Monday, September 13, 2010

i'm a kitty grandma!

Last Friday was a very busy day as Clementine delivered her babies! I knew she was having contractions when I saw her sides heaving in and out. That happened a few times, she meowed loudly a couple of times, and then she ran into the corner of my son's closet and laid down on his stuffed monkey! I said to Clem, "Oh no, you don't. You're not having your babies on the monkey!"

I picked Clem up and brought her into the closet in a spare room. Hubby had set up a cardboard box for Clementine with shredded newspaper on the bottom and then layers of towels on the top. But she chose to have her babies on the carpeted floor. It was so cool to see her immediately lick off the protective sac around the baby, then bite off its umbilical cord. The second baby came soon after, but it was stillborn. :-( Clem was busy licking the sac off, but it was obviously dead from the beginning - it never moved or showed any signs of breathing. It was perfectly formed, but hairless. Weird. Hubby buried it in the back yard.

First signs of little feet...



Baby blends in with mama - and mama looks so tired!


The next day, Saturday...mama and baby already looking better...


So we just have the one baby and it and mama cat are doing just fine. I spend a lot of time with  both of them. I feed Clem 2x/day, including sometimes bringing the bowl to her - lying down in the closet, holding the bowl up to her face to she can eat - because she hates to leave the baby. She sometimes does leave the baby - to go to her food bowl or the cat box - and the minute she hears her baby squeak, she flies back into the closet. And since giving birth, I can't believe how much sweeter Clem is. She just loves for me to pet her over and over and purrs so loudly. She even lets me kiss her little head.  (Remember, Clem was a skittish stray that showed up at my house just three weeks ago.) Last night I was lying in the closet by Clem and the baby, just watching them and petting Clem. It was so peaceful, I almost fell asleep right there on the closet floor.


11 comments:

  1. i think having 2 kittens is really rare small litter but Clem doesn't look very large herself. Sorry the 1 didn't make it but that makes this little 1 more special.

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  2. You are right - Clem is a small cat and she is also very young - most likely under a year old.

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  3. Sweet little mommy and baby! Only 1? Wow that is a very small litter but her age may have something to do with it. Well that little baby is going to get lots of attention.
    Have fun with the both of them, it is a special time!
    Tina xo

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  4. I'm so glad that Clementine found her way to such a kind woman! She and her sweet kitten are in good hands.

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  5. Tina - she actually had two, but one was stillborn. :-(

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  6. Congratulations, grandma! Both Clem and baby are so cute.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  7. OOOOO! That is precious! Thanks for sharing the photos and story!

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  8. Oh how very sweet indeed. Hard to believe she only has the one. One of the stray cats here that I call Sweet Kitty had 7 babies earlier this year. Some boys across the street put them all in a box and I heard them mewing their little hearts out so I rescued them and took them to a friend who had enough helping hands to feed them all (even the shelter here said they didn't have enough volunteers to help feed that many kittens -- we did lose one to an infection, but the rest were just fine. Clem sure is lucky to have a sweet mama like you. :) Best wishes, Tammy

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  9. Oh how lovely! It brought back pleasant memories of when my cats gave birth... Aren't animals just amazing. Your little mother cat and her baby are just as sweet as can be. Great photos!
    Please come and visit me at my history blog about St. Nicholas!
    Ann

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  10. Oh, thank you so much for showing the birthing process! I'm in such complete awe of those little feet sticking out! You've got a good mama there. Give her a hug for me.
    Brenda

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