Boq Woodsman and Fiyero Tigelaar.
Iola added: “The day after we found the cats I felt awful, I didn’t understand how somebody could do something so cruel.
“Anything could have happened if we hadn’t found them, but I realised we had done a good thing and at least now they will have a better future.
“My dad has even said he’s hoping to adopt one of them.”
Faye Churchill, of Cats Protection Herefordshire, added: “We are extremely grateful to Iola and Ollie for rushing all nine cats to safety and to Dr Goodwin and the team at Vets4Pets for their kindness, generosity and care of the cats before they came into the centre.
“We named the cats after characters from Wicked because thanks to a real team effort from all involved, their lives really have been changed for the better and for good.
“They are lovely cats with gentle personalities and although understandably nervous from their ordeal, they are settling in beautifully.
“There is never any excuse to dump cats in such a casual, callous way as if they were rubbish.
“Ironically the layby where they were found is just a three-minute drive from our centre.
“We would always encourage anybody who is struggling to contact us, other rescue organisations or a vet.
“We may not be able to take the cats in straight away, but we will always work with you to find the best solution for you and the cats.”
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