Molly and the Cat Cafe

There was a tightening sensation in my belly and, though I was touched by Sophie’s concern, I couldn’t summon the faculties to respond to her. The pressure in my abdomen was intensifying, and I felt like I was about to burst. Just as Sophie reached the windowsill, the pressure became so overwhelming that I had no choice but to give in to my urge to push.

I heard Sophie scream. ‘Mum!’ she shouted. ‘Come here, quick! Molly’s just . . . exploded!’

Debbie rushed into the café from the kitchen, still wearing her yellow rubber gloves. She ran to the windowsill and looked down at me. ‘Oh, my God,’ she exclaimed, her face aghast. ‘She hasn’t exploded, Sophie, she’s giving birth!’

23

I lay on my side with my eyes closed, my head spinning. I could feel a dampness spreading across the cushion underneath me, but all I cared about was that the intense pressure in my abdomen had eased. I half-opened my eyes and saw Debbie and Sophie staring at me with identical shocked expressions on their faces.

Sophie clapped her hand over her mouth. ‘Urgh, I think I’m going to be sick. That’s disgusting,’ she said.

Debbie turned to her sharply. ‘It’s not disgusting, Sophie – it’s childbirth, and it’s the most beautiful thing that can happen to a woman.’

Sophie stared back at her, open-mouthed. ‘Mum, Molly’s not a woman, she’s a cat!’

Debbie frowned as she started to peel the rubber gloves off her hands. ‘Of course she’s a cat, Soph. Now stop gawping and get a towel, please.’

Sophie ran into the kitchen and I could hear her rummaging inside a cupboard.

Meanwhile Debbie knelt down on the floor next to the windowsill and stroked me on the head. ‘You saucy minx, Molly. How did you find time for that, eh?’ she chided me softly.

I started to purr. The initial shock of what had happened was passing and, for now at least, I wasn’t in pain. I lifted my head from the cushion and turned to look at the tiny ball of damp fur – my kitten – that was nestling between my hind legs. It was squirming helplessly, so I propped myself up on my forelegs and began to give it a thorough, invigorating wash.

Sophie ran across the café and handed a towel to Debbie. They both watched in silence as I cleaned the kitten from head to tail. Sophie made a gagging sound as I chewed through the cord that still connected the kitten to my body, but Debbie elbowed her firmly in the ribs and told her to ‘Shh!’

When I felt the pressure start to build in my abdomen again, I flopped back onto the cushion, knowing there was nothing I could do to fight the pain that would soon follow. While I waited for the urge to push to seize me, Debbie carefully took the first kitten and wrapped it in the towel, giving it a gentle rub all over and checking inside its mouth, before placing it close to my body.

‘A tabby, Molls, just like you,’ she whispered. Debbie and Sophie were kneeling on the floor next to the windowsill, their faces an equal mix of worry and excitement. I purred at them and Debbie reached out a hand and stroked my head. ‘Keep it up, Molly, you’re doing brilliantly,’ she encouraged. I started to mew as the tightening sensation in my belly started to spread. I felt as if I was being gripped from the inside, and my limbs became rigid. ‘Push the pain away, Molly – that’s what the midwife told me,’ Debbie said. And so I did.

As with the first kitten, the pain stopped the moment the second one arrived. I allowed myself a few breaths before tending to it, cleaning it quickly and efficiently. Although I knew there were more to come, my body seemed to be allowing me a temporary reprieve, and I was able to lie down and recover while my two kittens burrowed deep into my fur to feed.

‘Shall I put the kettle on?’ Sophie asked, looking suddenly drained.

Debbie agreed that tea was an excellent idea. While Sophie was in the kitchen, Debbie pulled two chairs up to the windowsill and lowered the blind in the window. The dusk had turned to darkness outside and the café interior was visible from the street. ‘There you go, Molly,’ she said softly. ‘A little privacy might help.’

Sophie returned with two mugs of tea and they sat down on their chairs to wait.

‘It brings it all back, you know,’ Debbie said wistfully.

Sophie grimaced in a way that implied she’d heard it all before. ‘At least you only had to push one out, Mum. Who knows how many Molly’s got in there!’

Debbie laughed. ‘That’s true, Soph. Although you were so slow to come out – I probably could have delivered a whole litter in the time you took.’

Sophie winced. ‘Urgh, Mum, please can we stop talking about this?’

‘Okay,’ Debbie said, taking a sip of her tea. ‘Nineteen hours, that’s all I’m saying. Nineteen hours. Of pain.’ She smiled into her tea as Sophie rolled her eyes.

‘Oh, all right, Mum. I didn’t do it on purpose, you know.’ Sophie was beginning to look riled. ‘And besides, didn’t you just say childbirth was the greatest thing that could happen to a woman?’