TWO kittens are counting their nine lives after being found close to death in a greenhouse.

At just a few hours old, the tiny kittens were found abandoned by Cats Protection volunteers in Southampton.

A third kitten had sadly already died when Cats Protection volunteers were alerted to the kittens’ plight, and it was feared the remaining two also wouldn’t survive.

“They were underweight, cold and weak and we were very worried they wouldn’t make it through the night,” said Lorri Seymour, who is fostering the kittens.

“The tiny kittens were only about three hours old when they were found and weighed just 100g each. It was touch and go.”

Lorri, who is hand-rearing the kittens on behalf of volunteers from Cats Protection’s Southampton Branch who rescued the animals on Sunday, April 28, was initially feeding them every 30 minutes to help them gain weight and build their strength.

Now named Nigel and Nellie after dogs belonging to the BBC 2’s Gardener’s World presenter Monty Don, the kittens are now growing quickly and have healthy appetites.

Lorri, co-ordinator of Cats Protection’s Fareham Branch, said: “Poor Nellie didn’t know how to suckle and it took her 24 hours to get the hang of it.

“I’ve been looking after the kittens for just over a week now and I’m hopeful they’ll be okay. They’re guzzling their food down and are becoming stronger.

“At first I was feeding them every 30 minutes throughout the day and night. They’re now being fed every 90 minutes.”

Black-and-white Nigel and calico Nellie, a male and female, will be bottle fed until they are weaned at between four and five weeks old.

Cats Protection volunteers continue to search for the kittens’ mother in the vicinity of the greenhouse in Southampton where they were found so she can be health-checked and neutered.

“There has been no sign of their mum so far – we think she might be a stray or feral cat with another litter of kittens somewhere,” Lorrie said.