Witnessing the wonder of kittens being born

You know the Crazy Cat Lady from the Simpsons? Well, that’s me in 20, 30 years’ time. Cats have been part of my life for as long as I can remember, apart from some rare cat-free episodes. I was basically born with a love for these graceful and headstrong animals.

As was my daughter, with Clyde curling up in her cradle. «Bub» as she called him as soon as she could speak, had been her faithful companion since her birth in 2019. Until a car took his life.

And so, Zoe had to come to terms with the death of a loved one at an early age. On the other side of the spectrum, she also got to experience how life is created in 2023 during our home breeding experiment. She was fascinated and enthusiastic. To give her a similar opportunity with a mammal, we chose to hold off on having Mira, the youngest of our four cats, neutered.

Two litters in one year

If it had been just my wife and I, we wouldn’t have wanted more kittens. After all, we’d already been there when Bonnie, Clyde’s sister, gave birth to four healthy kittens. Twice in one year, in fact.

Meanwhile, Bonnie’s been spayed, as have her two daughters, who’ve stayed with us. No question, it’s wonderful and great fun to have kittens at home. But it’s also very time-consuming when your cat population doubles from one day to the next. Especially when the little ones need real food after a few weeks of drinking mother’s milk.

In addition, kittens are a personified emotional rollercoaster. Countless moments of happiness overlap with fits of anger and pain. For example, when the little devils climb your bare legs with their razor-sharp, needle-like claws while you’re preparing their food. Those are the times you’ll be glad if you’ve already found a good home for them. Only to realise at the latest when you hand them over how much you love them in spite of it all. That’s when the heartbreak of saying goodbye kicks in. Yep, I’m a big softie. And I’m only putting myself through this rollercoaster of emotions again for my daughter.

Mira’s first litter

Which brings us back to Mira, our only cat who hasn’t been neutered yet. She already gave birth in front of us last year. Sadly, all three kittens were stillborn. Our hearts were broken. «Now Bub’s playing and looking after them in the stars,» Zoe said comfortingly as we buried the little ones in the garden the next day and released three balloons for them. How far she’s come, I thought to myself as I wiped away my tears… to make room for new ones.

Some time has passed since this sad experience. But even if a scar remains, we’ve recovered from it. And so has Mira. We started to realise this after she starting spending more and more nights outside, meowing as only cats in heat do. When she started to fill out a few weeks later, we knew she was pregnant. Oh the joy! At the same time, there was a concern that things might go wrong again.

Mira’s second litter

On an evening in June, we sense things are going to happen soon. Mira’s nervous, pacing, wanting to be close to us but outdoors at the same time. She seems particularly interested in the floor of Zoe’s wardrobe. Is this where she wants her little one’s to be born? I place a towel inside just in case. When we go to bed, she joins us in the bedroom – so much for the wardrobe. Mira lies down on the bed with us, but remains fidgety, always changing places and licking her genitals. A clear sign it can’t be long now.

Trying to stay awake, I’m roused from my sleep early in the morning. We haven’t missed anything. Mira’s situation is unchanged: she’s going from lying down, to finding a new spot, licking herself and meowing every once in a while. Then she makes her way over to Zoe’s pillow and lies down there. As Zoe’s head’s on it, I get a sheet and place Mira at the foot end. But she seems determined to give birth on Zoe’s pillow, because she immediately goes back there. Oh well, Zoe’s woken up anyway.

and part of the miracle right from the start – from Mira’s contractions, which are coming in faster and faster to her waters breaking. And this is all happening on her pillow.

Training in obstetrics

At around 5:30 a.m., the first kitten’s born. I need to assist a little, as it’s in a supine position, i.e. not head first. All is well, the baby’s alive. Mira licks it thoroughly clean before eating the afterbirth. There are more beautiful sights and, above all, sounds to behold, but that’s just part of it.

The anxious wait

More than seven hours pass until Mira’s second baby’s born. We’re waiting anxiously, although we know long pauses between births aren’t unusual in cats. The vet explained this when Mira had her first litter, which also took a long time. The third and last kitten’s born half an hour after the second one, relatively quickly. My wife and I are the midwives for them as they’re both in the supine position.

Welcome to the world, three healthy cat babies! We’re overjoyed, very relieved and completely exhausted, especially Mira the mum. And Zoe got to witness the miracle of a cat being born even more closely than we could have hoped for. A truly unforgettable experience.

The calm before the storm

Mira chose our bedroom as the birthplace for her little ones, so we set up a cosy place for her and her babies. Mira’s a devoted mum and regularly nurses them so that they thrive.

At the moment we can literally watch the babies grow. As is standard with cats, they open their eyes after about two weeks. That’s when they start to explore their surroundings on their wobbly little legs.

We’re enjoying this quiet, uniquely sweet kitten phase to the max. After all, they’ll be letting loose soon, wanting to eat and climb up my legs. I’ll let you know when the time comes.

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