Kitten season strikes again. This time it was an abandoned litter of newborn babies that were left at a clinic in Chicago run by PAWS Chicago. They are the cities largest No Kill organization so thankfully the kittens were in good hands. But caring for bottle babies is not simple at any stage. They must be fed every 2-3 hours, yes, even through the night. This is why it’s always so important to keep newborns with their mothers if possible. However, it’s not always an option. Except this time, a unique resolution became available and you can’t deny fate may have been involved!
Acorn Arrives Just in Time
The day before the babes were abandoned, another deserving soul was saved by the rescue. Acorn was an absolute loving sweetheart that they had pulled from Chicago Animal Care and Control. She was beyond grateful for her rescuers, flopping and welcoming pets. But they noticed something about the attentive feline.
She appeared to be recently postpartum, but had no babies with her when she came to CACC.
Sadly, unfixed cats can give birth as young as 4 month of age and up to 3 times a year. With no health monitoring for strays, many litters do not survive on the streets. And then there are the “rescuers” that will “save” kittens and leave the mothers behind. Without sterilizing the mother and father cats…they are left to breed unchecked. Meaning that health issues are more prevalent and more litters will probably be left at shelters and clinics like in this situation. 
But this time, Acorn was ready and willing to step in with all four paws and help. 
Are You Our Mama?
In some cases, abandoned babies can be welcomed by another nursing cat. And here, Acorn had no babies of her own to care for, so the shelter decided the felines may be each others best bet to heal. They introduced the neonates to Acorn and watched a miracle in real time. She readily accepted them and the entire troop was off to a foster home together.
Neonate care is a million times easier with a mom involved, and we were able to get them all into a foster home right away. Acorn ended up needing some help caring for all six babies, and our foster network stepped up to bottle feed part of the litter so Acorn wouldn’t be overwhelmed.
After about a month in foster care, the entire clowder was healthy, happy and growing into their fluff. And with the attentive cat mom to help guide them, the kittens thrived. They were all given cowboy/wild west names; Banjo, Star, Rodeo, Pony, Lasso, and Cowboy.
But time passes quickly and Acorn was ready to retire from her duties.
Contrary to odd beliefs, female cats do NOT want to be baby machines. There is no “let them have one litter so they feel complete and then spay them”. Honestly, one of the most baffling things we’ve heard ever. Regardless, this was Acorns last time as a nursing station. And she deserved to get to be a kitten herself. So once the kittens were old enough to be weaned, she was fixed. It’s so important for her health as well. 
Acorn has ~respectfully resigned~ from motherhood, but she got these kittens through their most vulnerable weeks and we are so grateful to her for that ❤️
With their new lives ahead of them, it was time for them to find purrmanent homes. It didn’t take long!!! The best news is that Acorn herself even got adopted less than 2 weeks after the rescue posted her story! All of the kittens have thankfully found homes as well.
Be sure to follow PAWSChicago online for more cute faces and adoptable pets!
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