New Kittens Come to the Farm, Take 2

Or, "Laura Becomes Cat Midwife."

Last night, Shy-Shadow had six kittens. Four gray and two black. One gray kitten and both black kittens have white socks and white markings on their face and tummy. Very cute. Good thing she had so many because she looked like she swallowed a football or a cantalope!

It all started last night about 9:30 pm when Shy-Shadow started showing signs of labor. Of course, the only one in the family that noticed this and appreciated it for what it was, was me (makes sense). By 10 pm, she started having strong contractions and out popped the first kitten. There was some confusion because she thought the best place to have her kittens was in the office closet (ah...no!). So we had to sort of "lock" her in the cat carrier and let her know that she was having them where we wanted her to have them. So she had the first one in there, with much to-do and loud meowing. Then we took her and the newborn out of the carrier and placed them in the pre-arranged spot (a Pampered Chef box with an old pillow and some towels!). She decided that this would do, and stayed put, thankfully. The boys watched with amazement but then soon tired of it and trailed off to bed. Craig gave up around 11 pm, but Caitlyn hung on with me until about midnight until I shooed her off to bed. About 2 am, Shadow had the last and seventh kitten, the only white one. Sadly, though, the little one was already dead. I called Craig in to help me make sure that it was not going to make it, and we unceremoniously put it in a paper bag. It was sad.

The whole process was amazing. At times, I felt a bit queasy, but nature does have to run its course and everything that happens--has a good purpose (for those of you who have witnessed this before, you know what I am referring to, I think). But it was truly a memorable experience and I finally, reluctantly, slinked away to my bed, worrying about leaving her alone...that she might have more? Fortunately, there were no more, and morning found her up and about, getting a drink of water and the boys using their flashlight (still dark outside at 6 am) to count, "one, two, three...six!"

Now, to figure out how to give away six more kittens. Pepper had three, and only one is gone, so that's a total of eight.

Guess what I'm doing this week? Taking Pepper to the shelter and getting her fixed! Shy-Shadow will soon follow...