A mother cat was found nursing five hungry kittens despite carrying a wound no one around her knew about yet, and the moment a rescue reached her, they understood exactly what kind of cat they were dealing with.
Momma MuffinCredit: Merced SPCA
The call came in to Merced SPCA, based in Merced, California. Details arose about a friendly stray mother cat and her tiny kittens, no longer welcome where they had been living. The property owners wanted the family gone and were attempting to use unconventional means to scare them off.
Mom never stopped caring for her kittens. She kept nursing them, protecting them, and doing everything she could to keep them safe until rescuers pulled the entire family to safety within the same hour.
The sweetness she showed the people who found her, despite everything she had just survived, caught nearly everyone off guard.
Credit: Merced SPCA
"One of the things that touched us most was how incredibly sweet Momma Muffin was from the very beginning," Lyric, of Merced SPCA, shared with LoveMeow. "Even after everything she'd been through, she greeted us with kindness and trusted us almost immediately."
The rescue named the family the Breakfast Bunch, since everyone got a breakfast-themed name. Mom is Muffin, and her five kittens were Waffles, Pancake, Omelet, Biscuit, and Toast.
Waffles, Pancake, Omelet, Biscuit, and ToastCredit: Merced SPCA
All five kittens were extremely emaciated on intake, showing signs of illness and in urgent need of nutritious food, medical care, and medication. When the rescue's veterinarian examined Muffin the next day, they found something the team had not expected.
She had been shot with a BB gun just days before her rescue. Although it didn't faze Muffin, the rescue team knew she needed extra care.
Pancake, the smallest and sickest of the litter, did not survive. "She was tiny. She was sick. She was severely emaciated. She never got the chance to be a kitten," the rescue shared with great compassion.
Losing her was heartbreaking for the whole team and for her foster family. Her short life was filled with love, warmth, and safety, and she remains part of the Breakfast Bunch. "Rest easy, little Pancake," the rescue wrote. "You were loved, and you mattered more than you'll ever know."
Credit: Merced SPCA
Once vets confirmed a BB pellet was still lodged in Muffin's body, the rescue team made preparations for surgery. The community responded quickly, with donations coming in from people who had been following her story. When the day finally came, veterinarians expected to find one pellet. They found three!
While she was under anesthesia, she was also spayed and vaccinated, giving her a fresh start in a single visit instead of needing another procedure down the road.
Credit: Merced SPCA
"The biggest change we've seen is how relaxed she's become," Lyric shared. "She no longer has to worry about protecting her babies every second of the day." For the first time since anyone can remember, her only job is to be a cat.
She has taken to claiming the softest bed in the room before anyone else can, and she has turned out to be unapologetically food-motivated, the kind of cat who hears a treat packet crinkle from another room and comes running. Toys that would have meant nothing to a mother watching five hungry mouths now hold her attention for as long as anyone will play with her.
Credit: Merced SPCA
She still checks on her kittens constantly. It is instinct more than necessity now, a habit built during weeks when checking on them was the only thing standing between her babies and disaster, and it has not left her just because the danger has.
Watching her play and enjoy being a cat for the first time has been one of the most rewarding parts of her recovery for the people caring for her.
Waffles, Omelet, Biscuit, and ToastCredit: Merced SPCA
The rest of the Breakfast Bunch is thriving. Waffles, Omelet, Biscuit, and Toast are growing into happy, playful kittens with personalities of their own. Toast in particular has become the instigator of every wrestling match, launching at a sibling without warning and immediately looking pleased about it. With all four of them flourishing, Momma Muffin has finally been able to put her energy toward healing instead of watching every corner of the room.
Momma Muffin spent weeks with nothing standing between her kittens and the world except her own body. Now, for the first time, it is her turn to be looked after.
Credit: Merced SPCA
Share this story with your friends. View more on Momma Muffin, the Breakfast Bunch, and Merced SPCA on Instagram @mercedspca and Facebook.
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