Xeno and Ripley do everything together – they sleep together, eat together, play together, and are currently rearing their eight kittens together.
“They are inseparable sisters who even go around with their tails linked,” Sarah MacLeod, a volunteer at Exploits Valley SPCA, revealed in an interview.
The young mums came to Exploits Valley SPCA in late September. Both cats were under a year old and only weighed approximately 4 pounds when they were rescued and taken to the shelter by volunteers with Boyd’s Cove TNR Project.
The co-parenting mothers moved into a big room with enough toys and nice bedding to keep them comfortable, and today the tiny family is flourishing.
The mothers realize that raising a brood this huge is a two-cat job.
“Their kids required a few additional weeks to develop, so we’ve kept them in a room to ourselves and have been continually amused by them,” MacLeod added. “They share the kittens entirely – one minute all eight may be feeding from either mom.”
The two litters are so linked that there’s no way to identify which kitten belongs to either mom, and that’s exactly the way Xeno and Ripley prefer it.
When the mom cats aren’t busy caring for their rowdy kittens, they may be seen standing side by side, peering out the window of their chamber, hoping a possible adoptive goes by.
“They adore looking out the glass door into the hallway,” MacLeod added. “They enjoy people and attention!”
A handful of the kittens have families eager to take them home, but, tragically, neither mom has received a single application.
The shelter wants to locate Xeno and Ripley a loving family who’ll open their hearts and home to both moms.
It’s evident to everyone at the shelter that these cats are connected for life and eager to offer all their love and snuggles to their forever home.
