TWELVE kittens, some as young as six weeks old, were dumped on Linda Hutchinson’s doorstep and a note pushed through her letterbox saying simply ‘found these cats abandoned’.

Mrs Hutchinson, Ely and District Cats Protection Branch co-ordinator, said: “We have seen an explosion of unwanted kittens this year. This is solely down to the lack of neutering.”

She said the note pushed through her letterbox gave no clue as to who left them but added that ‘the grey female ran away’.

A cats’ protection society spokesman said: “Also in an old vacuum cleaner box were two female cats. It is assumed that these were the mothers of the kittens in the box.

“There is no knowing when they were left but they could have been left for more than three hours in the stifling heat.

“The kittens had been separated from their mothers for quite some time and had Linda not come home when she did the out come might not have been such a happy one.”

Mrs Hutchinson – formerly Citizens Advice Bureau manager in Fenland- said the cats and kittens have been health checked “and despite their little adventure are healthy. They are now being cared for by one of our fosterers”.

She said that if anyone has a cat that is four months of age and can not afford to have them neutered to contact their local cats protection branch to ask for a neutering voucher.

Ely and District Cats Protection are offering to a ‘neuter your cat for �5’ scheme. Please contact the branch for more details.

Ely and District Cats Protection is run entirely by volunteers many of whom work full time. In 2011 the branch found homes for 250 cats.