@sloanebcollins #birthingkittens #mommacat #ourthreeboys #amwriting
A little over a
year ago, a pregnant stray cat chose us to come live with. We had no idea how
far along she was, so we Googled cat births, since we didn’t know nothin’ ‘bout
birthin’ kittens (having previously only had two male cats). On that rainy Sunday afternoon, she took
turns sleeping on our laps as we researched.
Having never been around pregnant animals before, it was fascinating to
me to feel the babies moving in her belly as I petted her. We watched YouTube videos on how to care for
Momma, what to do when she goes in to labor, etc.
So my husband
went to bed (since he works nights), and I realized she was actually in labor
(thank heavens I’d watched those videos!).
My husband had already lashed two boxes together with a hole cut between
them so she had extra space to move around, and we’d padded it with an old
quilt and towels. Over the course of
three hours, she gave birth to three kittens, one per hour. I was petrified something would happen, but
she knew exactly what to do to care for them.
So by midnight that night, we had a momma and three babies. And so precious! Two of them were Tabbies, miniature
replicas of the mom, and one was a grey Tabby.
We had already
decided we’d foster them until they were old enough to get fixed, then try to
find homes for all of them. But as time
went by, we couldn’t fi
nd homes, and I thank God we couldn’t.
Before Christmas, I had the opportunity to attend a special reading and discussion by Jodi Picoult of her novel Leaving Time. In the book, Jenna Metcalf searches for her mother, who disappeared after a terrible accident involving the death of a caretaker at an elephant preserve. She is convinced her mother is still alive and her search comes to a head when she enlists the help of a washed-out psychic and an alcoholic private investigator. Like many of her books, the characters are on a search for truth - what truly happened the night Alice Metcalf (the mother) disappeared, and why would she leave her daughter behind? In this particular story, the elephants come to represent the themes of memory and grief that thread through the tale.
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I recently completed a manuscript about Sherlock Holmes at age 13. For those not familiar with the world's most famous consulting dectective, Doyle gave very few clues to his character's upbringing. In the short story
“The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter,” Sherlock Holmes tells Dr. Watson that
his ancestors were “country squires,” and his grandmother was the sister of the French
portraitist Vernet. 
We lost my mother-in-law going on three years ago.
Yes, we still miss her and probably always will. She was a sweet woman with a
sharp tongue and a great sense of humor. And I always told her I married the
best one of her kids. Not that the others are shabby, but I got the best.
