Super Zoo

About the matter of giving birth, Suming and Su Meng had no experience whatsoever. Not to mention giving birth themselves, they had never even seen anyone else do it.

But even those without experience could guess with high accuracy that Xiaobai the cat was about to give birth. Maybe it's similar to humans, with contractions and labor pains...

Animal childbirth can sometimes be similar to humans. Mrs. Su took a small stool and sat by the nest, gently rubbing the white cat's belly. As she massaged, she also spoke to the white cat, murmuring comforting words like "be good," "don't be afraid," and "relax," treating the small cat as if it were a little person.

"Should we prepare scissors, hot water or something?" Suming was clearly nervous.

This would be the first time an animal in the zoo is having offspring. Last time the she-wolf gave birth to Huiya didn't count because he wasn't present then; he arrived only after she had given birth. Watching an animal give birth was a completely different feeling. Every time the white cat cried out, Suming couldn't help but feel a tug at his heart.

It must hurt so much! Suming looked at the white cat's hugely swollen belly, then down at his own. He only underwent surgery for appendicitis once in his life, and he almost couldn't handle it even with anesthesia. He presumed giving birth was even more painful.

However, that's a pain he would likely never experience in his lifetime.

"It's still early, it's probably going to take several more hours," Mrs. Su said with a smile as she continued to rub the cat's belly. "You think giving birth is that easy? She's going to be in pain for several hours before she gives birth."

Suming was still a bit uneasy, so he communicated with Xiaobai using his spiritual power. But the white cat was in so much pain it was nearly delirious, how could it communicate with Suming? All it could do was desperately cry out for help, completely forgoing its usual laziness. It even had convulsions occasionally, and it was unclear whether this was due to pain or some other reason.

Suming felt like time had never passed so slowly. After waiting for ages, he checked his phone and realized only a few minutes had passed. Su Meng was also there, awkwardly rubbing his large hands together, wanting to help but unable to.

Mrs. Su looked at them and said with mild amusement: "If you two don't have anything to do, go play elsewhere. The cat is birthing kittens, what are you two big men doing watching this?"

"I'm not busy anyway, so I might as well stay here," Suming insisted on staying concerned, simply took a small stool, sat down to wait, and sent Su Meng away. He could possibly be of help by staying, but Su Meng certainly couldn't—better to keep him away from the bloody scene, knowing how violent he could be.

Time trickled by, and the sky outside gradually darkened. By the time it was past ten at night, the Spring Festival Gala had already been on for a while, and the white cat's voice had become hoarse, its cries sounding like scraping iron. Yet there was still no sign of movement in its belly, and communication through spiritual power was ineffective.

After another half-hour of patient waiting, finally, there was some movement. A little bit of red appeared behind the white cat's rear, looking like a clump of flesh.

"It's coming, it's coming, the head is showing!"

Just as Suming breathed a sigh of relief, the white cat suddenly let out a piercing scream of agony. The small clump of fleshy tissue retracted back in, and then it started rolling around the nest, kicking its own belly desperately with its hind legs, like a rabbit.

"What's happening!" Suming exclaimed in shock.

Could it be that Xiaobai, resenting the cat's father for being too responsible and not being present at the birth, was going to induce its own miscarriage in a fit of rage?

That's too cruel! Suming shuddered at the thought, making a mental note to himself that when his wife gave birth, he would be there no matter what, even if the sky were falling.

Mrs. Su's expression turned grave. She quickly held down Xiaobai to prevent further kicking and gently massaged along its flank. Without looking up, she said to Suming, "This doesn't look good, it might be a difficult labor!"

"Mom, stop joking, how could a cat have a difficult labor!" Suming was genuinely startled.

"Cats are animals, too, why can't they have difficult labors! People can die from childbirth, so it's possible for other animals as well," Mrs. Su said.

She turned to Suming and asked, "Have you been feeding them any strange things while taking care of the cats?"

"No, not at all!" Suming shook his head. If even the imported cat food costing several hundred per bag was considered junk, then does that mean I've been eating like a pig?

These cats lived well and slept soundly in the zoo, without any nutritional deficiencies. Though they occasionally worked at the tourist boats, that was within the range of normal activity, and no one was ill-treating them. Instead, they would often bully other animals, relying on the fact that they were his earliest underlings – even the wolf-dogs had been gang-beaten by them. Thus, it was unlikely that they were in a bad mood or suffering from prenatal depression.

These little guys were extremely clever and would never carelessly eat rubbish food given by tourists.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Originally a gang of street cats, their quality of life had significantly improved after coming to the zoo, so how could they end up having a difficult labor?

"The reason is hard to say. It's similar to people, some are due to physical constitution, others because of incorrect fetal position. Oh, look at how big its belly is, it's very likely that there are too many kittens and it's too thin to give birth. I can't be sure either." Mrs. Su hadn't given up her efforts and continued to gently massage the cat's belly while speaking.

Another half an hour passed, and there was still no birth. At first, Xiaobai tried hard to deliver, and occasionally a part of a kitten would appear, but as time went on, Xiaobai couldn't even muster a cry. Occasionally its tail and limbs would twitch, and its eyes were half-open.

Suming could even feel that it had no strength left in its body.

"Should I go find a vet? Is cesarean section possible?" Suming asked uncertainly.

"Where are you going to find a vet? There's none in town, and while there is one at the county breeding station, everyone has gone home for the Spring Festival. By the time you drive to the county and find someone, this cat will definitely be dead!" Mrs. Su shook her head.

Even if they found a vet in the county, it wasn't certain they could treat the cat. Maoxi County was very poor; they couldn't even take care of people, let alone pets like cats and dogs. The veterinarian at the breeding station mainly dealt with larger livestock like cattle and sheep, and might not be skilled in treating cats.

As for returning to the city now, that would definitely be too late, not to mention Yangchuan City. The nearest city still required a six or seven hours drive, and with the first day of the new year, with people either on holiday or heading home, even in the city it might not be possible to find someone. This hassle could even hasten Xiaobai's death.

"So what do we do?" Suming asked.

Mrs. Su sighed, stroked Xiaobai's head with pity, and said, "Leave it to fate, if this little thing is lucky, it might just pull through on its own."

On hearing this, Suming's face turned green. This was gambling with a life. Seeing Xiaobai like this, already exhausted and incessantly assaulted by pain, it had no strength to go on; it was merely a matter of delaying the inevitable.

"Don't feel too bad. Childbirth is like passing through Ghost Gate Pass. In the past when medical conditions were not so advanced, many women died during childbirth, and this cat is too weak. Childbirth is inherently dangerous; you can't blame yourself," Mrs. Su consoled Suming.

Of course, it wasn't Suming's fault, but that didn't mean Suming could just watch Xiaobai die from difficult labor. Had it been an animal Suming didn't know, its death wouldn't matter much. But Xiaobai had been with him for half a year, living and eating at the waterside pavilion, and they had developed a deep bond. His relationship with them was no longer simply that of an owner and a pet, it was more like a patriarch to the small children of a family.

Besides, if something did happen, how would he explain it to Hei, to Miao Er, to Miao San? Would he say, sorry your wife kicked the bucket, why not find another one?

Suming quickly checked with his spiritual power, and Xiaobai's vital signs were still normal, but her life force was trickling away. He hurriedly continued to pour his spiritual power into her, trying his best to sustain her life.

But this wasn't a long-term solution. The energy consumed by giving birth was massive, and it couldn't go on like this forever. Spiritual power wasn't omnipotent; it could heal injuries, but giving birth wasn't an injury. It still depended on Xiaobai's own efforts. Even with Suming's strong spiritual power, he couldn't help deliver the kittens; he could only make sure she held on for the time being.

Judging from the feelings transmitted by the spiritual power, Xiaobai was not only close to collapsing, but her consciousness was also becoming unclear, probably due to the severe pain.

"You mustn't pass out!" Suming urgently increased the intensity of his spiritual power! As long as Xiaobai remained conscious, there was always a glimmer of hope, but if she fainted, it would be completely over; brace for a corpse and multiple deaths!

Stimulated by the spiritual power, Xiaobai seemed to regain a bit of consciousness and, with a meow, used the last of her strength to make another attempt.

The result was no different from before, the kittens were still in the belly, refusing to come out. Not only did the birth not happen, the spiritual power Suming had provided was also completely drained.

After such a prolonged difficult labor, Xiaobai's physical and mental stamina had both reached their limits. Even with the aid of spiritual power, she was at the end of her rope.

This was like a person collapsing on the ground unable to move after running a hundred kilometers. Even if given a bowl of thousand-year ginseng soup, at best it would ensure they didn't die, but they wouldn't suddenly become energetic because their body's capacity had reached its limit.

"It seems the kittens cannot be saved, if it really comes down to it, focus on saving the mother," Mrs. Su suggested to Suming. Insisting on birth might result in stillborn kittens, and ultimately Xiaobai might not even survive. If the embryos were 'terminated,' perhaps the mother's life could still be saved.

"No, I have an idea!" Suming suddenly thought of a possibility!

"What idea?" Mrs. Su asked, puzzled.

Suming's 'idea' was something he absolutely couldn't say aloud, so he told Mrs. Su,"I have a vet friend, I'll call and ask him."

After that, he went to the outer room and made a show of making a phone call, then came back in and said, "My friend taught me some obstetrics techniques, I'll give it a try."

Obstetrics techniques? Mrs. Su was taken aback.