Kitten Encased In Hardened Spray Foam Rescued From Trash By Garbage Collector

HILLSBORO, Ore. (CBS Local) -- A kitten found encased in hardened spray foam earlier this month is doing much better after being rescued from a trash can in Oregon, authorities said.

A sanitation worker was emptying a trash can May 3 at a property in Hillsboro with multiple buildings and residents when he noticed the contents were not emptying, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. He took a closer look and found the kitten hanging upside down from its back legs, covered in spray foam and whining.

The sanitation worker took the kitten to to the Hillsboro Garbage Disposal Facility, where he and other staff worked to remove as much foam as they could, CBS affiliate KOIN reported. They then took it to a veterinarian.

"He looked like something out of a Halloween horror show," Dr. Diane Healey with the Hillsboro Veterinary Clinic told KPTV. "It obviously hadn't been there too terribly long, or he would have suffocated...the head was covered, the face was covered, the legs were stiff, he couldn't move them."

The 8-week-old male kitten is recovering at the Washington County Animal Services' Bonnie L. Hays Small Animal Shelter.

Deputies said it is not clear who committed this act of animal cruelty, but they're confident that it was intentional. Investigators say they are testing a bottle of spray foam collected at the property for fingerprints.

The kitten will be returned to its owners, who are not suspects, once the investigation is complete.