Not so long ago, a tortie Mom Cat and her teeny kittens were found beneath a porch near Bent School, a grade school in Bloomington, IL. Some of the students became enamored of the kitty family, visited them several times daily, and eagerly watched them grow.

But one day, the kittens were gone. The kids were frantic. Mom Cat was still there, pacing, glassy-eyed, searching for her kits.

The kids assumed the litter had died, and were worried that Mom Cat might be hit by a car while searching for her brood. They convinced a neighbor woman who happens to rescue cats to foster Mom Cat and find her a good home.

Meanwhile, it was also a sad day for some of the neighborhood adults. You see, they, too, had found the litter of four kittens and fallen in love with them, just as the schoolchildren had.

But they encountered a different problem. They noticed that Mom Cat was no longer around, and the kittens were getting very hungry. They feared the worst — that Mom Cat had perished — so Sharon Burris pulled the kits from beneath the porch, put them in a blanket, purchased bottles and formula, and took them to Paradise Pet and Day Spa in Bloomington, where owner Kathy Sieraski, agreed to feed them and keep them alive, even returning at 2 a.m. to make sure they were OK.

So, all were safe. It was happy ending. Sorta-kinda.

But, wait. There’s more…

Connie Burchette, a crossing guard at Bent School, knows everything about everything, since she chats up the parents and students as they wait to cross the street.

As it happens, she heard some adults discussing the rescue of some orphaned kittens. And, she heard some students bemoaning the fact that a mother cat had lost her babies.

Connie pieced the puzzle together, realizing that both groups had rescued Mom Cat and kits from harm without the others’ knowledge.

The Mom Cat’s foster mother was contacted. She still had Mom Cat. Sharon jumped to action and picked up Mom Cat, then sped across town to reunite her with her kittens.

According to Sharon, the moment that Mom Cat spotted her kittens, “it was amazing. She ran to them and began licking them and kneading them.” And the kittens ran to her, “cuddled next” to her and went to work suckling for their dinner.

Sharon and Kathy were transfixed, Sharon said, tears welling in their eyes.

As the word spread the next day at school, the concerned schoolkids had the same reaction. Tears of joy.

Watch the video here.

Want to give a kitty a home?

Call Paradise at (309) 662-0880. It has five especially cherished, especially well-traveled ones, to offer.

[LINK: pantagraph.com]

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• Millie the Tortie, Missing 2 Months, Found Buried in Snowbank
• Bilbo Baggins Believed Shot, but Found via Microchip
• Frozen Tuxie Kitten Pulled from Storm Drain
• Oreo the Cat Foils Kidnapping