A trio of extremely poorly kittens abandoned on the streets of Shepherds Bush were sadly put down after they were unable to recover from severe flea anaemia.

The adorable four-week-old male kittens appeared to be on the verge of death when they were brought into The Mayhew Animal Home in Kensal Green last month.

They were initially found by an elderly lady who took them in, hand-reared them and gave them kitten milk in an attempt to nurse them back to health.

After six days their condition continued to deteriorate and she called on the Home in Brent for help.

Kittens Wilf, Conner and Joel were abandoned on the streets

Wilf, Conner and Joel, as named by the staff, were extremely thin, severely dehydrated, freezing cold and covered in fleas when animal welfare officers brought them to the rescue centre.

On arrival the helpless kittens were barely alive and the cattery and vet staff provided treatments round-the-clock for several days but sadly they were far too ill.

In the end the vets made a heartbreaking decision to end the pain and suffering and put the kittens to sleep.

Mayhew vet, Dr Emily Richardson, said: “Sadly the large number of fleas covering the tiny kittens had caused flea anaemia, and as a result they had very pale mucous membranes, were weak and were breathing heavily due to a lack of blood.

“We gave Wilf, Conner and Joel fluids to treat their dehydration, treated them for fleas, warmed them up on heat pads and syringe fed them a special kitten recovery milk.

“Unfortunately the kittens slowly deteriorated during their time with us.

Wilf was one of the three kittens found dumped in Shepherd's Bush

"They were unable to eat on their own and their breathing was increasing due to hypoxia, a reduced oxygenation of tissues.

“Wilf, Conner and Joel were all deteriorating and were clearly suffering as a result, so we thought that the kindest thing to do would be to end their pain and put them to sleep.”

Following this loss, the home is urging people who find abandoned animals to get in touch with them immediately.

Animal welfare manager, Zoe Edwards, said: “We want to get the message out that pet owners and people who find abandoned animals on the street should get in contact with us straight away so we can bring them into our care as a priority.”

Conner and Joel four-week-old kittens abandoned on the streets of Shepherd's Bush

The home is undergoing a cat crisis as a growing number of felines are brought in.

Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.

You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area.

Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android now!