Xeno and Ripley share everything: they sleep, eat, play, and are currently rearing their eight kittens together.
“They’re inseparable sisters,” Sarah MacLeod, a volunteer at the Exploits Valley SPCA, told The Dodo.
In late September, the young mothers arrived to the Exploits Valley SPCA. Both cats were less than a year old and weighed less than four pounds when they were rescued and transferred to the shelter by volunteers from a local rescue group.
The co-parenting moms moved into a large room with many of toys and nice bedding, and the tiny family is now prospering.
The moms know that raising a family this big is a two-cat job.
“Their babies needed a few extra weeks to grow, so we’ve had them in a room to themselves and have been constantly entertained by them,” MacLeod said. “They share the kittens completely — one minute all eight could be nursing from either mom.”
The two litters are so intertwined that it’s impossible to identify which kitten belongs to either mother, which is exactly how Xeno and Ripley like it.
When the mom cats aren’t caring for their rowdy babies, they may be found standing side by side at their room’s window, waiting to see a possible adoptive go by.
