Happy Mother's Day Tale: Maki

It’s almost Mother’s Day! Here at the Bow Valley SPCA, we have had many mothers come through our shelter. Just this past year we had Maki, a stray cat with a fighting spirit. Maki’s story begins in the backcountry where she somehow managed to survive and give birth to three healthy kittens. Two of these kittens were discovered by a hiker, who was so concerned about their diminutive size in a place filled with natural predators. He managed to capture the tiny kittens and brought them to the Carla Cummings Sojonky Adoption Centre after hearing about our innovative No Cage/No Kill philosophy. The kittens were immediately brought to the vet who was unsure about their chances of survival because they were not old enough to be weaned from their mother.

Everyone was concerned about the fate of the two kittens. The hiker who found them teamed up with an SPCA volunteer and returned to the spot where he found the little ones, hoping to track down their mother. They had help: Blake, a retired avalanche rescue dog who was adopted from the Bow Valley SPCA after receiving extensive reconstruction surgery to his back leg, led the search.

Armed with Blake’s expert tracking skills, not only did the team find the kittens’ mother, but they found a third kitten as well!

The whole family was reunited at the Adoption Centre where Maki – the wonderful mother – willingly took back all of her kittens (Nico, Mei, and Nori) and continued to raise them in a safe environment.

Maki seemed to appreciate her new surroundings. She was willing to let the staff and volunteers help her and her kittens and she learned to relax in her newfound home. All three of Maki’s kittens found forever homes as soon as they were old enough to be spayed and neutered. Maki found a forever home not long after. From fighting for survival in the mountains to being loving family members in a home, Maki and her kittens have certainly had a long journey!