All the older kittens have an estimated date of birth of May 7, 2019. (I might be off a bit – some seem older, some seem younger – but I think I’m close.)
Adult tortie Margeaux came to us on May 28, 2019 from a rural high-kill shelter. We were told that she and her three kittens (Siamese mix kittens Jacques and Esmee, and brown tabby Amelie) were taken in from a hoarder, and Margeaux was stressed from being at the shelter and not dealing well. As it turned out, she was stressed because those three kittens were NOT hers, she wasn’t producing milk, and the kittens were skin and bones. She and the kittens had been removed from a hoarding situation along with 11 other adult females (most of them mothers) and a large number of kittens. When they put the kittens in with Margeaux, she didn’t object and so they (“they” being the people, not the kittens) assumed they were hers. (Yes, I am making that face too. All I can say is that it’s a constantly-packed shelter, and they do the best they can.) There was originally a 4th kitten, who passed away before they came to me.
Margeaux did the best she could to care for them, but if you aren’t producing milk, you aren’t producing milk, and if you’re a cat, opening cans of food ain’t easy. The kittens were underweight when we got them and didn’t want kitten formula, so I began syringe feeding them every 3 hours in an attempt to put some weight on them.
Two weeks later, on June 10, 2019, we brought home brown tabby girl Katriane – who WAS producing milk – and her three kittens (Siamese mix kitten Antoine (he’s the lightest of the three Siamese mix kittens) and gray tabbies Madeline and Francois.
They joined Margeaux, Amelie, Jacques and Esmee, and the litters blended well. Katriane will let any of the kittens nurse from her, and she and Margeaux get along well. They all have French names because I joked that Margeaux was “like the French au pair who eats all your potato chips and ignores the kids.” (IT IS A JOKE, POSSIBLY A BAD ONE, AND NOT INTENDED TO OFFEND HARD-WORKING AU PAIRS, FRENCH OR OTHERWISE.) We call the blended litter Les Chatons (French for “the kittens”.)
Katriane isn’t producing a LOT of milk, but she appears to be producing enough. All of Margeaux’s (not)kittens have put on weight and are thriving since Katriane came to live with them.
Update 6/28: Margeaux is pregnant. We don’t know when she’s due, but she’s been with us for 30 days and the gestation period for cats is 58-65 days, so some time in the next 35 days, we’re assuming.
Update: Margeaux had her kittens – 6 of them, 4 brown tabbies and 2 gray tabbies (3 girls, 3 boys) – in the early hours of July 10th (read the post about that here). They’re all healthy little guys, and Margeaux is taking wonderful care of them, despite her stated desire to NOT be a mother. (This will be her last litter, we can guarantee that!) Katriane is still here with us, keeping Margeaux company and acting as Auntie to the kittens, who think she’s great fun.
Beauregard (boy).
Fleur (girl).
Gabrielle (girl).
Henri (boy).
Josephine (girl).
Luc (boy).
You can read about Margeaux and (not)her kittens beginning here, and Katriane and her kittens beginning here. You can read about Margeaux’s kittens beginning here. There are links at the top and bottom of each entry; click on the one on the right to take you to the next entry.
Adoptions.
**Antoine and Madeline were adopted TOGETHER on August 2, 2019 and are now living in Tennessee.
**Amelie (now Kate) and Esmee (now Pippa) were adopted TOGETHER on August 3, 2019.
Jacques and Francois were adopted TOGETHER on August 31, 2019. Unfortunately they were returned a few weeks later due to an unexpected impending move. They were adopted out again (together) a few days later.
Margeaux and Katriane were adopted – TOGETHER! – on October 11, 2019, and you can see them on Instagram, here!
Beauregard was adopted on November 12, 2019. He joins an older kitten, Lucy, in his new home.
Luc was adopted on November 24, 2019 and went to live in Maryland! He’s now Reggie, and he has a slightly older brother named Archie, and a much older sister named Lily.
Fleur was adopted on December 20, 2019. She has two siblings – one a young cat who needs a playmate so that the older kitty can have some peace.
Henri was adopted on December 31, 2019. He has two kitty siblings – one of them is our former foster Cooper, formerly known as Almanzo! – and a doggy pal named Alf. (You can follow them on Instagram or Facebook!)
Josephine and Gabrielle were adopted (together!) on January 18, 2020. They now live in Birmingham – (update: they’ve since moved to the Huntsville area!) and are remaining Josephine and Gabrielle! You can follow them on Facebook.
You can see all the pictures taken of the family here at Flickr, or scroll through them below.
Margeaux’s kittens’ weights – in ounces.
| Date | Luc | Henri | Josephine | Beauregard | Gabrielle | Fleur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/10/19 - newborn | 3.3 oz | 3.7 oz | 3.3 oz | 3.6 oz | 3.4 oz | 3.4 oz |
| 7/11/19 - 1 day old | 3.8 oz | 4.5 oz | 3.8 oz | 4.1 oz | 4.1 oz | 4.0 oz |
| 7/12/19 - 2 days old | 4.1 oz | 4.8 oz | 4.1 oz | 4.6 oz | 4.5 oz | 4.1 oz |
| 7/13/19 - 3 days old | 4.7 oz | 5.6 oz | 4.5 oz | 4.8 oz | 4.9 oz | 4.7 oz |
| 7/14/19 - 4 days old | 5.4 oz | 6.3 oz | 5.2 oz | 5.4 oz | 5.4 oz | 5.2 oz |
| 7/15/19 - 5 days old | 5.7 oz | 6.6 oz | 5.7 oz | 5.6 oz | 5.7 oz | 5.4 oz |
| 7/16/19 - 6 days old | 6.0 oz | 7.0 oz | 5.8 oz | 5.9 oz | 5.9 oz | 5.8 oz |
| 7/24/19 - 2 weeks old | 9.7 oz | 10 oz | 8.1 oz | 8.9 oz | 9.2 oz | 9.9 oz |
| 7/31/19 - 3 weeks old | 10.8 oz | 12.1 oz | 9.7 oz | 10.9 oz | 10.4 oz | 11.5 oz |
| 8/7/19 - 4 weeks old | 11.8 oz | 15.0 oz | 11.7 oz | 12.8 oz | 13.1 oz | 13.6 oz |
| 8/14/19 - 5 weeks old | 15.6 oz | 1 lb 2.9 oz | 15.4 oz | 14.8 oz | 1 lb 0.3 oz | 1 lb 1.5 oz |
| 8/21/19 - 6 weeks old | 1 lb 4.4 oz | 1 lb 6.6 oz | 1 lb 2.3 oz | 1 lb .9 oz | 1 lb 4.1 oz | 1 lb 4.4 oz |
| 8/28/19 - 7 weeks old | 1 lb 9 oz | 1 lb 13 oz | 1 lb 4 oz | 1 lb 7 oz | 1 lb 9 oz | 1 lb 7 oz |
| 9/4/19 - 8 weeks old | 1 lb 14 oz | 2 lb 3 oz | 1 lb 9 oz | 1 lb 12 oz | 1 lb 14 oz | 1 lb 13 oz |
| 9/11/19 - 9 weeks old | 2 lb 1 oz | 2 lb 8 oz | 1 lb 13 oz | 1 lb 15.5 oz | 2 lb 2 oz | 1 lb 15.5 oz |
| 9/29/19 - 10 weeks old | 2 lb 15 oz | 3 lb 10 oz | 2 lb 7 oz | 3 lb | 2 lb 15 oz | 2 lb 12 oz |