No kittens as of midnight last night. If you missed it yesterday, I was awakened at 5:50 by Dewey tossing a headless rat around my room and growling at his brothers. I’m hoping not to wake up the same way today, thank you very much. (Yes, a real rat. I’m just glad my subconscious realized something was going on and suggested I check it out. And that it was on the floor instead of the bed. And that Fred works from home so he could deal with it!)
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Am I correct in remembering that Kara was the only momma cat who had her babies almost immediately upon arrival at Crooked Acres?
You are correct! Kara had her kittens about 30 hours after she got here. Everyone else waited for periods ranging from 13 to 23 days. Since Patty asked this question yesterday, I finally got my act together and finished up the Mama Kitties page I was working on two years ago. It’s got a list of all the mama kitties who’ve given birth here, all the ones who were supposedly pregnant when I got them but turned out to be fakers, and finishes up with all the mama kitties who came here with their kittens already born.
Again, that page is here (at some point, I’ll put it in the sidebar). If you notice someone should be in any of those lists but aren’t, let me know.
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In the previous years’ posts, in 2011 there’s the lovely Maggie, also not going to give up those babies. Methinks this is a recurring occurence.
Yep, in 2011 we were waiting on Maggie, and in 2015 we were waiting on Lucy. Lucy had hers on April 1st and Maggie on April 2nd. I would prefer not to wait any longer than that, IF Y’DON’T MIND, NOLA.
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In the past, hasn’t either an alien belly video or an undignified picture of Fred holding the mama up upright been the charm?
I’ve been trying to get a good alien belly video! I don’t think Fred holding her up is going to happen this time around – it makes her very nervous when we’re both in the room, and I don’t think she’d handle that well.
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I’m curious as to why you’re trimming her belly fur? Wasn’t Kate really fluffy too? I think once the kittens start nursing the fur around them disappears, no? Or did you trim Kate’s too? I was looking at the previous years and ya can’t help but notice the bare nipple in the middle of all her black fur, so not being creepy here!
Nola’s a lot floofier than Kate was (Kate had a super floofy tail, but she wasn’t nearly as floofy as Nola on her body). However, I’m noticing that as her milk sacs fill up, the fur around her nipples is receding, and I’m thinking maybe I just need to back off and let nature take its course – especially because Nola doesn’t like having her furs trimmed. I can’t say I blame her – I wouldn’t want some dummy hacking away at my hair either.
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Nola is so gorgeous. Never was there a more gorgeous teenage baby mama. What color ARE her eyes, anyway?
They’re a greenish-gold. More gold than green, but they show up as greenish sometimes, depending on the light.
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Nola is sooo beautiful!! Did you ever tell us what age they think she is, and if you think she has had a litter before?
I didn’t mention how old she is, I don’t think – she’s about a year old, and I don’t think we know whether she’s had a litter before. At that age it’s possible she has, but it’s hard to know for sure.
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I just had a thought… what if you had more April Fools Day babies?! Hehe…
I have to admit, I really am not crazy about April Fools Day, which just about guarantees that that’s when she’ll have them.
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2016 Stefan making biscuits…. http://belarr.com/bakercat/
I watched that for far too long!
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Have you thought about putting a blanket down in that corner for her?
Ha – of COURSE, it’s the first thing I did and she pushed it away. Maybe she’ll be like Emmy, who birthed her babies in a wooden box and always pushed out any bedding I put in there. (Now I’m wondering where I put that box!)
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There’s a cat at Friends of Felines Rescue Center in Defiance Ohio named Nyla. 3 days ago she gave birth to 11 (!) kittens. 2 didn’t make it but 9 are doing well. I just think it’s interesting that FFRC has a mama Nyla and you have a soon to be mama Nola
Oh lord, please please please don’t let Nola have 11 kittens. I think 4 or 5 is a good number. We can even do 6 or 7… but 11? Poor Nyla!
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Speaking of road trips, I had a dream that I had two tiny kittens and I was on a road trip and I decided to just stop by your house – you and Fred weren’t home but the doors weren’t locked so I just let myself in and when you got home I was like ‘HI, I THOUGHT WE COULD ALL HANG OUT, I PET ALL YOUR CATS WHILE YOU WERE OUT’. Dream-you was surprisingly okay with this. I apologize for my subconscious’s creepiness.
I love it when you guys have dreams about us (and sure, if you’re on a road trip with your tiny kittens, do feel free to stop by and hang out!)
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“Lady, you put House on the TV or I won’t be responsible for what I do!”
I have (obviously) not gotten around to hanging the mirrors on the wall, just sat the package there so I’d remember to do it. Every now and then, she catches sight of something in the mirrors.
And she finds those mirrors pretty interesting for a little while, and then she wanders off.
She is such a pretty girl.
Havin’ a think.
That is quite the belly, isn’t it? I need to get a video of her walking, because when you see it swaying back and forth, it’s even more impressive.
If she goes into labor over the weekend (if I’m awake and aware that she’s going into labor, that is) I will post on Instagram (which will auto-post to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr) and here at the blog when I get a chance. Let us cross our fingers that Monday morning doesn’t bring a still-pregnant Nola.
Just a note: if I post that she’s in labor or had her kittens tomorrow, it is NOT A PRANK. (That would be a lame and stupid prank. And I don’t play pranks on April Fools Day because I haaate all the stupid, obvious, super-lame pranks that are played. I mean, I’m sure YOURS will be clever and all, but as a rule I am no fan of that day.) A skeptical comment along the lines of “Is she really or is this a joke?” will result in my hunting you down and boxing your ears. You’ll probably get a kick in the shin, too. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
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Maxi informs Carla Mae that the side stoop is NOT the place for chickens.
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Previously
2016: Chanandler Bong has a TUMMY (and she is very amused by that).
2015: “Come here, lady. I wanna smack you right in the face, and it’s too much work to stand up and come over there to do so.”
2014: Which is what happened early yesterday morning, when Jake went looning over by the cabinet, stepped on the mat, and set off a flurry of cats stampeding out of the room.
2013: Charming was NURSING IN HIS SLEEP.
2012: She announced it the entire time. “I’M GOING INTO THE LITTER BOX!” and then “I’M IN THE LITTER BOX!” and then “I AM USING THE LITTER BOX!” and lastly “I WENT PEEPEE IN THE LITTER BOX!”
2011: The Wisteria is abloom.
2010: The problem with warm and sunny days.
2009: “Madame, quite frankly I am appalled that you would take such liberties with me. Did I indicate that a belleh rub would be welcome? I did not.”
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
I am with you on the April Fool’s pranks. If you need me to hold someone down for you, just ping me!
Totally with you on pranks. Hate them. There’s a tv show here all about pranks . Called Just for Laughs. My friend loves it. I cannot stand it. I think it’s mean to make someone think they’ve run over someone.
My cat lovingly put the front half of a mouse on my pillow when I was 12. While I was sleeping. It kept rolling down into my hair and she’d pull it back up, which is what woke me up. Cue the screams. I’ve been freaked by mice since.
Dear Nola, I will be stuck inside tomorrow due to a snow storm, so that would be a perfect time for you to birth your babies. Just sayin’. Thanks 🙂
I also am among those that think April Fools Day and pranks are stupid. I hope it’s not just an age thing. Not one of the “pranks” I’ve seen people do (real life, FB, Youtube, TV, etc. have been the least bit funny).
Nola-you give up those babies when they are sufficiently baked. I am busy tomorrow so that will not be a good day.
P.S. Robyn-if you were to do a reality show or write a book or anyone needs a name for their blog, I think Bakers vs. Fakers is an excellent name. It plays off those cooking shows of similar names but would be about pregnant and not so pregnant cats.
Um. I would TOTALLY watch that show! Brilliant idea!
Food Network beat you to it. They already have a Bakers vs. Fakers. Also, many teachers dislike April Fool’s day too. I know elementary teachers who are very happy April 1 is a Saturday this year!
That would be a great reality show! 🙂
I’m on board with disliking April Fool’s and pranks in general, especially TV shows that glorify tricking people simply for the amusement of others. Sometimes it really bothers me what other find “funny”.
I loved being reminded of Stefan’s biscuit making skills… but also, OMG…. Lucy’s “leg up” video is STILL hilarious. I need to save that as a favourite myself and re-watch it any time I’m feeling blue. You just can’t help but smile at that girl!
I hope Nola is “havin’ a think” about finally giving up those babies now that she’ll have Nanny Robyn to help out with daycare. 😉
I agree too–no pranks, especially pregnancy pranks! I remember one year this lady with a blog posted a fake sonogram picture and pretended to be pregnant with twins, I believe. The original faker! I think her husband also had a blog and pretended to win big at online poker or something like that. Those guys cracked me up! 🙂
Come on Nola, sending you good thoughts for a quick easy delivery SOON.
And everyone who read it and believed it freaked out and then got REALLY mad when they learned the truth, didn’t they? 🙂
Thank you very much! I was totally going to call SOMEONE to the floor about this.
The one year I did an April Fool’s prank, it was entirely by accident, but was extremely funny. It was that year where it would NOT. STOP. FRICKING. SNOWING. I was on the phone to a friend on the morning of April 1st and it was cold and clear, and I said something to the effect of “at least it isn’t snowing”. She misheard me and thought I said it was snowing and flipped out of her skin, whereupon the prank promptly ran through her household as a prank, because she thought I was pranking her. “It’s snowing!”
That one was a situational prank that will probably never work again.
That’s a pretty good accidental prank. 🙂
seriously….everytime I see a picture of Ken Adams, all I can think is “MOE!!!”
Once Fred called him “Moe,” I could never think of him as anything else!
I find it hard to believe that rats would even set foot in Crooked Acres, with 11+ cats around.
They certainly must not be the smartest members of their pack to wander onto our property!
Dear lord that poor baby is HUGE. Kittehs soon, plz!!!!
My husband thinks pranks are fun. But lucky for me he doesn’t do them very much. But last year he did a good one on me. He and a friend went down to Chicago one night, it’s about an hour drive from our house. He called me just after midnight saying his jeep had died and no one was around to help out, would I please go down and pick them up. While on the phone with him I proceed to get dressed, grab the keys and head out the door. As I’m locking up he asks, “By the way, what day is it today?” I answered, “Friday.” He says, “No what’s the date?” These are not unusual questions for him as he’s always forgetting the days and dates because he works nights and it throws him off. So I answered, “It’s the 1st.” By now I’m walking to the car and about to get in when he says, “Yeah, it’s the 1st.” And then I hear his friend snickering in the background and it finally dawned on me what was going on. They were already on the road and heading back home when they decided to prank me. Lucky for him it was Friday night so not a big deal, although I still would’ve done it even on a week night. He says how he can’t believe I was willing to drive all the way down to pick them up, that I didn’t tell them to just get a cab. He says he’s very grateful that I would’ve done it and that I didn’t get too upset with him. I told him he’s lucky that it wasn’t such an awful prank, it really wasn’t that big a deal. He could’ve made it so much worse but he didn’t so I couldn’t really get upset with him.
That’s a pretty harmless prank, all in all. At least he didn’t wait ’til you were on the road!
at this rate, I’m wondering if I’ll have babies before you do.. (and since I have absolutely no prospects of kittens, that is saying something)
No kidding – I feel like EVERYONE is going to have kittens before I do! 🙂
So if you have babies over the weekend, you will let us know right? I use Sunday to read your previous entries…
Yes, of course.