Ex-Stray Cat Starts Taking Care of Orphaned Kittens, Replacing Their Mother
By Holly and her family adopted Rigby six years ago from an Oklahoma shelter. They thought it was time to get Canon, their family cat, some feline company.
A year later Holly decided to become a foster parent to orphan kittens but little did she know that Rigby would take on a serious role in looking after them.
It all began when Rigby decided to visit the room where all the foster kittens were hanging out and they all ended up having a big snuggle together.
He then groomed all of the kittens from head to toe and hung out with them for the rest of the day.
When he realised that this was a regular thing, each time new the fosters arrived Rigby would take on the role of surrogate parent.
He looked after them as well as he could, showering them with love.
“When the babies don’t have a mom he will lay still while I drape bottles over his body and feed the orphans. They feel like they’re nursing. Occasionally, he’ll help potty them too,” explained Holly to Love Meow
This lovely ex-stray cat was obviously intuitive and knew exactly what the kittens needed.
And even when the whole family arrived including the mother cat, Rigby knew exactly what to do and made sure that the mother cat got all the space she needed.
When the kittens get older Rigby knows it’s time to play and he’s even cheeky enough to eat their kitten food.
Holly has found him to be an enormous help in looking after all of the kittens: “I’m able to test any foster cat on him to see if they’d accept another cat or not.”
The kittens adore Rigby and enjoy getting that extra dose of TLC from their favorite friend. They like to wrestle with his tail and ears until they are all tuckered out right next to him.
And likewise Rigby adores his serious role of chief babysitter and gets a lot of happiness just being in their company.
He truly is an exceptional cat.
You can see more of Rigby and Holly’s foster kittens on Instagram