Carrying Life, Carrying Love: Pregnancy, Homelessness, and Two Cats Who Never Left

Frenchie
Sep 3
5 min read

In my last post, I touched on what it meant to be pregnant while navigating homelessness and sex work. What I didn’t share then was how another part of my family—my cats—fit into that chaos. People told me to give them up, that it would be easier. But this post is about why I didn’t, and how their presence carried me through some of the hardest days.

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When we were evicted, I admit I had a delusion of control over the situation. The American Dream- A stable nuclear family living in stability had been torn away and I found soon that I couldn’t control much. During the chaos, my cats were a constant. I’d been coaxed for so long to get rid of them, “ give them a better life”, “you can’t afford them”. That its easier to let them go. Easier on who?

Me, I would fall deeper into a state of depression- losing my home and part of my family was too heavy a weight to bear. Disregarding the general consensus from loved ones, our cats motel hopped with us. The first place that we stayed at- a specific Motel 6 of which I notoriously have issues with- ended up keeping our deposit and banning us. They stated that the cats destroyed the sheets- which is honestly impossible-and that our room smelt horrible granted, I did forget to dump the litter from the trash can after packing up. Before the eviction, we purchased two travel kennels and a play pen for them to travel and play in. This became their temporary home for months. With the remaining funds I had, I ordered an Uber XL, lugging two cats, myself, my partner and our little belongings to the county office. They had to help.

I was pregnant and homeless after an altercation with someone close to me, and being banned from the motel. We spent hours alternating watching and caring for the cats who sat in kennels on the sidewalk with food and water bowls. I explained our situation and the worker helped with emergency funds. We raised funds on social media from mutual aid in between time thus giving us funds to Uber to a bank then another motel for the night. We always had to pay $25 extra per night for them. This place was more lenient but it was worth it regardless. Anything to stay loyal to them. After a successful night, we’d arranged a ride to an Airbnb.We got our deposit and paid a friend to give us a ride to the BnB before work.

We found an oasis overnight to retreat to- an Airbnb in a fat house about 30 minutes from the chaos that was our old lives. They remained loyal: barely running off when we let them stretch their legs at the parks our kids played in.

It wasn’t always easy. We dug into our BnB funds when we had to buy cleaning supplies cause our Siamese, Milky Chance, had nervous diarrhea in his kennel. We stopped at a liquor store with a humongous parking lot near a busy road. He, of course, wanted to roam. Later, our Tuxedo cat, Stella Artois Jr, also doo-dooed out of anxiety. This BnB was so pet friendly, the host allowed us to let the cats roam around the house, even offering to cat sit them for a reasonable fee while we secured housing. The BnB was somewhat of a luxury: for a small fee, we had snacks, food from the fridge, laundry access, bed that reclined, We took advantage of the jacuzzi and played our music on bluetooth.

Once, in the beginning, I tried to leave them. We had to be out of the apartment we were evicted from by 6 am or face the sheriff 's presence. We left early, no room or place to go ourselves - let alone the cats - to go with us. We decided to let them become street cats. They were used to the neighborhood and were indoor/ outdoor cats already. We thought it was what’s best for them. Staring out the window of the Uhaul at them broke me.

I was so torn- am I being selfish by wanting to keep them? I can’t afford them, it’s what's best. They both gazed unknowingly at us, anticipating us to come back and open the front door or window for them. They sat on the ground in front of the door and we peeled off, heading to our storage space. A day passed and we relented. We’d literally been there for them since we coached their mom through giving birth at home. They’re registered as our emotional support animals. We couldn’t abandon our family. Pulling up, they were on a table outside, laying in wait for our arrival. We packed them in their kennels with many long meows in protest haunting the air. Their loyalty- not leaving and running off into the streets but patiently waiting for us, taught me that love is truly patient, trusting, and loyal. They help make me feel like I have a family extending beyond my children, of course. Their presence lifted the weight of many dark times- they’ve made us laugh, carried our sadness melting it away in purrs and kneading bread upon us with their paws.

The memory of them staying overnight waiting for us is home. Not an apartment run by a slumlord. Home isn’t always a place, it’s who is waiting for you to come back.

And as I carried new life inside me during those nights, their presence reminded me that I wasn’t carrying the weight of survival alone. My kids, my partner, my unborn baby, my cats—we were all still a family, no matter what roof we were under. That truth kept me moving forward, even when everything else felt uncertain.

Frenchie gave birth to a healthy baby boy on September 1st, 2025 and we welcome this new life in our advocacy family! We are strongest together and as the saying goes a house divided against itself will always fall.

Support your local pregnant sex workers, especially Black and disabled femmes.

🖤 Give directly: cash, phone bill, motel stays, transportation

🖤 Mutual aid > charity: no strings, no savior complex

🖤 Speak up: challenge stigma in your own communities

🖤 Push for policy: decriminalization, housing rights, disability and medical justice

Support organizations like:

You have the right to advocate for policy changes- decriminalization, disability rights, housing rights, and medical justice.

I want you to know, reader, that there is so much power in storytelling as activism. By reading, commenting on, and sharing this, you propel the message even further. You can advocate for your fellow sex worker by standing beside them and lifting their voices.

Consider: What does real support look like? What will you do differently after reading this?