Proud cat mum Sylvia cuddles up to her 'rainbow baby' Magnus - born exactly a week after his two older half-brothers, who died.

Baby Magnus came into the world a full seven days after his tragic siblings, whom mother cat Sylvia had been pregnant with at the same time.

The case is thought to be an unusual example of 'superfecundation' - where a single litter of kittens can be fathered by more than one tom.

Although the phenomenon itself isn't uncommon in felines, it is rare for such a large time gap to occur between half-sibling kittens being born.

Mother cat Sylvia with her rainbow kitten, Magnus

placeholder image — Mother cat Sylvia with her rainbow kitten, Magnus

And it is the first case experienced by kitty foster carer Leeann Williamson, who is now looking after Magnus and Sylvia on behalf of Sheffield cat charity Cat-Ching.

“Superfecundation is not something I have come across in my time fostering,” said Leeann, who started volunteering with Cat-Ching three years ago. “But basically a litter of kittens can have more than one dad!

“Superfecundation occurs when multiple males mate with a female during her optimum time of conception.

“This is actually a relatively common phenomenon but, despite having different fathers, the kittens would normally all be born at around the same time - just minutes apart in some cases. Not with Sylvia's babies though!”

Newborn kitten Magnus is being cared for by a Cat-Ching volunteer in Sheffield

Cat-Ching vet Alan Beatty from Beech House Vets in High Green agreed the large gap between Sylvia's kittens being born was unusual.

“Yes, it is very rare, but it does occur,” he said. ”I have seen three examples in the last two years in cats including Sylvia.”

Black and white cat Sylvia is believed to be around 18 months old, and came to Cat-Ching after being relinquished to a vet where one of the charity's foster carers works.

Sylvia had already given birth to two premature kittens, and the newborns, named Angus and Fergus by the charity, were struggling to feed.

Sylvia with tragic first babies Angus and Fergus, who were born a week earlier and died

Despite best efforts, with kitten formula and feeds from their mum, the little boys died aged three days and five days old.

But two days later, and a week after Angus and Fergus had been born, Leeann woke to find that Sylvia - a second-time mum whose first litter had also been premature, and had also all died - had given birth to another kitten during the night.

And this time her 'rainbow baby' - the term given to a healthy baby born following an infant loss - was much bigger than his siblings, and fighting fit.

“Sylvia is a great mum and is managing to feed and care for Magnus by herself,” said Leeann, who has her own adopted cat, Carrots. “He's putting on weight and growing well.”

Cat-Ching is a small, registered charity, founded in 2018 by Jasmine Roger and Lauren James-Thompson, with the aim of reducing the overpopulation of cats in Sheffield. It currently has 143 cats in its care.

Leeann said: “It's supposed to be coming to the end of kitten season now, which is our busiest period, but it doesn't feel like it's slowing down.

“It has been a huge financial strain on the charity. We spend around £12,000 every month on essentials such as vet care, food and cat litter, and our adoption fees cover only around 40 per cent of these costs. Our brilliant fundraising team and supporters cover the rest.

“In January last year we launched our free neutering scheme for owned cats whose owners are unable to afford the cost themselves. We've neutered almost 500 cats since then.

"We have also recently launched a free microchipping scheme in preparation for new legislation which will make it mandatory from June 2024 for all pet cats to be microchipped.”

To donate to help with Sylvia and Magnus' care, or any of the other 141 cats at Cat-Ching, visit the charity’s website for details.