Stray cat with five kittens recovered from loft

Five black-and-white and tabby-and-white kittens and their mother have been put in foster care

A family of cats has been recovered from the loft of a bungalow after a stray tabby built a nest for her five kittens there.

The owner of the home in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, contacted Cats Protection's Wellingborough and Rushden branch after hearing noises and meowing in the attic.

Volunteer Jonathan Hawkins found the mother and her kittens surrounded by fibreglass insulation.

The kittens were in good health and the family was being cared for by the charity's branch.

The mother ventured out of hiding, but her kittens were "almost fully hidden in the insulation", Mr Hawkins said

When he went into the loft, Mr Hawkins could not see any cats at first.

He set up a humane trap, which the mother ventured into a couple of hours later.

"Once I got her home I noticed she had visible teats and realised there must be kittens nearby," said Mr Hawkins.

He went back to the attic to search for kittens, which he managed to find by shining a strong torch around the area.

"Luckily I saw the glint of their eyes in the beam which led me to the kittens, who were almost fully hidden in a nest in the insulation.

"Despite her young age, the mother cat had excellent maternal instincts to have found such a warm space for her young, even if fibreglass isn't ideal nest material," he said.

Fibreglass can be an irritant to cats' skin and internal organs if inhaled or swallowed.

Thankfully, the family was in "very good condition", said Leslie Cooper, cat welfare officer, and the kittens had been well looked after by the mum.

Volunteers at Cats Protection believe the mother moved her kittens to the attic to provide better shelter

"They did have slightly podgy bellies which can either mean well-fed kittens or worms, so they have been treated for worms and fleas as a precaution, since both can be a death sentence for kittens," said Ms Cooper.

"We think Anne probably had them somewhere else then spotted the quiet, warm space and bravely moved them there."

The tabby-and-white mother, thought to be aged about one, has been named Anne, after the Holocaust victim and diarist Anne Frank, whose family hid in an attic in Amsterdam during World War Two.

Her five kittens have been named Paige, Jack, Pye, Coco and Frank and were thought to be two weeks old.

They are due to be neutered and once about nine weeks old they will be put up for adoption, along with Anne.

"This little stray family was very lucky, but not all have the same fate," said Ms Cooper.

The mother was named Anne, after Anne Frank, and her kittens have been named Paige, Jack, Pye, Coco and Frank