The Internet let out a collective “awww” this month upon learning that a cat had adopted a litter of puppies.
But life wasn’t all that cute for the orange tabby named Kathryn a little over a month ago when she was found in an abandoned apartment in South Africa by its new tenants.
She had been neglected for some time and was pregnant with kittens.
Upon finding the cat, the tenants took her to Langebaan Animal Care, but she lost her entire litter.
Izelle Marallich, the chairperson of Langebaan Animal Care, said that despite what Katryn had been through, she was still very outgoing and loved people as well as other animals.
She told The Dodo:
“She was extremely affectionate and was not scared of any of my foster dogs — [she] walked right up to them and rubbed herself against every one of them. She had to sleep with a person and hold on to you. It was like she could not get enough love.”
But Marallich also said her behavior indicated that she wanted her own family:
“She was very restless, however, and would cry looking for her babies, which was heartbreaking.”
While she wouldn’t get her kittens back, family did come to Katryn in the form of a litter of Border Collie puppies that Marallich had taken in.
As you can see, the cat bonded with them immediately (much to their confusion) – she even meowed when they cried for food, and licked their coats to soothe them.
“They were a bit confused about it initially and would move away from her, but she was persistent and kept going to groom them,” Marallich said. “They started to get used to her licking them and she just lay down with them and didn’t leave their side at all.”
Say it with me now – “awww…”
Once they all got used to each other, Katryn was even able to nurse the puppies since she was still lactating.
She was a very protective and dedicated mother to the pups, who have since found forever homes.
But have no fear, Katryn now has two new babies to look after – a pair of kittens that had been abandoned in a field. As as you might expect, she’s taking care of them just as she would her very own.
Upon hearing her story, many families were eager to adopt the sweet mother cat, but her foster mom is hanging onto her for now.
“She has got a lot of people interested in adopting her but, for now, she will remain with us and continue being a loving and caring mom to orphaned animals.”
And how could she not keep her after taking a photo as cute as this?!
It’s barely even hyperbole to say this might be one of the cutest things we’ve ever seen.
It’s clear that Katryn is enjoying being a mom these days – to any baby in need.
If you’d like to make a donation to Langebaan Animal Care and help animals like Kathryn, you can click here.
And be sure to scroll down to see an adorable video of Katryn with the Border Collie puppies.
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