Laura Malone, director of Mini Cat Town, was taken aback by how beautiful a litter of rare chocolate-colored kittens was. So, it was only fitting for her to give them the most adorable names ever.
Malone took in the mom and her four kittens, who were brought to a local San Jose, CA shelter, and fostered them in her home.
The family seemed like they had been cared for by humans at one point. However, mom’s paw pads were dry, suggesting that she spent a good amount of time outdoors.
Rare family
Each of the mother’s kittens, which were all female, had a gorgeous chocolate or cinnamon-colored fur coat. Two of them were solid colored.
The other two had white socks or white markings on the face or chest.
All of their noses and paw pads were a pinkish-brown color. This lead Malone to believe that their fur will likely stay brown in color, instead of darkening to black like their mom’s.
“If that is true, they’ll be extremely unique!” Malone told Love Meow. “They are pretty rare, especially in shelter or rescue cats.”
Mom was very uneasy when she first arrived at her foster home. But she lightened up a bit when she realized that she and her kittens were safe.
“The first night, she was growling so much at every noise and movement, making unwavering eye contact, and standing so defensively,” Malone said. “After a little while, I realized she was just being vocal by letting me know she was scared and feeling protective of her kittens, but she herself wanted human interaction and pets.”
Malone named the long-haired momma cat Mars and her babies Hershey, Reese’s (a.k.a. Reese), Twix, and Baby Ruth. Mars eventually got so comfortable in the foster home that she let the humans help out with her babies.
The babies grew rapidly and started to venture around their surroundings on their own and away from their mom. They each grew their own personalities and looks.
“Hershey has a big old round head. Baby Ruth is the smallest and has a narrower face and more almond-shaped eyes. Twix has a little white chin. Reese has a white spot near her nose and is so far the most outgoing of the kittens – always the first to venture to the open door,” Malone said.
Mars has also grown a lot in her time during the foster home. She became a regular snuggle bug.
“When she first arrived, I made it a habit to always say, ‘hello Mama,’ when I opened the door. I wanted her to get used to the sound of my voice,” Malone said. “Now when I enter the room, her head pops up out of the carrier and she comes running out to greet me! And then she follows me around and rubs my legs while I prepare her food.”
All grown up
Mars babies became more and more independent, to the dismay of their mother.
“I can tell Mars is the kind of Mom who wishes her babies would always stay little, but these kittens are starting to be on the go!”
You can follow Malone’s rescues on Facebook at Foster Kitty Family.