A BOX full of kittens, starving and dehydrated, has arrived at an Island shelter after they were dumped on a charity doorstep.

A cardboard box filled with seven kittens has arrived at the Isle of Wight branch of Cats Protection in Ryde after it was discovered taped on the adoption centre's doorstep.

The kittens are though to have come from two separate litters and be between four and five weeks old when they were found.

The three largest kittens were named Oscar, Joey and Aurora while the smaller were called Lola, Chloe, Noah and Trev.

Cat care assistant and receptionist, Lauren Smith, said: “The kittens were underweight when they arrived and we worked really hard to hand feed them every couple of hours to get them up to their ideal weights.

"For the first few days we weren’t sure they would survive.

"Little Lola was a particular worry; she didn’t have an appetite and was very lethargic, after a vet visit we found out she was so dehydrated that she needed drip-fed fluids as well as hourly feeds.

"Oscar has also been very poorly and needed blood tests to rule out anything sinister but luckily they came back clear.

"We prepare for an influx of kittens each year from the end of April onwards but it was still a shock to find these tiny souls abandoned outside the centre.

"We know it’s extremely difficult if people find themselves dealing with an unexpected litter but would urge people to get in touch and arrange a time to bring unwanted cats or kittens to us rather than leaving them outside.

“In this situation we could have supported the kittens’ owner to ensure the mother cats were neutered so that they don’t have other unwanted litters and would very much like to hear from the owner now if they would like assistance.”

You can find out more about the kittens by going to cats.org.uk