Family moving into new home shocked to find surprise 'tenants' still living in property

A family who recently moved into their new property have been left in disbelief after discovering their home was still being occupied by numerous unwanted 'tenants'.

The new residents had been warned the house included 'some' barn cats when they purchased it from the previous tenants. Now a mum has revealed there were, in fact, more than 20 felines living in the barn.

Taking to Reddit's Cats subreddit, the woman shared a sweet snap of her furry new friends, who were seen cosying up to each other surrounded by blankets in a plastic container.

"There are up to 21 orange cats (not all pictured here)," she captioned the post. "My family is taking great care of them all, and will soon get the momma cats fixed. The babies all have future homes now!"

The photo appeared to show four adult cats, alongside several kittens.

"That's a lot of kitties!" one Reddit user responded, before advising: "Get ALL adults fixed, moms & dads! And any young ones should be fixed by 4-6 months old. That will stop the multiplication of cats! Happy to hear they're well taken care of! So cute!"

"Absolutely!" the orginal poster confirmed. "All the kittens will be fixed as well as the mommas, the dads may be a different story as they are a lot more feral-like! I actually can’t believe the moms are barn cats, they are the sweetest outdoor cats I’ve ever met."

A second user recommended: "For the dads, you can possibly rent traps from a local rescue or shelter & trap, neuter and release? It's better to get all if you can, but I totally understand it's daunting, at least initially, until you get the initial mommas & babies taken care of. Your family is really helping these kitties out!"

"That sounds like a good idea, I will bring it up to my family!" the cats' new owner said. "They are happy to have the mommas stay on the property, as I think at least two of them are bonded, but they are also open to someone adopting. They will definitely be taken care of and loved either way!"

Others, meanwhile, couldn't help but joke about the barn find. "A clowder of clementines!" one person said. "A plague of persimmons! A crush of oranges! That is really cute, but almost overwhelming."

Another joked: "The orange is strong in this family. Holy ginger moly." A third quipped: "There are no mice in a 3 mile radius other than the ones that hide in terror in your house."

And a fourth added: "There’s definitely a few cats, you’ll have to ask their permission before living in the house."

Returning to the post once more, the woman thanked everyone for their well-wishes, adding that the adult cats' health issues were being dealt with in the near future.

"More info: I can’t reply to all the comments, but thank you for showing the ginger army some love!" she said. "Yes, the adult cats are being fixed very soon - their appointments are already set up.

"All of the babies will be fixed as well once it’s safe for them. We have only had this property for a month, and the babies appeared within the first week of us showing up. We are doing our best to stop the population growth, and will take care of all these kitties until they go to their forever homes."