When baby kitten Eli was orphaned at such an early age, he was discovered in dire circumstances: he was the only survivor of his litter, and found amongst his deceased siblings.
The tiny tabby was so young, he desperately needed a mother. That’s when a woman named Cindy, a Seattle-based cat foster, stepped in. She was currently caring for a mama cat named Madeline and her newborn litter.
Sadly, Madeline had lost the babies in her previous litter, so she loved to dote on her healthy new kittens. Although Madeline was a foster cat, Cindy was hoping that the maternal mama cat wouldn’t mind taking in a foster of her own: little Eli!
Luckily Cindy had great instincts, and Madeline accepted the new kitten into her family. Likewise, Eli happily soaked up his new mama’s love. His siblings love to snuggle with him, too!
Madeline doesn’t nurse the tabby baby, but she loves to lick and cuddle him.
“Kittens who are bottle-fed get used to a different type of drinking. He hasn’t stopped purring since he got here,” Cindy told Love Meow. “He seems to love having a family.”
“I keep thinking of how Madeline’s first litter of kittens didn’t survive (before she came to me) …. and how Eli was the only survivor of his litter. What a sweet mom Madeline has been to Eli,” she added in the story.
Not only does Eli love his new feline family, he’s super snuggly with humans, too!
“A great benefit of bottle babies is they love people: they are snuggly and purry and totally absorbed in their human,” Cindy said in the Love Meow story. “There’s nothing quite like having a tiny, well-fed, purry kitten crawl up under your neck and fall fast asleep.”
Both Cindy and Madeline love to mother Eli together. “Madeline and I have a good routine with little Eli: I bottle feed him, then she cleans him up and potties him,” Cindy wrote on Instagram.
Eli blends in with his new family so well, he even looks just like one of his brothers–just a tiny bit smaller!
We’re so glad these kitties found each other! You can follow Cindy and her adorable fosters on Instagram: @foster_kittens.
(h/t: Love Meow)