I was getting ready to go to sleep last night at about 12:30 AM and Felicia came up for some attention. After a few minutes of petting her, she moved to start licking her bits and when she moved, she left a wet spot on the bed. I immediately called my fiance into the room and let him know the kittens were coming (and it couldn't have been better timing, because we were so worried we wouldn't be home when it happened). We've been watching for weeks for signs of labor and even a few hours earlier she didn't show any signs, it just happened very suddenly.
She spend the next hour or so jumping back and forth between the bed, wanting attention, and her nesting box. Finally my fiance sat down on the floor by the box so she stayed in there. Around 2:00 AM, she had the first two kittens, one right after the other with only a couple minutes in between. The second kitten came even before the first one's placenta. I was expecting a long labor but was thankful that we didn't have to wait all night. It took probably a half hour before she finally settled down to let the kittens nurse, and we were worried because we didn't know how soon they needed to get to a nipple. We tried to lead them to the nipples, but Felicia would keep grooming them and moving around because she was getting ready for the next kitten.
Around 3:00 AM, the third one came into the world (black and white, the only bit of color we saw in the litter). By now she was getting exhausted and she took a lot longer to finish cleaning this one, but at least she let it nurse while taking breaks cleaning it.
The fourth and last came around 4 or 4:30. We didn't have to intervene in any of the deliveries, Felicia was a pro. She ate all of the placentas. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed that most of the litter is black, but I was expecting that.
Now what you've all been waiting for--pictures!
http://picasaweb.google.com/angelyco/NewKittens#
She spend the next hour or so jumping back and forth between the bed, wanting attention, and her nesting box. Finally my fiance sat down on the floor by the box so she stayed in there. Around 2:00 AM, she had the first two kittens, one right after the other with only a couple minutes in between. The second kitten came even before the first one's placenta. I was expecting a long labor but was thankful that we didn't have to wait all night. It took probably a half hour before she finally settled down to let the kittens nurse, and we were worried because we didn't know how soon they needed to get to a nipple. We tried to lead them to the nipples, but Felicia would keep grooming them and moving around because she was getting ready for the next kitten.
Around 3:00 AM, the third one came into the world (black and white, the only bit of color we saw in the litter). By now she was getting exhausted and she took a lot longer to finish cleaning this one, but at least she let it nurse while taking breaks cleaning it.
The fourth and last came around 4 or 4:30. We didn't have to intervene in any of the deliveries, Felicia was a pro. She ate all of the placentas. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed that most of the litter is black, but I was expecting that.
Now what you've all been waiting for--pictures!
http://picasaweb.google.com/angelyco/NewKittens#
