Five kittens that stowed away on a 400-mile trip to San Diego are looking for new homes in the US.

San Diego Humane Society said the kittens wound up inside a 60ft steel column that travelled on a truck from Hayward in the San Francisco Bay area to San Diego.

The kittens were found inside a a 60ft steel column
The were found inside a a 60ft steel column (San Diego Humane Society/AP

On April 24, construction workers building new Kaiser Permanente medical offices heard meows coming from the column.

They tilted the column and the week-old kittens slid out.

It was unclear whether the stowaways got aboard in Hayward or somewhere along the route.

The kittens are now in foster care and will be ready for adoption in a couple of months.

They have been given appropriate construction names: Crowbar, Rebar, Chisel, Jackhammer and Piper.