Ever-generous Canberrans have risen to the challenge again and donated thousands of dollars to help the RSPCA ACT care for five abandoned kittens.
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Close to $7000 has been raised which will more than cover the kittens' care before they are adopted.
It also leaves plenty of extra funds to care for other kittens and mother cats coming into the Weston shelter with kitten season just about to peak .
The RSPCA was unable to detail the dire circumstances in which the kittens came to them but has now been able to fill in the story.
It seems the five kittens, nicknamed the Feline Five, were put in a wheelie bin and then dumped in Mountain Creek in Wee Jasper north-west of Canberra.
Luckily, someone did pull the bin out of the creek in time and brought the kittens immediately to the RSPCA ACT.
There were hopes further investigations could lead to the offender but so far no more details have been forthcoming.
The kittens - named Mittens, Boots, Moccasin, Winkle and Stiletto - have been in foster care.
They are among 60 kittens, ranging from two to seven weeks, and seven mothers in foster care. At eight weeks, the kittens are brought back to the shelter to be desexed.
If you would like to adopt a kitten from the RSPCA ACT, they cost $350 each with all of them being desexed, microchipped, vet-checked, temperament-tested, socialised, vaccinated and treated for fleas, ticks and worms.
You can view all available animals by visiting www.adoptapet.com.au.
The RSPCA ACT has rehomed over 13,000 felines in the last 10 years.
And it pays to have them desexed, with one mating pair conservatively estimated to be able to produce more than 150 kittens in two years.
"This exponential breeding rate is the reason why the number of unwanted kittens can get out of hand quite quickly especially when they can get pregnant as early as four-months old and may continuously be in season depending on the weather," the RSPCA says.