Cats Protection has released a list of the five most unusual places where abandoned cats were picked up in the last 12 months. The charity, which looks after and rehomes unwanted felines, is looking after 7,000 cats at any one time; some with an unusual "tail" attached. Here's the top five:
At number five....a church. Five kittens were found on the doorstep of St Nicholas's Church in Laindon in Essex in September 2010. A passerby heard the sound of animals in distress and opened it to find five crying kittens; they were later found new homes by the charity's Basildon branch
At number four...a steam engine. A train driver discovered a set of black kittens nestled in one of the engines at the Bluebell Railway near Haywards Heath in Sussex and called Cats Protection's National Cat Adoption Centre in Chelwood Gate
At number three...a recycling plant. Workers at Dow Waste Management Centre in Cumbernauld found eight kittens asleep in the engine of a recycling machine. Seven of the litter were adopted by staff at the centre and the remaining kitten - named Dervie Doll - was found a home by Cats Protection's Glasgow Adoption Centre
At number two....the M11. Lia, a tortoiseshell cat, escaped from her owner's car at Birchanger Green Services in September en route from Lincolnshire to her new home in Germany. She was picked up by Cats Protection after she was spotted wandering around the same services three months later and was reunited with her owner
And at number one...a shipping container. In late 2009 a cat survived an arduous two-week journey trapped in a sealed container on board a ship that travelled from Africa to the UK. Staff at Felixstowe port found the moggy when the containers were opened and, after a six-month stay in quarantine, the cat - named Pharaoh - was found a home by Cats Protection's Ipswich and District branch.
Cats Protection's Director of Operations Mike Henley said: "Because cats are inquisitive they can turn up in the most weird and wonderful places. Thanks to the hard work of the charity's volunteers and staff these cats were rescued and rehomed but we would love people to adopt a cat or make a donation so that we can continue to help many more."