A tale of two mums: Holly and Eve's story

It’s not often we take in an entire family of cats at once, but Holly and Eve changed that with their arrival!

Pregnant, scared, and alone except for each other, these two were spotted hiding for weeks in a member of the public's back garden. Eventually, the finder realised that the two cats were no longer alone – they’d had 10 kittens between them. When the kittens were a week old, the finder managed to trap them all and brought them to our Māngere Centre.

Even through the cats’ obvious fear and stress, our Centre team could see that they had a special bond. Holly and Eve were a co-parenting dream team, sharing the duties of motherhood and caring for all 10 kittens as a pair. It was apparent that they were both nursing all the kittens, with no separation of litters – they’d created one big family, and they were raising them together.

Holly and Eve were immediately stressed by the Centre environment, and with so many kittens between them, they needed a calm place to begin their next chapter. Luckily for them, foster parent Sylvia stepped up to the challenge.

Sylvia and her husband had been fostering with SPCA for over a year, their journey beginning after a visit to a cat café inspired them to transform their spare room into a dedicated haven for foster cats in need. Sylvia's motto had previously been “the more the merrier,” and we decided to test this out with Holly, Eve, and their kittens!

Sylvia quickly noted the mums’ love and care for all the kittens, and how well they shared their new mum duties. “This litter was so lucky to have two mums,” she tells us. “They were the cutest blended family, [often] all huddled up together. It was one really big cuddle puddle!”

Sylvia noted that Eve was friendly and confident from the start, whereas Holly was shy and nervous. Each day, she and her husband would find that the mums had relocated the kittens as they became more comfortable in their space and had started exploring different parts of the room. They were both gaining confidence – in motherhood, and in general!

Continuing the intentionally Christmas-themed names, the kittens were named Faith, Hope, Aroha, Kris, Nic, Jack, Rudy, Herald, Bailey, and Elfie. Once they were around 6 weeks old, Sylvia says, is when “the real fun began!”

“They were confidently running and playing between the cat room and our main bedroom, as they began to need a lot more space,” Sylvia says. “Their poor mums couldn't keep up with all of them! It was funny listening to Holly and Eve communicate in their cat language, moaning at their kids to behave.”

Sylvia’s husband built an extended cat tree house and slide to create new ways for the kittens to play and climb. This quickly became the favourite spot for both mums and their ten kittens, with everyone often piling on together.

When the time came to return the kittens to SPCA so they could prepare for adoption, Sylvia was concerned that Holly and Eve would be anxious without them. But to her surprise, they did just fine in only each other's company – and even seemed a bit relieved that they could finally rest and relax!

“They became very sweet and affectionate,” Sylvia tells us. “It’s like they get to be kids again themselves, because they can play and enjoy life with one another now that their mum duties are officially over!”

“They have such a lovely bond with everything they’ve been through together,” says Sylvia. “It’s been such a joy having this unique experience.”

Holly and Eve are now ready to find their forever home – together. Our feline team writes that “they bring out the best in each other,” and they should go to a home where they can continue their favourite activities – snoozing, watching birds from the window, and climbing cat towers – as a bonded pair.

Do you think you could offer these two mums a peaceful, happy place to start their next chapter together? If so, our Māngere Centre would love to hear from you.