Feline Homebirth or Just a Fat Cat

We recently went on a three week holiday camping in France. Before we left, I had a sneeking suspicion that our cat might be somewhat in an expectant state. Her undercarriage was a little heavier than normal.  Before setting off on our holidays I printed out a list of the daily smallholding routine as a guide for our lovely live in homesitter who was to stay until our return, and hopefully mind all the animals, and not have any parties big enough to damage the house! As an afterthought I added in scribbled writing on the end of the printed sheet  'the little white cat may have kittens', only half believing it myself!

Well ..... she didn't. However, seeing her on our return a week ago, there was now no doubt at all that the cat was either housing an alien in her abdomen or was indeed pregnant. There were other signs .... the old newspapers (not that I ever get to read them these days, although I do occasionally buy one!)  which I stack in a kitchen cupboard were finely shredded and fashioned into a 'nest' that no bird would be proud of. The children and I would not be able to endure our excitement much longer. 6am risings to 'check the cat' became a little too frequent! We kept her in the scullery at night, and although we provided a wooden drawer up on a table top, filled with hay and an old fleece dressing gown she still preferred to curl up and sleep with the dog in her basket!

Then thismorning I looked in. No cat curled up with the dog, odd. I looked towards the drawer where the cat lay, purring, and four little kittens all suckling happily!

We all ate breakfast, and then, while Aoife and I watched the kittens again, I recognised a familiar gutteral deep seated primal grunt that occurs spontaneously when that urge to push hits a woman in labour!!! 'Watch Aoife, theres another one coming', 'how do you know that mummy', 'just watch'. Sure enough out squidged what looked like a large black shiny sausage. Seconds later it squirmed like a wet cocoon, a paw became visible through the opaque sack, it scraped against the walls of its tiny world, and the shrink wrapped bag was split by miniscule claws, and out slid another tiny wet kitten.

Aoife was mesmerised. The mother chewed off the umbilical cord, kindly allowed me enough time to explain what the placenta was to my daughter, then promptly ate it before settling with her five new kits!

For now, I will happily indulge in their cuteness and enjoy their time of containment. Yes I know life will be mayhem when all five finally blunder forth and explore rip to shreds the house from top to bottom, leaving stinkpods and puddles willy nilly. There will be time for swearing and losing of tempers later. But for now, lets all wallow blindly in denial at the utter cuteness of it all ....

Comments

[leslie]

What a robust group of kitties! She is appearing to be a very good mommie cat.
Thanks for the delight with none of the 'trouble'.

[Ash]

Oh, they are beautiful!

[WillieW]

Lovely.

Mammy Cat will likely try to move lairs a few times while they're very young, so if you want them to get used to human company avoid letting her get too far afield with them, as in an outbuilding or shed where you won't have access.

[hedgewizard]

Ahhh. Your plot is just so fertile!

[Wild Rose]

Very cute!

[debra]

What sweet little kitties! We also have a new feline member of the family. My daughter saw a very tiny kitten at the edge of the road near our home. "Can I keep it?" she asked. The girls used to call our home Second Chance Farm for a reason. So off to the vet to make sure the kitten, now called Dylan, for her incessant gravelly meow, was healthy. Dylan, at 5-6 weeks, is fine and is a member of the household.

[carolyn]

Bless! Kittens are wonderful and actually don't make too much mess, endlessly amusing. Lucky you.

[chronicler]

Oh my! I am glad to say I live too far away on this one. If not I would be knocking on your door shortly to beg for the little white one with the gray stripes here and there. I cannot resist a kitten. Enjoy! And thank you so much for sharing the vid!

[Sara]

Oh they are so cute!! There's nothing more special than new kittens . Mum looks very pleased with herself too, and so she should!

[dottyspots]

My that's a bit of a surprise! They look absolutely adorable (but then I'm a sucker for small furry things).

[jackie]

Oh gorgeous lovely cats. Much better than potato blight!

[Janet]

Thanks so much for those photos. I haven't seen newborn kittens in a long time. When do they open their eyes?

[Janet]

Any more photos of the kittens now? The early ones are so good.

[annulla]

What an adorable litter! Thanks for sharing the story of their arrival through your eyes. Wonderful tale, great images.

[Courteney]

My cat just had her kittens 7 days ago and they are just so adorable!

[Anise Coen]

Nice kittens =)
I love them.

Have 2 cats at home.