It was an eventful day in Hawaii when a Home Depot customer was surprised by three, beautiful kittens snuggled together in a piece of rented digging equipment.
However, this wasn’t the only surprise fate had in store for everyone.
Keep reading to discover how this shocking discovery led a local rescuer to witness a beautiful journey between a young mama cat and her kittens!
Calling for Help
Upon realizing the kittens were only a week old and would need extra special help, they were given to Bret Thompsett, an experienced cat rescuer and foster with Catopia Hawaii.
As fortune would have it, Bret received another call from Home Depot saying a mama cat had been spotted who appeared to be looking for her kittens.
Bret went to the Home Depot and set up a humane trap to capture the mysterious mama cat and bring her to safety.
Bret was successful! The mama cat was trapped and brought to his home where she would be reunited with her kittens.
“That area is really dangerous and busy. I’m so glad we managed to get her out of there,” said Bret.
However, Bret was confronted with a shocking realization: this cat wasn’t the mother of the three kittens he’d been bottle feeding.
The Truth Revealed
This cat couldn’t have been the mother of the bottle babies– she was still pregnant!
Her journey as a mama cat hadn’t even officially started.
“She was so far along in her pregnancy that she was about to burst,” Bret told Tale Tailz.
To Bret’s surprise, the mama cat couldn’t have been more loving and affectionate.
This cat had clearly been around humans, which led Bret to assume the sad truth.
“She was so friendly– she wasn’t feral at all. We think she was dumped,” Bret concluded.
Bret and his girlfriend named the mama cat Daenerys after the famous Game of Thrones character.
Miracle Babies
Within 5 days, Bret and his girlfriend witnessed the young mother give birth to 4 healthy kittens.
Like their mom, all of the kittens were named after Game of Thrones characters: Tyrion, Olenna, Arya, and Tormund.
“We call them the Game of Thrones kittens because their mother is Daenerys. In the show, Daenerys is known as the mother of dragons,” Bret explained.
Sadly, Daenerys didn’t bond with her second kitten, Tyrion. But as an experienced kitten rescuer, Bret had a plan.
He took Tyrion, wrapped him in a blanket, and kept him warm.
After 30 minutes, he returned Tyrion to his mom, hoping this time she would bond with her second born baby.
This time, Daenerys happily accepted her tiny baby boy. It was a success!
“She’s an amazing first time mom,” said Bret.
Tiny but Mighty
Day by day, the kittens grew bigger and stronger with the help of their amazing mother and the kind couple who had rescued her.
Each of the kittens had their own unique personalities that made them all the more precious and special.
“Olenna is super sassy and cuddly. She’s one of the prettiest cats I’ve ever seen and she knows it! She’s beautiful,” Bret gushed.
Tormund was the biggest kitten in the litter and his confidence matched his size.
“Tormund is also very snuggly. He wasn’t shy and confidently walked up to people. He was later adopted with Ash, one of our other fosters,” said Bret.
Tyrion and Arya are twin tuxedo cats. In fact, the only way Bret and his girlfriend could tell them apart was by looking at their eyebrows whiskers.
Tyrion had 2 eyebrow whiskers and Arya had 3. Other than that, they were identical.
“Tyrion and Arya will be adopted out as a pair. Not just because they’re twins, but because they’re very close,” said Bret.
All of the kittens were very active and playful. There was never a dull moment between the four of them.
“We have a cat wheel that they loved running and playing on,” said Bret.
Trouble in Paradise
When Olenna was about 3 weeks old, Bret and his girlfriend experienced a medical scare.
However, this scare ended with a valuable lesson they want to share with everyone in the cat community.
After noticing some concerning symptoms, Olenna was taken to the vet where she tested positive for feline panleukopenia, a highly contagious and deadly virus.
Bret and his girlfriend were devastated.
“Panleukopenia has a 95% death rate. It’s a death sentence, especially for kittens as young and vulnerable as the ones we were fostering. We were terrified,” Bret recalled.
However, the couple wasn’t ready to give up so soon.
They went home and followed the emergency protocol, isolating all of their foster cats to prevent the spread of the disease.
A Lesson Learned
They scheduled an appointment with another vet, this time taking Daenerys and Arya.
Arya tested negative and Daenerys’s results came back as a weak positive. Something wasn’t adding up.
If any of the cats had tested positive, that would have meant all of them should test positive– but this wasn’t the case.
Bret and his girlfriend waited to see what would happen while taking special safety precautions and watching the little family closely.
Thankfully, nothing happened. Olenna’s symptoms cleared up and all of the cats continued to grow and live normally.
Bret suspects some of the cats were diagnosed with false positives due to faulty testing.
“Imagine how many cats and kittens are euthanized because of false positives. Always seek a second opinion,” Bret warned.
Happily Ever After
Soon, the kittens were ready to find their forever families. All of Bret’s foster cats are spayed, neutered, and fully vetted before adoption.
Bret made sure Daenerys and each of her kittens were adopted by wonderful families.
Daenerys in particular will never have to worry about being a young mother living on the streets ever again.
Now that she is spayed, she can focus on being showered with love and attention from her new family as a happy, healthy cat.
About Our Hero
Bret Thompsett is self-funded volunteer for Catopia Hawaii. He rescues cats from some of the most heartbreaking conditions in a region where resources for animal welfare are limited.
Thanks to Bret, Daenerys and her kittens are alive and well. Without his help, many cats and kittens would suffer a terrible fate.
Please follow Bret on Instagram to keep up with his adorable rescue cats and learn how to support his lifesaving rescue missions.
