When a lovely white cat was discovered strolling the streets of Decatur, Texas, in March, she was brought to the county shelter, pregnant to the point of bursting.

Fortunately, Animal Allies of Texas moved fast to provide Holly, the cat, a foster home where she could give birth to her kittens. Holly, who is a year and a half old, gave birth to five kittens a few weeks later.

But that wasn’t all. A few days after Holly gave birth, three orphaned kittens arrived at the county shelter. They were 2 days old and needed a mom’s love and care to help them survive.

So rescuers brought the little cats to Holly, who immediately accepted the orphans as her own. For the following few weeks, Holly raised eight kittens.

However, due to birth abnormalities, one of Holly’s kittens became ill and died.

Janelle Weaver of Animal Allies of Texas said, “Holly took it hard and was clearly depressed for a long, which shows what a fantastic, caring, and dedicated parent she is and was.”

Holly had to say farewell to her other babies soon after, but for a better reason: she had successfully nurtured them to be healthy young cats who were soon adopted.

Everyone wants little babies and she has been passed over just because she is fully grown,” Marjorie Royal, area coordinator of Animal Allies of Texas, told.

This happens all too often to adult cats who need homes, and it’s especially sad when the adult cat is the mother of kittens who end up finding homes before her. All of Holly’s kittens found forever homes except for one, who is still waiting.

“From a stray cat to an incredible mother and now the sweetest little kitten anyone could ever wish… I’d like her to meet her forever family as soon as possible “Royal remarked. “This is the cutest tiny kitty I’ve ever seen.”