With 10 tiny mouths to feed, rescue cat Molly has her work cut out for her.
But behind this super-cute scene is a tragic furry story – as three of the kittens are her orphaned grandchildren.
The trio lost their mum, Polly, soon after they were born.
But as gran Molly had a new litter of seven herself, she was able to step in.
She fed, washed and cared for them alongside her brood, keeping them warm and safe as if they were her own.
Strays Molly and Polly were both heavily pregnant when they came into the care of Cats Protection back in July.
They gave birth 24 hours apart.
Welfare officer Barbara Featherstone stayed up through the night delivering the tiny kittens.
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At six months old and really just a kitten herself, Polly had five babies. Sadly two didn’t survive – and then poor Polly became ill.
After a visit to the vets, it was discovered she was suffering from lymphoma, a form of cancer, and had to be put to sleep.
But Molly proved that when tragedy strikes, relatives do rally round – and her grandkittens thrived.
Molly’s parenting duties came to a natural end recently and she has been successfully rehomed, with three of her kittens reserved for adoption.
That leaves seven of them in need of new homes.
Barbara, based at the charity’s Gateshead and Newcastle branch, said: “While the kittens are undeniably adorable, we are desperate to highlight the importance of neutering.
“This will help to reduce the number of unwanted litters, and will benefit female cats.
“Those that are neutered cannot develop a cancer of the ovaries or uterus, and they are also at greatly reduced risk of developing mammary cancer.
“There’s a myth that female cats need ‘just one litter’ before being spayed but this simply isn’t true.
“We would urge cat owners to neuter their pets from four months old to avoid a similar situation happening again.”
- If you would like to adopt any of the kittens, call 03000 12 12 12. Other
cats in need of new homes can be found at cats.org.uk/adopt-a-cat . Further advice on neutering, including financial assistance for owners on limited incomes, is at cats.org.uk/neutering .
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