| *Kelda Khronicles* |
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| The Birthing Part 2 |
| That was the best thing I could have done. I was becoming more emotional with every contraction Socks had and Socks was in more pain with each contraction. Shortly after my sister arrived, it was time for Socks to really push and she did. But, the kitten was breech. Socks screamed, and I mean screamed, when the first kitten appeared hind legs first. Socks got up on all fours and staggered around with the kitten protruding halfway out her birth canal. She pushed and screamed but the kitten was not coming out. My sister, who has had lots of experience with animal births, instructed a frantic me to hold the poor cat still so she could help the kitten out. I did this while in full fledge tears. I am so thankful my sister was there. My cat was screaming like a human, the kitten wasn’t coming out and I was too emotional to do anything but follow instructions and cry. After what seemed like an eternity, my sister managed to get the kitten out and Socks went straight into cleaning the sweet, perfectly huge newborn. A sigh of relief was breathed by all of us. My niece, who was completely silent during the first birth, immediately began to recount the whole ordeal and ask questions about the process now taking place- the cleaning of the sac and the eating of umbilical cord and afterbirth. I had to step out of the room to collect myself. I did not realize until then that I had been shaking. I was in awe of the first birth. I had so many emotions swimming inside of me, but I knew they needed to be set aside so I could be with Socks through the rest of her labor. My role was to be her coach. The second and third births were much easier. Socks used my body to brace hers when she pushed. I stroked her between contractions and told her how great she was doing. My sister handled the doctoring part and I joked that my niece was nurse. When all was done, five hours from when I started counting contractions, Socks had three perfect kittens. We humans gave her some time alone to bond with them and for us to excitedly recount the events to family and each other. My niece did most of this, saying over and over again that it was such a miraculous experience. She had never witnessed something so amazing as the birth that just happened. If we had cigars, I’m sure we would have passed them out to the whole neighborhood. My sister left and I sent my niece to do some of the homework she wasn’t able to finish the night before. I emailed those I couldn’t call to announce the birth of our kittens. Then, I felt an overwhelming emotional and physical exhaustion creep over me. I decided to check on momma and her newborns and then take a nap. Socks was busy nursing her kittens. She was purring and content. I lay down on the bed and petted her belly. I felt myself drifting off to sleep. I wasn’t sure if Socks would let me nap with her and her kittens. I hadn’t planned on it, but I didn’t want to get up at that point. When the kittens were done nursing, Socks let me know it was okay for me to rest with her by snuggling right up against my belly. Tears came to my eyes again. Socks and I had truly bonded once again, but this time, more strongly. Now the kittens are two weeks old. Socks spends her days purring away and enjoying the families attention. She purrs always now when we pet her. She trusts us with her kittens; even the children have earned the trust. She will leave me to watch the kittens when she needs to leave her nesting box (we moved her off the bed) to use the litter box or eat. She has really come out her shell. Clearly, motherhood suits her, as I had suspected it would. When the kittens are old enough, they will all have good homes within our family. We will keep one and two other sisters of mine will each take one. Someone made the comment to me yesterday that there were not enough kittens to go around. That’s fine with me, because this way, I will always be able to see the kittens that made me a grandma. I can also take a certain comfort in the fact that all those who threw out comments telling me I was irresponsible and a made me cringe a bit were wrong. The pregnancy was good for Socks and it was good for our family. It was a learning experience (and still is) for the lot of us. Out of came nothing but good. I’m glad I didn’t have Socks spayed. I can say that, honestly, I'm happy with my decision. Socks will be spayed once the kittens are fully weaned. |