A pregnant stray cat with two older kittens got lucky when she landed on the back porch of a helpful stranger. Seeing the tiny family pawing at her door one morning, the cat lover called for help, allowing the stray to give birth in the comfort of a new home.
“Mama Ally showed up on a doorstep, locally, about two months ago with her two older kittens,” Kelly said. “They seemed to be a few months old, with mama not appearing too much older herself.”
The homeowner contacted Sparkle Cat Rescue of Burlington, who works closely with MLAR. Rescuers trapped the “hungry, but relatively friendly and otherwise healthy” cat family, placed the kittens in foster care, and reached out to MLAR to help with Ally.
“We knew there was a chance she was pregnant, since she was clearly not spayed and a stray, with her other kittens being old enough that she could have been pregnant again,” said Kelly, whose team soon confirmed that Ally was likely in her third trimester.
Ally became an official MLAR foster cat and gave birth to five healthy babies on March 5, in the comfort of her foster home. Describing Ally as “the most genuinely affectionate, sweet, and adoring mama,” Kelly said that the kitty’s foster mom, Monica, named the litter after Dr. Seuss characters: Cindy Lou, Hattie, Mayzie, Sam, and Sir Snipps.
“You can’t not smile when thinking of Dr. Seuss, and you can’t not smile seeing these sweet babies!” Kelly added.
Ally was an attentive mom to her new litter from the outset, balancing feeding and protecting them with enough of her “me time” to replenish her energy. The adorable kitty quickly earmarked her favorite spots as her new foster mom’s lap or the crook of the arm.
“She has the sweetest heart,” Kelly said. “To have cared for her older kittens for so long, and so well, outside as a stray, then seeking out help, she has proven what a heart of gold she has.”
As her kittens grow and become more mobile, Ally has learned to keep a keen eye on them. The litter of five, once weaned and vetted at around 8 weeks of age, will be ready for adoption. Ally’s two older kittens were pre-adopted together through Sparkle Cat Rescue. “They were a bonded pair, and this is exactly what was hoped for,” said Kelly.
Once spayed, super-mom Ally will also be looking for her forever home.
Murphy’s Law Animal Rescue was established in 2020 with the mission to rescue orphaned and abandoned animals, spread awareness of the importance of spaying and neutering, and promote fostering and adoption from local animal shelters. Waylaid by the pandemic, they opened for their first intake in 2021.
“Many times in rescue, what can go wrong for these sweet creatures does,” Kelly reflected. “Murphy’s Law Animal Rescue is named after the ways in which so much has gone wrong for these animals, to end up in oftentimes horrific circumstances ... until they are rescued!
“By sharing our fostering journey, we have hoped to inspire others to adopt, advocate, and get involved with their local animal shelters and rescue organizations, to do what they can to help.”
