Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  It was a tradition to stay awake during Chinese New Year’s Eve.The entire family stayed together until the first light of the New Year shone through the window, and the figurative ceremony of waving goodbye to the old year and hello to the new year was completed.

  Of course, pulling an allnighter wasn’t healthy. Nowadays, very few people stayed up the entire night. Most stayed awake until midnight, then went to sleep after the fireworks dwindled down.

  In fact, Fina, Snowy Lionet, Richard and Famous fell asleep before midnight. Only Old Time Tea, Galaxy and Pi stayed awake.

  Old Time Tea just drank two cups of hot tea. The caffeine in the tea made it restless. It wanted to celebrate a modern New Year, so it stayed in front of the TV and watched the Spring Festival Gala.

  Galaxy was playing with the kittens.

  Pi was too excited about its surprisingly good numbers to fall asleep. It constantly refreshed the author’s main page, each click made it more and more awake.

  Today, Zhang Zian worked at the shop, dug a hole, buried a dog, and took the elfins on an outing. Although he didn’t feel it earlier, the fatigue of his busy day overwhelmed him and he was asleep by the table before midnight.

  Bang!

  A huge firework was set off not too far away, and woke Zhang Zian up.

  Fireworks were prohibited in the city. However, some people still pushed their luck, especially on New Year’s Eve.

  Zhang Zian wiped his face and looked around. Most of the elfins were asleep, but, just like him, awoke because of the firework. Galaxy went to the baby’s crib, while Old Time Tea yawned, turned off the TV, and walked upstairs.

  Pi still stared at the website, its glasses reflected the light from the screen

  All of a sudden, the deafening sound of fireworks came from everywhere in the city.

  Zhang Zian didn’t need to look at the clock to know that it was midnight. The old year was gone and the new year had arrived.

  “Pi, go to sleep,” he whispered. “You won’t have the energy to write new stories tomorrow if you don’t go to sleep.”


  Pi nodded, turned off the computer, and jumped into the hammock. It didn’t close its eyes, it just gazed at the ceiling with a silly smile.

  Zhang Zian was ready to go back to sleep. He might be the only one in the shop tomorrow. He turned off the lights and was about to lie down when he saw two pairs of eyes in the dark, one pair green and the other yellow.

  “What’s that sound?” Old Time Tea asked. “Did you hear that?”


  Zhang Zian paused. He just woke up, his head was still fuzzy. He listened carefully, but didn’t hear anything.

  Fina looked at the wall, behind which was the shoe store. “I think the cats are going into labor.”


  What? The Abyssinian cats next door were giving birth?

  Cats usually didn’t like to be disturbed while in labor, which was why he prepared a quiet delivery room for them. Nobody knew when they were due to give birth, not even the cats themselves.

  The cats were first-time mothers. It was also Zhang Zian’s first experience with pregnant cats. His family used to run a pet shop, but all the pets were brought in, he had never helped any give birth.

  His biggest concern was that the cats would lack maternal instincts and eat their kittens.

  When it came to breeding, female cats who had successfully given birth were the most valuable becaue they demonstrated that they were able to reproduce without the risk of filial cannibalism.

  To this day, the causes of filial cannibalism were complicated and not fully known. Cats weren’t the only species with this behavior, other household pets—like dogs and hamsters—were affected too.

  The most believed reasons for filial cannibalism was that the female was disturbed during labor or they discovered that their newborn had a certain disease or disorder. In some circumstances, the mother ate the defected or diseased newborn to regain the strength it lost while giving birth.

  It was a survival instinct that the animals had developed under the harsh conditions of nature. Even as animals were domesticated, some that instinct was preserved. In order to guarantee its own survival and the survival of its newborns, the mother had to eliminate the weak ones.

  However, the cats were inexperienced, so they might incorrectly judge the kittens’ health status. They could end up eating the healthy ones.

  With help, kittens with defects could survive, and even grow up healthy, but the cats didn’t know this. The pain and anxiety of labor made them follow their basic instincts.

  On the other hand, a small number of female cats ate their kittens just because they wanted to eat them. This was because of a lack of maternal instincts.

  Statistically, a kitten’s survival rate was the lowest in a cat’s first litter, as a result of the mother’s lack of experience. After a successful first litter, a kitten’s survival rate grew higher and peaked at the fifth litter, but declined in the sixth litter. Respectable breeders wouldn’t allow a cat to have more than five litters.

  The good news was filial cannibalism in cats and dogs wasn’t as bad as in hamsters and rabbits, who, in some cases, could devour the entire litter. When Zhang Zian heard that Little Celery’s class was going to try hamster breeding next semester, he made a mental note to talk to them. Otherwise, it might end up a disaster, and Little Celery and her friends would be devastated.

  Zhang Zian didn’t feel sleepy as he remembered that the Abyssinian cats next door were about to go into labor.

  In order to not disturb the birth, he bought a baby monitor online—and installed the sensor in the cats’ room and the receiver in his bedroom—so that he could check on them at anytime.

  When Old Time Tea and Fina heard unusual noises from the baby monitor, they figured that the cats were in labor. Maybe it was induced by the firework disturbance.

  Zhang Zian put on his clothes. “You guys go back to sleep. I’ll check on them.”


  Fina jumped out of its princess bed. “I’m going, too.”