After finding a stray cat giving birth in their backyard, a poster managed to trap and rescue the kittens—the pictures have melted hearts among social-media users.
A slideshow of pictures shared to Reddit on Thursday by u/SpaZMonKeY777 shows the four kittens, three orange ones and one gray tabby, laying on a fuzzy bed, making themselves comfortable in their new foster home. “Say hi to these 4 adorable feral kittens that were in our backyard!” the poster says in the caption.
It reads: “Meet Nana, Banana, Boots, and Toots! Last month we found a stray mama cat who birthed these babies right in our backyard, and luckily we were able to capture the kittens and foster them.
“I also managed to trap the mama, for her fixed and released her back in our area. We made sure she knew we were taking care of her babies.”
Pregnancy in cats lasts for about two months, and the gestation period is divided in three trimesters of about 20 days each.
If you are not an expert, detecting pregnancy can be hard in the first and second trimesters, but there are some subtle signs you can look out for.
Among the first signs of pregnancy in cats are nipple changes, which usually happen about 16 to 20 days into the pregnancy, and are also known as “pinking up.” When this happens, the feline’s nipples become pinker and more prominent.
Their behavior will also change. In the first two trimesters of the pregnancy, cats will often become very friendly and more docile than usual. In the last 20 days, their belly will appear distended, and their nipples and breast tissue will be noticeably swollen.
As the pregnancy goes on, the feline will also start nesting, trying to prepare the perfect spot to birth her kittens. Sometimes, queens may also exhibit increased grooming of their belly and the area under their tail.
The post quickly went viral on social media and it has so far received over 18,000 upvotes and 130 comments on the platform.
One user, Sarcasmismygame, commented: “Thank you SO much for doing this! You guys rock on helping mama and the little guys out before they go to their fur-ever homes!”
ZephyrSolis posted: “That poor dusty baby has to do all the thinking for his orange siblings.”
ShroomyEmpress wrote: “Wow they really picked the right backyard to hang out in. From the looks of all the cat toys you know what you are doing.”
Newsweek reached out to u/SpaZMonKeY777 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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