התמלול המלא של Two kittens. Two roads.

this sweet, affectionate little girl is almost ready for the next chapter. 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.480 She's playing again and she's exploring. 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:24.480 She's being silly and doing all the things that kittens are supposed to do. 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:28.959 And she's being a kitten because that's what she is. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:34.319 But what if we'd made a different choice? 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:37.360 And I want you to imagine something. 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:43.120 Imagine that instead of proceeding with surgery, we'd decided to let that continue. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:54.079 Imagine that we'd waited that we'd watched her belly grow, prepared a nesting box, and waited for the day she became a mother. 00:05:55.839 --> 00:06:03.279 Would that have been the kind of decision that would we have been giving those unborn kittens a chance at life? 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:12.639 Or would we have been asking a little girl to sacrifice her own childhood for babies she was never supposed to be carrying at her age? 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.720 It's a difficult question, isn't it? 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:21.839 And it's easy to have an answer when you're not the one responsible for what comes next. 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:24.959 But here's where the story takes a turn. 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:31.439 Because while she was recovering from her surgery, another little girl was about to come into our lives. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:37.120 And she was going to show us exactly what motherhood can look like when you're still a baby yourself. 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.439 And this is where Simone's story continues. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:53.759 And if you listened to the previous episode, you already know how she came into care. 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:59.519 But there's also things about Simone's story that we didn't know when she first arrived. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.600 Some things that have changed the way that we've had to look at her. 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:09.680 It was late October when she arrived with five newborn kittens. 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:10.800 Five. 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:14.079 She'd given birth to them in a closet. 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:19.439 And the circumstances surrounding their arrival were nothing short of ridiculous. 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:25.680 There was a very real possibility that those babies were going to be separated from their mother. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:33.439 Now anyone who knows me knows exactly how I feel about unnecessarily separating newborn kittens from their mum. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:39.759 And anyone who listened to the previous episode knows how that particular situation unfolded. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.000 And let's just say it wasn't one of humanity's finest moments. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:48.079 At the time we were already close to new intake. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:54.480 We were financially stretched, overwhelmed, and struggling to keep up with the animals already depending on us. 00:07:54.720 --> 00:08:01.199 But there are some situations where you don't have the luxury of sitting down and working out whether you can afford to help. 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:06.399 You just know that if you don't do something, the consequences could be devastating. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:08.959 And this was one of those. 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:12.160 So Simone and her five babies came into care. 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:26.639 Six more lives, six more mouths to feed, six more reasons to worry, and another very young mum who at the time we believed was approximately twelve months old. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:33.440 Yes, she's young, but not unusually young, or so we thought. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:40.080 As we got to know Simone, we started noticing little things, things that didn't quite make sense. 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:45.600 She was affectionate and she was playful and she wanted attention. 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:53.919 And sometimes when we watched her with the babies, she seemed almost confused about what she was supposed to be doing. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:59.679 Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions, I'm not suggesting that every young mother behaves this way. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:02.559 Or that an older mother can't struggle too. 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:08.639 I've seen experienced mums who need help and first-time mothers who seem to know exactly what they're doing. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:10.879 Every cat is different. 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:14.399 But Simone was making us curious. 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.799 Then we discovered something. 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:19.279 She wasn't twelve months old. 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:21.440 She's eight months old. 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:28.960 Which means when she became pregnant, she was likely only five to six months old. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:31.600 Sound familiar? 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:38.720 Our first kitty was barely five months old when we discovered her pregnancy. 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:42.559 Simone was likely around a similar age when she conceived. 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:54.240 Two little girls, almost exactly the same stage of their lives, except one pregnancy ended, and the other resulted in five kittens. 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:58.639 Suddenly the similarities between them were impossible to ignore. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:06.240 And I found myself looking at Simone differently, because I wasn't just looking at a mother with five babies anymore. 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:10.000 I was looking at a kitten who had become a mother. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:13.360 Now I need to explain something. 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:17.600 Simone loves her babies, and I have absolutely no doubt about that. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:23.039 She feeds them, she settles with them, she responds to them when they cry. 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:26.720 But some of her behavior has been a little unusual. 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:35.600 Over the past few days, we've watched her pick up the kittens and move them

around in ways that have made us kind of cringe and a bit wary. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:41.600 And sometimes she'll grab one, move it around roughly, trill, and then go back to get another. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:44.720 To her, they're little toys. 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:46.720 And they squeak. 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:53.440 But then she'll lie down, they'll find their way to her, and then everyone settles for a feed. 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:56.960 It's almost like watching two different sides of her. 00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:03.759 One moment she's being a mother, and the next she's behaving like a kitten that wants to play. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:11.519 And I can't help wonder whether those two instincts are competing with each other because she is still so young. 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:16.080 She's still at an age where she should be playing and exploring and learning. 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:21.360 But instead, she's responsible for five completely dependent little lives. 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.639 And that's the responsibility she didn't choose. 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:28.159 There's also the nesting. 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:38.159 Some nights she'd move them into the litter tray, dirty or not, because for whatever reason, in her little head, she thought that was a better choice. 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:42.000 She had a proper nesting box available. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:46.000 For some reason it just wasn't what she wanted. 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:52.399 But watching her repeatedly choose the litter tray made me realize that something wasn't quite right. 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:56.320 Maybe she was looking somewhere that she felt more secure. 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:01.360 Maybe there was something about her environment that she wasn't comfortable with. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:02.960 I don't know. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:04.720 And that's the thing. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:06.320 I can't ask her. 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:10.720 I can't sit down and say, Simone sweetheart, what are you doing? 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:18.240 Well, actually I can, and I do frequently, but she's not particularly forthcoming with an explanation. 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:26.639 So I just sit and watch and I observe and I try and help her and make changes because that's what rescue is. 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:38.159 It's not just putting food in a bowl and cleaning out the litter tray, it's noticing the things that aren't quite right, it's asking questions, and sometimes it's admitting that you don't have all the answers. 00:12:39.413 --> 00:12:45.253 Simone's babies needed additional care right from the beginning because they were tiny. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:53.600 And two of them have conditions with their legs, which means they haven't been able to do what they're meant to do. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:55.440 They're not in the right position. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:01.840 We also needed to provide supplement feeds to help support them all. 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:03.840 Now I want

to be very clear. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:12.240 I'm not saying that Simone's age caused these issues, because that'd be an assumption, and we don't have the evidence to back that claim. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:21.200 But what I can tell you is that raising five newborn kittens is demanding for anyone, even for a healthy, mature mum. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:26.559 And when the mother herself is still growing, it's something that deserves particular attention. 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:37.759 Because every feed, every interrupted rest, and every demand that those babies place on her body is happening still while she has growing and developing to do of her own. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:42.720 And sometimes I watch her and I wonder how much of this she actually understands. 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:58.000 Not in a human way, of course, but whether she feels overwhelmed, whether she's exhausted, whether she's just trying to work out what to do next, and whether given the opportunity, she'd rather be chasing a toy across the floor. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:02.080 Now I want to ask you something. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:04.879 Remember the question I asked you at the beginning? 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:06.960 What would you have done? 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:09.919 Now let's go back to the kitty in story one. 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.480 She was barely five months old. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:17.200 She was underweight, carrying multiple developing kittens. 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:23.200 You knew there would be significant risks associated with continuing the pregnancy. 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:28.720 You also knew that terminating that pregnancy means that those kittens will never be born. 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:31.039 What would you do? 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:36.799 Would you proceed with the surgery or would you let the pregnancy continue? 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:41.120 And before you answer, I also want you to think about Simone. 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:45.120 Because Simone is living on the other side of that decision. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:46.399 She's here. 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:48.399 Her babies are here. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:55.840 They're alive and they're being cared for, and we're doing everything we can to give them the best possible start. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:59.840 But the fact is that Simone is still a kitten. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.720 She doesn't suddenly become a fully developed adult because she's given birth. 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:10.080 And the fact that she has five babies doesn't mean she stops needing care herself. 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:13.759 Now imagine that she hadn't come into rescue. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:30.639 Imagine that there wasn't someone watching her behavior, someone noticing where she was putting the babies, someone checking whether they were feeding properly, someone monitoring, someone providing the additional milk when it was needed. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:35.120 What would her experience of motherhood have looked like then? 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:37.120 We don't know. 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:43.679 And I don't want to pretend that we do, but I do know that having support makes an enormous difference. 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:46.000 And that difference matters. 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:51.360 Now we've seen so many young mums come through our doors this year. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:54.159 And do you know what they all have in common? 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:56.080 Struggle. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:59.039 They need help, they need extra support. 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:07.039 Some struggle to produce enough milk, some become overwhelmed, and others are simply exhausted by the demands of raising their babies. 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:12.960 Because they're still babies themselves, yet they're forced to raise more of their own. 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:17.919 And these are the ones that we call lucky because they've made it into care. 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:23.120 They have someone watching over them, helping them and making sure they have everything they need. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:36.720 And most importantly, when their babies are weaned and they're ready, they will be de-sexed and they'll never have to endure another pregnancy or raise another little because the cycle ends with us. 00:16:45.475 --> 00:16:57.679 I want you to think about the mothers that we never meet, The ones giving birth underneath houses, in sheds, in abandoned buildings, in backyards. 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:02.240 The ones trying to keep their babies warm when the weather turns cold. 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:07.039 The ones searching for food while their newborns wait for them to return. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:13.519 The ones who are sick and injured or malnourished or just simply too young to cope. 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:18.079 And the ones whose babies don't survive. 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:20.880 We don't get to see their stories. 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.640 We don't get the happy photographs. 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:28.079 We don't get to celebrate their milestones. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:31.440 Sometimes we don't even know they exist. 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:38.240 And yet somewhere out there, there's another little Simone becoming pregnant. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:43.759 Another little Simone having to give birth. 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:46.799 And the cycle just keeps going. 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:51.920 I've debated sharing this story for so many reasons. 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:59.039 One of them because the strong feelings and misconceptions and opinions surrounding the spay abort procedures. 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:03.359 And I know there will be people who disagree with the decisions that we made. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:08.000 And I know there will be people who say that we should have let nature take its course. 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:12.640 And once upon a time, I might have been one of them. 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:20.079 But experience changes your perspective, education changes your

understanding. 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:29.039 And sometimes being confronted with the reality of a situation forces you to reconsider everything that you thought you knew. 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:34.079 This isn't about whether you agree with pregnancy termination. 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:39.920 This is about why a kitten who was barely five months old was pregnant in the first place. 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:43.119 That's the conversation that we need to be having. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:45.599 Because her story isn't rare. 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:48.960 This is happening every single day. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:54.400 And until we start doing better by the animals who depend on us is going to keep happening. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:01.920 We are already bursting at the seams with unplanned, unwanted, and discarded kittens and mothers. 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:04.559 Rescues are exhausted. 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:13.359 Carers are overwhelmed, and veterinary clinics and shelters are struggling to keep up, and the cycle just keeps continuing. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:20.079 There are more pregnancies, more kittens, and more animals needing homes that there simply aren't any for. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:25.039 It doesn't have to be this way because we can do better. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:27.599 We need to do better. 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:33.680 Now I'm going to tell you the name of the kitten from story one. 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:36.000 And that's little Mariska. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:41.279 You all know her, we've shown you her picture before. 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:45.759 And she's playful, she's affectionate, she's discovering the world. 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:49.279 But she doesn't have five babies depending on her. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.920 She doesn't have to worry about feeding them. 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:56.000 She doesn't have to go through birth or the physical demands of raising a litter. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:58.559 She gets to be a kitten. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:08.000 And then I look at Simone and I see her laying with her five babies, and I see them feeding, and I see her cleaning them. 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:15.920 And I see these moments when she wants to come and play, when she's restless, when she's doing things that leave me scratching my head. 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:24.559 And I think about how close these two little girls are in age, and how easily their circumstances could have been reversed. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:31.200 Mariska could have been the mother of five, and Simone could have been the kitten recovering from surgery. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:33.440 And yet here they are. 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:39.920 Two completely different experiences, neither of which should have been necessary. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:43.039 And I think that's the part that gets me. 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:48.559 Because neither of these little girls did anything wrong. 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:54.319 They didn't make irresponsible decisions and they didn't choose to become pregnant. 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:58.160 They were simply cats doing what nature designed them to do. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:05.759 And somewhere along the way, the humans responsible for preventing these situations failed them. 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:09.200 That's where the responsibility belongs. 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:17.200 Not with Mariska, not with Simone, and certainly not with their babies. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:26.880 If you take anything away from this story, let it be this DeSex your pets. 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:34.960 Not when they've had their first litter, not when you decide that you've had enough kittens, not when you finally get around to it. 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:39.119 Talk to your vet about the appropriate age and timing. 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:47.440 Because by the time you realize that your little girl is pregnant, you might already be facing decisions that you never imagined you'd have to make. 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:51.039 And those decisions can be heartbreaking. 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:59.759 I know because I've made them and I've cried over them, and I've questioned myself long after the paperwork has been signed. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.599 And the surgery is finished. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:06.559 But I've also sat beside young mums who are struggling. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:08.880 I've helped feed their babies. 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:11.680 I've watched them become overwhelmed. 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:20.640 And I've seen what happens when animals are left to reproduce without anyone taking responsibility for the consequences. 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:24.880 I don't want to have to keep having these conversations. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:28.240 I don't want to keep seeing kittens becoming mothers. 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:33.279 I don't want to keep making decisions about pregnancies that never should have happened. 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:40.640 And I don't want another little girl to go through what Marissa or Simone had to experience. 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:51.920 And just like her namesake, Detective Olivia Benson from the Law and Order series, we fight for the ones that don't have a voice. 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:58.880 And Simone, she's the little black kitten who gave birth to five babies in a closet. 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:03.920 The little girl whose story brought so many people to our page. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:12.240 The little girl who has no idea that people have been talking about her, worrying about her, and following her baby's progress. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:15.119 She's just doing the best that she can. 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:18.559 And we're going to keep doing the best that we can for her. 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:21.200 Because that's what she deserves. 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:29.279 And when those babies are grown and no longer need her, Simone will finally have the opportunity to be Simone the kitten again. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:37.279 No more pregnancies, no more litters, no

more tiny babies depending on her for survival. 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:43.359 Just a little girl who deserves to be loved and cared for, exactly like Mariska. 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:49.440 I want to leave you with one final thought. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:54.559 We talk a lot about saving lives in rescue, and rightly so. 00:23:55.680 --> 00:24:01.279 But sometimes saving a life means making a decision that other people won't understand. 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:05.759 Sometimes it means stepping in before something goes wrong. 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:11.440 Sometimes it means helping a mother raise babies that she was never ready to have. 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:17.359 And sometimes it means making sure those babies are never conceived in the first place. 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:22.400 Not everyone will agree with every decision that we make, and that's okay. 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:31.440 But I hope that after hearing these stories, you'll understand why we have to make them because I've looked into the eyes of both of these little girls. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:41.839 I've held them, I've worried about them, and I've cried for them, and I've seen two very different sides of the same problem. 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:54.400 Two kittens, two pregnancies, two different outcomes, and neither should have been pregnant in the first place. 00:24:55.839 --> 00:25:04.720 Both ended up at Hannes Haven, and they've got two stories on two different roads. 00:25:06.628 --> 00:25:09.429 Their stories don't have to be repeated. 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:13.519 We can change what happens to the next little girl. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:21.359 We can change what happens to the next generation, we can change the trajectory. 00:25:27.165 --> 00:25:37.200 We need to rewrite our history This one keeps repeating. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:47.119 Too many stayed silent, too many left and never come back. 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:56.799 But imagine if we could have changed that to generations with timelines much the same. 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:02.400 Except this isn't reversed, and it's not a game for generations. 00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:11.440 The same pattern, the same silence, the same heartbreak. 00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:17.359 Somehow we gotta change the trajectory. 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:30.319 Same kind of problems, stories like books, but not everything is the same, especially looks. 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:34.400 See the while the waters between us. 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:38.079 No ships strong enough to survive. 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:43.200 But fight in the same battles, just at very different times. 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:54.079 For generations, the same pattern, the same silence, the same heartbreak. 00:26:54.880 --> 00:27:02.720 Somehow we gotta change trajectory, trajectory, trajectory. 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:12.960 When history is repeated, we are with the same game. 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:21.279 Why don't you take the lessons you learned and set a different trajectory? 00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:22.880 Trajectory. 00:27:24.401 --> 00:27:29.040 we still don't talk our own mothers the same. 00:27:29.760 --> 00:27:34.401 When will they learn it's time to switch up the game? 00:27:36.560 --> 00:27:47.441 Four generations, the same pattern, the same silence, the same heartbreak. 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:53.359 Somehow we gotta change trajectory.