Yachi and her four tiny kittens

Here's an update on Yachi and her babies.

I really wanted to take pictures of their day-to-day development. Feeling like a mom, too, to Yachi's tiny kittens. But I noticed that Yachi doesn't seem to like us or anybody else peeping inside at them. And so I was only able to take these few pictures when the mom is out of sight.

Speaking of privacy and spending those intimate moments with her babies, I'm sure I would feel the same way, too, if I were in her place. So all I have are these few pictures to share with you.



Last Saturday evening, upon arriving home after meeting up with a friend, I was surprised to find B and K upstairs to where Yachi and her babies were staying. Then I heard tiny shrieks! The babies!!! I ran just in time to see Yachi slipping out of the door, while 'biting' one of her babies on its nape, and was walking slowly and went inside a small opening on our ceiling.

I hastily asked my two daughters what was happening. 

K replied that she saw Yachi and one of the babies outside the 'zipped cabinet' but she thought Yachi was just cleaning the baby. And so she just left them alone.

The next thing she heard was a kitten's cry which was coming from inside the ceiling.

It suddenly dawned on me that what I saw was already the 2nd baby kitten being carried to this 'new hiding place'. Yes, when I checked inside the 'zipped cabinet', there were only 2 kittens left.

I wanted to get mad, then anxiety started to join the mixed emotions I was feeling inside. Was there anything that threatened Yachi that made her take her babies to another place? To a dirty place for her babies? I knew the ceiling must be filled with dust and sand since it was more than a year since we had it cleaned up.

Right at that moment I couldn't do anything at all. I couldn't stop Yachi from taking her babies to wherever she felt they will be 'safe'. I was staring at the 2 other cats, Wabbit and Turkey, who also loved taking a peek through the small hole on the side of the 'zipped cabinet'. Maybe they were as curious as we were of where those tiny sounds were coming from. Must have stepped on Yachi's boundary for privacy of her new babies.

Both are male cats, by the way. Probably they got no idea about 'mother cat's instincts', I thought to myself, while wanting to find someone to blame or something that will help me understand Yachi's seeming strange behavior.

The whole night was toss and turn for me, thinking how cold it must be in the ceiling. Even when I woke up in the middle of the night and found Yachi taking her usual place, sleeping curled on one side of my feet, my mind was still on the babies left inside the ceiling.

Two days later, while working here at home, I heard a crying sound coming from my room. I asked Bam to check it out. She came back laughing as she was trying to describe what she saw upstairs.

So I went up to my room, myself, and saw my blanket pushed back on the side of the bed. I started laughing, too, when I saw the tiny black kitty crawling on the creases of my blanket.

Yachi brought the kitten back. Not inside the 'zipped cabinet' but on my bed!!! 

The moment Yachi left the room, I picked up the kitten, carried it (don't know yet if it's a he or a she) on my palm. It was feeling cold, I guess...and so I held it gently for a few minutes to keep it warm. A warm feeling crept inside my heart when it looked up and allowed me to see its eyes already open. Woaah, then I slowly returned it back to that part of the blanket where Yachi left it.

I was hoping Yachi would take all the other 3 kittens back out of the ceiling. But a few minutes later, I saw her carry the black kitten back to the ceiling.

My guess is as good as yours.  Yachi wanted to assure me everything's fine by showing to me one of her kitties. 

Until now I still do not know up to what extent should I be feeling responsible for our pets. I want to trust Yachi's instincts about the welfare of her babies. And just leave them alone.  Well, why not?