Photo Shoot of a Nursing Cat

Suri is my mother's cat but she is very fond of me. We are raising Suri's family for ten years. When Suri's daughter, also called Suri, gave birth for the first time I decided to shoot her. Suri, we have now, is in the third generation.

In May, 2001, Suri was just one month old when my mother brought her in our home. For many years we had no pets, so Suri was pampered to no ends. We fed her milk, butter and steamed-rice mixed with milk. Sometimes we give her a treat with rice pudding and cakes. She was about six months old when I saw her coming out of the attic with a rat still struggling between her teeth. She dropped the injured rodent on the floor and started playing football.

Suri was 13 months old when she became pregnant. Couple of months later she gave birth to four kittens. But unfortunately all were killed by a stray cat. He-cats find strange fascination in biting the kittens.

Second time when Suri gave birth I did not see the kittens until Suri carried them to our house. This time she had learnt the lesson about being secretive. As the kittens grew, Suri developed strange hatred towards her kittens. For days she would be away. And one day we found, Suri had actually abandoned us. Amongst the three kittens only one lived with us, while other two both males ran away. And this kitten was again called Suri.

Interestingly, this new Suri also showed the same behavioral pattern. Suri we have at the moment is granddaughter of our Suri, who ran away from us. And I’m worrying if this one also leaves us after she delivers her babies.

One evening when Suri was struggling to walk, my mother announced, Suri will give birth tonight. I did not believe mother, she had been saying the same thing since couple of days. The other day when Suri came to me, I saw her loosened belly.

We gave her a treat of rice pudding. I was very eager to see her kittens but I could not find them anywhere. Two days later when I saw Suri on the roof of our animal shed, I climbed the attic. But Suri snarled when she spotted me. Next time I went to see Suri and her kittens, she had already shifted.

A week later, I saw Suri in the garret of our outhouse. Despite my mother's warning that once Suri knows I know her place she will move her kittens, I went to Suri with buttered-milk. Kittens hid behind the log and Suri stared at me for a while but then she walked towards me and licked milk. For two days I familiarized with Suri.

The Kittens were three weeks old when I decided to shoot them.

When Suri gave birth to three kittens, I found some interesting feline behavioral patterns.

1. Cats are very secretive about giving birth. They are very choosy about their labor room.  I did not know Suri had already given birth until I saw her empty belly. Suri had chosen her delivery place in the attic of our animal shed.

2. Cats are very possessive about their kittens. They hardly let you come near. Suri is very fond of me but when I went to see her kittens she snarled. But couple of hours later when she came out of her place, there was no trace of her belligerence.

3. Cats do not like to show their babies. The new mother constantly changes her hiding place. I knew where the kittens are only two days later. Two days later, when I went to see the kittens, Suri had already sifted her place.

4. Mother cats are very active, they start hunting rodents. Suri was lazy girl but after her delivering kittens, she had developed a passion for game. She could wait for hours at the mouth of a rat hole.

5. Kittens eyes are opened after couple of days. But once they can spot the things around, they snarl when they think a danger is before them. Suri's children were so cute but when I tried to touch them they growled.

6. Male cats are independent in nature and most of the time they do not stay in their mother’s house.