Xeno and Ripley do everything together as they sleep together, eat together, play together and currently raise eight kittens together. Sarah MacLeod, a volunteer at Exploits Valley SPCA, said: ‘They are inseparable sisters, they even wrap their tails when they go around.
Young mothers come to Exploits Valley SPCA at the end of September. Both cats were under a year old and weighed only about 4 pounds when they were rescued by local rescue volunteers and transported to the shelter. The co-parenting mothers have moved into a spacious room with lots of toys and cozy bedding to keep them comfortable, and now the small family is thriving.
Moms know that raising a large family like this is a two-cat job.
MacLeod says: “Their babies need a few extra weeks to grow up, so we put them in their own rooms and entertain them regularly. “They totally share the kittens – in one minute all eight can be fed from either mother.”
The two litters are so bonded together that there’s no way to tell which kitten belongs to which mother, and that’s just the way Xeno and Ripley like it.
When mother cats are not busy tending to their hyperactive kittens, one can see them standing side by side, looking out their room windows, hoping a potential adopter will pass by.
“They love looking out the window into the hallway,” says MacLeod. “They adore people and attention!”. A few kittens already have families ready to take them home, but sadly, neither the mother cat received any applications”.
The shelter hopes to find Xeno and Ripley a loving family who will open their hearts and become a home for both mothers. It is clear to everyone in the shelter that these cats are attached for life and are willing to give all the love and cuddles to their forever family.