Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

Abstract

then actually ate the placenta right before my eyes. This process repeated itself another couple of times through the night, and by morning there were three brand new little kittens on the bed.</p><figure id="2bb8"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*98aokgAtB3zj0Uo796owNg.jpeg"><figcaption>The following morning. 3 brand new kittens! Photo Credit: Author</figcaption></figure><p id="e0bd">Within a couple of days, she had moved them into a dark cupboard in the same bedroom. But I had also noticed her standing by, and picking at a hole in the side of one of our couches in the living room.</p><p id="7416">A few days after the first move, we came home one night to discover that she had moved all the kittens into the hole, and in essence, to the inside of the couch frame. I was initially upset and concerned that I now wouldn’t be able to check in on them 20 times per day (which may, or may not, have been the reason that she moved them in the first place!) but quickly realized that I just needed to let mama do her thing.</p><p id="cbbc">She didn’t need my ‘help’ and in fact, likely wanted privacy to get to the business of raising her babies. Besides, we kept good tabs on them, knowing they were okay when we heard their little squeaks coming from inside the couch whenever they were hungry.</p><p id="8ab7">We had heard that it takes cats three weeks to start walking, and I figured that once that happened, surely they will walk out themselves. Well, sure enough, to the day, I noticed a tiny set of eyes looking out from under the couch. The lining had a tear in it, and they were able to come out from the gap at the front of the couch near the floor.</p><figure id="d7b5"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Kly6W4u-2mtkxrc3lqGYbQ.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="3adc"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*I6JyiadjntzpZGGV"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="b9c1"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*jgz4I6iQcbFW-0NjwASUpw.jpeg"><figcaption>Coming out for a look at the big world. Photo Credits: Author</figcaption></figure><p id="9866">Of course, I was there with bells on, trying my darnedest to encourage them to come out, while mama meowed and paced nervously back and forth in front of me. She even went so far as to reach in and bat at them, trying to push them back in. Was she trying to protect them from the trials and tribulations of life? Haha, who knows.</p><p id="bd9f"><b>Either way, SHE clearly wasn’t ready for them to get curious and start exploring.</b></p><figure id="0806"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*givjBnSUvnK9sWJBiqNyKg.jpeg"><figcaption>Mitten would often watch them nervously from above when they came out to explore. Photo Credit: Author</figcaption></figure><p id="f23f">However, each day they would come out, they would explore just a tiny bit further from the hole. Bit by bit they would go farther from home before they decide that it is just all too scary,

Options

and they would quickly retreat to the safety of the couch.</p><p id="9721">After they started coming out from under the couch, we could see their markings better. We decided that since their mom was Mitten, they should have names along similar lines. One looked like it had white pants, one looked like it had white sleeves, and one looked like it had white socks.</p><p id="e19c" type="7">So we named them Pants, Socks and Sleeves.</p><figure id="36c7"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*cGSbFTopg-9kDyfb4iXSfA.jpeg"><figcaption>Sleeves is supervising our painting project. Photo Credit: Author</figcaption></figure><figure id="7db5"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*l6yWO2VIEko_wCGdrdTRTw.jpeg"><figcaption>Socks was mostly black but had white feet and chest. Photo Credit: Author</figcaption></figure><p id="cdf4">We were with them for the first 4 months of their little lives and really enjoyed watching them evolve. The whole process was a beautiful thing to witness, and watching them progress from day to day, and getting to know their little personalities, was so much fun.</p><p id="e608">Thanks for reading!</p><p id="684d">xo Jill</p><figure id="4a8b"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*FPhxaPRp8QVe_lys05LS_g.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><div id="17f2" class="link-block"> <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/trying-to-find-out-who-i-am-2df933941fff"> <div> <div> <h2>Trying to Find Out Who I Am?</h2> <div><h3>You are in the right place.</h3></div> <div><p>artisticvoyages.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*TI3uoe0kHwRUaEK1YN6x_A.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="8aad"><i>Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We have now been on the African continent for over 2 years!</i></p><p id="c2fc"><b><i>Subscribe to Medium through my <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/membership">referral link</a> to get full access to my writing plus thousands of others! Plus sign up <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/subscribe">here</a> to get my articles by email!</i></b></p><p id="852f"><i>Join our adventure by hitting the links below!</i></p><p id="3b63"><a href="http://www.artisticvoyages.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.instagram.com/artisticvoyages">Instagram</a> | <a href="http://www.facebook.com/artisticvoyages">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/artisticvoyages">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.patreon.com/artisticvoyages">Patreon</a>|<a href="http://www.youtube.com/c/artisticvoyages"> YouTube</a> | <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/">Medium</a></p></article></body>

CATS | KITTENS | PETS

A Cat Had Her Babies On My Pillow While I Was Sleeping

The beginnings of Mitten and her kittens.

In 2019 we worked for 6 months at a Botanical Garden in the Caribbean. We were given a house to stay in, a truck to drive, and a small food allowance. It was a pretty awesome gig, and the bonus was that the house came with 2 dogs and a cat to take care of!

Being animal lovers and experienced housesitters, we were happy to take on the added responsibility. But we really had no idea what was in store for us!

After the first couple of months of us being there, we noticed that Mitten, the cat, was starting to get very round. We suspected that she was pregnant, but weren’t too sure until a volunteer for the garden turned up to stay at the house with us.

That cat is REALLY pregnant!

He was convinced that she was about to give birth at any moment. He seemed to have much experience with cats and kittens, so we heeded his advice.

Mitten was a young cat herself. We aren’t sure how old, but we suspect no more than a year or so, and she was so small. The people that had cared for the house before us had only fed her scraps, so maybe that is why.

One evening after we came back from the garden she started yowling incessantly. We figured that the time was near when she kept insisting that one of us follow her into one of the spare bedrooms where we were staying. Once inside, we would sit on the bed and she would stop meowing and just sit and stare at us. We did this in rotations until we decided it was time for bed.

Except that she was still yowling, even harder than before, and now scratching at our bedroom door making it impossible to sleep. Finally, exasperated, I got up and followed her to the other bedroom. She was happy that I was there, and because she had finally stopped meowing, I realized that the only thing to do, was to lay down on that bed and go to sleep.

In an instant, she jumped up on the bed and curled up next to me on the pillow.

I must have slept a bit before I heard the first of three high-pitched meowing screams coming from her. I realized that this was probably the time, and she was about to have her babies. I comforted her by petting her and talking softly.

I was sort of drifting in and out of sleep, but in one final scream she squatted down, and out popped a tiny black log of fur.

May I remind you that this happened ON MY PILLOW!

She immediately took to cleaning it from top to bottom, then actually ate the placenta right before my eyes. This process repeated itself another couple of times through the night, and by morning there were three brand new little kittens on the bed.

The following morning. 3 brand new kittens! Photo Credit: Author

Within a couple of days, she had moved them into a dark cupboard in the same bedroom. But I had also noticed her standing by, and picking at a hole in the side of one of our couches in the living room.

A few days after the first move, we came home one night to discover that she had moved all the kittens into the hole, and in essence, to the inside of the couch frame. I was initially upset and concerned that I now wouldn’t be able to check in on them 20 times per day (which may, or may not, have been the reason that she moved them in the first place!) but quickly realized that I just needed to let mama do her thing.

She didn’t need my ‘help’ and in fact, likely wanted privacy to get to the business of raising her babies. Besides, we kept good tabs on them, knowing they were okay when we heard their little squeaks coming from inside the couch whenever they were hungry.

We had heard that it takes cats three weeks to start walking, and I figured that once that happened, surely they will walk out themselves. Well, sure enough, to the day, I noticed a tiny set of eyes looking out from under the couch. The lining had a tear in it, and they were able to come out from the gap at the front of the couch near the floor.

Coming out for a look at the big world. Photo Credits: Author

Of course, I was there with bells on, trying my darnedest to encourage them to come out, while mama meowed and paced nervously back and forth in front of me. She even went so far as to reach in and bat at them, trying to push them back in. Was she trying to protect them from the trials and tribulations of life? Haha, who knows.

Either way, SHE clearly wasn’t ready for them to get curious and start exploring.

Mitten would often watch them nervously from above when they came out to explore. Photo Credit: Author

However, each day they would come out, they would explore just a tiny bit further from the hole. Bit by bit they would go farther from home before they decide that it is just all too scary, and they would quickly retreat to the safety of the couch.

After they started coming out from under the couch, we could see their markings better. We decided that since their mom was Mitten, they should have names along similar lines. One looked like it had white pants, one looked like it had white sleeves, and one looked like it had white socks.

So we named them Pants, Socks and Sleeves.

Sleeves is supervising our painting project. Photo Credit: Author

Socks was mostly black but had white feet and chest. Photo Credit: Author

We were with them for the first 4 months of their little lives and really enjoyed watching them evolve. The whole process was a beautiful thing to witness, and watching them progress from day to day, and getting to know their little personalities, was so much fun.

Thanks for reading!

xo Jill

Trying to Find Out Who I Am?

You are in the right place.

artisticvoyages.medium.com

Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We have now been on the African continent for over 2 years!

Subscribe to Medium through my referral link to get full access to my writing plus thousands of others! Plus sign up here to get my articles by email!

Join our adventure by hitting the links below!