Eleven cats were rescued from sealed boxes after being abandoned and left for dead in an alleyway in the London suburb of Stratford.

The felines were found after a passerby walked past four taped-up cardboard boxes on her way home from work on January 11, and turned back after she heard meowing.

The panicked local discovered the box was full of cats, so she called an animal charity who told her to quickly pierce breathing holes in the packages.

She drove them to a local branch and this shocking video shows workers from Celia Hammond Animal Trust cutting open box after box, stuffed full of moggies.

This is the emotional moment eleven cats were rescued from sealed boxes -- after being left for dead in alleyway. The felines were found after a passerby walked past four taped-up cardboard boxes on her way home from work, and turned back after she heard meowing. The panicked local discovered the box was full of cats, so called an animal charity who told her to quickly pierce breathing holes in the packages. She drove them to a local branch and shocking video shows workers from Celia Hammond Animal Trust cutting open box after box, stuffed full of moggies.