Cats suffer somewhat of bad press.
Dogs are deemed man’s best friends because they’re always shuffling, snuffling, and tail-wagging – they’re over the moon the moment you enter through the door.
They’re easy to read because they’re wearing their emotions on their sleeves – or paws. They’d make terrible poker players because they’re so transparent.
Cats, however, seem to be the complete opposite.
They’re more sophisticated when showing off the range of emotions that overtakes them when they’re hunting, territory marking, or yowling for no apparent reason. They’re purring, kneading, and headbutting when they’re happy – but, there’s always a but…
Cats are creatures of consent, which seems to be why they’ve garnered a bad reputation. They’re often seen as reserved, detached, and standoffish because they attack when approached without consent.
They’re seen as cold and aloof because they’re self-sufficient. They’re portrayed as unfriendly and uncaring – but that’s far from the truth.
Cats might be more withdrawn than dogs, but that doesn’t mean that cats aren’t capable of showing care and compassion toward humans, cats, dogs, or any animal for that matter. Cat owners have seen evidence of that on more than one occasion – that’s why we’re obsessed with our fluffy friends.
No doubt you’ve heard plenty of tales about mother cats caring for orphaned kittens, puppies, and even chicks. Mother cats are overtaken with motherly emotions, and they’re more than willing to nurse poor orphans, whether they’re of the same species or not.
On the off chance that orphaned kittens are close to her kittens’ age, a mother cat might accept the newbies within seconds of being presented with them. Of course, there are situations when a cat might take more time to figure out whether she’s willing to become a foster mother.
On top of that, her physical and emotional health might play a part, too.
More often than not, though, mother cats are more than willing to show sympathy – and the story we’re bringing you today attests to that fact perfectly. Meet Ember, a mother cat who had recently suffered the loss of an entire litter of kittens and decided to nurse a tiny, sickly orphan back to health.
Starting from the beginning of the story, Ember was brought to the Atlanta Humane Society as a mother of an entire litter of kittens. Whoever decided to drop her off there made the right choice because the Atlanta Humane Society, unlike some of the other shelters, doesn’t condone putting sick animals to sleep.
Actually, the Atlanta Humane Society happens to be one of the oldest charities in Atlanta, Georgia, caring for animals for more than a hundred and fifty years. Moreover, the staff at the Atlanta Humane Society promise to provide shelter, veterinary care, and adoption to animals that end up at their doorstep.
Ember was over the moon when she arrived there, too. According to the staff, she was a happy and healthy mother cat that was trying to keep her kittens afloat. But her kittens were so sick that one by one they passed away.
Emeber was devastated and kept meowing for her kittens to come back. She kept looking for them around the shelter, meowing, yowling, and crying. She didn’t want to accept that they were gone.
But that’s when the shelter brought her a tiny, sickly kitten that needed a mother more than anything. Before that, the kitten was rescued off of the streets of Atlanta. He was weak, beaten down, and barely breathing. He was tiny – not only was he malnourished, but he was refusing to eat or drink anything.
He wasn’t going to survive, but the staff at the Atlanta Humane Society refused to give up.
A foster parent for AHS rushed to the shelter to take the kitten home and try to nurse the poor little thing back to health – but he needed more than human touch. He needed a mother. And the AHS staff thought of Ember right away.
She had suffered the loss of her litter recently, but she was still showing signs of motherly instinct. She craved her kittens and she couldn’t understand what had happened.
When Ember saw the orphaned kitten, there was no doubt that the staff made the right choice. She embraced Flame, as the staff decided to name the kitten, right away! She started grooming him, cuddling him, and letting him nurse.
Flame was smitten with Ember, too. He hopped on top of her and started licking her, “making muffins” on her, and hugging her. He was over the moon to have a mother – and there was no doubt he thought of her like that. He was eating like there was no tomorrow.
He started getting bigger and better from the moment he connected with Ember. He got more comfortable around the staff, too, and he had a big purrsonality. He was snuggling with everyone, taking more naps than he needed, and spending every moment of every waking hour with Ember.
No doubt that the two were the perfect match – they nursed each other back to health.
Now that they’re doing better, they’re up for adoption. Needless to say, the AHS staff hopes that the two will get adopted together because they’d be devasted without each other.
With Ember grieving the loss of her kittens and Flame the loss of his mother, there’s no doubt that the two were destined to stumble upon each other and create a family of their own.
We’d hate to see them apart, but there’s no way of knowing whether or not that’s going to happen. We’re rooting for you, Ember and Flame, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that you’re happy and healthy wherever you are!
