Pregnancy is a wonderful experience, especially when you get to enjoy it with your partner. Lauren Maners is a woman who is always willing to provide a helping hand to animals in need. She volunteers at animal shelters and fosters animals until they find their forever homes. Lauren, on the other hand, chose to take a sabbatical when she became pregnant. That is, until she and her husband came upon Dove, a sweet white cat.
“I had a long history of fostering and rehabilitating animals,” Lauren explained, “but as I got closer to the end of my pregnancy, I decided it was time to take a break from it all because the animals I usually fostered/rehabilitated were usually sickly and required a lot of care, which I wouldn’t have time for once the baby arrived.” Until Dove came along, she was confident that’s what she wanted.
Lauren said she and her husband were very excited to welcome their new baby into the world, however, Laurens’s pregnancy was not easy: “I had a difficult pregnancy I suffered from extreme sickness and ended up having to be induced due to complications. Plus having a baby in the peak of C̵o̵v̵i̵d̵.”
Lauren tells us more about how she found Dove and why she decided to foster her: “I and my husband found Dove extremely skinny and injured on the side of the road. I attempted to find her owners and then was informed that she was a stray and had been eating out of a dumpster of a nearby cafe for over a year. All of our no-kill shelters were full and I couldn’t just leave her knowing that she was going to have to take care of her babies in the wild.”
Lauren is the perfect example of a love for animals. Lauren welcomed Dove into her house, even though she was pregnant and near to her due date, and gave her all the love and comfort she needed. She received the same in return. Their relationship was incredible. They didn’t leave each other’s side. That’s what a motherly connection does.
Lauren saw that on top of being wounded, Dove was also pregnant. She knew she couldn’t leave the cat there, so Lauren decided to foster her
Incredibly, while Lauren was in the hospital delivering Kylie, Dove was at home giving birth to her own babies. “They were very possibly born at the same time,” Lauren said.
“She would follow me around everywhere I went, and loved sitting outside with me in the mornings in our fenced-in area and letting me rub her belly while we ate breakfast together,” Lauren said. Soon, it was time for Lauren’s daughter, Kylie, to be born.
Dove and Maners had both given birth at the same time, and Maners couldn’t believe it. Kylie grew up with the kittens, and the children of both moms were able to play together as they grew older and learned more about the world.
“When my daughter was 5 weeks old, she began to notice the kittens when I would carry her in there with them to help me feed them and give them some attention,” Lauren said. “The kittens were also very curious about my daughter as well.”
Lauren found Dove and her kittens the greatest forever homes after she resided with Lauren and her family for several months. Fortunately, all seven of them are not far from Lauren, so she and Kylie can communicate with them.
“Luckily the mother cat went to live with a friend of mine, so I am still able to get updates on her. And several of the babies went to people I know as well, so I have even been able to visit them,” Lauren said. Lauren broke her “no more fostering while pregnant” rule by fostering a pregnant mother cat who gave birth at the same time as her, and neither she nor her daughter, Kylie, regrets it.
We hope that this tale motivates you to help a deserving animal. Consider adopting one or volunteering at a shelter. You may always contribute money to a local veterinary clinic or animal shelter; they are constantly in need of assistance. If you’re thinking about acquiring a pet, please think about adopting! There are many wonderful pets out there who are eager to provide you with all of the affection you may ever require. All of the kittens were born healthy and happy, and they stayed with the family for several months. They really loved spending time with Lauren’s baby Kylie.
Lauren tells us more about herself: “I have been vegan for over 5 years and so animals have always been very important to me. I feel extremely connected with all living beings on this earth and I feel like it’s important to be their voices. I feel like animals are capable of much more emotional depth than most humans give them credit for. So I knew that I had to bring dove in and give her a safe place to have her babies without having to worry and fight for their survival. I related to that being pregnant and about to have my own child.”
Lauren made sure that Dove and her kittens found amazing and loving new homes. Dove now lives with Lauren’s friend and the kittens are not far away either, so the family can visit them whenever they want.
