Cat With Two Baby Mamas Has Internet in Hysterics: 'Co-Parenting'

A cat with "two baby mamas" has TikTok users in stitches.

In a video shared by user Aysha Clever (@ayshaclever) on January 12, a ginger tabby called Cheeto can be seen "co-parenting" her kittens with her friend—a white cat named Mellow—who has also recently given birth to felines of her own.

However, it was the baby daddy reveal that caught TikTokers' attention, with Cheeto and her pal's kittens sharing the same father—a brown tabby named Moose.

Users of the social media platform couldn't get enough of the "beautiful blended family," with the cute clip receiving over 1.1 million views and over 240,000 likes.

What To Do if Your Cat Is (Unexpectedly) Pregnant

According to the U.K.-based cat resource website Cats Protection, felines are "prolific breeders," with an unspayed female cat able to birth 18 kittens a year (roughly five litters).

If your cat surprises you with an unplanned pregnancy, there are things you can do to prepare for the litter's arrival.

The animal experts behind the pet website The Paws Print advise setting up a "kittening area" (a box filled with comfortable bedding in a space safe), swapping your pregnant pet's usual meals for kitten food, and organizing an "emergency box" (filled with items such as iodine and scissors).

Animal advice blog The Spruce Pets recommends reading up on potential health issues that you need to be aware of, as well as developmental milestones for kittens (such as the "biting phase"). Maternity shoots are optional.

'Cats Co-Parenting Better Than People'

In the video, Cheeto cuddles up to Mellow and begins grooming her kittens. She also picks the babies up in her mouth and carries them to her own kittens, who are safely tucked up in a bed around the corner.

She feeds Mellow's kittens as if they were her own, and later, the footage shows Mellow doing the same.

In the next clip, Mellow can be seen dragging one of Cheeto's orange babies away from a water bowl. In another, both moms can be seen rounding up all of their kids, then snuggling up together in a pile in the closet.

In response to questions about Cheeto and Mellow's baby daddy, Clever shared a clip introducing Moose.

"To answer some confusion, we had 2 female cats deliver kittens 2 weeks apart," she wrote alongside the video.

"Both litters had the same father, and the 3 parents all co-parented the 5 kittens."

Clever rescued Mellow in 2020, with Cheeto and the new kitten bonding immediately. Clever planned to have her cats spayed and neutered, but due to COVID, she struggled to find a vet to perform the procedures.

"We tried to keep the cats separate during heat cycles but obviously failed," she told Newsweek. "Moose was neutered in July 2020 but both females were already pregnant."

Cheeto's first kitten, Karat, was born on August 6. Unfortunately, Cheeto went into prolonged labor, with a panicked Clever desperately trying to find an emergency vet to help.

Cheeto's second kitten Mango came along over 24 hours later. She also gave birth to a third kitten, Mandarin, but he passed away shortly afterwards.

Two weeks later, Mellow gave birth to her babies in Clever's closet. The kittens were named Bison, Caribou and Blizzard.

Clever was concerned that Cheeto would be jealous of Mellow and the newborns, but when she and her roommate introduced the "grand-kittens" to Cheeto, she was thrilled.

"She was so fidgety and jumped out of my arms and instantly started grooming Mellow and her three newborns," Clever said. "It was so heartwarming!"

However, Cheeto quickly became attached to Mellow's babies, treating them as her own.

"I saw Cheeto running out of the closet with a kitten in her mouth," she said. "She gently placed Bison in with her two surviving kittens. I sat next to Cheeto, gave her a quick pet, and told her she can't steal Mellow's babies right now.'"

It wasn't long before Cheeto was nursing Mellow's kittens as well as her own, and since then, the three cats have been raising the babies together.

"The only issues we came across were when the moms had different opinions on which spot to put the kittens," she said. "They'd be carrying them back and forth across the house all day.

"Moose never picked up the kittens to move them, but he would always be close by and even took turns babysitting himself."

Cheeto and Mellow have since been spayed. Clever's mom took one kitten, while she and her roommate chose to keep the rest with them.

TikTok users loved the unusual family dynamic, with user kristal rey commenting: "It takes a village."

"Sister Wives cats edition?" asked CuteKatie85.

"It's a throuple relationship y'all," wrote SpicySweet247.

"Cats co-parenting better than people," said Lizel Green.

Canary commented: "I'm convinced they are wives and the boy cat is just a friend that helped them have kids."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

Update 01/20/22 12:29 p.m. E.T.: This article was updated to include more information from Aysha Clever.