Without a mother’s milk, Flora had all the odds stacked against her. Katerina, a foster volunteer, started intensive care on the kitten and used her own body heat to keep the little one warm and comforted around the clock.
“She was just 72 grams when she was born, and almost didn’t make it despite intensive care overnight just to see her live till morning when we could rush to the vet,” Katerina told Love Meow.
It was touch and go for a while, but her foster mom was determined to nurse her back to health. After many sleepless nights and painstaking care, the kitten started to perk up. “Flora fought her way through her crashing thanks to an enormous effort from Kat,” Jenny Storaker, co-director of CatRescue 901, shared with Love Meow.
At one week old, the tabby was still smaller than a typical newborn kitten.
Kat’s resident cat Sabrina, who is also a rescue, came to give the kitten some much-needed TLC. She would cuddle with the feline baby and bathe her after feedings. “It helped Flora’s development and will to live thinking she had a mother,” Jenny wrote.
“At two weeks old, she was the size of a healthy two day old kitten, and at three weeks old, she was a week behind expected weight for her age, but I think that’s when I started relaxing a little bit because she was steadily, albeit slowly, gaining weight,” Katerina shared with Love Meow.
“She was growing and gaining weight but small in size and a bit developmentally delayed, but she caught up with her milestones by six weeks.”
Flora still had a lot of growing to do, but the little miracle kitty was getting more playful and curious each day. With her new-found energy, her personality was shining through.
“When she recovered from calicivirus and we saw how strong and resilient she was, it was a huge relief,” Katerina told Love Meow.
“At that point she was just like every other kitten we had fostered, just extra special, and I could work my hardest to find her the perfect family.”
Flora completely outgrew her trusty teddy bear that she’d cuddled since day one. She was thriving in foster care and becoming quite the love-bug.
Around that time, CatRescue 901 took in two kittens (Reuben and Finn) that were found wandering the streets in poor shape. Both of them had severe eye infections and had to have one of their eyes removed.
“These guys arrived hissing and very unhappy but with a lot of patience and help, they became little purry wonders,” Jenny shared with Love Meow.
One of the kittens, Finn, quickly found a loving home, and the other one-eyed wonder, Reuben, who was recovering from his eye surgery, was in need of a buddy. They decided to pair him up with Flora and hoped they would accept each other.
Once the two young cats were used to each other’s scent, they quickly hit it off and became close friends.
After Flora was spayed, even the cone-of-shame couldn’t stop her from cuddling with her foster brother and showering him with love.
They were constantly together, grooming each other and snuggling up a storm.
Their friendship continued to blossom in foster care, and when they were ready to find their forever home, the rescue knew that they had to stay together.
After a long journey, Flora and Reuben (now renamed Dylan and Elroy) were officially adopted together.
Their new mom Charlie was completely smitten with the pair, and amazed by how sweet their bond was from the beginning.
Elroy likes to follow his sister everywhere around the house, being her most loyal companion.
When Dylan lounges by the window, watching the day go by, her one-eyed brother comes running and joins right in.
The two kitties have come a long way since they were rescued. Both had a rough start in life but pulled through with the help of their loving foster families.
“It’s lovely to see them all grown up and clearly very happy and well looked after,” Jenny shared.
These adorable feline friends have blossomed into gorgeous cats. They are loving their VIP life and so happy to have each other forever.
Source: lovemeow.com
