Last year, frequent cat foster mama Erin Moore took in the tiniest cat she’d ever seen. At 8 weeks old, the kitten was barely the size of most 3-week-old cats.
“She literally fit in the palm of your hand,” Moore said in a video for The Dodo. “She was half the size of a water bottle.”
The kitten, named Mouse after her miniscule size, was the extreme runt of her litter. Because she was so small, many people told Moore they didn’t think the cat would make it past 6 months old. But Moore was determined to do everything she could to give the micro kitten a fighting chance.
“Despite Mouse’s tiny [stature], she came fully loaded with the sass and the attitude of a teenager,” Moore said.
While Moore was taking care of Mouse, she took in another foster cat named Coraline. Like Mouse, Coraline also needed special care — her eyes had ruptured and had to be surgically removed. While the surgery was a scary experience for Coraline, Moore could tell that she had a curious, resilient spirit.
“It was as though she knew that she had a life to live that was going to be better and bigger than the life she had with eyes,” Moore said.
As Mouse was working on growing and Coraline was working on navigating without sight, the two kittens formed a beautiful friendship. Moore watched in awe as Mouse led Coraline around the house, helping her feel more comfortable.
“Mouse will, time and time again, show her things without her having to see things,” Moore said. “She has guided her to an open window so that Coraline can smell outside.”
Before long, Coraline was running around, climbing the stairs and jumping up onto tall surfaces with ease. Meanwhile, the confidence Mouse gained through helping Coraline gave her the strength she needed to grow big and strong.
Moore was so touched by Mouse and Coraline’s special bond that she decided to adopt both of them. It’s now been a little over a year since she first took them in, and they’re both thriving — against all odds.
These days, Mouse and Coraline spend their days grooming each other, play-fighting and cuddling. And even though they’re both full-grown, self-assured cats now, they still find ways to take care of each other.
“It’s so unique to watch the relationship that they have,” Moore said. “Even though they are not from the same litter, they do not have the same history of deficits, they understand each other.”
