Despite looking different from the dozens of other cats she helped raise, Honeybun didn’t hesitate to care for an orphaned 6-week-old bobcat kitten. Honeybun believes that everyone deserves a loving mother and is up for the task.
Honeybun was rescued from a cat colony by trap-neuter-return organization Spicy Cats Rescue. Since she was pregnant, she was taken to their maternity suite to give birth.
But Honeybun never left. That’s because she’s helped to raise dozens of the rescue’s kittens as a surrogate cat mom.
The experiment
The folks at Spicy Cats Rescue had thought Honeybun’s mommy days were over and that she retired from her duties. But that all changed when they came across a special “kitten” who needed a mother’s touch.
The bobcat kitten was found and taken in by the Millstone Wildlife Center. They aimed to raise and rehabilitate the kitten so that she could be released back into the wild when she was old enough to fend for herself.
But the poor kitten wouldn’t stop crying when she was left on her own. She desperately wanted a companion. So, the wildlife center reached out to Spicy Cats Rescue for some help.
“We do our best to provide the best nutrition, habitat, and medical care for our animals. With animals that easily habituate, we need to be especially careful that they are not comfortable around humans,” Frannie of Millstone Wildlife Center told Love Meow. “That is tricky when you have a social animal that needs playtime, snuggle time, and a little help with grooming too.”
Spicy Cats Rescue had a feeling that Honeybun would be up for the task of taking care of the bobcat kitten.
“Honeybun was an easy pick, being so maternal and having raised probably dozens of kittens in the past,” Spicy Cats Rescue President Caroline said. “She is the most even-keeled cat ever. She’s not fazed by about anything.”
Honeybun calmly sat next to her new “kitten” in its carrier and waited for the bobcat to warm up to her. It didn’t take long for that to happen at all. The bobcat immediately turned her purr motor on.
Bobcat kitty love
“The bobkitten on the other hand was immediately over the moon and totally in love with her,” Caroline said.
Honeybun now has her paws full with the bobkitten, who likes to play rough, hug her, and nibble on her ears. But she doesn’t mind now that the kitty is no longer crying and lonely.
“They’ve been together a week tomorrow and are doing great. They snuggle, eat, and sleep together. The bobkitten tries to play with Honey all the time,” said Caroline.
Check out Spicy Cats Rescue and Millstone Wildlife Center on Facebook for updates.