A homeowner found a kitten sitting in her front yard, and later discovered four more and a cat needing her help.
A tabby kitten was spotted all by himself in a family’s front yard. The cat mother never returned for him and the homeowner wasn’t able to locate her at the time. She scooped up the starving little kitten and tried to get him some help.
When she let her dog out later that day, she heard a commotion and went to investigate. Unbeknownst to her, a cat and four kittens had nestled in under her deck. The kittens were the same age as the little singleton she’d found earlier.
Right away, she knew the kitten was part of the litter and that he had been left behind.
“She tried to reunite the baby with Mom, but was unsuccessful. Mom kept hissing at the baby, so the homeowner began bottle-feeding him and reached out to us for help,” Mary Huckabee, Coastal Bend Cat Rescue Officer, told us.
While the rescue was in the process of arranging for a foster home, the finder continued hand-rearing the bottle baby while keeping the mom and her four safe.
“When we got them to their foster home, the first thing we did was give all of the babies a bath. We were prepared to send one to a bottle feeder if necessary.”
In no time, the cat mom, Casino, and her kittens settled comfortably into their nursery. After being all cleaned up, Mama’s demeanor toward the bottle kitten began to change.
When the bottle kitten walked up to his mom, she immediately started washing his face and doting on him. “With everything smelling clean and identical, Mom accepted all five babies and this little family was reunited.”
The bottle baby, Blackjack, was ecstatic to be back with his pack. He snuggled right up to his littermates for a cuddle-puddle nap-fest.
He tried to figure out how to latch on his mom, so he could nurse alongside his siblings, being part of the feeding crew.
“Blackjack required some continued bottle supplementation for a few days before he got the hang of fully nursing again, but only for a short time,” Mary shared with us.
“He bellies up to the milk bar at every opportunity with his brother and sisters.”
The family of six are thriving in foster care. Despite being the only kitten left behind, Blackjack is now the leader of the clowder.
“The little bottle baby runs immediately to people for cuddles and scratches. And his siblings quickly learned from him that belly rubs are the best.”
The kittens are around four weeks old and starting to find their feet. They have explored around their playpen and are honing their climbing skills on their foster mom.
The sweet cat mama is a bit shy with new people but will quickly come out of her shell with some treats and scritches.
She is so content to have a safe place to raise her kittens, and never tires of feeding her demanding five and keeping them clean and loved.
