So, this morning, I went to pick up my daughter from the Relay for Life thing. She’d been making up community service hours and had been there all night. After I left, apparently she called and spoke to my husband who told her that we have kittens, but one of them isn’t going to make it.
Sure enough, when we got home, Evil Kitty was in the box (it’s a covered litter box that we filled with an old blanket for the last time Momma Cat had kittens, we just left it on the porch) and I could see at least 2 little wriggling tails. I said, “heh, I wonder which one he thought wouldn’t make it. The ones I can see are fine and there’s none laying around.” I had just looked around the general vicinity of the box – Sterling pointed to the ground close to the edge of the porch and said, “maybe he meant this one?”
Sure enough, there was a little pink (ok, really, it’s got white fur, but you know it was just pink) wet newborn kitten laying in a puddle of amniotic fluid. Evil Kitty had eaten the placenta, and you could see the kitten was breathing, even if not too very well. I told Sterling to bring me a towel with which I dried the little thing off – while I was drying it off, it started yowling with a voice that told me it will do just fine. I put it in the box with Evil Kitty and the others and it found a nipple and has been suckling just fine ever since.
The end result is that we have 4 new kittens – 1 white, 1 grey and 2 black. If either of the black kittens end up boys, one will be brought inside. The cats are really just barn cats, not so much pets, but since our neighbor built a pond, the field mice have found their way in the house, so I am thinking it might be time to have an indoor cat.
Pictures never do justice to the size of a kitten. We have a kitten about four weeks old. The picture completely eliminates perception of the true size of the kitten.
Oh, no, I should point out that these kittens are HUGE. Evil Kitty is actually a quite tiny thing, barely larger than our chihuahua (who is 5lbs and 12" from floor to top of his ears) – these kittens are seriously huge, though. They are about 5-6 inches long. I was quite shocked that such a tiny cat could have 4 such huge kittens. They’re still nursing and mewling. Poor Evil Kitty hasn’t come out of the box once today – I am sure she is famished. I might shove some leftovers in there for her to chow down on soon.
Why do you do this to me? Why? I’ve been able to resist a third cat due to the size of my apartment, plus the crazy cat lady factor. Then you post a picture like that? Do you want me to become a crazy cat lady? DO YOU!!!
Ah, Susan, three doesn’t make you a crazy cat lady. (Three can make you crazy, but that’s another thread) It takes at least five for the label to be apropos.
I have to admit the gray one kinda of squicks me out, he looks more like a rat than a kitten, but he (she?) is a screamer. Loudest one in the bunch, so I know we will get on just fine once the fur comes in a little more.
Prom went just wonderfully. She had an absolute blast and the two of them were unbelievably adorable. People are still commenting her dress at school, which is awesome.
Yeh, I get away with more’n 3 cats and not being a crazy cat lady cuz my cats is snakebait Actually, one of the things that made me continue feeding the original cat (Momma Cat) is that she is such an amazing hunter – we see the occasional garter snake, but no copperheads, rattlers or cottonmouths – the cats keep the yard vermin free. That’s why I am going to bring one of this litter inside to deal with the field mice who think they will find safe haven inside. <cue evil laughter>
