A litter, or maybe two, of adorable four-week-old kittens have been rescued after they were found dumped in a closed suitcase outside a woman’s front door.

Sarah Mills had a big surprise when she opened the bag to find 15 kittens looking up at her.

"I heard noise and undid the suitcase to see 15 pairs of eyes staring back at me,” said the 31-year-old who runs All Animal Rescue, a network of animal fosterers in Southampton, Hants.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about them being dumped or being in a suitcase.



"But they [the owner] did the best for the kittens.



"They have put them somewhere where they will get help - they may have phoned around and couldn't get them in somewhere and it may have been a last resort.



"Maybe they were desperate."





The kittens were riddled with fleas and worms and have cat flu - a potentially fatal condition for kittens.



The RSPCA is now investigating and trying to identify the person who abandoned the kittens.



Inspector Penny Baker said: "It isn't clear whether these kittens are all from the same litter or not, but it does seem like a lot.



"Because they are all black, it is difficult to tell whether they are all brothers and sisters. It is more likely that it is two litters dumped together.



"They are adorable kittens, but they are all teeming with fleas and worms.



"I have personally never dealt with an instance where so many have been dumped in one go like this.



"Sadly there is no CCTV and we haven't got a description of the person who dumped them.



"We are hoping the public can be our eyes and ears and share any relevant information which might help us track down who abandoned them."





Inspector Baker said an adult cat - possibly the mother of some of the kittens - was spotted when the suitcase was dumped.



However, the cat escaped and ran off and could not be found despite an extensive search around the area.



Ten have since been handed to the RSPCA's Stubbington Ark Rescue Centre, while a fosterer is caring for the other five.



An RSPCA spokeswoman said: "This is a really awful thing to do to dump such young vulnerable animals.



"It's fantastic that the lady was there to rescue them and take care of them."