Scared Cat Rescued After Giving Birth in a Car

There’s no doubt that fostering saves and changes the lives of cats. For Serenity, it was the fresh start she needed.

While living in a car with a man and his 15 other cats, Serenity gave birth during an ice storm. Her previous owner reached out for help, and Serenity was placed with a kind, patient foster to care for her and her kittens.

Now, she’s hoping to find her forever home.

Living in a car

Serenity the cat had a difficult life. She lived in a car with her previous owner and 15 other cats, where she gave birth to three kittens. When an ice storm hit the area, he was prompted to ask for help.

“Karen from PDX cat trapper reached out and asked me if I could help, and of course I said yes,” said Dr. Jessica Thompson, DVM. She was Serenity and her kittens’ first foster parent.

Shut down with fear

The first thing that Dr. Thompson noticed about Serenity was her fear. She would curl up as far from humans as possible and didn’t want to be touched.

Another challenge was that she didn’t have any interest in her kittens. She was too stressed and had completely shut down. On top of trying to get mama cat to come out of her shell, the kittens needed to be monitored and bottle fed.

Unfortunately, kittens who aren’t receiving care from their mother have a poor survival rate, even with human interference. Dr. Thompson did what she could to care for them, but two of the three didn’t survive.

Slow improvements

Slowly, Serenity came around. She began cleaning her remaining kitten, Phoenix, and allowing her to nurse.

Once they were ready, Serenity and Phoenix were sent to a new foster home together. Serenity now allows people to pet her, and Phoenix is a bouncy kitten who loves the large amount of space that her new foster home provides. Dr. Thompson hopes they’ll be adopted by the same family since Serenity already lost two of her kittens.

Her dream is that the cats go on to live a life of luxury, with plenty of space, window perches, and tons of love. It can be difficult to watch a cat come so far and then say goodbye, but that’s the goal of fostering cats. Each cat who finds their forever home makes space for another cat to be fostered.

That said, Serenity and Phoenix are very special to Dr. Thompson and she’s working hard to find the perfect home for them.

In the meantime, she’s gone on to continue fostering more cats. You can see her great work on Instagram.

The need for cat foster parents

If you’ve been inspired by Serenity and Dr. Thompson’s story, you may consider fostering a cat or kittens yourself. Most shelters and rescues have a huge need for people who can house their cats until they find forever homes.

This frees up space in the shelter and can help cats who are shut down like Serenity or need some extra socialization to become adoptable. It’s also a great alternative for those who would love to adopt, but can’t commit long-term.

To get started, reach out to your local shelter or cat rescue groups. Even if they don’t need help themselves, they can likely point you in the right direction.