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Our two beloved cats, aged 14 and 15, died within two months of each other, and I was devastated. We went to the local cat shelter, where my son found a stunning one year old female named 'Saffron'.

I wasn't keen to take her home because she was so beautiful - the beautiful cats got re-homed very quickly, and I wanted a cat who chose us, rather than the other way around.

My son insisted, though, so I went into her enclosure for a cuddle and was shocked to realise she was heavily pregnant. I asked one of the volunteers why she was up for adoption, to be told that there had been a mistake and they hadn't realised she was pregnant. The volunteer casually mentioned that she would have to be spayed (which would kill her kittens).

I was not going to let that happen, so I asked to foster her and her kittens. I whispered in her ear that I was going to take her home with me, and when I came back to pick her up after she'd been vet-checked, she heard my voice in the hallway and launched herself from the chair she was sitting on and into the cat carrier in two bounds.

Once home, she stepped out of the carrier and walked happily around with her tail up, then rolled all over the floor. She knew she was home, and she wouldn't stop kissing us. She would also only answer to 'Puddy'. Ten days after Puddy came home, she gave birth to four kittens. One kitten was stillborn. The runt of the litter had a collapsed lung, liver and kidney damage, and although I tried so hard to keep him alive, he died in my arms at four weeks old.

First born 'Meg', the dark ginger alpha cat, found a home with my ex-husband, and I kept Puddy and 'Punky', the big mumma's boy, with me.

Puddy, now 4, is one of those extra-special cats and I love her dearly. My son has both Meg and Punky to love in separate houses.

Story submitted by Liz Campbell from Kingston, Australia.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!