We rescued Cocoa and her five kittens from Hamilton Animal Control where they found themselves as strays. Cocoa had just given birth to five kittens on someone’s porch a couple of days before they were brought in. A few days after Cocoa and her babies arrived at the shelter, a single stray kitten close in age was brought into HAC separately. The staff at HAC put this kitten in with Cocoa and babies to see if Cocoa would accept the new little one. She did, and the wayward kitten thrived with her new family. What a sweet mama Cocoa is!
Cocoa did a great job raising her babies, and they’ve all gone to their forever homes. Poor Cocoa is still waiting…

Here’s a report from Cocoa’s foster mom:
“Cocoa, is a sweet gal with a big personality with just the right amount of sass.
Finding herself and her 5 babies in a cage at animal control has not diminished her spirit, nor has it resulted any type of negative attitude. Thankfully, she lives life as if it never happened which is a blessing, as not all our rescue animals are so fortunate. I first met mama shortly after her rescue at the vet’s office and she was quite content to be out of her metal prison lounging on the exam room floor. It didn’t take her any time to stretch out and close her eyes, she seemed to instinctively know that part of her terrible journey was over and she was safe. As she lay, gently dozing, Ladybird Lisa and I and my son took turns handing kittens to the vet for weighing and a checkup. I noticed that there was one kitten that wasn’t quite like the others (her 5 were all black with white and the 6th kitten was white with black and brown tabby markings) which turned out to be a kitten that she had happily let into her own family while at animal control.
Little Peppermint (who has since been adopted) found herself all alone at animal control and knowing what a wonderful mom Cocoa was, the staff put wee peppermint in with the family. And Cocoa is as sweet as her name and she readily welcomed little peppermint as one of her own. This is the kind of gal she is. And not only did she accept Peppermint, but she also let another poor little waif, Katie join her brood, sweet beyond words. She was so scrawny but yet she not only allowed her own 5 kittens to nurse but 2 others as well which makes her one super special cat. She is now plumper yet lean and no longer bony.
4 of her kittens have since been adopted, 1 unfortunately passed away suddenly, and now it is Cocoa’s turn to find her forever family. For a while after her kittens were no longer with her she bonded very quickly to Nelly, a foster sister in her home and they became fast friends. Once Nelly was adopted, her foster mom thought Cocoa would have trouble adjusting without her pal but that’s not the case as she is very flexible and adaptable to her situation.
She now happily resides with 3 resident cats, 2 big males and 1 alpha female and unlike a lot of female foster cats, knows her place with the alpha female and although she does attack and give her grief, she always knows when to back down when the alpha has had enough. Also, wee little Katie, whom she also let become one of her family is growing up now and the 2 of them have become super bonded. Katie is the other lone kitten from animal control that Cocoa adopted into her family and let her nurse right alongside her own kittens. For a little while it was uncertain if Cocoa would be gentle with Katie (as Cocoa and Nelly used to play very rough together) but being so smart, she has adjusted her level of play to suit that of Katie and all the other cats in the home.
Yes, she does like to run up to the other cats and swat them, but they just look at her like, what the heck is up with you? She never does this aggressively or with claws out, it’s more than she gets excited and runs up beside the cat and swats them, maybe that’s her way of saying hey, this is so exciting right?

Things to know about Cocoa:
-She loves to greet you at the front door, she hears the key in the lock and she is right there on the other side waiting for you
-She will follow you around like a dog, be prepared for this and watch yourself in the kitchen especially – since the kitchen where she is a an apartment kitchen and not a lot of space, she always is laying on the floor right behind the foster mom while she is doing dishes, at the fridge and while cooking – now it could be that she just lays in the middle of the kitchen floor and since the kitchen is small, it just seems like she is right behind her feet but she does like to be with you in the kitchen so she is best in a family that is okay with this and watches for her
-Speaking of kitchen, she likes to be in front of an open fridge – as soon as you open the fridge she will lie down right in front of it – she does this for 2 reasons, 1 is that this is a good vantage point to stick her paws under the fridge to retrieve her favourite mouse toys that end up there and 2nd is that when Nelly was here, Nelly used to jump in the fridge and Cocoa used to lie on the floor in front of the fridge and they would play with each other.
-And she’s a mooch for human food – she goes nuts for chicken, turkey, ham, cheddar, you have to watch your food or it will go for a walk – this is where her and Katie use their tag team abilities to distract you but beware, while they are super cute, they want your snack
-Every time you go to the washroom, she will be there with you. Yep, every time. This seems to be her favourite spot for getting love from you. As soon as you sit down there she is looking for head to tip of tail massages and pets. And she purrs and purrs and purrs up a storm. This is followed by Katie joining her and they both get love and then eventually both end up jumping in the tub which of course you have to run the water a bit so they can get a drink.
-She loves to join you whenever you are and has no problem lying beside you on a table, chair, kitchen table, counter top, bed but not the couch? Go figure, she has been invited many times but doesn’t seem to do the lap thing but will happily join you anywhere else for pets and rubs.
-She gets along well with all the resident cats and has formed a very sweet bond with Katie and together they provide a lot of entertainment and love.
-If the alpha female gets taken into a room by herself for one on one time with the foster mom, Cocoa will sit outside the door and paw at it like she is knocking to come in, guess she wants to always be part of stuff.
-She is young and together with Katie they love to romp, jump, chase each other, and play fight.

Cocoa is ready to go home and will do best in a family that wants to play with her and have her be part of what’s going on. Knowing this, small children and anyone not steady on their feet might be tripped up by her being around so this type of home would is not the best her.
She also needs to have an animal companion and would love to be adopted with her pal Katie as the two of them are a great pair and quite close to each other. Every night is like being at a medieval fair with the 2 of them duelling then running away and hiding on one another and then jumping out and attack…
Then they take opposite sides of the living room and hunker down, staring at each other in the dimly lit room, they wiggle and then it’s on…they come bounding towards one another and the joust has begun. It normally culminates with Katie hurling herself over Cocoa and then they roll and begin the fight. Then they return to opposite sides and start again.
Cocoa loves paper and when she hears you crumple a piece, you better believe she’ll come a running. She jumps up beside me on the table and I hurl it onto the floor and she leaps, slides on the floor, and victory, the paper ball is hers. Not too long after this, Katie comes prancing in and basically takes the paper ball from Cocoa and walks away to play with it on her own and the fight begins.
And just as I finish typing this, I hear a scratching from inside one of my kitchen cupboards and I don’t even have to look around to know who it is cause when I open the door, ta da, it’s Cocoa staring up at me with a thank you and hey, is it dinner time yet?”

Cocoa as been adopted!