Friday the 13th? Not that I'm supersitious ...

Clearly today is Friday the 13^th! Silver has not returned and I’m in a state. I haven’t slept all night – the odd doze or nap, but no real deep sleep. By around three am I checked on the kittens and took them into bed with me, to make sure they stay warm – in their nest, abandoned, they snuggled together and slept quietly. Not so in my arms! They wriggle and move around desperately looking for a food source! Their claws can’t draw blood, yet – but not for lack of trying! Eventually I place them in a fleece blanket in the crook of my arm. When the blanket is nice and warm I put them back in their nest with the blanket – as I’m afraid I may fall asleep and roll over the kittens! I think I must have slept an our or so, I was half-awake on and off throughout the night.

Six o’clock and still no Silver. I go out to the street, call – nothing. By seven I call my neighbour – after two nights without any real sleep, my brain is a fluff of cotton wool. I’m struggling to form any clear thoughts, let alone string a few together to achieve any logic. My neighbour has a full day scheduled, which she can’t cancel – in desperation I ask if she could bring Shadow upstairs.

Friday the 13^th strikes again – the door lock isn’t working! She has to unscrew the whole lock to get inside, wriggle the pin to unlock the door! Coming up all those stairs to my place is already not easy for her – but carrying a cat in her arms makes it even more difficult!

We place Shadow outside the nest – she immediately moves inside and starts licking the kittens! At least their bowls will be emptied! Then we watch – hoping that Shadow still has enough milk. She was spayed the same day the kittens were born: nine days ago. She was pregnant at the time and has been heavy with milk – but today her mammary glands are receding. As we watch, one kitten finds a teat and is clearly suckling. Since he’s staying latched on, not moving to find another, we can only guess that there is milk.

The tigered one’s eyes already opened last night, the others are beginning to open this morning. At nine days they still need their bowels stimulated – both for food processing and defecation. They also can’t stay warm alone, yet. They need feeding and cleaning every 2-3 hours. I can not take another day off work. I can only hope that Silver has returned when I get home – and then lock her in! It’s going to be hard, since I will have to lock her into the bedroom – which means I will have to put the litter box in my bedroom as well! And close the window! She can run around the flat when I’m at home – but I have to lock her in with her kittens when I go out. There’s no alternative. Well, there are – but that’s the only option to keep mommy with her kittens. All alternatives should only be applied, if mommy doesn’t return. In all honesty, though, I cannot see Silver locked up for the next 5-7 weeks! I just don’t see that happening. One thing all websites have in common is they all state that the mother won’t voluntarily leave the nest for the first week, except to eat and litter – Silver left the nest from Day One. She came to the kitchen when she heard me there. Day two she started leaving the kittens so she could get some attention herself – on several occasions. She’s definitely not your normal cat. Her mother instinct is there – but it’s not very strong.

By about three this afternoon I was running on pure caffeine. On the way home I decided to stop at the vet for formula – just in case! Better to have than to need!

Back home I’m glad to see Silver has returned – but she is being chased by that ugly white cat with a ginger patch or two! I have to chase it off several times, so Silver can come home; and still he keeps coming! Upstairs, I pick up Silver and carry her to the nest – since I can’t be sure how the two cats will react to each other. Silver goes in to her nest carefully, both cats sniffing each other. Shadow growls a bit, and she has a strange habit of panting with her growling. But they share the nest and the kittens.

As soon as I’m sure both cats and all kittens are safe, I sms the CatCare lady and my neighbour that all is well. My neighbour is still out, but as soon as she’s home she comes up to see. He tom follows her – but even with her coaxing won’t come inside so we decide it may be best he stay out.

The uneasy truce continues between the two mothers – birth- and surrogate. There’s still the growl coming from Shadow, Silver putting a paw to stop Shadow coming near the kibbles, etc. Shadows seems very happy to mother the kittens – and at first, they seem to prefer her. But soon they split fifty-fifty – two kittens to each queen. No particular kittens, they all move around and swop mothers. Overall Shadow seems to be the better mother, as Silver spends more time cleaning herself, eating, and such; whereas Shadow is busy with the kittens. Both cats help them eliminate after feeding, both cats clean the kittens – although in Silvers case it’s more a matter of a kitten getting in the way of her cleaning herself.

At one point, one kitten plops outside the nest. Since they’re all fed and warm my neighbour and I decide to sit back and watch without interfering. Both cats show distress at the mewling – though Silver appears more distressed than Shadow. Both cats stretch to watch the kitten. Neither makes a move to get up or do anything.

After a while, a second kitten plops outside the nest. Still both cats are stretching to see them, still neither cat gets up.

Then Silver gets up … to eat! The kittens are now huddled together and quietly going to sleep.

After eating her fill, Silver goes to the kittens outside the nest. Cleans them and curls herself around them.

But not for long. The carpet isn’t as comfortable as the nest, so she leaves the kittens – still outside – and climbs back into the nest.

My neighbour and I decide that the best solution all round is to leave Shadow here. She took to the kittens almost immediately when we brought her up this morning, and – as attached as she is to my neighbour, she hasn’t made even the slightest move to leave the nest the entire two hours we sat watching them. She’s obviously producing milk and appears to care more about the kittens than Silver. Also, it would alleviate the uneasy situation in her own home – with Shadow harassing her two old cats. Of course, how we’ll introduce her back into her household … we both decide to cross that bridge when we come to it.

As I write this, Silver has been to the front door twice. Each time meowing rather aggressively to be let out! I ignore her completely and she strolls back into my bedroom. Each time I follow her and find her afraid of Shadow – sitting in front of her nest. So each time I pick her up and place her inside – to the sound of Shadows growls. At least I can sleep tonight! And I better make it an early one since I have quite some catching up to do in the sleep department.