The quartet, who were around two weeks old, were found by builders in Coleraine on Halloween night as they worked on demolishing a shed as part of renovation work.

It was decided to leave them overnight in the hope that the mother would return to take care of them, but the following morning they were still there - alone, cold and soaking wet.

The new owner of the property took them inside to the warmth and bottle fed them over the weekend. They soon realised the enormity of the task of hand-rearing such poorly kittens and called in Cats Protection to take over.

Alison Hagan, coordinator of the Coleraine Branch of the animal welfare charity, took them in and began the tireless regime of bottle feeding them every two hours, as well as ensuring they were kept clean.

Honey, Marmalade, Peanut and Ginger, as they have been named, were thoroughly checked over by a vet, who found no health problems.

“It takes an enormous amount of time and effort getting these kittens back up to strength,” said Alison.

“As well as having a feeding and cleaning routine, it is vital they receive structured socialisation sessions to ensure we are able to rehome them with loving families.

“We have rescued so many kittens and cats this year and the bills do pile up. We would be extremely grateful if any cat lovers could spare a few pounds to help with the cost of getting these beautiful cats and kittens back on their paws and into homes.”

A Justgiving page has been set to raise funds to help the Halloween kittens and anyone wishing to donate should visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/coleraine-cats-protection2  

Cats Protection’s Coleraine Branch is part of a national network of around 250 volunteer-run branches and 36 centres that help around 200,000 cats and kittens each year.

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For media enquiries please contact media.office@cats.org.uk or call 01825 741 912.