New to Female Felines!

alaskancathouse

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Hi Everyone!  

My name is Terry, also known as Emma's Mom!  I've owned cats since I was a little girl -- all five of them were male cats, too. My first kitten ever was Thomasina, named after the cat in the Disney movie.  "She" turned out to be a he, and Thomas was my quite large orange pal for many years. Then, came JoJoBean, a stray that I somehow convinced my cat-hating stepfather to accept and let me keep!  He eventually went on down the road; my grandfather said that sometimes tomcats are just 'born travelers.'  
Oreo, Sony and Sparky all came to us by a flying sleigh and reindeer after my children were born. Someone
 had a thing about bringing us kittens when my kids were little!   Now, the kids are grown and gone, and I'm alone but not lonely.  

Last November, I was in a store with a friend when I said I really wanted to get myself a kitten for Christmas. When we walked out of that store, two little girls had a box with "KITTENS" scrawled across it.  I took one look at the last kitten left, and fell in love!
  I called him Slasher since no one could walk by him without seriously bleeding!  However, he turned into a she - just the opposite of Thomasina/Thomas!  I'm not very good at deciding gender, am I?!  
  
   But somehow, Emma just 'fit' perfectly once I did figure it out!  

I chose the name for this site on a whim, not realizing some folks call a breeder's home a "cat house" - I was referring to the fact that last November I had one cat and now here it is July and I have SIX cats in the house!  Slasher-turned-Emma came into heat at what I now know is 'normal' for a cat but prior to her becoming pregnant, I didn't realize female cats could even go into heat so young.
 She was only seven months old!  I was going to have her fixed when she was "old enough" but I believed that to be 8-12 months.  When I am wrong, oh I am soooo wrong!  


I never intended for her to have a litter at all but Nature called, she heard the shout out and I missed it completely - letting her come and go as she pleased.  BIG mistake, big.  Now, I have to find out a lot of things I never thought I'd need to know!  

But for now, the five
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​ babies are thriving and already, I can see their ears and tails darkening so I believe they will inherit Emma's gorgeous eyes and Siamese heritage.  I've never had a purebred cat but anyone can recognize crossed blue eyes and a kinked tail, plus all her other markings (color points? I am still learning).  A LOT of Emma is Siamese, I think!  Someone told me she looked like a 'tortie Siamese" and that had me running to the web to look up the term.  Her kittens are all this soft white/gray color with pink paws and the darkening tail and ears.  It's odd too because we live in Alaska - and we live remote. Cats do not survive alone out here, not even feral cats.  No one around can figure out the father's identity.  Obviously, he existed,, or did my Emma have an immaculate conception?!  
 
 


Check out our photos!  
 More to come, too -- I am taking the best I can in really low light so they're not the greatest shots, but as they mature, I'll be sure to add new ones!  Please comment if you like.  Thanks for the welcome.  I'm looking forward to getting to know others who love cats, too! 

TERRY
 

kntrygrl256

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  Welcome Terry and congrats to your new babies. I'm sure Emma will be fine. Once the babies are weaned she can be spayed.

You picked the best place to get advise about anything CAT.

I have had both males and females and they are all great, but even better when spayed/neutered.

Love the humor of your post.
 
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alaskancathouse

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Thanks so much for the welcoming wave and words!  I am having the hardest time keeping my own paws off her kitties but she doesn't seem to mind if it's ME -- however, two of my tenants swoop in, one grabs Emma and hauls her to her chest, practically mauling her back fur while the other woman thinks it's just fine to ignore the growls of Mom and picks up two kittens!!  I quietly removed the humans, calmed Emma and now have created a No Trespassing Zone.  I mean, Emma WILL slash them to pieces in short order if they do not leave her alone.  Heck, she LIKES doing that when she is playing, but when angry?  Oh man, katy bar the door!  You WILL draw back a bloody stub!  :-)  Must be the Siamese side of her!  LOL  

I was very worried today. She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday - I dumped out two bowls of food, in fact. Untouched except the first one had the juices licked off the top!  She drank a bunch of water yesterday but none today. But 10 minutes ago, I opened  can of oily tuna, and gave her one tablespoon with water next to it. She ate and drank!  Not much, but it's a start.  She went from plump to bony like, overnight!  And her fur came off in my hand when petting her tonight Yesterday she was fine!!  I honestly am worried but .. ??? Fever?  No thermometer I can use - digital won't work. Her teats are fine, not hurting, not red or runny.  Do Mommas get Post Partum Depression??  It would not surprise me!

I posted a "HELP!" in the Nursing/Litter forum so maybe you or someone else can give me more advice.  Just knowing she got some food and water in herself, and was grooming as well as showing an interest in going outside .. makes me feel MUCH better.  She was TOO FUNNY too .. when she left her babies, she then walked back and waited for me to push the box back under the day bed, and THEN she would leave them!  She likes that dark, safe spot under my bed, and she likes the box I found and lined with quilts and a velvet throw.  Spoiled sweet, is what I say!  :-) 

Terry Licia 

PS -- I asked the site owner if I could change my user name so it MIGHT be just TerryLicia soon.  :-)  Again, thanks for the welcome!
 

kntrygrl256

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I'm sure momma cats do at time get some post-partum depression. The good thing is that she is eating even if it's just a little. Keep feeding her like that for as long as she will eat.

Her body, like humans, goes through a major hormonal change so that's normal. If you have any KMR, you can mix it with a little food (whatever she will eat) so she will have some nutrients. The babies will take a lot out of her.

I saw the pictures and momma is beautiful and babies are adorable.

As far as slashing people. Emma's main instinct is to protect her babies and it is possible she will attack anyone she thinks will harm them. You she knows will take care of them but others she don't. You did the right thing to make sure no one else messes with her or them for a while. This could also be causing her stress, which will also cause her not to eat.

Good luck with them
 
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alaskancathouse

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Thank you for your kind response!  Emma is doing really well now - eating normally, drinking water, and meowing when it's not fresh or the food's not set down fast enough!  :-)  My normal girl!  The kittens are turning into total butterballs and one, the first born, is huge!  Flat out MAKING people stay out of my bedroom worked!  Her fur is not shedding like it did yesterday.  THAT freaked me out! I knew then, it was sheer stress!  She's not a 'shedder' - never has been so when my hand came back covered in fur, I knew then: NO ONE goes in or out, no one messed with her at all, and I have to quit babysitting Samson the Boxer even though he and Emma really like each other -- she wants no dog, no people near her babies!  

Oh and she doesn't slash NOW ... it was just when she was a kitten, except for one day right before she gave birth!  She got me good when I was walking by her - she wanted to play!  Ready to domino, big as a wide-load tractor trailer and she wanted to play!  LOLOL That's my Em!  I have very thin skin, literally, from a lifetime of diabetes.  Opening a jar of jelly can pull the hide off my fingers if I'm not careful!  If I bump into a table?  I not only bruise, I'll leave some skin behind and wind up with a weird cut!  Skin like paper ... that bleeds.  When Emma WAS being called "Slasher" I wore leather gloves & jacket, plus boots when we played so I didn't end up looking like I'd been tossed in the proverbial briar patch!  :-)
 

ellieandwinnie

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I'm sure momma cats do at time get some post-partum depression. The good thing is that she is eating even if it's just a little. Keep feeding her like that for as long as she will eat.

Her body, like humans, goes through a major hormonal change so that's normal. If you have any KMR, you can mix it with a little food (whatever she will eat) so she will have some nutrients. The babies will take a lot out of her.

I saw the pictures and momma is beautiful and babies are adorable.

As far as slashing people. Emma's main instinct is to protect her babies and it is possible she will attack anyone she thinks will harm them. You she knows will take care of them but others she don't. You did the right thing to make sure no one else messes with her or them for a while. This could also be causing her stress, which will also cause her not to eat.

Good luck with them
I'm new to this so please put me in my place if wrong, but I've read in online articles that cats become sort of lactose intolerant as adults and it's not a good idea to give them milk. Is it different because it's formulated for kittens? Does KMR have lactose in it? Thank you in advance!
 

ellieandwinnie

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AlaskanCatHouse I love your name! It has humor to it :) I love reading your posts because you are great at telling kitty stories that are really vivid. I can picture your Mama cat as a misunderstood slasher kitty who just wants to play! Welcome!
 
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