MYSTERY surrounds the discovery of a cat and her family of five kittens, who were found living in a cardboard box near Lea Bailey.

The kittens had been handed in to Chase View Vets in Ross-on-Wye, having been found by a member of the public - but their mother had left the box and hidden in the undergrowth on being discovered.

Luckily, the vets called in Celia O'Keefe from Mitcheldean who is a fosterer with Dean Cats Protection. She, an experienced cat rescuer, took the kittens, which were estimated to be about five weeks old when found, and a tin of sardines, and returned to where their finder had first discovered them.

There, with patience, she waited until she could win the confidence of the mother cat, and reunited her with her offspring.

The mother cat has now been named Celia, in honour of her rescuer, and her kittens have now been handed over to the care of Averil Sumners, another Cats Protection fosterer, who lives in Bream.

The cat and her kittens are now looking to be re-homed, after they have been neutered and given a clean bill of health at the vets.

The kittens are a pair of black and white males, a long-haired black female, and two tortoiseshell females. The mother cat is gradually weaning her kittens, and has already taught them to use a litter tray.

If anyone can offer a home, they are asked to contact the Cat Protection hotline on 01594 841511.

•Cats Protection currently has around 55 cats, including several sets of kittens, awaiting adoption. They also have a 'very long' waiting list of cats to be taken in to care.