Three kittens from the same litter were found together, curled up in one tight lump. Two of the kittens cuddled on different sides with the third white kitten. The white baby was shivering desperately, and the others were trying to keep her warm and safe.
On a hot summer day, Megan Sorbara went out for ice cream and got a message about three little kittens who needed help. As soon as she saw the babies, she knew something was wrong.
The two kittens were diligently warming their shivering sister.
“I felt they were doing it consciously,” states Sorbara, president of the Alliance for Animal Welfare in Naples.
She soon realized that the little white kitten could barely walk on her own. And the other two kittens were doing their best to help their little sister stay in a comfortable body position longer.
The woman brought the kittens to the Alliance’s facility, where they could get the help they needed. The white little one needed medical attention more than the others; she seemed to have serious problems with her coordination of movements.
“Her head is distinctly tilted sideways, but she also has a very healthy appetite. When she wants to eat, she manages to keep her head in position.”
They named the two kittens Praline and Pistachio, and their little sister Coconut. Sorbara was on round-the-clock duty near the babies, feeding them from a bottle. The two kittens still stayed close to their sister, only now they were also purring with pleasure.
The babies needed a mother, so rescuers began searching for the parent cat at the spot where the brood had been found earlier.
“We came every night, but she felt ambushed and never showed up,” Sorbara says.
“We’ve caught animals in this place before; the cat we want has apparently witnessed these scenes more than once. Of course, that made her very cautious.”
Bitsy, Sorbara’s dog and also a big cat fan, voluntarily took the little kittens into her care and began to take care of them.
Thanks to Bitsy, Coconut has started to feel better and better.
“Every day she gets stronger and can hold her head up a little bit higher than the day before.”
Coconut adores his dog sitter, constantly kissing her and rubbing her forehead. And Bitsy regularly makes the kitten get up, stretch, and walk.
While Sorbara took care of the found babies, at the same time she continued to search for Mama Cat with her team. Everyone in the Alliance wanted to rebuild this inadvertently disintegrated family, to find them a permanent home with good food and caring owners.
“They’re still curled up in a ball around Coconut. It’s so cute.”
After a while, people finally found the elusive mother and returned her to her children.
“The moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived! Coconut, Pistachio and Praline were reunited with their mother, whom we named Vanilla Bean.”
Coconut has fully recovered and is more playful than ever.
Eventually they all found permanent homes and owners.
Sorbara took them all in: Praline, Coconut, and Pistachio. Look at them grow up!
