A 7-month-old cat who was abandoned while pregnant has gone viral on social media.
The TikTok footage shows Winnie, a black and partially white cat, who went into labor on October 8 and had “four perfect kittens.” Her new owner, who lived next to her previous family, explained in the clip that the neighbors “moved away and didn’t take their pregnant cat with them.” She stayed by Winnie’s side throughout the delivery.
The video, shared by @thekittens06, ends with Winnie lying next to her newborn kittens, a mix of tabbies and black felines, earning more than 700,000 views and over 165,000 likes.
A study from an open-admission shelter in the U.S. analyzed 2,836 owner relinquishment records from 2018 to 2023, using content analysis to categorize the reasons.
The top reasons for relinquishment of companion animals identified in the study were behavioral issues (28 percent), housing or moving challenges (18 percent), and inability to care for the animal (16 percent).
Among behavioral issues, the most frequently cited problems included aggression, social conflict, and soiling, all of which can create significant challenges for pet owners. These findings emphasize that both behavioral and practical life circumstances—such as changes in housing or personal capacity—play a major role in why people surrender their pets to shelters.
In the comments, many users expressed their heartbreak over Winnie’s story.
One person wrote: “How could they abandon such a beautiful cat, and what a good mum.”
Another added: “The fact that she allowed you to be with her during the labor is a huge sign of how much she trusts you.”
The caption on the viral clip also highlights a wider issue, stating: “I love that I get raise these kittens and give Winnie a home but please!!!! Spay and neuter your cats, especially if you are letting them outside. She shouldn’t be having a kittens at 7 months old.”
Why You Should Spay or Neuter Your Pet
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) said that spaying or neutering pets helps control the pet homelessness crisis. Millions of healthy dogs and cats are euthanized in the United States each year simply because there aren’t enough homes to go around. There are also medical and behavioral benefits to spaying (female pets) and neutering (male ones).
Benefits of spaying cats include:
- Prevents uterine infections.
- Lowers the risk of breast tumors, which are malignant in around 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats.
- Offers the best protection when done before the first heat cycle.
Behavioral benefits for males (neutering):
- Reduces urine marking around the home.
- Decreases mounting behaviors.
- May help prevent some aggression problems.
Newsweek reached out to @thekittens06 for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
