They did what they could.
Furry Friends Animal Shelter, which took in 23 ragdoll cats and kittens that had been left on the steps of a veterinary clinic in Barrie, says it has had to lay 12 of them to rest.
"While we knew that this had been a possibility from the very beginning, that these kittens were critically unwell and that it was a miracle that some had survived this long, you still hold on tight to the hope that you can turn things around," reads a statement on its Facebook page.
Related: Vet bill in the thousands to assist ill, emaciated cats dropped off at Barrie animal clinic
The four young mother cats and 19 kittens - some of them ill, some of them emaciated - had been left on the steps of the Aldergrove Animal Clinic on Yonge Street in late July.
Eleven of the cats and kittens, "Oregano, Mona Lisa, Mango, Alaska, Ju Ju Bee, Dolly, Jeepers, Clover, Goose, Lecci and Jimbo are still here by our sides, and for that we are so thankful. Some of the remaining kittens are still vastly behind the others in their growth." The kittens in the banner photo, Lecci and Jimbo, are the same age, but there is an almost 700-gram weight difference between the two.
banner image: Furry Friends/Facebook