I was out in the barn this morning grooming the bunnies. The kids came out to bring my camera. Caleb was playing with the cats and asked me if I thought they were getting close to having their kittens. He thought his cat "Q" looked like she was breathing heavy. I glanced over to see and sure enough she was in labor and VERY restless.
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After her first kitten was born she kept dragging it all over the cold hard cement floor. We got an old blanket and transferred her there.
There was so much activity in the barn. Chickens clucking, Roosters crowing
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Noisy and NOSY Sheep
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Whats happening?
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We got a box and decided to move her into the other room of the barn where I usually keep my hay.
Only to discover that another of our cats was having her kittens. We gave them separate boxes but they insisted on sharing.
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Its quieter in the room and Q finally settled down to have the rest of her kittens.
Our cats love each other very much.
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We have one more cat who looks like she is expecting.
Normally cats don't stay around long on our place. With all the wooded area, they seem to "disappear" But the 5 we have now have been around for almost a year. I think that they will be paying a visit to the vet very soon!
Wow, how exciting! Spring babies (of any species) are always a joy!
ReplyDeleteWord of warning....if you haven't had tiny kittens before and your chickens are roaming free, they will kill the newborn kittens and try to consume them if they're able too. I never realized that until a few years ago when I was visiting a farm that had cats and one of the newborn kittens dropped down out of the hay and I could hear this crying as we stood there talking and when I asked the farmer if maybe he should go and see what the chickens were so intent on getting on and I told him I heard a tiny kitten crying, and yes, that was exactly what was happening! Poor little kitten. It broke my heart! You're right....I would take my cats in to have them neutered-spayed as soon as the kittens are weaned. The mama's will come right back into heat and not only that, you'll have more cats than you want at some point and the cost of feed and care can get up there. Female cats can come into heat as early as five months old too. I'm a big cat lover and we have ten cats here at our place, but everyone is fixed and vaccinated yearly. All of these cats showed up from surrounding farms and not in good shape either. They'll all beautiful cats, but that's our limit in order to care for them properly. Good luck. Your cats are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anonymous- I never would have thought of the chickens being a worry, but I have seen them eat frogs and mice- so it makes sense that they would eat a newborn kitten. We moved all the kittens and their moms to a part of the barn that chickens can't get too. We have a nightly visitor (I'm guessing a coon) I was concerned about and didn't want it getting the kittens either. Everyone will be fixed and well taken care of, I do think we have enough cats now and the kids are starting to understand why we just can't keep them all. STill, I'm glad they were able to experience the birthing of the kittens. Thank you for visiting and your comments.. Kathy
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