Foster Cat Gives Birth In The Sneakiest Place Possible

When Mayhem first arrived at the Kentucky Humane Society, very pregnant, the staff decided the best thing to do was find her a foster home, and Dr. Emily Bewley, the shelter’s veterinarian, immediately came to mind. 

“I do a lot of animal fostering, especially of pregnant cats and dogs, so they can give birth in a home instead of a shelter,” Dr. Bewley told The Dodo. 

Dr. Bewley took Mayhem home and tried to get her settled in, but she wasn’t having it. She was very uncomfortable and out of sorts, and Dr. Bewley was worried she may need to find her a different foster home where she might be more at peace. 

“I tried to spend extra time with her, but she made it clear she wasn’t happy,” Dr. Bewley said. “One night, she escaped her locked kennel, and I found her in my unfinished storage room. I tried to catch her, but she was nervous and ran from me. I watched her run up the wall and into the ceiling!”

Eventually, Mayhem came out of hiding — but it wasn’t long before the family started hearing tiny meows and realized that Mayhem had given birth to her kittens in the ceiling. 

Immediately, everyone sprang into action to figure out a plan to get the newborn kittens out of the ceiling and safely united with their very mischievous mom. 

“[I] called my technician, Rebecca, and her husband, Kurtis, who is a construction foreman,” Bewley said. “Of course, my husband was out of town! Rebecca and Kurtis came over and started drilling holes. We found three kittens immediately and reunited them with Mayhem. We thought all the kittens were found and safe … until we heard another meow in the wall!” 

Somehow the last kitten had fallen behind the chimney, but after a little more work, they were able to rescue that one, too. Before long, all four kittens were safe and sound and luckily appeared to be completely healthy. 

Mayhem quickly adapted to motherhood and transformed into the best mom ever, and actually ended up being becoming an adoptive mom to two orphaned kittens who came into the shelter, as well. In honor of their mom, Mayhem, and her antics, Bewley named the kittens Havoc, Snafu, Fiasco, Kerfuffle, Vendetta and Penance. 

“Mother Mayhem is now caring for six kittens, and she has turned into a lovely cat,” Bewley said. “She’s a great mom and she is very relaxed and happy. The ‘ceiling kittens’ and the two orphaned kittens that Mayhem adopted are all thriving!” 

Despite her initial hesitance about her foster home, Mayhem settled in wonderfully once the kittens were born. As it turns out, she was just an uncomfortable pregnant mama eager to give birth — so eager, in fact, that she did it in the ceiling.