3-20-23 Daisy’s birth story

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In case you didn’t see it on social media or in yesterday’s very quick post, Daisy had her kittens on Saturday. Here’s the story.

I was out of the house for several hours Saturday morning/afternoon driving Lincoln and Lilly to Nashville to meet their new mom (details on that in the next section.) I just knew that Daisy would go into labor while I was gone, but I was home by mid-afternoon, and Daisy came to greet me at the door, ate her Churu happily, and then got on the cat tree to watch the birds out the window. I didn’t think labor was imminent, so I left her to it.

Around 6, I went in to hang out with her for a little while. She was in the red crate in the corner of my office, and came out to greet me. When I sat down to pet her, instead of flopping down on the floor and letting me pet her, she went back into the crate.

That was unusual. She’d been spending time in the crate for the previous week and a half or so, but usually stayed out when I was in the room.

I moved over so I was in front of the crate, she stuck her head out the door of the crate so I could pet her, and then she had a contraction.

I left the room to let Fred know what was going on and to grab a charging cord for my phone. Daisy followed me to the door and yelled at me until I came back in. Then she went back into the crate.

This started right at 6:00. I made myself comfortable, kept scritching Daisy, and waited. She’d have a contraction, another a little while later, and then she’d doze off for a while. When 7:00 came and went, I started to wonder if she was planning to wait ’til midnight to start actually having them – so I told her that she didn’t have to wait. As much as I liked the idea of having kittens on March 19th, I also didn’t want to wait! (Like I ever have ANY choice in the matter.)

Around 8:00, the contractions started coming faster and harder. Her water broke at 8:17, and at 8:26 the first kitten was born. I only caught a glimpse and thought it might be a tuxie, then it squirmed around to the back of the crate, Daisy followed, and then sat there with her back to me while she chewed through the cord, ate the placenta, and then cleaned the kitten.

Daisy eventually turned around, and I got a good look.

What seemed like moments later, she started having contractions again, and before I knew what was going on, she had kitten number two – an all-black kitten – at 8:51.

“Does this kitten taste funny to you?”

Daisy got the kittens cleaned up, rested a bit, and then the contractions started again. I thought the next kitten would be along soon, but she labored for almost an hour and a half before the third kitten was born. She was pretty tired and pretty much ignored the kitten once it was out and squirming around. I waited a couple of minutes, but she was exhausted and just zoned out. The kitten wasn’t moving much and I’m not the patient sort, so I picked it up with the intention of cleaning it off a little and making sure it was okay. As soon as I touched it, it started squirming and yelling, so I put it in front of Daisy. She immediately started cleaning it, which was a relief to me.

(I initially thought kitten #3 was all black. Then I saw its toes while she was cleaning it, and thought it might be all black with white toes. When everyone was clean and dry yesterday morning, I realized that she’s a tortie.)

I figured Daisy would have a few minutes before anything else happened (and I wasn’t seeing contractions yet), so I laid down on the floor to post about kitten #3 being born. When I sat up, there was already another kitten, a little tuxie, born at 10:33.

Daisy got them mostly cleaned up, everyone bellied up to the milk bar, and she took a nap.

I waited another hour to see if there were any more contractions, but Daisy looked pretty much done. She got the kittens cleaned up, the placenta disposed of, and curled up to sleep. She woke occasionally to lick a kitten and check on them, then went back to sleep. So I went to bed.

Yesterday morning, Daisy was happy to see me, but more interested in being in the crate with her kittens. I fed her, then she watched while I changed out the bedding very quickly. Like most of our new mamas, she was okay with me being in the room, watchful if I touched the kittens – I only touched them to weigh them, and to get a quick peek at their toes – and glad to have her ears scratched.

So we have four kittens. I took a look at their back ends, and asked Fred to look as well. We both agree that the calico and tortie are girls (no surprise there), and the tuxie and house panther are boys. The lightest kitten (4.76 oz/ 134.94 g) is the calico, the heaviest (5.08 oz/ 144.01 g) is the tuxie. The only polydactyl kitten is the tortie, though I will obviously keep checking. (I will get a weight chart up and running, but expect that to take a few days.)

Such a sweet little family.

I love the splashes of orange on the tortie.

One more look from above!

I have names, I just need to get pictures to go with them, so that’s my important task for today.

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Follow Lincoln, Lilly, and their big brother Indiana on Facebook, here!

As mentioned, Lincoln and Lilly were adopted on Saturday and have gone home to Colorado, where they join kitty big brother Indiana.

I got the word late Wednesday that their adoption had been approved, and we arranged to meet in Nashville. I was busy all day Thursday so couldn’t go pick up Lincoln and Lilly from Petsmart, but went bright and early Friday. I got them home, put them in the big bathroom, and they looked at me like “Who are YOU? We don’t know you!” They were skittish for a few hours, but then relaxed and I was able to spend lots of time petting them, which was nice.

(I think that their time at Petsmart did them good. The volunteers are great with scaredy cats, and Lincoln and Lilly definitely adapted quickly.)

The drive to Nashville went fine (well, I did have to stop briefly to scoop the litter box. And once the litter box was scooped, both kittens curled up and took a nap in it. Because of course they did), the handover went great, and now they’re home in Colorado having big adventures with Indiana. Lincoln has stayed Lincoln, Lilly is Lillian, and they’re already making themselves at home. Did I mention you can follow them on Facebook?

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Joanie says “EXCUSE you, what about me?”

Posers.

Such a CUTE pair.

I have come to the conclusion that Joanie and Marsali are a bonded pair, and as such they’ll have to be adopted together. Friday afternoon I picked Marsali up to kiss her, and she squeaked a squeak of alarm, and tiny Joanie came RUNNING over, all poofed up, to defend her sister from me. How absolutely adorable is that?

They can’t go home ’til April 1st (Joanie still needs her last vaccination), but if you’re interested in this dynamic duo, please email Forgotten Felines of Huntsville at info (at) ffhsv.org to inquire. They’re not quite a year old, they’re super sweet and playful, cuddly and adorable, and someone out there must need them.

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Grampa Newt resents the kittening of this house.

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Posted on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr) this weekend.

Daisy wishes you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! (Daisy pie? My favorite!)

Joanie, having stolen Marsali’s pie plate, isn’t sorry. (She decided it wasn’t all that fun, and vacated it pretty quickly.)

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We’re watchin’ the belly! (Feels like we’ve been watching that belly forever now, doesn’t it?)

Marsali would like a scritch, please. (That TAIL is just impossibly long.)

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Slow motion kittens (mostly Joanie.) Joanie’s got the MOVES!

Good night innernets. (Daisy)

Daisy thinks my desire for kittens is FUNNY. (No kittens yet.)

Hooray, hooray, Lincoln and Lilly were adopted TOGETHER and are headed home today – they are going to Colorado, and will have a big brother named Indiana. I’m sure they’ll be fast friends before long. Happy life, sweet babies! ❤️❤️❤️ (They are likely keeping their names – and their mom is considering a social media page for them and their new brother; of course I’ll share that link if it happens!)

Daisy’s 1st kitten – a tiny calico – was born about 20 minutes ago. She’s had a second, but has her back to me so I can’t see what it looks like yet. More pics/posts when I have more pics!

Baby #2 appears to be all black!

Kitten #3 is another all-black kitten. Daisy and kittens are doing well. Hopefully Daisy will be able to rest for a bit, this one took a lot of pushing.

#4 is a tuxie! I haven’t even looked at toes, I’ll do that tomorrow. They’re an exceptionally cute bunch, though, I can tell you that.

The little family is resting peacefully, and I can barely keep my eyes open, so I’m going to bed. Daisy seems like she’s done, but if we have a little surprise waiting in the morning, I won’t be surprised. Right now we’re at 4: 1 calico, 1 tuxie, 2 house panthers. Good night!

This morning brings no additional kittens – just the four kittens who were present last night. Cats can “pause” birth for up to a couple of days, but I think Daisy is done. She birthed those babies like a champ. One of the all-black kittens turned out to be a tortie. Which means we definitely have two girls (the calico and the tortie) and I think the other two are boys; I’ll have Fred take a look later and see what he thinks. All are doing great – Daisy ate and oversaw the changing of the bedding, and now she’s curled up with the babies, snoozing. ❤️

To answer the question about the toes: the tortie is the only polydactyl kitten – she’s got at least one extra toe on each foot, as far as I could tell from a very quick check. Everyone else has the standard-issue number of toes. (That’s okay, we still love ’em!)

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Follow Indiana, Lincoln and Lillian (Lilly) here.

Just a quick break from Daisy’s kittens to share this video of Lincoln and Lilly, which I took of them before they went home yesterday.
Lincoln and Lilly went home to Colorado (together) yesterday. I went and brought them home from Petsmart Friday morning, and we kept them in the big bathroom. It was lovely to spend a little more time with them before they went home, and to be able to stand over them and pet them made me realize just how far they’ve come.

I got word this morning that they made it home safe and sound (their new mom and her friend DROVE from Colorado to get them!!!) and are exploring their new home – and it looks like Lincoln and their new big brother Indiana just might be friends even faster than I expected. ❤

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Daisy had her kittens – 4 of ’em, if you missed it – Saturday evening between 8:25 and 10:33. I didn’t get the whole thing on video, but I did get the birth of the first and third kittens. Here’s a video that covers from 6:00 (when she started having contractions – I love that you can see the kittens squirming around as they line up for the exit) through the whole event. Warning: there are some gross parts. Kittens aren’t born fluffy and clean any more than human babies are. Also, if you see something that looks like a piece of spongy liver lying around, that’s someone’s placenta. Daisy was having a hard time keeping up (don’t read this if you’ve got a sensitive stomach: mothers consume their kittens’ placenta and from what I can tell, it’s REAL CHEWY.)

She gave birth in the red crate in my office (which doesn’t surprise me – that crate has seen the birth of many kittens), and she did NOT want me to leave. Every time I thought she might want to be alone, I’d head for the door and she’d call for me. So as a result, I spent that entire 4 1/2 hours sitting on the floor outside her crate. My knees are not thanking me today – but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Marsali LOVES that pie plate. (Joanie’s face is cracking me up. Not sure she approves of this behavior.)

Good night innernets. (Daisy and the Crate Catsbys)

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Previously
2022: No entry.
2021: No entry.
2020: “What…?”
2019: Mary, sun drunk and attitudinous.
2018: Kristi’s birth story.
2017: He can be a wild man, too!
2016: This picture is killing me dead. Between the “I’m da BAYBEEEEE!” from Bert Macklin and the “What the frick is your issue, kid?!” expression on Regina Phalange’s face, I can’t stop laughing!
2015: Can you tell that he’s just a sassy little monkey, full of attitude?
2014: Orlando is showing that camera strap who the boss is.
2013: “Oh lord, how am I going to pay for college for all five of them at the same time?!”
2012: “I HAZ A COMPLAINT AND MY COMPLAINT IS STOP TAKING PICTURES OF ME AND ALSO MAMA KEEPS PUTTING HER PAW ON ME AND IT IS HEAVYYYYYYYYYY, WAHHHHHHHHHH!”
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: I bet the country cats would kick his butt all over the yard, though.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.

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