The Ottawa Humane Society is looking for witnesses after a four-month-old kitten was left for dead inside a sealed garbage bag in Barrhaven.

A news release said a Good Samaritan found the plastic garbage bag Friday morning near Weyridge Park, dumped on a pile of garbage.

The passerby heard the kitten mewing and found the animal inside, the release added.

Investigators with the humane society are now seeking tips from the public.

"It's horrifying that someone would do this to a defenceless animal," said Sharon Miko, the humane society's deputy executive director.

"This kitten wouldn't have stood a chance except for her fighting spirit that led her to cry out at the exact moment someone happened to walk by."

Workers at the humane society have named the kitten "Hope." She was found with an ulcer on her right eye and a scraped up nose and is recovering.

"Hope is doing remarkably well for a kitten who had a brush with death," Miko said. "She is a little banged up but beyond that, she is just a sweet and playful little girl who now gets a second chance at life."

If you have information about the case, you can call the humane society at 613-725-3166, ext. 224.