They’re not looking to live in the lap of luxury in the White House – these six cute kittens found dumped outside a Stevenage vets would love to have a loving home, however humble.

The sextet of survivors have been named after the candidates who have been campaigning for the US presidency after being found dumped and struggling to survive nearly two weeks ago.

The kittens, thought to be between six and eight weeks old, were found outside Walton Lodge Veterinary Clinic in Maxwell Road and RSPCA staff who recovered the kittens decided to christen them, Donald, Bernie, Clinton, Cruz, Hillary and Carly after the key figures hoping to replace US president Barack Obama.

The kittens – four male and two female – are now being cared for in private boarding before being moved to the Letchworth RSPCA branch.

Once they are old enough and have recovered their health, they will be re-homed.

The RSPCA’s Catherine Peerless says the charity is keen to find the people who dumped them so it can trace the mother cat, which might need help, or to be spayed.

She said: “If we don’t know the original names of animals, they often get named after all sorts of things, from Star Wars characters to breakfast cereals.

“We had a dog recently that got renamed Digby because it was found in a digger.

“Unfortunately we do see kittens being abandoned at certain times of the year.

“In this case it appears that someone left them outside the vets in the hope that they will be looked after.

“It is a criminal offence to abandon an animal, but we just want to know what the story is so that we can offer help wherever it is needed.”

The clinic has had 10 litters – more than 60 kittens and two adult cats – dumped on its doorstep over the course of several years and has suspected in the past that they may be coming from the same person.

The cats are usually dumped in a new cat carrier and are always black and white or tabby in colour. The last batch of six kittens to be dumped were left at the surgery in August 2015.

RSPCA inspector Stephen Reeves, who is now investigating why they were dumped, said: “This situation could have easily been avoided if the owner of the cat who gave birth to these kittens had had their pet neutered.”

The RSPCA says the cat population in the UK has reached crisis point.

It says more and more cats are coming into its care and fewer homes are taking in cats so many of the charity’s centres and branches are full.

Anyone with information on the kittens should call the RSPCA on 0300 123 8018.