A house cat who has been a foster mom to a lot of kittens has stepped into the role of a caring parent to a bobkitten who was abandoned by her mother.
In September, a good Samaritan found a lone 6-week-old bobkitten in a chicken coop. After a long time, when her mom didn’t return to take her back, rescuers at Millstone Wildlife Center in New Hampshire stepped up and took her in.
“The bobkitten was in great shape,” Caroline Wilkinson, president of nonprofit organization Spicy Cats, which liaised with Millstone Wildlife Center, told The Epoch Times. “Clearly mom had been taking good care of her up until then.”
However, her rescuers became aware that the bobkitten, who weighed less than 2 lbs (approx. 0.9 kg) although in good physical condition, had been “crying from loneliness.”
The rescuers immediately got in touch with Spicy Cats, as they focus primarily on rescuing behavioral and medical special-needs cats.
Soon, the bobkitten was introduced to another Spicy Cats resident, Honeybun, 5, who has done a great job caring for her own kittens as well as several of her nephews and nieces in the past.
“When she saw Honeybun she immediately lit up and started to play with her," Wilkinson said.
Remarkably, considering the unlikelihood of a pairing of a domestic and wild cat, they bonded straight away.
“We had hoped it would go this well but as far as we know it hadn’t been done before so it was a bit of a gamble,” Wilkinson said. “Seeing them take to each other instantly was such a relief, we were so happy that the bobkitten wouldn’t be lonely anymore.”
“There’s no human/bobkitten cuddling going on,” Spicy Cats explained, “the goal is for her [to] be wary of humans so she can be safe as an adult in the wild.”
Currently, the rescue plans to unite the bobkitten with an older bobkitten back at Millstone Wildlife Center in the coming weeks before releasing her back into the wild in spring. For the moment, though, the bobkitten is doing great; growing bigger and stronger, and loving her older playmate.
“She loves to play with Honeybun,” Wilkinson told The Epoch Times, “and Honeybun will groom her.”
In return, the bobkitten enjoys snuggling and chewing on the patient Honeybun’s ears.
Since Spicy Cats posted pictures and videos of the pair on social media, some netizens have been worried that Honeybun may be in danger, but the rescue has tried to quell their fears.
“The bobkitten is only a few weeks old. Though she is similar in size to Honey, her mentality is very very juvenile and all she wants to do is snuggle and play,“ they said. ”Regardless they are still very closely monitored. Also, bobcats don’t even really prey on domestic cats unless they are desperate.”
