Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The kittens have landed! (image heavy!)

That is right! We have babies!!!

This picture was taken this past weekend. She dropped at the end of the week and her belly really just expanded. We were expecting just a few babies for several obvious reasons: Syb is not even a year old, she's about 10 months herself; it's her first litter (and only!); and she is tiny, there is no way 7 kittens could be living in her itty bitty belly.

Last week was 9 weeks gestation so they were expected at anytime. We lock her in the laundry room where we prepared a little birthing area (look at us!) but she wasn't having any outward signs of birth. No nesting, no contractions, nothing. Luckily I'm not working so I'm typically home and can keep an eye on her, we don't want any birthings going on in our bed, thanks.

So last night around 10 I heard a noise from inside our closet and checked on her. There were no kittens yet so I just left her alone. A few minutes later she climbed on our bed and started whining and kicking her legs out. I took her to the laundry room and within 20 minutes we had the first babe! Evan was completely grossed out but I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Cats will lick the sack that their baby is born in to help them breathe, to start their circulation, and to help their milk drop. Once the first baby was born she was all worried about giving herself a bath so we had to watch her and make sure she took care of the baby. (She's a selfish mom. It runs in the family.)

Within an hour and a half she had 5 more for a total of six! She got much better at cleaning them and letting them nurse as the night progressed but we still had to coax her along a few times. She also ate the placenta which was admittedly disgusting. But she's an animal so it's more normal than gross.

The babies are the cutest things I've ever seen and that was one of the coolest experiences I've ever witnessed. So here are some pictures of the night and 12-hour-old kitties!




I love its little legs!


Hugs. So sweet.



So teensy!

And this morning. Super stoked to having six hungry kittens clawing their way up her body.
 
 Did you note how she had them on the floor and not the bed we made for her? She started walking around right before the first one came (she even face planted into the wall twice...) and ended up right there. We left her because well...we didn't want to touch her. (This has been a very evident lesson that we are not prepared to have our own children. I kept saying to Evan, "is this what you're going to be like when we have kids?!" Evan tweeted and facebooked the entire process so he needs to be weened from that because there will be no such thing during our own child's birth.)

We have two black, two grey, and two orange. Oh, and I think there might be a 7th still hanging out inside. We looked it up and she can go 48 hours between births before labor starts again. We don't know if it's just milk or her shrinking tumtum or what. Everything went well so we're hoping we don't have a stillborn kitten on our hands later on. That would be the worst day ever. Slash she's really good at laying on them so we're hoping she doesn't suffocate one either. Double worst.

We've also named one of the orange ones "Tank" because he was the second born and cried more than a real baby. He takes out the other kittens when they're eating because he should always be eating and he likes to claw and crawl over everything. I love him. Boy after my own heart. Now if I could just remember which one he is.......

12 loves:

  1. I'm so jealous! We're not allowed to have pets in our place. They're so CUTE!!

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  2. Our landlord lives two states from us so he's in the dark on these little babies! He doesn't know about our cat either, just our dogs. haha We've had dogs forever so a place that allows pets is the single most important thing for us.

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  3. omg! They are so beautiful!
    It's funny how dogs give birth in almost the same manner. My dog ate the placenta too, and was super super protective of the babies. Tt's amazing how they know exactly what to do with out any training. And us humans wouldn't know the first thing about giving birth without a doctor around! Congrats to you and Mama kitty on the litter :) Are you going to keep any? I wish I lived near you so I could take one!

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  4. OMG I WANT!!!! So stinkin CUTE!!! Love kittens! And that's so cool that you actually were able to watch the whole birthing process. :]

    Thanks for all of your sweet comments! They make me smile. Oh, and the Tolkien quote--I love it for the end bit. The whole thing about maybe marrying someone else being better--sure, there are times when everyone's thought that at least once, during a bad day, a fight, a rough patch, that maybe this was a complete mistake and someone better is out there. But they're not. Because your spouse--the person you married--really is the soulmate God chose for you. I like that thought: that even if it gets rough, there's comfort in "he really is the one God gave me." So, hey, at least we get that part right :]

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  5. Yay for new kitties!
    They are too cute!

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  6. You guys? I want to buy a farm so I can have a million kittens and no one will think I'm a crazy old cat lady. I currently have 7. I think that constitutes as crazy. Anyway, they are the cutest little creatures ever. I loved watching them be born because it was so instinctual for Sybil. I just talked to her and petted her head and she did the rest. It's crazy how she knew exactly what to do without me telling her to push and breathe and asking if she needed drugs yet. hahaha


    @Sarah-I love love love the way you put all of that. I've definitely had those days where I am completely sure that everything was a mistake but those are the days that make you realize that no, you didn't. I'm sure you know what I mean.

    @Katie-I'm keeping one baby girl. They're so tiny I can't tell boys vs girls yet, plus they all still look the same to me. But yes, keeping a girl!

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  7. How gross AND cute!!! I love cats, wish I wasn't so allergic :(
    nikki

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  8. I know, Nikki, I was torn between being completely memorized and throwing up in my mouth a little bit. And today when I was reading the comments from Katie about her dog I got pretty sick. I was also in the car so that didn't help. It's pretty gross in theory but in real life it's pretty cool. =]

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  9. I LOVE KITTENS! so cute!! congrats!

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  10. those. babies. are the cutest. things. EVER! I think birth is the COOLEST thing ever!!! I remember when my dog had her puppies! I also raised rabbits for 12 years and we had kits one time. It was the COOLEST experience EVER! :)

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  11. @ Elaine-I need to put up new pictures! They're going to be 2 weeks old and they're just getting so much cuter. It was such an amazing experience to just watch her instincts kick in and tell her exactly what to do.

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