Kittens! Four lovely kittens!

What a busy and restless night! Silver would just not settle down but insisted on attention. She spent the night snuggled up against me – the bits where she lay still, that is. At one point she licked my arm because it wasn’t moving in the cat-stroking motion she wanted and I have several recollections of her insistently meowing in my ear. I woke up several times with her nose right up close – which is not her usual behaviour. Early this morning I woke up to a strange kind of meowing, coming from her nest so I got up and lo and behold! She’s in labour!

Shortly after six the first kitten was born, one of the patchy one’s I think. When I looked again, there were two. She wants me with her, stroking her while she’s in labour so I sat down just inside on the far end, while she’s in the corner popping out kittens. I, too, had some natural needs to attend to, and by around seven we had four kittens. The second one is a tiger-striped one, the rest all look like tortoise-shell patchy ones from what I can see. She lets me stroke them and wants me nearby all the time – but I can’t sit that low down for very long.

I called in to work, I’m taking today off – not just so I can be there during the birth, but also because I am sleep deprived! Wouldn’t make the whole day anyway.

I’ve pulled out the worst soiled towel so I can clean it. I’ll try to wriggle the old duvet cover out another time as well, but not right now. I’ve moved her water and food right outside the wardrobe, so she doesn’t have far to go. I’ve tried closing the wardrobe door but she doesn’t like that. She wants it open and me nearby. Sigh. I think she’s done now, can’t feel anymore kittens inside and it has been over an hour since the last one. It’s windy and overcast outside today, and I’m just about to nod off again myself, so I’m off back to bed.

An hour’s sleep did me no end of good! I’m feeling much better now. I put some clean towels down on the right hand side in the wardrobe and tried to persuade Silver to move there. She’s not really sure what that was about, so she didn’t bother. Then I carefully pulled the soiled duvet cover out from under her and her brood – it’s in the machine now in a cold cycle to be followed by a proper warm wash and dry. I woke up quite hungry – and so is Silver, it seems. She’s tried to pop out to get to her food bowl, but the mewling brood bring her right back. When she hard the washing powder bag rustling, she popped into the kitchen – apparently it’s not the brood keeping her from eating, but the diet! Pellets are not good enough right now, just after having given birth! So I filled her a bowl with tinned salmon and held it where she could eat without leaving her litter. She wolfed it down! She still doesn’t like me to close the wardrobe.

I took quite a few photos, though they are not very good – the kittens obviously won’t lie still, and the wardrobe isn’t getting full daylight, of course. I’ve put the best one’s up on Facebook.

Oh dear, we’ve hit our first motherhood snag: I had held the bowl for Silver to eat some more, but she was dropping food all over her kittens and the nest, so I moved it outside. Then I went to check on my own food – and heard a pitiful mewling and meowing! I rush to the wardrobe to see kittens everywhere with Silver sitting upright – evidently she tried to get to the bowl to eat, then the kittens called her back … and she doesn’t know how to pick them up and move them back herself! I picked them up from all over and put them back in her arms. Silly thing!

My neighbour came up to look at the new additions. It’s too cold outside, so we had a lovely chat snug and warm indoors to the sight of mommy nursing her babies. My neighbour mentioned that she’ll probably try to move the kittens at some stage – we looked at each other and both said ‘to my bed?’ That would not be very funny, though.

They have been drinking all day, with almost no break – understandably, mommy is ravenous! I put some more food in her bowl, she got up to eat and when the little ones mewled she growled. Ha Ha. Not an ugly growl just an exasperated one, as if saying ‘I need to re-fill, leave me alone for a minute, will you?’ She keeps giving me this puzzled look as if to say ‘Okay, that was interesting and I love the babies – but when can I get back to my life, now?’ She’s always been restless and active, this lying still all day long is probably hard on her. She’s finished nearly a whole tin today alone and shows absolutely no interest in the pellets. Nor have I seen her drink, although the water is also right there outside the wardrobe.

Well, early night for me and hopefully an undisturbed one!

Shortly after six the first two kittens have arrived

They keep crawling all over me?

The left one looks a bit like a guinea pig :)