Throw Back Thursday: Maggie.
Way back in 2011, we got a pregnant tabby. She was sweet and she was awesome, and she looked like this:
I named her Mary Margaret because I got her before St. Patrick’s Day, and I intended to give all her kittens Irish names (I referred to the litter as the McMaos). We immediately nicknamed her Maggie and never called her anything else.
She was hugely pregnant when we got her, and of course I expected her to go into labor at any moment.
She waited three weeks – OF COURSE – and on April 2nd, she had her kittens. SIX of them – five boys (Macushla, Cillian, Declan, Fergus Simon & Finnegan) and one girl (Ciara).
She was a WONDERFUL mama to those kittens.
Supervising snack time (and maybe helping out a little!)
Brat.
Not only did she raise her own six kittens, she took on the care (and nursing of) three little girls who lost their mother too soon, the Spice Girls. It wasn’t unusual to see all 9 of the kittens trying to nurse on her at the same time. And she put up with it WAY longer than any mama should have to!
Well, Maggie went off to Petsmart and was adopted by Alex and Sara pretty quickly. She gained a couple of brothers (Tucker and Bailey), and she got herself a human brother, Henry. Last year, they moved from Alabama, and she’s now Maggie the Wisconsin cat!
Alex says:
It has been a year since my family (me, my wife, Sara, our son, Henry, and our three cats, Maggie, Tucker, and Bailey) moved to Wisconsin. Maggie was the quickest of the cats to adjust, and I honestly believe her flexibility helped the other cats adjust. We now live in a two-story house with a basement, which gives Maggie ample opportunity to get plenty of exercise; though she does remain a little pudgy.
Of all the cats, Maggie is the most tolerant of our 17 month old. She allows him to pet her, nuzzle her, and play with her. Overall, Maggie continues to be happy and very well loved. I think she had taken to Wisconsin very well. I hope you enjoy these pictures of one of your most famous mama cats.
Thank you so much for the update and the pictures, Alex! I sure do love seeing her sweet face (and I just can’t believe it’s been five years!)
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Hemlock, Privet and Juniper are headed off to Petsmart this morning. I expect that they’ll be freaked out, but I hope that they adjust quickly – and go home very soon!
In preparation for their move to Petsmart, they got all spiffed up.
“What UP, laydeez?”
Gettin’ FORMAL.
“Howdy, pardner.”
I think the red hat against her dark, glossy fur is SMASHING.
Juniper is STYLIN’.
Privet also looks pretty good in the tiny red hat. But she wants something a little… fancier.
“Hmph. I’m not really feelin’ it, lady.”
::considering::
“This will do nicely, lady.”
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“Why you takin’ my chew toys away? They like it when I chew on them, that’s why they yell!”
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Previously
2015: We’ll call these the Klutzy Kittens videos.
2014: Oh, Polo. Why you gotta be so stressed?
2013: No entry.
2012: No entry.
2011: We got ducks.
2010: Voices
2009, part 1: (Trick sentence! Nothing will stop me from worrying!)
2009, part 2: Ike (just passing through)
2008: I have no idea what Kaylee does with herself at night, maybe she sneaks downstairs and snuggles with Spanky, who knows?
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: Ye GODS does that hurt, to have a kitten climbing up your back.
Hello. I am so sad that the kittens will be going off to Petsmart tomorrow. My daughter usually wakes up around the same time that updates are posted so i read the new update plus all the old entries while feeding her. I don’t know what I’m going to do now without my kitten updates.
Give it a few days – there will be more kittens. 🙂
That update from Maggie is so sweet. I hope that girl is enjoying her retirement from kittens!
The tiny hats are adorable (but where’s my Cheflock?) How do you get the hats to stay on their heads?
I balance them. I thought about using double-sided tape, but figured it would freak them out.
The trick is to distract them, then lightly balance the hat on their head and snap as many pictures as quickly as possible. They – especially Juniper – kept shaking the hats off as fast as I could get them on their heads.
Really, you need three hands – one to distract with, one to set the hat on their head, and one to take pictures. If I could go ahead and grow that third arm, my life would be so much easier.
Maggie’s story is SO AWESOME! <3 Love her & her peoples!
Poor Stefan is losing his latest set of underlings. Now he'll have to start allll over again training new minions. He could have amassed an army against Archie by now if you would just stop giving his kittens away!
LOVE the hats! I hope that you will send them along with the kitties when they get adopted.
bwahahaha….kittens in hats (and poor Stefan)
LOVE the update on Maggie (and who says you can’t move with cats)
Love the update with Maggie. Just one question… how do they keep that nice centerpiece on the table untouched with 3 cats? It was just full of cat toy goodness and there it sat, untouched. I took one look at it behind Maggie and just laughed because that is a picture that would never happen in our house. Never. That glass vase would have been knocked over faster than Mario Andretti can take a lap at the Indy 500. And that is about 40 seconds nowadays. Love happy endings like Maggie’s. And Maggie needs her own Cheesehead hat now. Just sayin’.
Yes! They make little cheeseheads for Barbie dolls, I think that would be about the right size, don’t you?
Some of the centerpieces are left alone by the cats; however, we have discovered that it is very difficult to have house plants as Maggie loves to snack on the leaves. As for that specific centerpiece, Maggie and Tucker have been known to chew on the plastic. Overall, they are pretty good about avoiding the decor.
Maggie was so sweet and patient with the Spice girls, not surprised that her maternal instincts (and patience) kicked in with your son.
Thank you for making sure that Maggie’s smug and happy.
Yay for Mama Maggie! And I second the need for a cheesehead picture. (And someone in the Wisconsin area needs to send Robyn one, too!).
Cats in hats! You know, the stores are starting to get in their Halloween stuff, and I know I’ve seen little witch hats… Dennis needs something to go with his devil horns!
Safe travels kittens! Here’s hoping all the good adoption vibes from this past week are still out there working for you!
I’ve started stocking up for Halloween. Good thing I’ve got a month and a half (plus some) to get pictures taken! 🙂
I love updates.. so much.. thank you Alex! 🙂
and it is about freakin time you used those hats you have 🙂 this totally mmd
Godspeed, kittens. May you find families as loving and caring as Maggie’s — and as excellent at updates. Thanks for bringing these Evergreens up so, so brilliantly, Robyn. And honorable mention to Stefan, too!
Oh Maggie looks wonderful! She deserves to be a bit plump after being mama to the three thousand zombie kittens! The video of all of them taking her DOWN will forever be my all time favorite.
I love Privet in the feathery red hat!