Using The Family Dog As A Birthing Coach :-)

by Anissa
(Tennessee, USA)

First, allow me to introduce you to our family pets: our female cat's name is Moley. Moley was rescued from the dump when she was approximately 7-8 weeks old. About a week before Moley came to live with us, we had adopted a yellow-lab-mix puppy, Dorothy, from the local animal shelter.

Before the arrival of Moley and Dorothy, we had only one pet, a nine-month-old male cat, Felis.
Longing for the pitter-patter of tiny kitty feet, we decided to delay spaying and neutering the cats until we had allowed them to mate once. Moley was confined whenever she went into heat until she was two years old.

Because Moley and Dorothy were raised together, there has never been any conflict between them. Even as adults, they still play together and Moley frequently sleeps curled up on top of Dorothy. They are the best friends and practically inseparable. We actually had to confine Dorothy to allow Felis and Moley to mate because Dorothy thought Felis was hurting Moley and did her best to protect her kitty friend.

Felis and Moley are both indoor cats, so we knew the approximate conception date and were able to pretty accurately determine the due date. Considering that male cats are not always "loving fathers," and because Moley became very restless in the last few days of her pregnancy, we confined Felis instead of Moley, so she would have more room to pace and search for nesting areas.

Having observed and assisted in several cat births, I thought Moley would give us some warning when her labor began. ALL of the other cats I had observed became very clingy, miaowed frequently and spent a lot of time cleaning themselves during early labor. We looked for these signs but Moley never deviated from her usual behavior.

The night the kittens were born, we went to bed around midnight. Our bedroom door was left open so we could hear any unusual miaowing and so Moley could come to us if she wanted. She stretched across Dorothy's back, sleeping soundly, when we went to bed, so we were not expecting any action during the night.

At two in the morning we were awakened by an odd noise: a cat miaowing very loudly, practically screaming, AND distressed whining and low howling from our DOG. We ran into the living room, flipped on the lights and, much to our surprise, found the mild-mannered Moley ATTACKING a very bewildered Dorothy. Moley's ears were flat against her head, she was screaming loudly and the claws of both front feet were imbedded in Dorothy's face. Dorothy was just sitting there whining and howling.

Moley's posture indicated this was not just play, she meant business. It soon became apparent what the problem was, as Moley's screaming increased in volume and an amniotic sac became visible.

I grabbed a blanket and used it to scoop Moley off the dog and ran into the bathroom with her where she immediately delivered the first kitten. She cleaned it well and settled down for the newborn to nurse. A couple of minutes later, it was clear she was having more strong contractions. She began miaowing loudly again and made a swipe at me with her front claws fully extended. Afraid she would harm the kitten, I quickly picked it up. Moley ran back into the living room where she immediately made another attack upon the poor dog who, once again, sat still and tolerated the abuse.

We brought Moley back into the bathroom and shut the door, so she couldn't get at the dog anymore.
While my husband calmed Dorothy and thoroughly cleaned and medicated her wounds, I kept watch over mom and kittens, removing the newborns (and myself) from her reach whenever a birth was imminent. She delivered four healthy kittens.

Though she wasn't able to attack the dog during the last two births, she stood up on her backfeet with her front claws pulling open cabinet doors, her ears flat against her head and screaming horribly until each kitten had been completely expelled. Once a kitten was out, she immediately shifted to "mom mode" and cared for the tiny baby, chirping worriedly until I returned the rest of her family to her.

Though Dorothy was a bit wary of Moley for a couple of days, they have since made up and are back to being best friends. Moley allowed Dorothy to "meet" the kittens several weeks before she allowed Felis to even get a look at them.

I have never seen a cat behave this way during labor and, to be honest, it was scary at the time. Looking back, though, I can't help but see the similarities between the way Moley treated the dog and the way many women lash out at their own partners during the throes of labor.

What makes it funnier still is the memory of the bewildered and fearful look on the dog's face as she sat there and took the abuse. It was exactly the same look I saw on my husband's face when I let loose on him once - in the same circumstances :-).