When two adorable kitten siblings were found abandoned in a wall, the priority was to get them with a mom figure who could look after them.
They were only 2-3 weeks old and needed urgent care.
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The kittens were first taken to Nashville Cat Rescue in Nashville, Tennessee, where volunteers named them Apricot and Pretzel. They worked to find them a foster parent, and it wasn’t long until the kittens were able to move in with their new family.
They were so tiny and beyond adorable- but one of the kittens was particularly special.
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Apricot’s face was half ginger and half black. The distinction was so clear, it was as if someone had drawn a line right down the center of her face. This phenomenon is named the feline chimera and happens when two embryos fuse together, giving a kitten two different types of DNA.
The result can be anything from the common tortoiseshell cat, to more unique markings like what Apricot has.
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The two sweet kittens were taken home with foster mom, Kiki. She had two mama cats who had just given birth to their own litters, and she hoped that the moms would be accepting of the two orphaned kittens.
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The two moms were named Pickle and Olive, and were rescue cats themselves. They had been fostered by Kiki from a cat colony in the Greater Nashville area.
“The family that was working to assist this colony determined that the girls were friendly & also both pregnant!” Kiki told Bored Panda. “When they contacted the rescue, they had 1 ask—that the girls stay together, even when it was time for them to be adopted.”
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The cats might have been friendly by nature, but moving into a new home was still quite a nerve-wracking experience for them.
Since they were both heavily pregnant, Kiki tried her best to make them feel as comfortable as possible.
“It was a little bit of an adjustment when Pickle & Olive came to me,” she recalled. “They were still a little shy and often greeted me with a hiss or growling. It was clear, however, that the girls loved each other and felt safe together.
I spent as much time as I could with them, while still respecting their need for space. I wanted to ensure as the babies came that they were comfortable with me assisting as needed.”
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Within only a few weeks of living in her new home, Pickle went into labor. She gave birth to 6 beautiful babies, but unfortunately, one did not make it.
She was a great mom, and Olive soon began to help out with Pickle’s kittens, as if she was practicing for when her own would arrive!
Olive’s labor ended up being a little more complicated. She gave birth to one healthy kitten, then another one 24 hours later. Since there was such a big gap in between, Kiki took her to the vets to make sure she was okay.
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It turned out that there was a deceased baby inside Olive’s tummy, meaning that she had to go in for an emergency C-section.
Thankfully, Olive survived the ordeal, and back at home, both she and Pickle took well to motherhood. It was now time to introduce Apricot and Pretzel to the mix.
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At first, there was no telling if the new moms were going to accept two more kittens into their litter. But thankfully, things went incredibly smoothly.
The two little kittens are now thriving under the care of their foster mommies.
“Pickle and Olive are such a joy to watch and their babies are undeniably cute,” Kiki said. “They swap babies and care for each other’s like they were their own.”
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She added: ““Moms and babies will all be available for adoption in a few weeks! Until then, they remain in a foster home with me!”
We think she has the best job in the world! Check out Kiki’s very own Instagram account for more adorable pictures.
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