A family from Nashville, Tennessee was working on some construction in their home when they noticed a couple of tiny kittens in a wall. Thinking that the mom cat might be around, they decided to wait for her return.
After many hours, there was still no sign of a mother cat. The kittens were very hungry and in desperate need of foster care. The family reached out to Nashville Cat Rescue and asked if they could take them.
The kittens were just 2-3 weeks old. At their age, they would do better with a nursing cat mom. Kiki, a foster volunteer of the rescue, learned about their plight and immediately stepped up to help.
She happened to have two cat moms (Olive and Pickle) who were rescued from a cat colony. They just had kittens and were excellent candidates to raise the new babies.
As it turns out, the two orphans are about the same age as the cats’ own kittens. Kiki took them into her care so the little ones could be doted on by two moms and have siblings to cuddle and wrestle with. One of the kittens was born with a perfect split face where one half is black with splotches of orange and the other is covered in orange tabby stripes.
It’s hard to say if the little calico is a feline chimera — a cat whose DNA from one side of the body differs from the other. “Technically, I think only a DNA test can prove that,” Kiki told Love Meow.
Either way, the calico is a special little gem who is so happy to be safe and warm with her brother. She has been named Apricot and her brother is Pretzel.
Kiki brought the kittens to Olive and Pickle and tried to slowly introduce them, but one of the cats took matters into her own paws as soon as she heard the kittens’ cries.
“Olive took them right from my hand, brought them to Pickle, and they just started grooming them.”
The two fit right into their big family. The other kittens took them in as their own and started snuggling with them.
Little Apricot melts in a cuddle puddle of purring kittens. She loves being surrounded by her siblings and to be cared for by her new moms.
Apricot spends most of her time sleeping in a large purr pile. She continues snoozing despite the other kittens crawling all over her.
The brother and sister are loving their adoptive family and are already putting on weight and gaining lots of energy.
“Chimeras also have eyes that don’t match, called heterochromia. It’s too tough to tell with this little one as her eyes won’t settle into her adult color until she is seven weeks of age,” Kiki shared. 
Nonetheless, Apricot is a gorgeous little girl. Her personality is starting to emerge.
