When Charlie and his three siblings were just a few days old, they were discovered âbаndơnеd in a locked box at a campsite. It was one of the hottest summer days, and the poor newborn kittens had no chance of getting away. Fortunately, they were located before it was too late, and after seeing no mom cat, they were sent to a local foster home.
The kittens had to be bottle-fed 24 hours a day, and despite a rocky start in life, they gradually grew and regained strength. Except for Charlie, when they were old enough to be adơрted, they were sent off to their permanent families one by one.
When no one wanted to take Charlie, the mother who was fostering the kittens asked her daughter if she wanted to adơрt him. She said yes right away, and the two have been together ever since.
Charlie’s mother, Chandler Alteri, told The Dodo, “He’s the most loving, trusting, the friendly cat I’ve ever been around.” “As soon as I walk in the door from work, he dashes to the door and stands on his rear legs, waiting for me to take him up and embrace him. He adores being hugged and cuddled. He gets along well with kids, dogs, strangers, and, above all, other kittens and cats.”
Alteri soon decided, likе her mother, to try fostering because it was something she’d always wanted to do. She called the ASPCA and adơрted Bitsy and Jitterbug, her first two foster kittens. She kept the kittens in the bathroom at first since she wasn’t sure how Charlie would respond to their sharing his home. But, as it turned out, she had nothing to be concerned about.
“He was ecstatic to see them inside,” Alteri added. “When I eventually let him into the bathroom, he began washing the kittens right away.” For weeks, I observed as he looked after them and helped them come out of their shell. It was unlikе anything I’d ever seen before. They were first wary, but as they grew to love Charlie and Charlie to adore me, they started to trust me.”
Bitsy and Jitterbug were ready to find their permanent homes with Charlie’s support and direction, and Alteri recognized she and Charlie had discovered their vocation. They’ve already fostered roughly 25 kittens, and Charlie has loved and cared for them all as if they were his own children.
“Charlie enjoys bathing and snuggling with the kittens,” Alteri remarked. “He even lets them pretend to be nurses!” With them, he also enjoys playing hide-and-seek. He’ll go hide somewhere in the apartment, meow, and then rush out of his hiding position and leap over them when he hears them approaching! It’s just funny!”
Because Charlie is a male cat, many people are startled by his conduct, but whenever he sees a new small foster kitten in need of love and attention, his paternal instincts kick in, and he becomes the finest adơрtive dad anybody has ever seen. The foster kittens benefit greatly from having Charlie around to help them learn and grow, and it makes them more adơрtable.
Adi Hovav, a senior behavior counselor at the ASPCA Adoption Center, told The Dodo, “The foster kittens benefit from a calm, friendly cat that gives the type of social support and connection that people can’t offer, especially while humans are still very terrifying.” “Charlie’s bond with the kittens serves as a link between the cat and the person.” While kittens may be successfully socialized without the assistance of a helper cat, having Charlie around obviously helps.”
Charlie had a difficult start in life, which may explain why he is so dedicated to assisting and caring for the foster kittens. Fostering savеd his life, and now he spends his days paying it forward.
“He’s quite protective of our foster children,” Alteri explained. “Every now and then, he’ll perch up high on my dresser or the bathroom sink and just watch them.” Once, a foster child’s toy became caught beneath the ottoman, and Charlie assisted him in retrieving it.”
Charlie offers happiness and affection to every foster kitten he encounters, as well as his mother, who is overjoyed to have discovered such a kind and understanding best friend.
“He’s an incredible gem,” Alteri added, “and I don’t believe there’s another cat on the planet as valuable as he is.”
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