Six perfect babies for MommaCat!

It was a long but wonderful night!  Sometime about six-ish, Momma started fussing with my other female, Mali, trying to force her off the sofa.  When I picked her up, I noticed Momma's backside was wet. 

I carried her to "her" room and when I put her down, she jumped into the birthing box by herself.  I gathered a big terrycloth towel, gloves, flashlight,  ten pages of how-to printouts from the web, and a bottle of water, turned on the radio and pulled up a chair.  It wasn't long before she started having contractions.

Neighbors started showing up to observe the occasion.  We have backyard chairs right outside the windows of this room, and at least twice a day, three of us are out there with coffee and ice tea, chatting and fussing with the plants in our gardens.  Momma has been the community cat for well over a year, but Mary (my duplex-mate) and I have been feeding her on our porches so she's somewhat "ours."  She's been living inside my  place for well over a month because I had vowed not to let her have another feral litter.  Mary and Faye, our nearest neighbor, were out there when I announced she was in labor.  You'd have thought it was a Royal Watch the way they reacted!  Mary came in, and together we saw the first birth.

OMG - the first baby was coming out breach!  It was very weird to see a little skinny tail peeking out from under hers.   According to the paperwork I printed out, as many as a third of kittens are breach births so I tried to stay calm.  Happily, it took no more than ten minutes before the little blonde tabby was safely delivered.  And less than 30 minutes later, a tuxedo kitten joined the family (face first, like all the rest).  From then on, it was less than 30 minutes between births.  Faye came by around 8-ish, and was on hand for one birth as well.  The final kitten arrived around 11:30 pm, so all six have the same birthday! 

All I actually did was assist in leading the kittens to Momma, stroke her and tell her she was a superstar, but she was happy for the company.  I finally fell into bed about 3 am after it was clear "we" were done.  Got up again at seven and everyone is fine! 

Including Momma, I had five cats.  Suddenly there are 11.  The whole point of this endeavor was that Momma's kittens would be adoptable, since her two previous litters were wild things that only tolerated humans insofar as food-on-the-porch was concerned.  It took me over a month of dealing with the first four before I could get them to the no-kill shelter, and even then they remained wary of humans, so two of them are still there.  The second litter (two adorable blondes) are still in the wild but get fed daily.  The plan is to get them fixed but let them stay in the community.  THIS time, since Momma got huge very early, we knew we had at least a basketball team in there.  So they needed to be born tame.  The degree to which this has succeeded is beyond my wildest expectations.  Momma is a great mother and a great "daughter" in that she is trusting and grateful to her human family.

I know this is a long story, but it's such an incredible relief that it all went so well!  TheCatSite arrived in our lives at the perfect time!  I found so much good info and great support, I felt prepared.  Thanks especially to Chaucer, for sharing your story, too.  That was my launch pad into this incredible community!

So now I'm off to hover some more.   Will post pictures when I start taking them.  Thanks again, everyone!

Wonderful!  Well done!  Can't wait to see pics 

It sounds like a family affair, that's amazing that the neighbors are interacting with her too! You might want to think about spaying mama, she can have three litters in one year, I had several that did. Maybe everyone would chip in! It sounds like the babies are going to have lots of socialization now, hopefully you can find good homes for them. Good luck and bless you for helping her!

Oh yes indeed, Momma is getting spayed.  The reason she hasn't been yet is because she disappeared last fall when Litter #1 was weaned but still young kittens.  I'll never know where she went, but that's the reason the first litter stayed feral.  I finally took an old grey Rubbermaid bin, cut a hole in one side, and set up a cozy den on my back porch for the Fantastic Four, who I lured with food and they eventually got the hint and moved in.  Even so, it took over a month before the kittens were touchable.  By December, I got them to the no-kill shelter, but they were by no means housecats.  When she mysteriously reappeared around February, she already had the two new kittens.  As I said, they're still living in an old delapidated empty shop at the back of the property (we're in small-town Louisiana) but like her, they come to the porch.  Because there's only the two, it's not  a huge burden.  And when the newborn kittens are taken to the shelter, Momma will be taken to the vet.  She'll return to the great outdoors because it's safe here, and she has a built-in support net.  But I really want to get back to my Fantastic Four:  Orly (above), Mali, Graylie and Zorro.  I admit to being a crazy cat lady, but not a c-r-a-z-y cat lady! 

The kittens are fifteen days old and adorable!  They are comically disproportionate -- about 20% head -- and all appear to be perfectly healthy.  She is the best-mother-ever and is tolerant of most of the other cats except, for some reason, Zorro.  I have no idea what happened there.  I haven't taken pictures yet because my camera needs a new battery, but I'll take care of that asap.  They can sorta see, but they're not quite focusing.  They peer quizzically but that's about it so far.  Is that normal?  They all have good voices, though!  

Momma is now Magnolia, which will probably become Maggie in no time, which is fine.  She seems like a delicate little thing but is really a tough Southern gal, a sweet lady with great survivor instincts.  The kittens are too young for personalities, much less names.  Will keep you posted as things -- especially them -- start moving faster!

PS:  Noli.  Not Maggie.  Her call!

I live in SW Louisiana, so flea season is underway.  I guess I underestimated just how early it began.  

MommaCat ("Nola") was treated with "Advantage II 5-9lbs" on May 12, about  7 hours before she gave birth.  She had been living in my house for a solid month before.  All kittens are healthy and strong, but alas there are fleas on the babies.  They were born on May 12, meaning they will be three weeks old tomorrow (Monday, June 2).  What can I do for them?  Is it too soon to re-treat Nola?  Should I bathe the kittens?  What's your advice?

Nola and the kittens have their own room with a door that is usually closed.  (Yes, I know I said usually.)  I have four other cats, and all were treated on that day.  One of the four (Graylie) has outdoor privileges, so I realize we may have to step up the dose.  Graylie may be the source of the fleas, but he got treated too so I didn't expect this.  I'm planning to re-treat Nola as soon as it's safe.  Meanwhile, HOW and WHEN do I de-flea the kittens?

Any suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

PS:  Only Nola got the 5-9 lb. dose.  All the others got the 9lb+ dose.  So I don't think anyone was underdosed, unless it was the petite-but-pregnant Nola.

You can bathe the kittens in Original (blue) Dawn. This will kill the *adult* fleas on the kittens. Be sure to not get soap (or water) in the kittens eyes, ears, mouth or nose.

Make sure to dry each kitten very well after the bath and place them in a warm spot (preferably with mom) afterwards.

Also, get a flea comb and comb kittens daily. You can dunk the comb in a glass of dawn water to kill any adult fleas that you comb out.

Wash all their bedding on a daily basis. And vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.

Ahh yes, the good 'ol flea issue....we've got them here in CA in abundance too, so all pets need consistent treatment, otherwise it will easily get overwhelming.

Advantage 11, my FAVE!! This is what I use for all my cats and kittens in my rescue group, and very pleased.

I have also used it my cat's entire lives (12+ yrs)

If you weren't treating them on an ongoing basis, then likely they will need the treatments upped until it is well controlled.

This means dosing each cat every 2 weeks a few times in a row. When the problem is cleared, resume a monthly regime.

A couple of bathing tips.

Before wetting down the kitten, slightly wet the neck only area first, then apply soap, work it into a lather, adding more water to do this. Create a ring around the kittens neck FIRST. Kittens with lots of fleas, as soon as you wet and soap their body, the fleas quickly climb up, onto their face, in their eyes and ears, so they will escape.

Creating the ring traps them on the body.

They can withstand the soap for a bit too, some of the bigger adults especially.

Really suds them up well, under arms, in their perineal areas, tails, etc. Rinse extremely well.

Another tip-fleas can not swim. They can however hold their breath for a long time.

So if you don't have Dawn soap, remember it takes 10 to as much as 15 minutes for a flea to finally let go of their grip and get washed down the drain.

If you follow this exactly, you can also use advantage.

Put 2 drops on the counter or other surface, then swipe your finger into it, like trying to pick up as much as your finger will pick up, and move the fur away and wipe fingertip on the skin.

DO NOT DROP DIRECTLY ON KITTEN.

I have Dawn soap always because of its renown for being gentle to animals (excepting fleas).  Thank you for the swift and specific advice.  I do have flea combs at the ready. 

I'll re-post tomorrow after the babies are "dosed" or if you prefer, "doused!"   (Heads protected of course!)  I love this community --  I'm so grateful for this instant emergency assistance, I can't tell you.  In the short month I've been involved, it's been rewarding beyond my ability to express.  Thank you!!

I am an advocate fore the CAREFUL application of the Advantage II that catwoman described. I did it with my babies and it worked like a charm. For me, it's a lot easier than keeping those little babies wet and soapy for 15 minutes each.

I'd wash them in Dawn as suggested.  I'm also in south Louisiana, and I know how this goes with baby animals!  It worked wonderfully for the kittens I've had in the past, but it does only kill the adult fleas on the kittens.  Make sure you thoroughly wash and vacuum the bedding and surroundings every day!

The baths went without incident.  I enlisted the help of the 14-year-old daughter of a good friend, who was extremely happy to assist!  I did the bathing, she did the rinsing and toweling.  The soap necklace worked great.  We had to put Nola in my bedroom and close the door, because the second she heard an alarmed, squealing kitten -- much less the whole clan -- she was on top of the sink.  I felt so bad for the whole family, wondering what kind of murder was taking place!  Each cleaned-up kitten was put in the bathtub for safe-keeping until they were all there, then the box got emptied, taken outside and thoroughly cleaned before re-lining with trash bags, newspaper and blanket.

I'm keeping an eye out in case we have to do it again.  It was actually kinda fun but I'd be more than happy if we solved the problem the first time.

Thank You for your advice!