Mother’s Day is a special time to honor the great moms out there who go above and beyond to keep their babies safe, happy, and healthy. In 2021, the holiday falls on May 9th.
The mama cats in these stories have amazing motherly instincts and will do whatever it takes to protect their youngsters, even if their kids aren’t the same species. Whether moms are biological, adopted, or foster, they deserve to be celebrated on Mother’s Day.
Here are six true stories of mama cats who saved their babies.
1. Scarlett Walks Through Fire
You may have heard of Scarlett, the amazing mama cat who saved her kittens from a fire in 1996. She was caring for her babies in a garage in New York when a fire broke out.
Firefighters spotted Scarlett plunging into the blaze, even though she had already suffered from burns on her face and all over her body. She pulled her kittens to safety, and although one of the babies didn’t survive, four of her kittens went on to live happy lives in forever homes.
Scarlett also lived out her days in a forever home until the age of 13 when she passed away, but her kittens made sure to visit her on Mother’s Day to say thanks to their mama.
2. Chihuahua Kittens
Sometimes an adopted mom is the right mother for the job, even if her babies are a different species.
An SPCA worker was caring for a pregnant Chihuahua when she gave birth prematurely. Two of the puppies didn’t make it, and she rejected the other two pups.
Luckily, a mama cat at the shelter, who had just given birth to kittens of her own, was happy to add two more babies to her litter.
She fell in love with the new puppies and raised them just like members of her family. The pups might not have survived without a mom to care for them, so it’s a good thing this kitty’s motherly instincts took over.
3. Sweet Pea’s Baby Bobcat
A concerned individual walked into Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation with an orphaned kitten in a box, but it wasn’t an ordinary house kitten. It was a baby bobcat.
The person who brought in the tiny cat said that she had seen the mother the night before during a storm, but she had left the baby behind and couldn’t be found. The cub wouldn’t be able to survive without a nursing mother.
Luckily for the little bobcat, the shelter had just brought in a stray mama cat with her five kittens the same day. They named the mama Sweet Pea and introduced the little bobcat to her. Within 15 minutes, the new kitten became a part of the family and began to nurse.
They named the bobcat Bob, and he thrived with his new mom. The shelter worked to rehabilitate Bob so he could go back to the wild, and they were able to do that because of Sweet Pea’s love.
4. Ember Saves Flame
Just a week before Mother’s Day, a cat named Ember at the Atlanta Humane Society lost all of her newborn kittens. Coincidentally, an orphaned kitten who needed a miracle to survive arrived at the shelter shortly after.
Shelter workers introduced the two, and it was love at first sight. They named the kitten Flame, and Ember took great care of her new baby. Ember cuddled, nursed, and groomed Flame, giving the kitten necessary life-saving care, while Flame helped heal Ember’s broken heart.
Ember may not have given birth to Flame, but she loved the kitten like her own.
5. Mother Cat Gives Life-Saving Blood Transfusion
Shirley and Terry, two little kittens, had to be rushed to the emergency vet when they were suffering from anemia and low red blood cell counts because of a flea infestation. Thankfully, their mama cat, Merf, was there to save the day.
The kittens needed an emergency blood transfusion. A lot of things could go wrong with the procedure, as it would be difficult to give blood to the kittens while they were so small, and the effects of the transfusion would only last for 48 hours, but vets hoped that this would give the babies enough time to recover.
So they tested Merf to see if her blood type was a match for the kittens, and it was! They began the transfusion and saved the kittens’ lives. Merf also helped by nursing them back to health and caring for them as a mama cat should.
The babies were saved, thanks to mom.
6. Squirrels Join The Family
Pusha the cat gave birth to a litter of kittens in a park, but she also got some additional family members, thanks to a few concerned humans. The humans found four baby squirrels who had lost their mother, so they introduced the little ones to Pusha, hoping she’d help.
At first, the baby squirrels were scared of Pusha. Cats are, after all, predators of squirrels. But they soon warmed up to the cat, and before long, Pusha was nursing them, playing with them, and caring for them like her own. They joined their new, multi-species family.
Without Pusha adopting them, they may not have survived, but this mama cat gave them a lot of love.
We’d like to wish you and all the moms out there — human or feline — a Happy Mother’s Day!
Have you heard of any other cat moms that deserve to be celebrated on Mother’s Day? Let us know in the comments below!
