Cat Gives Birth Under Christmas Tree, And It’s The Best Present Ever
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Elizabeth Community member
Christmas came early this year for Danielle Lopez who found her rescue cat Tink giving birth under a Christmas tree. “I heard a soft meow and thought it was our other kitty and then saw the firstborn crying,” 17-year-old Lopez told Buzzfeed. “I was in shock,” she added.
Three more kittens followed, all looking like presents on the tree skirt. Given the circumstances, they were named accordingly: Noel, Joy, Christmas, and Faith. Lopez shared a picture of them on Twitter, and it went viral. Some people called it “magical” while others said it was nothing short of a Christmas miracle.
Indeed, no one thought this to be possible three months ago when Lopez adopted Tink as a rescue stray cat. “If we didn’t take her home she would have died. She was all bones,” says the Florida-based teenager. Lopez had already owned a handsome cat named Sagwa who became the father of Tink’s children. Now the rescue a proud mamma who gets to live with her kids. How’s that for a Meowy Christmas!
Christmas came early this year for Danielle Lopez who found her rescue cat giving birth under a Christmas tree
“I heard a soft meow and thought it was our other kitty and then saw the firstborn crying”
“I was in shock… I started running around the house to… grab towels to help her”
Three more kittens followed, all looking like presents on the tree skirt
They got the following names: Noel, Joy, Christmas, and Faith… Meowy Christmas everyone!
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Are you sure this is a perfect christmas story? The "Lopez had already owned a handsome cat named Sagwa who became the father of Tink’s children" made me a bit suspicious. So, neither was the male cat neuted nor the cat spayed? And on top of that, the owner did not realize the pregnancy? Well, the pictures are really cute, but the background does not seem like the highest degree of responsibility to me.
Cue in the responsibility police.
"Responsibility"isn't quite as catchy a phrase as "cute pics", true. As a responsible adult, however, I prefer the former over the latter.
Last time I checked neutering/spaying remained a choice (except in countries such as Norway where, in the absence of a medical reason, it is deemed to be a form of animal cruelty and actually illegal)
Alec- It's interesting to hear that Norway deems it cruelty, as it is encouraged here in the US for animals that are not intended for breeding. Spaying a cat reduces risks of ovarian cysts, uterine infections, and mammary cancer. Also, she will be unlikely to spray in her efforts to attract a mate. I've had two cats spayed and after the anesthesia wore off, they were playful, active, and healthy. Inhumane would be declawing, in which there is a very painful and crippling recovery.
Alec, most things in life are a choice, but that doesn't preclude a wrong or a right. You mention that Norway doesn't have an animal overpopulation problem. However, the rest of the world does. Careful to not twist *facts* to suit something that is only your opinion (that de-sexing harms sentient animals more than it helps).
@Lars Ellingsen, and quoting from sciencenordic(dot)com: The Norwegian Animal Welfare Act makes it clear that surgical procedures are not to be used to adapt animals to the needs of humans, unless strictly necessary. “It’s not the dog’s need, given there are no medical considerations,” says Torunn Knævelsrud, head of Section for Animal Welfare and Fish Health at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA). According to the NFSA it’s essential for vets to make decisions regarding the necessity of a neutering or spaying on a case-by-case basis.
You really need to check where you get your information. Neutering/spaying is NOT illegal in Norway.
and that, ladies & gentlemen, is why there are so many stray and unwanted animals in shelters :/
@Alec-this was food for thought. Thank you. I agree with that castrating a male animal does harm the individual, but at a far greater benefit to the community and environment. Especially considering the malnourished, disease-ridden, homeless offspring an un-neutered cat would produce. If all cats were de-sexed, then the birth rate would drop, immediately. I'm on the fence regarding uncastrated tomcats dominating the gene pool. I'll have to give it some thought.
@Sweep the Leg Yes, I am aware that in the US there is a lot of pressure to spay/neuter, but what you have to keep in mind is that, as Norway serves to demonstrate, it is possible to be a responsible pet owner without resorting to a scalpel. Also, while most animals recover just fine in the short term, that doesn't mean there are no long term consequences, and while some cancers are reduced/eliminated, others become more common (some very lethal forms of bone cancer are far more common in large dogs that were neutered before they were fully grown), and there are endocrine problems that tend to arise later in life, such as incontinence, diabetes and thyroid issues (and those thyroid issues are often behind the characteristic weight gain, which can lead to heart failure. No, it's not just that people fail to adjust their pets diets). In other words, those immediate reactions can be misleading. As for declawing, don't even get me started on that one!
@It's Caturday the endocrine system is an extremely complex one, and removing one of its key components does have a significant effect on the whole. Whether that is worth it is open for debate. For females pregnancy does take a lot out of them, plus once you spay them the puppies/kittens they would have produced are out of the equation, so that may be worth it. For males there is no such cost, and you would have to neuter 80 to 90% of them before you see a reduction in the number of births, as the females would simply be inseminated by other males. In addition to that you would see a decline in genetic diversity long before that decline in the birth rate becomes apparent, so the cost benefit analysis is fundamentally different. So I stand by my assertion that, especially when it comes to castration, the harm done to the individual outweighs any potential benefits. As for the community, that may be a different story.
I am with Hans... and the choice remains although if you care about animal welfare, you absolutely should de-sex your pets as millions are killed every year due to lack of interest. The procedures are successful and risks are minimal.
You need to look up the definition of minimal risk, as what you euphemistically call de-sexing is an irreversible procedure that throws the endocrine system completely out of whack, causing the rates of diabetes and thyroid problems to skyrocket. Yes, the consequences are rarely immediate (though sometimes they are) but they ARE devastating and even deadly. Also, Norway doesn't exactly have much of an issue with animal overpopulation, so your argument doesn't exactly hold.
Agreed. This is lovely, but could have been avoided. I'm going to give a 17-year-old the benefit of the doubt and assume she might be wrapped up in the drama and beauty of the scene and not understand the consequences. The adults in her life should know better. Let's just hope that someone with a clue points them in the right direction for spay/neuter services for her cats as well as the kittens. It's so sad that things like this have to happen.
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And that attitude by people involved in rescues is the reason why those of us who believe that animals are sentient beings with a fundamental right to their physical integrity are forced to shop and NOT adopt (okay so I usually do find a way to adopt from someone who does not insist on neutering, but organized rescues are out)
So so cute !! Is that momma cat in a sock ? When she was so young!!?
There is a discrepancy between the story as told by boredpanda and buzzfeed. In the Buzzfeed version they adopted her three months before Christmas either last year, or even before that. In that context the picture does make sense.
Are you sure this is a perfect christmas story? The "Lopez had already owned a handsome cat named Sagwa who became the father of Tink’s children" made me a bit suspicious. So, neither was the male cat neuted nor the cat spayed? And on top of that, the owner did not realize the pregnancy? Well, the pictures are really cute, but the background does not seem like the highest degree of responsibility to me.
Cue in the responsibility police.
"Responsibility"isn't quite as catchy a phrase as "cute pics", true. As a responsible adult, however, I prefer the former over the latter.
Last time I checked neutering/spaying remained a choice (except in countries such as Norway where, in the absence of a medical reason, it is deemed to be a form of animal cruelty and actually illegal)
Alec- It's interesting to hear that Norway deems it cruelty, as it is encouraged here in the US for animals that are not intended for breeding. Spaying a cat reduces risks of ovarian cysts, uterine infections, and mammary cancer. Also, she will be unlikely to spray in her efforts to attract a mate. I've had two cats spayed and after the anesthesia wore off, they were playful, active, and healthy. Inhumane would be declawing, in which there is a very painful and crippling recovery.
Alec, most things in life are a choice, but that doesn't preclude a wrong or a right. You mention that Norway doesn't have an animal overpopulation problem. However, the rest of the world does. Careful to not twist *facts* to suit something that is only your opinion (that de-sexing harms sentient animals more than it helps).
@Lars Ellingsen, and quoting from sciencenordic(dot)com: The Norwegian Animal Welfare Act makes it clear that surgical procedures are not to be used to adapt animals to the needs of humans, unless strictly necessary. “It’s not the dog’s need, given there are no medical considerations,” says Torunn Knævelsrud, head of Section for Animal Welfare and Fish Health at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA). According to the NFSA it’s essential for vets to make decisions regarding the necessity of a neutering or spaying on a case-by-case basis.
You really need to check where you get your information. Neutering/spaying is NOT illegal in Norway.
and that, ladies & gentlemen, is why there are so many stray and unwanted animals in shelters :/
@Alec-this was food for thought. Thank you. I agree with that castrating a male animal does harm the individual, but at a far greater benefit to the community and environment. Especially considering the malnourished, disease-ridden, homeless offspring an un-neutered cat would produce. If all cats were de-sexed, then the birth rate would drop, immediately. I'm on the fence regarding uncastrated tomcats dominating the gene pool. I'll have to give it some thought.
@Sweep the Leg Yes, I am aware that in the US there is a lot of pressure to spay/neuter, but what you have to keep in mind is that, as Norway serves to demonstrate, it is possible to be a responsible pet owner without resorting to a scalpel. Also, while most animals recover just fine in the short term, that doesn't mean there are no long term consequences, and while some cancers are reduced/eliminated, others become more common (some very lethal forms of bone cancer are far more common in large dogs that were neutered before they were fully grown), and there are endocrine problems that tend to arise later in life, such as incontinence, diabetes and thyroid issues (and those thyroid issues are often behind the characteristic weight gain, which can lead to heart failure. No, it's not just that people fail to adjust their pets diets). In other words, those immediate reactions can be misleading. As for declawing, don't even get me started on that one!
@It's Caturday the endocrine system is an extremely complex one, and removing one of its key components does have a significant effect on the whole. Whether that is worth it is open for debate. For females pregnancy does take a lot out of them, plus once you spay them the puppies/kittens they would have produced are out of the equation, so that may be worth it. For males there is no such cost, and you would have to neuter 80 to 90% of them before you see a reduction in the number of births, as the females would simply be inseminated by other males. In addition to that you would see a decline in genetic diversity long before that decline in the birth rate becomes apparent, so the cost benefit analysis is fundamentally different. So I stand by my assertion that, especially when it comes to castration, the harm done to the individual outweighs any potential benefits. As for the community, that may be a different story.
I am with Hans... and the choice remains although if you care about animal welfare, you absolutely should de-sex your pets as millions are killed every year due to lack of interest. The procedures are successful and risks are minimal.
You need to look up the definition of minimal risk, as what you euphemistically call de-sexing is an irreversible procedure that throws the endocrine system completely out of whack, causing the rates of diabetes and thyroid problems to skyrocket. Yes, the consequences are rarely immediate (though sometimes they are) but they ARE devastating and even deadly. Also, Norway doesn't exactly have much of an issue with animal overpopulation, so your argument doesn't exactly hold.
Agreed. This is lovely, but could have been avoided. I'm going to give a 17-year-old the benefit of the doubt and assume she might be wrapped up in the drama and beauty of the scene and not understand the consequences. The adults in her life should know better. Let's just hope that someone with a clue points them in the right direction for spay/neuter services for her cats as well as the kittens. It's so sad that things like this have to happen.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
And that attitude by people involved in rescues is the reason why those of us who believe that animals are sentient beings with a fundamental right to their physical integrity are forced to shop and NOT adopt (okay so I usually do find a way to adopt from someone who does not insist on neutering, but organized rescues are out)
So so cute !! Is that momma cat in a sock ? When she was so young!!?
There is a discrepancy between the story as told by boredpanda and buzzfeed. In the Buzzfeed version they adopted her three months before Christmas either last year, or even before that. In that context the picture does make sense.