The Wonder of Motherhood

I do believe watching mothers in their natural habitat is one of the wonders of living on a farm. Mother cats, to be more specific.

The cats here on the farm are all descendants of the original Mother Cat. I am not sure of their exact lineage but I believe I am correct to assume all the mother cats are sisters, cousins or aunts or nieces to one another. In other words, they have all known each other since birth.

This creates a perfect co-parenting environment. The momma cats will step in to relieve one another. The kittens and teens have a strong bond with each other and every mother figure in their lives. Other than the odd hiss when someone oversteps a boundary, these cats lead an incredibly harmonious existence.

Then there is the Language of Mothering. One certain meow meant, "I have a mouse here. Come and get it!" Another specific meow was a momma cat calling out to her newly independent kittens who were out discovering the farm. There is the purr of contentment of a brand new mother as she nurses her newborns. The subtleties of the mews, meows, purrs, trill of a meow and the throaty mrrowl each have their own meaning.

Mother cats seem to have an ease about letting go when it is time for their kittens to set out and discover the world.

Yesterday morning when I went to feed the cats, the three youngest kittens were missing. I called out, I shook the cat food dish and when nothing drew them out I peered up into the loft. Not a kitten in sight.

Their mother didn't seem bothered by their absence and ate her breakfast without a care in the world. After everyone ate and lavished on any cat love that was being doled out, I asked the momma where her babies were. Eventually she seemed to understand my query and headed off towards the barn. I could hear the change in her meow. She was calling out to her children. No answer. She got closer to the barn and didn't enter. She headed towards the wood pile alongside the barn and continued to call. In no time, one, two, three kittens bounded into view and acknowledge their mom. She looked up at me as if to say, "Don't you worry ... I've got this".

I was the human being, supposedly with common sense and reasoning power. Yet I was the worrier. Last week, these new kittens were just starting to venture out of the loft. This weekend, I was greeted by three frisky kittens who were exploring their new surroundings outside the cat house. Add a day, and they were off to the wood pile. 

In no time at all, they will be teens and pushing even more limits. Discovering more. Going further. Testing their "wings" so to speak. And the mother cats are good with this. It is the natural order of things.

If only we could live in harmony the way these animals do here on the farm.

The dogs stand back and respect the smallest of the independent kittens when the kitten hisses and teaches the dog where his boundaries are. The mothers all look out for each other's kittens. The kittens all play, wrestle, sleep and share their mothers with each other. The mothers simply love their children, love their children's children, love their sibling's children and so on and so forth. And they are raising generations of kittens who are doing exactly what their mother taught them.

The dogs quietly watch over their world, protect their boundaries, respect their feline companions and life is good. 

If only life was so simple off the farm. It could be. If only we could simply be kind to one another, respect each other's boundaries and look at life one moment at a time.