This past March, a feline mother and three young kittens were rescued from the eastern Washington area. The mama, a female named Sprinkles, had been a stray, and when the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Lynnwood, Washington, caught wind of her situation, they immediately stepped in to help.
The furry family needed fostering and were placed with an experienced fosterer named Ashley.
Ashley started fostering in 2015, after the loss of her father. She had previously been volunteering as a dog walker for PAWS, but, after losing her dad, did not have it in her to leave the house.
In an e-mail to our staff, Ashley recalls, “PAWS foster coordinator Rebecca asked what she could do to help me. I said, ‘I want something small and fluffy!’ and her response was to give me bottle babies, and they were only 3-days-old.”
“They had lost their mom and I had lost my dad. It felt like a perfect match to help each other in our time of need.”
Since fostering those original kittens, Ashley has cared for many more— but Sprinkles was a bit different.
When Sprinkles and her kittens got to Ashley’s house, the mama was fiercely protective of her babies. Sprinkles had no way of knowing that Ashley was trying to help her, so the woman would have to find a way to gain her trust.
Luckily, with a bit of yummy food and some gentle pets, Sprinkles quickly came around.
The young mother went from refusing to leave her babies’ sides to trusting Ashley to help provide them with care— and with not one, but two devoted mamas, babies Coco and Fritter started to grow big and strong.
Sadly, baby Maple faced her own challenges, and head off on her journey over the Rainbow Bridge. In the span of her short life, however, she was truly and genuinely loved. “Sprinkles did see Maple after she passed away,” Ashley told Love Meow. “And I think she understood. A mama always understands.”
Despite the loss of their sibling, Coco and Fritter continued to grow big and healthy under Ashley’s care. As Mama Sprinkles started trusting the young woman more and more, the cat’s personality also started to show.
“When [Sprinkles] isn’t caring for her babies, she is a super love bug. She loves cuddles, chatting with you, and exploring.”
Only a few, short days ago, Ashley began to suspect Coco had caught ringworm. In an Instagram post, she wrote, “The strange part is mama doesn’t have it, and there is no hair loss. But both her and Fritter’s whiskers are broken off (one sign of ringworm), and little Coco’s spots are glowing now under a woods lamp […] They are my babies and I will do what I need to do.”
In the e-mail to our staff, Ashley elaborated, “Ringworm is so easily spread and catchable that I wouldn’t doubt if Fritter had it too […] Unfortunately when they have ringworm, we know we will have them at least another couple months because they have to get skin culture tests every two weeks, and are not cleared until two cultures in a row are negative.”
“It so far hasn’t seemed to bother Coco too much. She doesn’t really notice but it breaks my heart because I can’t let them out of that room or touch them and then leave the room and touch anything without completely washing everything on me, my skin, my clothes, etc. So, I usually go in there for a long time before I shower.”
When it comes to Sprinkles, Ashley says she is an amazing cat. “I want to find her someone who will give her the kind of life she has not had until now. No more street for her!”
“Because of how many inquiries I have gotten, I have had to tell people that I will announce when and where they can apply to adopt,” she said.
Sprinkles and the donut kittens have gone through a lot in their short time here— but thanks to PAWS and caring people like Ashley, these kittens (and many others), will finally get a brand-new home.
