Ask Me Help Desk - Edith is a mommy

Edith is a mommy

Edith gave birth to six kittens, tonight. Labor started a little after 1am, with the kittens being born between 2:40 and 4:30 am.

I was worried about one, because it took him a long to to figure out suckling. He seems to be one of the strongest, now.

I'm still a little worried about the runt. I'll be keeping extra-special eye on him to make sure he gets all the food he needs. Edith's such a little cat and there are so many babies, she might have trouble feeding them all.

So far, she's a very good mommy. She's made sure all of them are clean. After more than 4 hours of labor, she's more than happy to just lay there and let them eat and sleep.

After the first one was born, which took more than an hour, she settled right into the process and didn't seem at all phased. She cleaned them all and cleaned up after each one.

She DID, however, decide to give birth on my carpet. 3 boxes scattered around the house, and she decides to give birth on the floor BEHIND one of them. She started in one of the other boxes, and apparently decided the floor on the other side of the room was MUCH more appropriate, which left me to scrub the carpet after moving the babies to the box she gave birth behind. It's better, but I don't think the stain's ever going to come completely out.

She has, 2 all black kittens, 3 black and white ones, and one black and orange. A couple of the black and black and white ones seem to show faint orange markings, but it's hard to be sure.

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs082...._7075780_n.jpg

Awwww, congrats Edith :D

Congratulations, Edith and Heath. :)

They are a lovely family.:)

They are so sweet Heath!

Congrats Edith! Congrats Heath! They are beautiful babies!

Dang! I can't see the picture on this computer!

But congrats! And Congrats Edith! Lots of hug n snuggles!

Where are you again? I LOVE that little tortie!

Congrats!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synnen

Where are you again? I LOVE that little tortie!!

Congrats!

I'm in Ohio. Not THAT far from you, when you consider that we have people in australia ^_~

I ended up taking a little nap. Now I HAVE to go to work. All the babies are doing just fine, as is mommy. She wolfed down an entire can of wet food in under 2 minutes.

only one baby is completely black. All the rest have white and/or orange markings. At least now I KNOW I was right about the ginormous orange tom I saw hanging around ^_^

I don't Want to go to work. I want to stay HERE and look at the babies *pouts*

Awww they are so cute :D
Congrats!

Quote:

Originally Posted by shazamataz

Awww they are so cute :D
Congrats!

Hey are so sweet!

Congratulations Edith and hheath541!

I remember when one of my cats (she's now passed on) gave birth to her litter on one of the stairs to the second floor of our home.

She gave birth to five.

Some cats pick strange places to give birth.

My sister had a cat that gave birth next to her head while she was sleeping. I have no idea HOW she slept through it, but she woke up to newborn kittens just a few inches from her face.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hheath541

some cats pick strange places to give birth.

my sister had a cat that gave birth next to her head while she was sleeping. i have no idea HOW she slept through it, but she woke up to newborn kittens just a few inches from her face.

I hope you can find homes for them!:)

I hope so, too.

I gave most of my cats kittens away to private students of mine. If you ask neighbors, relatives and friends to help to find homes, I'll bet you'll get good results in short order!

All my relatives are about 200 miles away. Most of my friends are at least that far away, and most of them I've never met in person.

I'll be asking my neighbors and my boss if they know anyone willing and able to give a kitten a good home.

Tomorrow, I need to find a bigger box. I wasn't expecting so many babies, and poor edith has to climb out of the box to stretch out. Give it a week and she won't fit in the box with them at all. There's a couple stores close by I can ask around at. I'm sure I'll find a box with no problem.

You're excellent with starting up conversations and communicating! I'm sure that things will happen fast!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clough

You're excellent with starting up conversations and communicating! I'm sure that things will happen fast!

Hehe. In person I tend to be very quiet and keep to myself. If it wasn't for work, I could easily go days without actually talking to another human being.

Those Kitties are some cute Hheath!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clough
You're excellent with starting up conversations and communicating! I'm sure that things will happen fast!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hheath541

hehe. In person I tend to be very quiet and keep to myself. If it wasn't for work, I could easily go days without actually talking to another human being.

I can identify with that! I also tend to be quiet. I also enjoy my privacy. Get me leading a group though, and I explode into activity!

I used to go for days not speaking with anyone when I lived on a small, family owned farm by myself. But, that wasn't healthy doing that and I also was tending to destroy myself with self-abuse... I lived there for 11 long years...

But, that was a few decades ago. Things are much different now...

Wow! A farm you're an yourself? That's amazing. Tough work. I couldn't imagine the amount of self abuse you went through. Did you have many animals? Did you kind of "live off the land". Not sure if that is the right expression.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurora_Bell

Wow! A farm your an your self? Thats amazing. Tough work. I couldn't imagine the amount of self abuse you went through. Did you have many animals? Did you kind of "live off the land". Not sure if that is the right expression.

It was a very old farm and not a functional one, other than for vegetable and flower gardening.

I was alone and had a workshop where I worked on pianos and refinshed things for people.

Oh I see. Still sounds cool. But it sounded like you didn't like it too much. I could understand why. Sometimes being alone all the time gets a little much.

Hheath how are those cute little kittens doing?

They're cute and adorable and seem just as healthy as could be.

Edith is torn between wanting the same type of attention she got before, and taking care of her babies. I make sure to stop and pet her and scratch her ears every time I walk past the box, which is every time I leave the room.

While the kittens are relying on her for all their food, she's going to be getting two cans of wet food a day, with access to all the dry food she feels like eating. Her food also got moved to right next to the box, so she can keep an eye on her babies. She still has to go across the house to use the litter box, but she seems to enjoy a little time away from all the babies climbing all over her.

Congratulations Mrs. Edith! :)

Very cute kittens. Nice mommy. Box is too small. The camouflage is cool.

They are so cute Heath. I think the top one, the one with the most orange, should be named Alty. Just a hint. ;)

I'd take one in a heart beat, if only the darn family wasn't allergic. I need a separate home for my pets. :(

Keep the pictures coming as they get bigger and congrats to you and momma Edith. :)

That one with the orange (the tortie) is so totally the one I staked out.

But alas, I have been informed that we are NOT driving to OH for a kitten, no matter HOW cute it is.

I think they should be named Jan, Marsha, Cindy, Bobby, Greg and Peter, personally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synnen

That one with the orange (the tortie) is so totally the one I staked out.

But alas, I have been informed that we are NOT driving to OH for a kitten, no matter HOW cute it is.

I think they should be named Jan, Marsha, Cindy, Bobby, Greg and Peter, personally.

Good idea!:D

Do you deliver to Canada?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altenweg

They are so cute Heath. I think the top one, the one with the most orange, should be named Alty. Just a hint. ;)

I'd take one in a heart beat, if only the darn family wasn't allergic. I need a separate home for my pets. :(

Keep the pictures coming as they get bigger and congrats to you and momma Edith. :)

hmmm... I might just name them after you guys. That would be cool. Then, of course, there was emop's suggestion that I name edith mop (before she told me her name is edith). Right now, they're too young to tell me their names.

I will continue to take pictures just as soon as I buy more batteries. My camera goes through cheap batteries at a rate that almost makes it not worth the saved money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synnen

That one with the orange (the tortie) is so totally the one I staked out.

But alas, I have been informed that we are NOT driving to OH for a kitten, no matter HOW cute it is.

I think they should be named Jan, Marsha, Cindy, Bobby, Greg and Peter, personally.

sorry, I am NOT naming them after the brady bunch. Besides, they're still too young to sex.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurora_Bell

Do you deliver to Canada?

I don't drive, so I deliver to anywhere I can ride my bike to. I would ride my bike to canada, but there's a little bit of water in the way. It's called LAKE ERIE ^_^

Just get a ramp and jump it. I am sure if ET can do it, you can too! :p

Aaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwww!! Am I a cyber auntie now??

If I lived closer, I'd drive right over! We'd be overwhelmed with kittens about now had we not gotten our two feral girls spayed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurora_Bell

Just get a ramp and jump it. I am sure if ET can do it, you can too!! :p

As awesome as that would be, I don't think it's possible.

I DO, however, want to get a basket for my bike that has a lid so I can take kitties on bike rides. Once the kittens are nursing less, edith starts harness and leash training. Any of the kittens I keep will get the same training. That way I can take them out on walks.

That's an excellent idea! I bet they will love the oppurtunity to get outside!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ;

Comments on this post
Wondergirl agrees : I think there are mesh-sided baskets so your passenger(s) can see the sights.

Yep, that's where I got the idea. I saw a lady with a wicker basket that had a wire lid that clipped shut. She had a little doggie in it.

If you name them after us, I INSIST that you use Synn for the tortie :)

Like Toto!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synnen

If you name them after us, I INSIST that you use Synn for the tortie :)

Oh no. That torty is going to be named WG. HA!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Oh no. That torty is going to be named WG. HA!

And HOW would I pronouce that when yelling at it for being bad?

I'll wait until their personalities start showing before naming them. Although, I keep want to call one of the black and white ones, spot.