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EDMONTON- Two one-month-old kittens are lucky to be alive after being found in a sealed train boxcar.

An employee of an Edmonton warehouse discovered the kittens when the train arrived on site Tuesday. The train had left Chicago five days earlier.

The employee brought the kittens- a male named Chicago Joe and a female named Boxcar Willemina- to the Edmonton Humane Society where they are now being cared for.

“They were cowering, they were dirty, hungry, very very scared,” said Shawna Randolph, a spokesperson for EHS. “We cannot believe these kittens are alive after spending five days, at least, in a sealed boxcar.

“They’re in good shape and we don’t understand how, after being without food and water- that’s our understanding anyway, there was just no sign of it- for so long. I mean, that container was sealed through the entire trip, at least five days.”

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Randolph says she has no idea how the kittens ended up in the boxcar, but is happy they made it through the journey safely.

“We are just so glad that it was a happy ending for them. Something like this, we’ve never heard of ever before, and especially to have it turn out so well,” Randolph said.

The kittens will be going to a foster home until they are big enough to be adopted.

Boxcar Willemina. Supplied, EHS Chicago Joe. Supplied, EHS Chicago Joe (L) and Boxcar Willemina (R) were found in a sealed train boxcar in Edmonton on Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Supplied, EHS

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