From Fire Ants to Foster Love: Stingray & Manta Ray’s Story
A Devastating Discovery. A Team Who Said Yes. Two Tiny Fighters.
A few weeks ago, a local community member was doing yard work when they disturbed a fire ant mound. At first, it seemed like a normal spring day. But minutes later, they heard tiny cries coming from a nearby woodpile.
Then, kittens started tumbling out from between the logs. The fire ants had found a hidden nest of newborn kittens and swarmed them.
A trained veterinary assistant living in the home acted swiftly, rushing the babies to an emergency vet. Tragically, five of the seven kittens couldn’t be saved.
But two sisters, later named Manta Ray and Stingray, survived.
When these tiny survivors arrived at SAFE Haven, they were fragile and in pain. They were still healing from the fire ant bites—on their feet, around their unopened eyes, and even inside their mouths. Their tongues were so swollen they could barely eat.
Here is Stingray when she arrived at the Clinic.
From the moment they arrived, our Cat Care Team sprang into action with emergency treatment. The kittens needed pain management, antibiotics, and around-the-clock monitoring. Ongoing daily evaluations were required to assess the damage from the fire ant bites.
Both kittens needed intensive bottle feeding every few hours, and due to the trauma to their mouths and tongues, they were placed on a specialty mouthwash to ease their pain and nutritional supplements to help them regain strength.
As they’ve grown, ongoing veterinary care, medications, and bottle-fed formula have become part of their healing journey. Their foster parent Fox, one of our devoted Cat Care team members, is providing a loving, safe environment, but that support comes with the cost of supplies, litter, formula, and vet follow-ups. Altogether, the cost of their full care is expected to exceed $6,000.
Today, we’re so proud to say—they’re still with us.
Manta Ray is strong, curious, and interested in all the other kittens around her. Stingray is smaller and has suffered the most injuries. She lost toes on each of her four paws, but that doesn’t slow her down. She zooms around the room, exploring and playing just like any kitten would.
We know $6,000 is a big number to ask for, but one we know we can meet with the help of this compassionate community.
SAFE Haven doesn’t turn away cats and kittens in need, especially not the most fragile ones. But the only way we can keep that promise is with your support.
Every single dollar donated makes a difference.
It helps cover the cost of these kittens’ recovery, buys formula for the next litter of orphaned kittens, and allows our Team to say “yes” when an emergency call comes in.
When you give, you’re not just helping Stingray and Manta Ray—you’re ensuring that SAFE Haven is always ready for the next kitten in crisis.
Please, if you’re able, make a gift today. These tiny survivors—and those still to come—are counting on us.
