Woman finds lost kitten in bizarre place after accusing mom of eating her

A woman has recorded the moment she frantically searched for one of five kittens, which was nowhere to be found.

Receiving more than 12.6 million views, the TikTok video shows owner @lena_did01 sounding nervous as she imagines the worst and asks the mother cat, Lucy, “What did you do with it?” followed by, “Did you eat your baby?” The woman’s voice sounds distressed as she begins to count the kittens and says a black “malnourished” one is missing.

“I really think she ate it,” the poster adds, while saying that she has looked everywhere, with Lucy closely following behind.

Lena’s theory may seem far-fetched, but it can happen. The Austin, Texas government website has said that some queens might cannibalize one or more of their kittens. This behavior is not necessarily due to a lack of experience in mother cats. It may be triggered by anxiety from excessive human interference or stress from the presence of other cats or dogs in the area.

Evolutionary factors can also play a role in cannibalism, such as if a kitten has a defect that is sometimes not immediately noticeable.

Owners are advised to separate the mom and kittens if she begins to show signs of aggression. Fortunately, maternal neglect and cannibalism are quite rare and typically occur within the first few days after birth, so most people will not encounter these behaviors. However, it is important to be aware of them.

At the time of writing, the video has more than 1.3 million likes and many comments from people sharing their experiences.

One user wrote: “Had a cat who had 13 kittens one day one was missing we looked all over. My kid was heartbroken so we told her that we miscounted we never found that kitten.”

“Black cats are notorious for just sitting still and watching the human panic,” commented another user.

On June, 4, Lena posted an update. It begins with another search, starting around the tumble dryer.

Lena says, “I don’t know where else to look,” as she points the camera behind the washing machine. With no luck, she continues to walk around her apartment, but then she hears a noise coming from the bathroom.

The video then flips into slow motion as Lena walks over to the garbage to find a black-and-white tuxedo kitten sitting in it. The owner then breaks down into tears while stroking the baby feline and asking if it is fine.

So far, the update clip has more than 4.4 million views and over 578,000 likes.

One user wrote: “Get a bell for that one.”

“Lucy is probably like “well at least I didn’t eat him,” posted another.

A third commenter added: “Definitely keep toilet seat down. Ms Lucy is something else.”

Newsweek reached out to @lena_did01 for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.