Kittens, kittens and more kittens
Kittens, those little fluffy balls that just melt your heart
In 2020 the ragdoll of my parents was pregnant, but they also had the tickets to spend a few weeks in Spain. ‘No problem!’ we said ‘we will take care of mom and her kittens :)’.
Mom cat was already feeling at home in our house. She often stayed for a few weeks when my parents were in Spain and got along with our cats well. We decided that she would come to our place a week before her due date. And she and her kittens would stay at our place until they would go to their new home.
We also decided that we would keep one kitten. It would be impossible to say goodbye to all of them after banding with them more than 10 weeks. We were very excited about everything. My husband and I did our homework, we watched cats giving birth on YouTube, we went through the pages on the internet about cats giving birth, we bought all the necessary things the kittens and mom cat would need. And we studied what to do when things wouldn’t go as planned.
“I went to mom cat and saw the first kitten was born and mom was licking her”
It was Monday, September 17th and it was my first day at my new job. I hoped that mom cat would deliver on the weekend. But this morning mom cat was feeling restless and she was constantly licking. I thought it would happen during the day, that these were just the first signs. She went to the nursery spot that we made ready for her to give birth and a safe place for the kittens. My husband was in the shower when I heard a squeak. I went to mom cat and saw the first kitten was born and mom was licking her. My daughter was thrilled and my husband immediately came out of the shower. What a special moment to experience!
“My husband opened the door and looked at me with a big smile. Mom cat had delivered 5 healthy kittens”
Unfortunately I had to go to work and I wanted to be on time. The day flew by for me and at the end of the day I couldn’t wait to get home. My husband and I agreed that he wouldn’t keep me up to date, because this was my first day at my new job and I needed to focus on that. When I came home my husband opened the door and looked at me with a big smile. Mom cat had delivered 5 healthy kittens.
My husband gave me an update. He told me that our daughter was there when the second kitten was born, but then she had to go to school and one of her friend’s mom picked her up. He made sure that mom cat didn’t eat more than 3 placentas (otherwise she could get nauseous). That he ‘cut’ the placentas with his nails, not with scissors like we were informed. And that after 3 kittens he thought she was finished, but then after 45 mins another one came and soon the last kitten followed. The last kitten wasn’t moving and he got worried. He cleared the nose and rubbed the kitten gently with his finger and then the kitten came to life!
I walked into the living room and I saw mom cat feeding her 5 kittens so peacefully and proud. I think she was also so thankful that my husband was there the whole time. The days after she would look at him like she was in love with him and she was asking him for cuddles.
It was so beautiful seeing the kittens grow, developing their own personalities, playing around with us and with each other. And in the end it was heartbreaking saying goodbye. We felt heart broken. I knew this day would come, but it was so hard. We were happy that all kittens went to family or friends, so we received regular updates and they all have a good and loving home.
We kept the brown kitten and called her Bibi. From the beginning Bibi has been very attached to me. Even until this day she sits and sleeps on my lap every evening. She goes to bed with me and sleeps next to me the whole night until I get up in the morning. And when I’m sick she stays by my side.
What a beautiful experience it was. I wouldn’t want to have missed it for the world!