Babies are here!! They came during the Hurricane! In my bed!!!

1am, NO power, NO light. On my bed, ON ME!!! lol I am not kidding you.

I woke up and felt her crawling all over me trying to get my attention, and remember REALLY waking up when I heard the cry of a newborn kitten. She had them between my legs, I was afraid to move, as I didn't know how many or where they were. I hollered and hollered for my husband (we slept in separate beds, it was SOOOO hot we had too) he came running and we gingerly slipped a towel under momma who still had a baby attached so we could move her from between my legs! LOL She proceeded to have 4 kittens within 45 min on the bed with us. Then she jumped up and moved one to the closet. Tried to take it to the litter box. My husband thwarted that attempt and put her and baby in the nest in the closet. We then picked up the other three in the towel and transferred them to her.

I stayed with her for an hour or so, made sure the last placenta was delivered and eaten and all babies were nursing. I stripped 3 layers of bedding off my bed and put it in the tub to soak. (NO WASHING MACHINE!)

This was ALLL by candlelight people! lol

I finally went to bed at 330am. I woke up again at 600 to check on her and her 4 kittens....make that 7 kittens!!! She is such a proud little mamma.

We have 3- Orange Tabby and White like momma, 2 Solid Orange Tabbies (one darker than the other) and 2 Snow white (I prayed for a white kitty and I got two! I am so excited!)

One of the Solid tabbies is tiny, we are supplementing him with KMR. I am giving some to momma too, she seems to love it. It can't hurt right? I will post pictures as soon as they upload.

They always have kittens at the wrong time.
My Coco picked moving day.
I am glad they are ok.
Any idea who the dad is?
The fight may not be white when they get older.
Congrats on the kittens.

Congrats on the babies!! They are sooooo hairy. Atleast to me. I have sphynx. Wow, sounds like the hurricane brought more than just bad weather for you. Not sure where you are located but hope everyone is safe. DFW is praying for everyone affected by the hurricane.

WOW! what a night for you. congratulations . 7 furry babies. Momma is going to be very busy.

Wow! What an experience! Look at all the ginger kitties!!!

I am in Houston. So we were hit hard. We can't find water, ice, gas or food. But at least we have power now!

So the white ones might not stay white? How do genetics work? Does anyone know? We do not know who the father was. She was a stray we took in. My husband's co-worker put her out. She had 3 kittens when he tossed her into the yard where they work. Jordan would check on her often. We decided to bring her into our home when we found out that the previous "Owner", jordan's co-worker, left her and her 3 kittens there over the weekend with no food. Jordan came in on a monday and found this out, also found out she was pregnant again that same monday. We found a home for the older kittens she had and brought her into our home after a good vet check.

She is SUCH a good moma.

I just wish I knew more about the dad. I would love to know if the white kitties are going to stay white, or what color the dad was.

JUST an FYI...

Her bedding has been changed! lol I left her in that yucky stuff for a bit until I knew she was done. She has since been changed over to new sheets.

I don't want yall to think I was leaving that sweet baby in her own mess!

She looks so content with her little ones. My momma wouldn't let me change the bedding for a few about a weeks. It didnt' bother her but it was driving me nuts

Originally Posted by Yarra

So the white ones might not stay white? How do genetics work? Does anyone know? We do not know who the father was. She was a stray we took in.

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If I had to guess, I would bet that the father was a red (orange) cat and that yes, those two white kittens are actually colorpoints and will be flamepoints (red points) or cream points. You can Google "flame points" to get an idea of what they will look like. Their body will still be white (off-white) but their face, ears and tail will have the orange colors.

Anyway, here is why I predict that....

A red female mated with a black male will produce red males and tortie females. Since your litter yielded no torties, I am assuming, unless you have a litter full of males, that the father was a red cat, therefore your white kittens are actually colorpoints. If you can sex the kittens, let me know if any of the red kittens are females.

Now, if those 2 white kittens are indeed white - then the father was definitely white! No question. If you breed a white cat to any other colored cat, the chances are that 50% of the kittens will be white. If the parents is homozygous for the white gene (meaning they carry two copies of the white gene), then ALL of the kittens would be white, but we know this isnt the case. Of course when they say 50% of the litter will be white, that isnt a hard fast rule. Just as it is totally possible for a cat to have 7 males and no females - although just not likely...

Anyway, my bet is on colorpoints. It will be fun to watch them grow! Thanks for sharing with us. I look forward to updates.

I recently had a foster that had a colorpoint kitten - a seal point (brown/black points) I will post some pictures so you can see how he changed as he aged. I knew right away that he was a colorpoint as his white fur wasnt as white as the fur on his red and white brother. SO I could tell that he was a little off-white and suspected his colors would change. I was SO hoping he would be a flame point, but I love his colors nonetheless. He is adorable!

PS congrats on the litter - I am so glad everything worked out - even if by candlelight!

Marian

3 days old, ears are already starting to show color... but I imagine a cream or flame point (lighter colors) may take longer to show.


2 weeks old. At this point his tail is starting to change also. Notice the red kitten still doesnt have it's one eye all the way open yet.


At 7 weeks - at this point his face, ears, tail and paws are "seal" but his colors will continue to enhance though his whole life.


A flame point image I pulled off the net. Arent the eyes gorgeous???


BTW - there's always the possibility that the litter was fathered by two different cats, in which case that makes everything even more difficult to predict. But my bet is still on a red dad.

Thanks Marian!

I will try to sex the kittens for you. Any pointers you can give me? Even some pictures, if you have them would be helpful. lol Nothing like trying to get a non blurry picture of a new-born's backside!

I would LOVE to see progressive pics of your colorpoint as well! Our two whites are pretty white. I will check them to see if they are as white as the orange and white kittens. ALSO! The one orange and white, in the middle of the group shot, has a dark spot on his back towards his back end...what is that?? It's not a stain, that I can tell.

I will certainly update with pics!

UPDATE:
Just saw your pics you posted. He is ADORABLE!! Does the sex of the cat determine a colorpoint vs white? There is NO color on these babies at all. I practically put them under a magnifying glass. Their ears are as pink as their noses. I will keep watching though. I keep looking for tabby stripes on legs and tail, and any coloring on the forehead. nothing...

Beautiful babies!!! So....which one are you going to name IKE???

Originally Posted by taterbug

Beautiful babies!!!

So....which one are you going to name IKE???

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You can guarantee that one will be named Ike!

I am hoping that one of the white ones is a boy, they are very active and push through the whole bunch to get what they want. If we keep a kitten, it will be one of them. Otherwise, we will keep momma.

Originally Posted by taterbug

Beautiful babies!!!

So....which one are you going to name IKE???

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My vote is the second one, with the white "hurricane" right in the middle of his/her back

Edit: Make that third I didn't even see the little white one on the left.

Originally Posted by Yarra

Thanks Marian!

I will try to sex the kittens for you. Any pointers you can give me? Even some pictures, if you have them would be helpful. lol Nothing like trying to get a non blurry picture of a new-born's backside!

I would LOVE to see progressive pics of your colorpoint as well! Our two whites are pretty white. I will check them to see if they are as white as the orange and white kittens. ALSO! The one orange and white, in the middle of the group shot, has a dark spot on his back towards his back end...what is that?? It's not a stain, that I can tell.

I will certainly update with pics!

UPDATE:
Just saw your pics you posted. He is ADORABLE!! Does the sex of the cat determine a colorpoint vs white? There is NO color on these babies at all. I practically put them under a magnifying glass. Their ears are as pink as their noses. I will keep watching though. I keep looking for tabby stripes on legs and tail, and any coloring on the forehead. nothing...

Click to expand...

Well here's a pic of male/female difference. Female on the left, male on right.

See how the hoo-hoo is further down on the male?

Of course these kittens are older. It is easier to tell the older they get, but on the other hand, the older they get the squirmier they are. Sexing cats is not my favorite thing to do. When they are first born, their parts can be swollen and everyone will look like a boy! The easiest way to sex a kitten is if there is a tortie/calico in the mix, then you can almost certainly say that is a girl, then compare everyone from there.

That said, you can still do that. If you notice two different backsides, then you know that they all arent males - hence a red father.

Also here is a link you can check out. It's just a drawing, but it gives you an idea of what you are looking for.

As for the spot on the one kittens back. Very peculiar. I have to say, we got a cat from the pound over 3 years ago. She also had a black spot on her back. She definitely was not a tortie or calico, but still she had this spot. We called it her birthmark. I have read about males with these same spots, just about proving they are true reds (OO) and not torties (Oo). I liken it to the pure white cat that has a touch of it's genetic underlying color that shows up on it's forehead or whatever. I'd say it's your little guys birthmark. Can you tell what color the skin is underneath? On our Willow, the skin under her spot was not darker.

Anyway, I look forward to watching them grow!!!! When our white kitten was born I was ecstatic because I wanted a white kitten so bad, even though he turned out to be a colorpoint, I am still please, he is so gorgeous! Even still - it makes me all that more tempted to keep him.

My kids tease me and say I am going to be The Crazy Cat Lady when I grow up.

I love this forum! Only here can you convice someone to post pictures of kitties Who who's for you!



Thanks so much! I will have to look and see if I can tell a difference. Looks like there is just more room between the poop shoot and the who who if they are boys. Yes? lol

I will check the kitten with the dark spot for sex, and color of skin. If we keep a male, I am naming it Ike. One of the white ones was the first born. Don't know which though. lol But they are the biggest in the litter.

They are so cute!!

My dog had her puppies in between me and my friend when we were watching a movie on my couch! lol

Congratulations on a safe arrival of kittens even if at the wrong time

Good chance most of the kittens have a red father (especially if they are a mix of male/female and not all males). Mom gives the color to males and females; dad can only give color to females. Color is on the X chromosone.

The white ones have a different father. They may stay all white. But if they get color, it will be color point. And they could be either red, cream or possible tortie point (but I don't see any "second" color for a tortie) - so they would only be a red or cream point and that color takes longer to show up. Points will show around 3-4 weeks old if they are pointed.

Of course, while this is a bit much for you now, imagine the stories you are going to have to tell later on of Ike and kittens, etc.