Meet Honey!
Honey is a sweet, deaf kitty that was abandoned by her owners just as she was about to give birth. The Humane Society of Whitley County in Columbia, Indiana, took the poor pregnant cat under their wing and found her a foster home where she could have her babies. Sadly, two of the four kittens did not survive.
Honey was heartbroken from the loss of her two babies, but she knew the two other kittens still needed her. From that moment on, she latched herself to their side and was determined to see them both through.
Soon after Honey gave birth, her original foster mom feared she wasn’t producing enough milk. Bottlefed kittens require nearly round-the-clock care— and taking care of two of them would be quite a challenge. That’s where Barb stepped in.
Barb is an experienced foster who began fostering after her children left home. In an e-mail to our staff, she writes, “I was inspired to start fostering 5 years ago when my niece who worked at the SPCA suggested it to me. We had always had cats while my children were growing up. Now that the kids are grown, I felt called to do this.”
“Fostering is a great way to help a large number of kittens. To date, I’ve had 138 fosters.”
When Barb got Honey and the kittens, she spent the next few days making sure they were fed and growing. Honey was a bit scared of the new human at first, but Barb quickly managed to gain her trust.
“I told her I knew that in a week’s time she was surrendered by her owner, transferred to another foster home, gave birth to 4 babies, lost 2, transferred back to the Humane Society, and then transferred yesterday to my home.”
“That’s a lot for any animal to go through, let alone one who has delivered babies and still is recovering.”
“I told her she’s safe with us, and she and her babies will be loved […] She purred in agreement.”
Honey is an amazing mom, but she was so attached to her kittens she refused to leave their side— to the point where she wouldn’t even eat or use the litterbox. As a solution, Barb resorted to hand-feeding her to help the sweet kitty relax.
“Most of the time, I will hold her food dish for her in bed with the babies so she doesn’t have to get out,” Barb said.
“She is very reluctant to leave them and only uses the litterbox about twice in a 24-hour period. If I leave the food dish next to her bed, she won’t eat much. Honey is definitely a social eater. She loves when people are around and will eat more.”
“If Honey is stress-free, she will make more milk.”
Barb named the two kittens Tupelo and Manuka, after different types of honey.
She also believes Honey losing half her litter is a big reason why she’s so devoted to these little survivors.
“I think this is why she feels so protective of Tupelo and Manuka. She is so gentle and nurturing them.”
“She likes to have them up close around her face and pulls them in close.”
As a deaf mama, Honey doesn’t really meow or chirp at her kittens— but she’s totally content smothering them with cuddles and love!
At the time of this writing, Tupelo and Manuka are almost two weeks old, and each weighs half a pound. Although Barb is not personally in charge of their adoption, she said, “It would be wonderful if the boys could be adopted out together.”
“I am confident that this little family will be adopted very quickly. There has been a lot of interest in them. People from all over the United States, as well as Canada, have inquired about them.”
For more of this family’s journey, be sure to follow Barb on Instagram, @kitten_faces.
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Source: @kitten_faces/Instagram
