Six abandoned cats were discovered in a cramped carrier in woodland near Stowmarket.

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The felines - including four kittens - were found by a member of the public near Church Road in the hamlet of Combs.

The door of the carrier was broken and had been tied together with a hairband.

RSPCA inspector Jason Finch rescued the cats and said: “As the door to the carrier was broken, two of the adults and one of the kittens were out of the carrier when I arrived but thankfully I was able to catch them.

“The three other kittens were still inside the carrier and all of the cats smelled strongly of urine and faeces.”

The seven-week-old kittens and the two young female adults cats are now being looked after at RSPCA Martlesham Animal Home.

The two adults have been named Harlequin and Storm, while the kittens are called Raven, Wonder, Rogue and Wade after superheroes and comic book characters.

If no-one comes forward for the cats, then they will later be re-homed via the RSPCA website.

Mr Finch added: “Unfortunately, we do see a lot of abandoned and unwanted kittens especially during ‘kitten season’ between May and September, when most kittens are born.

“Often, these kittens are unplanned and therefore unwanted which has led to a cat overpopulation crisis in the UK.

“The key to tackling this is to ensure that your cat is neutered from four-months-old.”

If you have any information about the cats and how they came to be in the woods, please contact the inspectorate appeal line on 0300 123 8018.