@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
