A basket filled with kittens has been left on a doorstep in Bristol.
According to ITV, volunteers reportedly heard a loud bang at the door when the litter of flea-ridden kittens was left abandoned outside Bristol Moggery Rehoming Centre earlier this week.
The charity has since taken in the felines and said that they seem to be made up of four or five separate litters of different ages, either ginger or tortoise fur.
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"We heard a loud banging and opened the door to find so many kittens we couldn’t count them,” Christine Bayka, founder of the charity, as per the outlet.
She added that all the kittens were incredibly dirty and suspects they were being kept in a shed.
Bayka continued: "The 26 appeared to be from four or five litters of different ages.
"They were all filthy and flea ridden.
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"So we bathed them, gave them clean beds and divided them into estimated age groups."
The larger cats were given food, a comfy bed, and a litter tray, whereas the youngest kitten was separated from the pack and taken in by Ms Bayka to be bottle-fed.
Ms Bayka also urged people to have their pets neutered and chipped.
"We have an Assisted Neutering Program to help people on low income and benefits,” she said.
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"This is a perfect example of things getting out of hand. Please please get your cats neutered and chipped.”
She also said that many people purchase a pet after briefly surfing the web even though so much more goes into caring for an animal than just providing food.
Many had also called the centre within hours of buying a kitten online.
Bayka said having a pet is a ‘luxury’ and if you’re already struggling to make ends meet, don’t consider taking in a domestic animal.
According to Daily Mail, the founder said that if Gumtree ceases advertisements for live animals, she believes the overpopulation of cats spearheaded by breeders wouldn’t be as prominent.
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However, Gumtree has previously said it takes the ‘welfare of animals extremely seriously.’
“We encourage anyone thinking of welcoming an animal into their family to familiarise themselves with our advice on safely rehoming pets online here and specifically on rehoming cats and kittens here,” they defended, as per the outlet.
Charisa Bossinakis