Essex (England) - What was inside a discarded Ikea bag found in a park has left many onlookers heartbroken and animal rights activists up in arms.

On their TikTok channel, "Kitty Kat Rescue" shared the heartbreaking 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.

"We had to put the kittens in our hallway because we had no room. Meanwhile, we did everything we could to help the cats," said the organization.

But all in all, they were happy to have found the four small animals alive. As the bag was closed, the kittens would otherwise have suffocated over time, which would have meant an agonizing death.

It is not known who abandoned the pets in the park. The pictures of the abandoned kittens caused great consternationon TikTok .

According to Kitty Kat Rescue, all four cats have now been adopted. The rescue organization emphasized how important it is to support local animal shelters, as their places are very often at capacity.

"Shelters are overcrowded with cats and dogs - and stories like this are why we urge people to get their pets neutered to prevent unwanted offspring," said Kitty Kat Rescue.

The TikTok clip shared by the organization achieved viral attention, which may have helped in the placement of the kittens.

"Humans are so cruel, I'll never understand," wrote one viewer, while a second asked: "They are so cute, how can they be abandoned?" A third user added: "Thank you for rescuing these cats and giving them a home."