Published Feb 18, 2025
kaydiexoxox / Instagram.com
As someone who has fostered kittens and mother cats for many years – something that most often happens during “kitten season” in warmer months – I sometimes pause in horror during the winter and think: Are there any moms with kittens out in this cold? Or expectant cat mothers?
It’s a terrible thought, so this sweet story about a mother-to-be in Kansas who found her way to a safe place to give birth warms our hearts. A stray female cat, white with brown tabby patches, had been hanging around a woman’s barn in a small Kansas town. When the weather turned frigid and a winter storm rolled in, the kind-hearted homeowner – Kaydie Tweedy, a hair stylist who goes by kaydiexoxox on Instagram – invited the cat into her heated greenhouse. The grateful feline made herself at home atop soft blankets on a chair, and snuggled with the woman caring for her.
And that’s when a surprise miracle happened. The cat, who had a swollen belly filled with babies, gave birth that night to five kittens! You can see the January video, which has more than 296,000 likes on Instagram, here. According to Kadie’s updates, the babies and mama are doing great.
The mother cat seems so very sweet, friendly, and grateful, and Kadie wrote that the mother is staying with her. I have a soft spot for mother cats, too, and have adopted several after their kittens leave. I wish all pregnant cats encountered Good Samaritans like this and had happy endings!
Alkarnasia / Shutterstock.com
What if a feline mother-to-be in need finds her way to your house? We hope you will do what Kaydie did and take in the cat and care for her and her babies, especially when the weather is harsh. You can get tips on fostering a pregnant cat in this article.
When it’s time for the kittens to arrive, you as a foster will have a front-row seat to seeing the lives you saved enter the world. Read this article for how to help cats giving birth.
As for the effect of cold weather on cats, read this article.
