A mama cat with no kittens joined six kittens with no mama cat to be their surrogate mom. It only lasted a short time, but she still gave it her all.
Surrogate mom
When a lactating cat arrived at animal services alone, volunteers tried to find her kittens. Surely, they were out there somewhere. But they had no luck finding them.
A few days later, six kittens were brought to animal services without a mom. They were still very young, just 10 days old, and it would be best if they had a mom to care for them.
The mama cat with no kittens and the kittens with no mama cat seemed like the perfect match for each other. The volunteers at animal services introduced them to each other. Their surrogate mom took a moment to warm up to them, but eventually she started grooming and cuddling with them.
Later, another cat was brought into animal services. It was the kittens’ real mom. She was in bad condition, with a large wound in her side. She was rushed to a vet to take care of her.
The kittens’ real mom was in no shape to take care of them, so they stayed with their surrogate mom. Together, they went to a foster home under the care of Stephanie.
Stephanie named the surrogate mama cat Bliss and gave the six kittens butter-themed names: ButterFinger, ButterNut, ButterCup, ButterFly, ButterBall, and ButterScotch.
The right fit?
Although Bliss was the kittens’ surrogate mom, she wasn’t producing much milk, so Stephanie had to step in and bottle-feed the kittens.
Stephanie wasn’t sure if Bliss was very happy being the kittens’ surrogate mom. She did a great job cleaning and cuddling with them, but she was uncomfortable when they tried to nurse on her. Stephanie said:
“Having her fill in for their real momma is an amazing idea, but only if it works for everyone.”
Stephanie kept a close eye on how Bliss and the kittens were doing. Although she ended up giving Bliss some space away from the kittens, Bliss still checked in on them often and kept cleaning them. She may not have been a full-time surrogate mom, but she was still great at taking care of them in her own way.
Time to heal
One day, Stephanie decided to send Bliss to the vet. She was a very small, frail cat, and she was acting very quiet. Besides checking in on the kittens now and then, all she wanted to do was sleep and cuddle.
It was possible that she was just relaxing in her new, safe environment, but Stephanie wanted to make sure she wasn’t sick.
Sure enough, Bliss had an infection. She was given medicine and more space between her and the kittens. Stephanie decided to let Bliss focus on being a cat and not have to care for kittens while she was healing.
Although the Butter kittens might miss their surrogate mom, they would be fine without her, and this was the best option for both the kittens and Bliss.
Later, when Bliss had gotten healthier and put on some weight, she was ready to be adopted. After the good work she did in her short time as a surrogate mom, she would find a loving home that would take good care of her.