Two feline sisters who had a rough beginning to life, found a blind cat to lean on. He taught them how to trust and love.
A month ago, the ginger sisters, Thelma and Louise, were taken in by Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation (in Fairfax, Virginia), in need of a foster home.
Jen, a volunteer of the rescue, offered to foster them so they could get a better chance at life. "When they arrived, they had fleas, upper respiratory infections, worms, and a very bad ear mite infestation," Jen told Love Meow.
"On top of that, Thelma was pretty much petrified by humans,"
Jen spent the first two weeks nursing the kittens back to health. Little Thelma was the weaker of the two. "I had to give her several medications every day and a bath every few days."
When they were finally flea-free and healthy, Jen decided to introduce them to the bigger cats. "I was hoping that the adult cats would teach them confidence and show Thelma that humans could be trusted," she added.
Jen has two other fosters, Bop the blind cat and his brother Boop. When she let them hang out together in the foster room, she was surprised by how the shyest kitten reacted.
"The girls, especially Thelma, took to Bop immediately. From that very first day, they started following him around and trying to get him to snuggle with them," Jen said.
The kittens found comfort from their big brother from another mother. They clung to his presence and became his tiny ginger shadows.
Bop was curious about the feline sisters. He sniffed them to tell them apart and would stay close to the girls to listen to them play.
"He is an incredibly curious, gentle, and outgoing cat - I'm not at all surprised that he took to the kittens as quickly as he did, but I was surprised by how quickly they took to him," Jen said.
"There are four other cats in the house, but Bop is their absolute favorite."
When Bop hears the kittens wrestling, chasing each other or scampering about, he trots over to check things out.
"He sits very close to them and listens to them play, sometimes joining in," Jen added.
The trio is always together. Bop loves to be involved in whatever they are doing. And the girls, especially Thelma, wouldn't let their big brother out of eyeshot.
"She always wants to know where Bop is and see if they can convince him to play or groom."
The shy kitty has blossomed into a brave little girl and a lovebug.
"Getting to know Bop and the other confident cats in the house has helped Thelma immensely," Jen said.
"She is no longer shy with her foster family and struts around the house with her tail held high! She now actively seeks out affection and even curls up next to me at night.
"I'm so grateful to Bop for helping Thelma come out of her shell, and I am absolutely delighted to see how naturally Bop has taken to fostering."
Follow Bop, Thelma and Louise on Instagram @pokeypotpie.
Watch their journey in this cute video:
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