A SEVEN month old cat that was found tied up in a plastic bag in Ebbw Vale was probably abandoned because she was pregnant.

Annie the cat, a long-haired tabby, was saved by an animal lover after she was found inside a black plastic bin bag on the Rassau Industrial Estate last week.

The young feline was found to be pregnant when she was examined by staff at the Riverside Veterinary Centre in Beaufort. She was neutered the following day.

Vet Bernice Fitzmaurice said: "It is amazing she did not try to fight her way out of the plastic bag. She was in good health although it was pretty obvious she was pregnant, which was probably the reason she was dumped."

The cat, named Orphan Annie by her new foster mum Lynne Batten, an Abergavenny volunteer with the Cats Protection charity, is doing well in her temporary home.

Glynis Davies, the co-ordinator for the Gwent branch of the charity, said: "It never ceases to amaze us how cruel and heartless people can be.

“Her owners could see she was pregnant and decided to dump her on the industrial estate. But she could easily have suffocated if she had not been found and taken to Riverside."

Annie is now looking for a new home. If you can offer her one, contact Cats Protection on 0845 3712747 or visit the website at www.gwentsouthcp.org.uk.