It is a wonderful thing when both parents are able to participate in and enjoy the beauty of childbirth. Mothers do all of the hard work, but having their husbands at their side for the encouragement, assistance, coaching, and support is more than they could even ask for. It helps make the process go smoother.
We often hear stories of dads cutting the umbilical cord, changing the diaper while the mom rests, and even waking up in the middle of night for feeding time. Team work definitely makes the dream work, and two are better than one when it comes to childbirth.
This isn’t always the case for other species though, particularly cats. Cats, male and female, are generally pretty independent. The female felines don’t require the service and/or cooperation of their male counterparts, and sometimes they honestly don’t even want it. They prefer to go through the labor and delivery on their own, and become super protective and defensive over their kittens – rightfully so!
In a story posted by Top Buzz, one cat-couple proved to be an exception! When the mama cat went through labor, her “husband” never left her side. In the picture below, he even looked a little sleepy, but managed to keep himself up to be her support system.
Not only did he keep guard, when she was all done giving birth, he cleaned her up himself and snuggled next to her and their newborn kittens.
According to the comments under the post, this is extremely unusual as male cats normally kill or eat their newborn kittens. But not this papa! He was more than happy to help and take care of his children.
The mother cat trusted him so much that she event left him alone with them as she went to go get some water.
So unexpected, but so adorable! It is nice to see such evident devotion and admiration take place between cats, especially when it goes outside of their usual behavior. I hope everything works out for this perfect little animal family. Congratulations to the cats and their owners!