# Kittens are here :D



## houseofelrond (Apr 30, 2009)

So Susie has produced three little black and white( some may be all black, not sure) kittens so far, and this might be her lot although she was huge! Naturally she decided the dogs bed was the perfect place to have them, thankfully all the dogs were in a separate part of the house( except the old one who is deaf and senile so didn't notice! -although it was her bed...) All good so far.
They're to be moved to an upstairs bathroom which is perfect, so when can we move them, initially it's just a case of lifitng the dogs bed upstairs, and then to get the mess away when would you swap the current bed for a new one (naturally the current bedding is mucky and horrible from having dogs in it..and now is covered in birthing fluid!)


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## houseofelrond (Apr 30, 2009)

make that 4! and I am happy to announce they have a kitten room picked out, upstairs bathroom so nice and quiet .


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Isn't this exciting? I love black cats.  Post pictures, please. I hope all goes well with the birth.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Yay! Congratulations! Were you able to be home for the birth?
You'll find the bathroom will be very easy to clean with kittens in there. When I foster kittens in my bathroom I keep a small whisk broom and dust pan in there for quick clean-ups of litter or spilled catfood. 
The bedding can be changed at any time. Have the new bedding "ready", place the kittens into a transition area (_small box/basket softly lined with a towel_) while you make the switch and then place them on the new bedding. Be sure their kitten nest has tall-ish sides so they can't roll or climb out of the nest until they are more coordinated to be able to move around and find the nest again.
Tell Susie "Good job!" from me!


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## houseofelrond (Apr 30, 2009)

Looks like four is the final number, they have been moved to their new housing and the bedding will be changed in the next day or two, (they are currently in the shower now, (large shower!) as their bed. Wasn't able to be home for it but watched it over webcam, and waiting for pictures to be taken and sent!
Susie is very pleased with herself, (particularly so having stolen a dog bed) although only eating when somebody is there to 'babysit;!


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## houseofelrond (Apr 30, 2009)

Oh, and to reassure anyone, there's 2, poss 3 already spoken for by family friends (spoilt cat homes) and momma will be spayed as soon as they are weaned  )


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Yay! Good job ALL around! I'm so glad almost everyone is spoken for and they will all be spayed/neutered.


Warning:
_Long story about a safety issue with tub/shower enclosures..._
Have your folks check their tub/shower kitten-nest. My friend would use her bathtub for her AKC Papillon and her registered litters of puppies. She would put thick bath mats/towels in the bottom of the tub. The mamma dog could hop out for food/water and the puppies stayed in the tub. When the pups were big enough to jump out of the tub, she would place them in a child's large play-pen and from there to a large dog-crate or exercise pen. 
Anyhow, her dog had her last litter, last year, at age 7. She'd had a total of 3 litters, every other year and my friend would sell the pups privately to show and 'pet' homes. Stud dog is still a stud to outside female Papillons but her female has been spayed, so no more litters and no chance of an accidental litter.

The reason for my post and the above background story, was my friend was stuck in downtown traffic one day after work and asked me to go check on Mamma dog and her puppies because she knew she was going to be gone a little longer than usual. We are glad she asked me to, because the bedding in the tub had shifted and two of the puppies were trapped on the "cold tub" and I was able to get them off the cold tub before they died from their body temperatures getting too low.
My friend used heavy bathmats in her tub, but she would duct tape them to the bottom and up the side edges of the tub. The puppies, getting older and more active, had pawed/clawed the tape and bathmat away from one edge of the tub and two puppies got stuck between the cold tub and the taped bathmat. Mamma dog was frantic and unable to get them free, herself. When I arrived, Mamma dog looked frazzled, puppies were crying because she couldn't/wouldn't lay down to feed the puppies not stuck, and the two stuck puppies were cold and crying.
Puppies ended up being okay! 
I was able to get them out, roughed them up vigorously with towels to get the blood flowing and kept them on my lap and then a heating pad I found in a cupboard to help warm them while they shivered and I switched back/forth between the heating pad and rubbing them with the towel. My friend was frantic when I called her and told her what I had found. She asked me to take everyone to the vet, to check the pups, and she was able to meet me there just at closing time and as the vet was finishing her exam of the puppies. By this time, the two puppies who had been cold were warmed up and all the pups were hungry so the vet said they were all okay to go home, let the Mamma dog relax and feed them and keep an eye on the pups. 
I followed my friend home and together we 'fixed' the tub-nest. She still used duct tape, but instead of duct taping the bedding up the sides of the tub, she taped the mats to the bottom only. Figuring if the puppies didn't like the cold edge of the tub, they could pile into the middle of the tub and stay away from the cold edges. When the mats were taped halfway up the sides and the tape had pulled away, it created a little 'pocket' the two puppies were able to get trapped in and unable to get out of.

So...have your folks look at the nest they've made in the tub and check that there are no places a kitten could get stuck against the cold edge of the tub.

*another tub hint:
_Close the drain or use duct tape and tape it closed to prevent an accumulation of fur/food/litter clogging the drain when it is eventually used as a tub/shower again. When I foster litters of kittens, I place the litterbox in the tub when the kittens are big enough to jump in/out of the tub. This helps to keep the litter contained in the tub and not scattered all over the bathroom floor. This is where the little whisk-broom/pan is handy, to quickly sweep up loose 'stuff'._


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## houseofelrond (Apr 30, 2009)

Oh, thanks for that, useful to keep an eye on, I shall instruct accordingly (yes... I am like a neurotic mother hen! lol), what the bed is is essentially a large dog bed then towels padding out the rest as bubbas were determined to crawl off the dog bed! so hopefully won't shift too much, no duct tape etc. included, hopefully they can't shift it too much in the first two weeks (after that I can monitor!)


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Ah! I think, if the dog bed isn't so big a kitten could get out/under it and it is flexible enough the mother cat can reach the kitten, she should be able to keep her kittens where they need to be, even if they accidentally get out of the nest. I was thinking more like a box where a mom-cat may not have been able to fit her head between the box/tub to rescue a kitten. Sounds like everything should be fine. 

Pictures? I'm getting a bit of kitten-fever hearing about all these kittens!


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## houseofelrond (Apr 30, 2009)

lol, no pictures until tomorrow , I am pestering away don't you worry


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Well! KEEP ON pestering until you get some photos for me! Um, I mean, photos for *you*. Not me, you. Because it is your kitty, not my kitty, and I shouldnt be demanding kitten pictures from a new member. I'm sorry. That was very rude of me. I'll try again: Would you please request some kitten photos to placate the crazy cat-lady on the interne...eh...eh...um. I didn't do so good there. How about this: Requesting kitten pictures because I want to share them with my cat-crazy new internet friend... Hm. _That_ didn't come out so well, either. :? 
Heck, just be honest and tell them the crazy _cat lady on the internet_ is pestering you for kitten photos and you need to shut her up. Email them ASAP so you can post them! :lol:


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## houseofelrond (Apr 30, 2009)

Right, pictures are here! Only snapshots from the webcam so far but fear not more are coming!
Sadly one little black one passed away, not sure why but that's nature for you.







as you can see the dog bed is disgusting... but that's cats for you!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Oh, they look darling! I'm sorry one of them passed away. Sometimes they can pass if they become seperated from everyone else and get too cold, but sometimes it is a genetic weakness and no matter what could have been done, it is possible the kitten would have perished anyways. Very sad. atback 
Thanks for posting pics, though! She looks like a very good mum-cat.
h


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## houseofelrond (Apr 30, 2009)

Solution to losing one? Reserve kitten!
This morning there is a , live, new kitten! Think it was born yesterday evening, but very strange! Already spoken to the vet who agrees very strange!


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

houseofelrond said:


> Solution to losing one? Reserve kitten!
> This morning there is a , live, new kitten! Think it was born yesterday evening, but very strange! Already spoken to the vet who agrees very strange!


Oh wow! Thats amazing.

Congrats.

Those kittens are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute.


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## houseofelrond (Apr 30, 2009)

Here are more pictures:
















The little one that is climbing over her is the newest one!


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