Is it just me, or is Hollyhock always at the top of the pile at the milk bar?
When Mimosa is lying on her left side, Hollyhock is at the top of the pile – when Mimosa’s on her right side (which doesn’t happen nearly as often), Hollyhock’s on the bottom of the pile – she claimed that top middle nipple as her own, and she’s not going to let any of her brothers have it.
When kittens are born, they claim a certain nipple as their own (they scent mark them) and that’s their preferred nipple from then on. If for some reason that nipple isn’t available they WILL use another nipple, but they’ll always try to get to their preferred nipple first. (Some kittens, I’ve noticed, are less insistent on the one nipple – others will FIGHT TO THE DEATH if another kitten is there.)
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I’m still holding out hope for the rarest of the rare male calicos here, though I admit it’s super doubtful. Hollyhock could keep the name regardless. 🙂
Alas, Hollyhock is definitely a girl. Maybe next litter!
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I may have missed this – but Wisteria is listed as adoption pending. I remember she was sick – how is she doing?
Last I heard, Wisteria is doing great. She went to her new home in a foster-to-adopt situation, and was adopted with another kitty, Sweet Olive. The people adopting Wisteria were willing to adopt a second cat, and Michelle was pretty sure that Wisteria needed a playmate. Wisteria was spayed a few weeks ago; I’m not sure if the adoption has been finalized yet, but I will let y’all know when I know!
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I think you’ve got the sexes right, because we know Hollyhock is (beyond reasonable doubt) a girl, and the only way any of the others could be female is if they have a different father to her.
(Since Mimosa has no orange on her, Hollyhock’s father must have been ginger, which means all his daughters will have orange on them!) Of course it is possible for litters to have more than one father, but four boys was what I was expecting.
I really think we’ve got it right, too – I’ve looked a few more times, and the boys definitely look like boys to me still! (I’m just glad we had Hollyhock to compare their back ends to, that made it easier.)
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Would you consider Hydrilla as a name for one of the kittens? (Like a combination between Hydra and Godzilla for a hissy fierce kitten?) Here’s info on the plant!
That’s a great name – but I had settled on names before I saw this comment (well, I sent Michelle a list and she narrowed it down for me.) Also, what is wrong with me that whenever I see an interesting-looking invasive plant, my first thought is always “Oooh, I should plant that!” ?
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I still swear that I do not know how you deal with all the pearl-clutching you must get. I get that people are just worried and want to help, but when someone has been doing this for fifteen years, unsolicited advice is just insulting and disrespectful. Even were I to foster, I could never blog like you do, because I am absolutely certain that I would either tell these well-meaning souls to jump into the sun, or break down in tears.
and
I think it’s the FB followers, who have no idea that Robyn has been doing this forever. I feel like the ones of us who follow the blog are the REAL Friends of Love-and-Hisses (and Robyn and Fred)!
Oh it drives me craaaazy sometimes, the people who wander across my page, don’t bother to read any further than one post, and decide I’m a breeder. And “YOu SHOULdn’t be HANdlINg tHose kIttens IT strESSes tHEre mamaM oUt.” Or the ever-popular “sPAY AnD nEUtEr.” Really, honestly, truly – I should get some sort of award for not responding to those comments in the knee-jerk sarcastic (and profane) way I want to.
I delight in reading certain Facebook comments to Fred in a quavering voice while clutching at my nonexistent pearls. Sometimes I tell Fred I’m going to respond saying whatever comes to mind at the moment (most recently “I understand it’s hard to click on the “about” link at the top of this page while you’re simultaneously clutching your pearls and patting yourself on the back, so let me summarize: Mimosa is a foster”, etc.) I usually (USUALLY) don’t snap at commenters because (1) I don’t want to end up in Facebook Jail for being MEAN, and (2) I am totally aware that sometimes I read a comment as being snottier than the commenter might have intended and it’s better to just walk away. The FB page has gotten so big at this point that I don’t have a hope of responding to even a fraction of the comments I get – I try to read them all, and I answer questions and block trolls the best I can. Other than that, it’s kind of the Wild West in my comments – and I always appreciate it when others answer the questions I don’t see until days later.
I absolutely think you blog readers are the cream of the crop and you guys will always and forever be my favorite people. HEART EMOJI.
PS: Know who I feel sorry for? Kitten Lady (Hannah Shaw) – she has a million times the number of followers I have, and she has so so so much patience. God bless her.
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Mimosa seems so content and knows exactly what she’s doing. Do you think she’s had kittens before this litter?
I do think she’s had kittens before – her previous owners, who left her at animal control, said that her name was “Mama,” which makes me t hink she had at least one litter in the past.
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Mimosa looks like such a sweetheart, and you seem to really gel with her. How do you know when you might have a potential foster fail on your hands?
First thing: Mimosa is not going to be a foster fail. I do like her quite a bit, but I love all my fosters wholeheartedly. She’s meant to be someone else’s cat.
After we adopted Charlie, I declared that we would add no more permanent residents while Alice and Archie are on this earth, and Fred agreed. (Alice is 12. Archie is 9. They’re both in good health.) Alice was fine with Charlie at first, and then Charlie got big (he is a big boy, which I mention all the time) and I think he chased her or tried to play with her, and she has decided she’s scared of him. So he’ll walk in her general direction and she runs away from him and he thinks they’re playing and she does not. Luckily, she has her safe spaces, so it’s not like she’s living in fear all the time, but she’s getting older and deserves to have peace. So, no more permanent residents for the time being.
(People have suggested that Alice needs another girl in the house, which makes me laugh. Because Alice really has no use for other cats and would probably prefer to be an only cat. In fact, if I went away too and she could have Fred alllll to herself, she’d be A-OK with that.)
BUT that is not what you asked. What you asked is how I know when I might have a potential foster fail on my hands and the answer is… I honestly don’t know. The fosters we’ve kept in the past were usually headed for Petsmart (sometimes even went to Petsmart for a while) before we decided to keep them. None of them were particularly well thought-out decisions, more emotional and “I miss this cat” and “the permanent residents don’t seem to hate him/her.”
So I guess that doesn’t really answer the question, because I don’t know!
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Lineup at the milk bar. I mostly took this picture because I just noticed that Hollyhock has an orange dot on the back of each of her ears and I think that’s awfully cute.
That’s a yawn from Clover, not a hiss. It’s a rough life, ain’t it?
Mondo likes to rest his chin on the nearest sibling (in this case, Bramble) and think deep thoughts.
See?
Bramble has a think.
Hollyhock, out cold.
These kittens are, without a doubt, well-fed. (Kudzu)
Line ’em up! Left to right: Hollyhock, Mondo, Kudzu, Bramble and Clover.
Mimosa caught sight of herself in the mirror and said “Not bad at ALL for a gal who had 5 kittens just over a week ago!”
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The sun was out yesterday, and Jake was pleased.
VERY pleased.
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Posted on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr) yesterday.
BREAKING NEWS: Bramble decided he needs to see what’s going on out in the world and currently possesses one partially-open eyeball! If you’re keeping track, that’s Bramble, Mondo and Hollyhock with partially open eyes. Kudzu and Clover are of the “No thank you, I don’t need to see anything” variety and are taking their time.
Pie plate full o’ kittens. They take up more space than last time I pie-plated them, funny how that happens.
YouTube link
Throw Back Thursday: in 2015 we had three fosters named Peter, Paul and Mary. Mary was a sassy little thing, and LOVED to spit at me if she felt I wasn’t paying enough attention to her. I managed to catch it on video – her smug little face kills me.
Kudzu gets a mama hug (you have to look closely – he kind of blends in!)
YouTube link
Did you know that kittens can’t urinate or defecate on their own until they’re 3 – 4 weeks old? Until then their mother stimulates them by licking (and then, yes, she consumes the output.) I know it sounds gross – you don’t see me volunteering to lend Mimosa a hand (er, tongue) – but the mothers don’t seem to mind.
The one time we had a father cat present – that would be Charles of Charles, Caroline & the Half Pints back in 2019 – he was more than happy to help potty the kittens.
Eyeball check! Today Mondo, Bramble and Hollyhock each have TWO eyes, and Kudzu and Clover are still sticking to their “No eyeballs, thank you” stance. (I know it looks like Clover’s eyes are peeking open, but that’s his coloring. I have looked closely and don’t see the glimmer of eyeballs yet.) It is entirely normal for some kittens’ eyes to open sooner than others. Kittens move at their own pace, and Kudzu and Clover will buckle under peer pressure, thank you very much.
Good night innernets. From left: Mondo, Bramble (belly-up!), Hollyhock (next to Bramble), Kudzu (in the back), and Clover.
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Previously
2021: I guess she decided she was ready, and the eyes went ::PLINK::!
2020: Alejandro, Javier and Diego go to see what’s got Mama so excited.
2019: These kittens, SO judgmental.
2018: No entry.
2017: No entry.
2016: “Oh lord, where did all these children come from?”
2015: “Bring it over HERE, lady!”
2014: I love how Ferdinand is first on the scene, both times, to investigate what’s going on.
2013: “Stop harassing me. I did some mathematic equations, realized exactly how those babies are planning to exit their current domicile, and I decided I’m NEVER going to give birth. Go away.”
2012: I think it’s safe to say that Emmy is pretty much over one Fred Anderson.
2011: That cat tree is leaning rather dangerously under the weight of Elwood (aka “Ellie Belly”), but he doesn’t care.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: “The chickens are here!” he said.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.