hello!!
I'm so excited to be expecting my very first litter of children!
Every forum I visit I get yelled at and lectured for being irresponsible, or people tell me how many kittens they had to euthanize that morning, trying to make me feel bad.
I've been lurking in this forum/website for my cat pregnancy information for 2 or 3 weeks now, when my litter was officially 'diagnosed.'
I'm not a breeder, but I adopt strays, ferals and rescue cats. I obtained a female from a mill about a year ago (her birthday is February 11th, 2009), and about 6 months ago I lost my job and my home and couldn't afford to get her fixed. All my other cats were fixed at the time until I started rescuing some new strays, one of which was a boy.
I kept them separated during her heat, but at some point during that exhausting 7 days, he managed to get her. I do/did have an appoint for her, him, and another feral to get fixed March 9th. I'll be taking the feral (now also in heat, ughh) and the father still, and if the vet will allow, our neighbor's unfixed tomcat (who is terrorizing the neighborhood and spraying outside our door!!)
But anyway, Meatloaf (my mommy kitty) is expecting any day now.
She has been sleeping most of today and is a little restless. I was petting her just now, and one of her kittens was right up against her side.
It was possibly the second most beautiful feeling I've ever felt, the first most beautiful feeling being the day I felt the kittens move for the very first time.
But, I could make out perfectly the entire form of the tiny kitten. I could feel the head, the curve of the back, and its hind legs. I petted it gently, and it moved. Not just a twitch like normal, but it literally just.. crawled from one side of her body to the other, very slowly.
I think having a pregnant cat, being able to feel her babies, knowing that I will be helping with/witnessing her birth in a few days has made me rethink the subtle joys of life.
I'm sorry to all of the animals that have to be put down because shelters are so over crowded, but wouldn't these kittens face the same future?
We will most likely be keeping the entire litter, possibly giving one to a family member. My family has been involved in animal rescue since 1963, when my mother was born. She's an animal rights activist, and we've never been without a stray or five, and we vet and rehome our animals.
So, sorry this post was SOOO long but I am just extremely excited and happy, and I wish she would have them right this instant, LOL.
I'm so excited to be expecting my very first litter of children!
Every forum I visit I get yelled at and lectured for being irresponsible, or people tell me how many kittens they had to euthanize that morning, trying to make me feel bad.
I've been lurking in this forum/website for my cat pregnancy information for 2 or 3 weeks now, when my litter was officially 'diagnosed.'
I'm not a breeder, but I adopt strays, ferals and rescue cats. I obtained a female from a mill about a year ago (her birthday is February 11th, 2009), and about 6 months ago I lost my job and my home and couldn't afford to get her fixed. All my other cats were fixed at the time until I started rescuing some new strays, one of which was a boy.
I kept them separated during her heat, but at some point during that exhausting 7 days, he managed to get her. I do/did have an appoint for her, him, and another feral to get fixed March 9th. I'll be taking the feral (now also in heat, ughh) and the father still, and if the vet will allow, our neighbor's unfixed tomcat (who is terrorizing the neighborhood and spraying outside our door!!)
But anyway, Meatloaf (my mommy kitty) is expecting any day now.
She has been sleeping most of today and is a little restless. I was petting her just now, and one of her kittens was right up against her side.
It was possibly the second most beautiful feeling I've ever felt, the first most beautiful feeling being the day I felt the kittens move for the very first time.
But, I could make out perfectly the entire form of the tiny kitten. I could feel the head, the curve of the back, and its hind legs. I petted it gently, and it moved. Not just a twitch like normal, but it literally just.. crawled from one side of her body to the other, very slowly.
I think having a pregnant cat, being able to feel her babies, knowing that I will be helping with/witnessing her birth in a few days has made me rethink the subtle joys of life.
I'm sorry to all of the animals that have to be put down because shelters are so over crowded, but wouldn't these kittens face the same future?
We will most likely be keeping the entire litter, possibly giving one to a family member. My family has been involved in animal rescue since 1963, when my mother was born. She's an animal rights activist, and we've never been without a stray or five, and we vet and rehome our animals.
So, sorry this post was SOOO long but I am just extremely excited and happy, and I wish she would have them right this instant, LOL.