Four five-week-old kittens were rescued from a Somerton landfill after being found malnourished and infested with fleas and worms. Volunteers used kippers to lure them from beneath an 8 m wood pile; vets found they weighed less than half the expected amount. After two weeks on specialist food the litter — Jack, Jill, Skip and Marley — have recovered and are playful. The charity discovered 20 cats in total and has taken several others, including two pregnant cats and one with a missing paw, for veterinary care.
Four Malnourished Kittens Rescued from Somerton Landfill Now Thriving After Emergency Care
Four five-week-old kittens were rescued from a Somerton landfill after being found malnourished and infested with fleas and worms. Volunteers used kippers to lure them from beneath an 8 m wood pile; vets found they weighed less than half the expected amount. After two weeks on specialist food the litter — Jack, Jill, Skip and Marley — have recovered and are playful. The charity discovered 20 cats in total and has taken several others, including two pregnant cats and one with a missing paw, for veterinary care.
12:00 AM, 11/16/2025Society
Four malnourished kittens rescued from Somerton landfill make a remarkable recovery
Four kittens were rescued after being found severely underweight and infested with fleas and worms at a landfill site in Somerton, Somerset. Staff at Westcombe Waste discovered two dead kittens and alerted cat welfare volunteers, who used kippers to coax the remaining animals out to safety.
The litter — three males and one female, each about five weeks old — was sheltering beneath a pile of wood roughly 8 m (26 ft) high. Vets reported the kittens, named Jack, Jill, Skip and Marley, weighed less than half the expected weight for healthy kittens of that age when they were found.
"I really was not sure Jack would make it," said Rebecca Dawson, Yeovil branch co‑ordinator for Cats Protection. "He'd been so brave and even acted protectively toward his siblings. Now he's lively and healthy."
After two weeks on specialist food and veterinary care all four have recovered and, according to charity staff, "love nothing more than playing together and making mischief." To locate and catch other cats at the site, Ms Dawson installed two security cameras and set humane traps.
Two pregnant cats and another with a missing paw were identified and taken for veterinary treatment. In total, the charity found 20 cats hiding among the waste at the landfill and is continuing efforts to reunite or rehome animals and ensure they receive appropriate care.
Contact and follow-up: The rescue work was coordinated by Cats Protection's Yeovil branch; veterinary follow-up and monitoring remain ongoing for the animals taken from the site.