Rescue Cat's Spay Appointment Was Delayed Because Of The Most Adorable Surprise

Anyone who's ever spent any time at all with cats knows that they do things their own way, on their own schedule. For proof, look no further than a TikTok video — viewed more than 186,000 times so far — of a stray cat and her two adorable kittens. Overlaid on the video is the text: "Scheduled for a spay/abort but she had her kittens the morning of her appointment..." Maddy's Cat Rescue, which is a nonprofit in Cambridge, Ohio, shared the video and captioned it: "Not the plan I had in mind 😂😑 BUT Mama and babies are doing great and everyone will be spayed/neutered in the next few weeks!"

@maddyscatrescue

Not the plan I had in mind 😂😑 BUT Mama and babies are doing great and everyone will be spayed/neutered in the next few weeks! #catrescuer #kittenseason #spayandneuter #maddyscatrescue #fyp

♬ True Jackson VP theme – Youalreadyknowbb

Many viewers who work for veterinarians or animal shelters shared their own similar experiences, with one person writing, "We had one give birth in the hour between her pre-op exam and when we went to sedate her 😵‍💫." Another commented, "Been there. Literally a TNR [Trap-Neuter-Release] gave birth about 1 hour after I trapped her 😂🙄. But they all got a spa day!!!!"

Viewers of the video were charmed by the mama cat and her two tiny troupers. One person wrote, "She said 'nice try but I'm taking that maternity leave now 😂.'" Another quipped, "She really went 'actually I'm just gonna evict them myself, no need to waste your money,'" and one viewer joked, "Those babies were like, 'alright, where's the escape hatch in this thing?'😅"

With a cat pregnancy, the length of gestation is typically 63 to 65 days, which can be broken down into three trimesters that each last around 20 days. During the first trimester, it can be almost impossible for an owner to tell if a cat is expecting. It's not until the second trimester that the indicators become more apparent. Some of the telltale signs your cat could be pregnant include physical changes such as weight gain, swollen nipples, a growing belly, and behavioral changes such as showing more affection than usual and napping more often.

At the end of the third trimester, when the cat is close to having her babies, she will likely start showing nesting behavior as she prepares a quiet, comfortable spot for herself to give birth. She may stop eating a day or so before delivering, and she may seem restless or upset, vocalizing often. She may also enter and exit her litter box several times without actually using it. All of these behaviors indicate that labor is imminent. Once labor begins, all of the kittens are typically born within six hours, though the mother may occasionally pause between kittens.

The mama cat in the video certainly wasn't letting anyone dictate a timeline to her. One viewer wrote a consoling message to Maddy's Cat Rescue: "You tried, sometimes timing just happens like this. At least she'll never have to have any more after this."