Shea Prior first noticed a stray cat wandering through her yard a few months ago, and she was overjoyed when the adorable cat came near enough for Prior to feed her. She’d been feeding her for a few days when she discovered the cat was producing milk, indicating that she had kittens somewhere nearby.
“I was patting her and going to take her up when I discovered she had milk in her and had been feeding some babies,” Prior explained to The Dodo.
Prior was both delighted and anxious, and she wished she could assist the mama cat and her babies. She looked around but didn’t see any kittens, so she casually inquired of the mom cat where they were.
“I started telling her to show me her babies, and I bet her babies were so gorgeous,” Prior said in a Facebook post.
Prior walked out into her yard the next day to water the plants and noticed the mom cat racing toward her — and this time, she wasn’t alone.
“She ran up to me and rubbed on my leg while making her tiny croaking noise,” Prior explained. “She brought me over to my shed, where I noticed a couple of small fluffballs looking back at me.” She rolled onto her side and began shouting for everyone to come out and see me.”
The mom cat had learned to trust Prior and knew she would help keep her family safe, and she was so eager to show her off her five small kittens.
The kittens were first too terrified to come out of hiding — until their mother reassured them that it was all OK, and they were ultimately courageous enough to come out and greet Prior.
“One of the tiny gray ones was really bold and walked up to me with his little pointed tail lifted up high in the air and instantly let me stroke him,” Prior added. “After approximately 10 to 15 minutes, they all came up to me and let me hold them and pet them.”
Prior knew she had to assist them as soon as she saw the entire family, and she was able to bring them all safely inside her house. She’d found homes for all five kittens once they were old enough to be accepted, and she’d decided to adopt the mom cat herself.
Prior is overjoyed that the mom cat was courageous enough to bring her family to her, and now they’ll all have the best forever homes very soon.
