My cat, Princess Belle, had just been put down after a loving 16 years together, and I thought it would take a while for me to be ready for a new cat. The universe had other plans.

As I was carrying things into the house after my last vet visit with Princess, a very pregnant neighborhood stray walked in like she owned the place, sat down, and looked at me like she was waiting for me to put down a bowl of food. My Princess cat is in the trunk of the car, my heart is broken in a billion pieces, I’ve never been able to get near this stray before, and this mamma cat is now letting my twin 3-year-old children “pet” her like she’d been part of the family forever, patiently waiting for food.

I decided to keep her, and about a week later, Katie Kitty had five beautiful babies, two of which were white and fluffy with black eyeliner, just like my Princess, even though mamma was a calico. As soon as the kitties’ eyes opened, Momma started wanting back outside, didn’t let us pet her much anymore, and began being more like the stray I knew before.

I found loving homes for three of the kittens and a barn (owned by a large animal vet) for Momma. I kept the two white fluff ball fur twins, Yeti and George. (I will hug him and squeeze him and call him George… I did have twin 3-year-old children, too, after all!) I didn’t know my heart had room for more cats so quickly.

Princess and I had been through so much together. I’m glad the universe knew better.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story !