# My Babies!.... Literally....



## Samantha (May 27, 2004)

Oh, i have so been wanting to tell this whole story in full length for so long!

*Mommy Cat*
Where I live we have many strays lurking about. We try not to feed them or get attatched, but sometimes it is difficult. We grew fond of one partcular kitten that hung around our porch about 2 years ago. My boyfriend described her best by saying "She was so ugly she was cute!". And he was right. She was black in the shade, but whjen she went in the sun she was orange! 

So we started bringing her in the house every now and again, and came to call her "Felix", because she looked just like one of those cat clocks with the big eyes. My boyfriend absolutly adored her, and she could often be seen asleep at his side.

She slept with us at night, and in the morning went back outside. when she started to get around the age where strays become rather slutty, we began keeping her in more often. And i like to think she didn't really mind much because it was winter.

*The Pregnancy*
Spring came, and she was dying to get out. Eventually she did get loose. Just one day outside, and she got pregnant! We were actually very excited. And even found homes for 3 of them in advance.

We prepared endlessly for the kittens. We got a huge plastic box, i think 23 gallon tupperware container that we knew would be large enough for growing kittens and a mother.

The day before Mother's Day (wouldn't you know it) she began giving birth. We put her on our screened in front porch to give birth (it was soooo messy!). The process took hours on end! She ended up having 5 beautiful kittens! 3 were black and white, 2 were tabbys. The last kitten out was Pete, and he was not looking so good. He was having a hard time breathing and Felix wouldn't take care of him. This is common if a kitten is not normal for the mother to ignore it. But I was not having it. I put him beside her everywhere she walked, and she eventaully took to him.

We brought them in. Felix did not like the box we had chosen for her. She wanted to instead keep them under the bed. So we cleaned it out really well, and put down blankets and left her alone. She seemed rather content, and i must admit, the little meows coming from under the bed was actually quite serene to me. 

*Tragedy*
3 days after the birth, and everything seemed to be going rather well at this point. Most of the cats had named themselves, and Felix seemed happy with her spot under the bed. 

About 6pm that night, I noticed her sleeping half way out from under the bed with the kittens nursing on her. I thought this was a perfect time to hold my favorite kitten Skunky. So I held him for a few and put him back down. After a few hours i noticed the kittens were getting loud, really crying. Then it hit me. Wasn't it odd that she did not wake up when i picked up Skunky? And wasn't it odd for her to not be all the way under the bed? I was so afraid to touch her, and i didn't really see her breathing. I screamed for my boyfriend to come, and he confirmed our fears. Felix was dead. 

*Panic*
After an hour of crying and trying to figure out what happened to her, we buried her in our backyard. One of her favorite places.

But wait, we have 5 kittens to take care of! And boy, they were not happy at all. Their cries only made us cry more. I put them all in the box we got for them. And went on an internet hunt to see what I needed to do.

I could have taken them to a shelter. I could have given them to my vet. I could have done alot of other things and been through with it all. But I think Felix brought them out from under the bed for a reason. I think she would have wanted us to take care of them, and I wasn't going to let her down.

So i did the whole run around. Went to town and found everything i thought i neeed after much research.

*Sleepless In Carolina*
Much to my surprise, they were great with a bottle. I swear, I never knew a tiny .5 lb kitten could eat twice it's weight. These kittens ate so much they put me to shame. But they were so loving, in a way that only a child could be. They did think i was their mother, and they felt like my children. I would go without food and cigarettes just to afford to buy their formula.

Every two hours, night or day, i would awaken to feed them. I began putting a sheet over their box because the dark made it easier for them to sleep. Once that sheet came off...... well..... does the word "Chaos" mean anything? They would scream! they would be soooo hungry! One by one, I would feed and clean them, showed them love and care (the most important thing any baby needs), and also had to help them out with the going to the bathroom. 

*What has happened to me?*
The only thing my life consisted of at this point was the kittens. Once their eyes opened and they saw me for the first time, i was so happy. Then they were walking, climbing, purring, and playing with eachother. I kept them inside their box until they were big anough to climb out of it. I ended up weining them at a whopping 5 weeks (which was way too late).

*I have to let them go?*
6 weeks, and I was being told that i had to give them away! Well.... as expected, I couldn't conceive of it! I ended up giving one to my mother, mostly because I could go to herhouse everyday and visit her and the kitten.

The other 4... well.... I ran out of family members, so I kept them all!

I realize this story is getting long, so i will cut it here, and write more later if anyone is actually interested. :lol: 

If you took the time to read all of this, i thank you very much. It's great to tell this story!


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## BoscosMum (Apr 29, 2004)

I feel some very fixed emotions after reading your story. :? 

My prayer for you is that you will 
have all of your cats spayed/neutered....and vet checked.

To tell you the honest truth I am not feeling so warm and fuzzy 
about the kittens as I am rather upset at the fact that Felix passed away.

Felix was your cat...not a stray cat! You allowed her into your home offered her food and love....neglected her medical veterinary care, ultimately resulting in her death!  

I hope you will be more responsible with these kittens you 
have now been blessed with!


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## jonsgirl (Nov 7, 2003)

Samantha, I am very sorry to read about Felix. I know you will miss her.

Although her story teaches us the reason for spaying and neutering our kitties, I am very happy to hear that you are taking great care of her little ones. I am sure you are having fun with so many babies around!!! You do know that you HAVE to post pictures, right?!!! We just LOVE kitten pics.


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## Lilly (Nov 8, 2003)

Well I find it to be a very sweet story, (for the most part.. I was very sad to hear about Felix,  ) But it is always exciting to see and have babys around. I am so glad you took such good care of them, I knoe it must have been very difficult to care for such tiny babys. YOu are a good kitty mommy to do this for them.

I know you relize that it is important to spay your kittens as soon as they are old enough. I think our members may all remind you of this in answering your post. Please do not take any offense to it, It is only just true cat lovers trying to look out for cats everywhere. (also 6 weeks is quite young for kittens to leave the nest.. 12 weeks is a much better age. :wink: )

I would love to see pictures of your kittens! What a house full you have. How old are they now? You must really have your hands full with all of those toddlers!


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## Superkitties (Jan 30, 2004)

What a way to get to know all about cats(rearing)! Thanks for sharing your story, your pride on being able to take up mommy duties shows, and kudos to you for being able to get them all through babyhood into kittenhood without incident. That is very responsible of you to raise them after their mother died, then trying to place them into homes. A lot of people wouldn't.

You kept 4, hmm? They DID steal your heart! YAY!










As Lilly said, 12 wks is a better age to separate them, 6 is a little too early. It's just FYI for anyone's future reference. I can't resist adding my bit to please spay them as soon as you're able, 4 mths is a good age to do that. If cost is a concern, look for a low-cost or free spay/neuter clinic near you.

Looking forward to hearing more!

EDIT: I took a quick look through your previous posts, and I'm confused. Are these the cats you mentioned that are now 1.5 yrs old? If they're already S/N, just ignore the bit above.


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## Samantha (May 27, 2004)

thank you all so very much for taking the time to read my story! And yes, they are no longer kittens. They turned 1 year old March 11th! The three i have left can be seen below in my signature, and in my avatar.

As far as spaying goes... Felix was only a tiny little thing when she got pregnant, and we think that is why she died. We didn't know it was even near time yet! And for so many little things to come out of a tiny kitten surely means death. But to be honest, I don't regret not having her spayed because life without my babies wouldn't be much of a life at all. I do regret her dying, everyday, but I do feel as though i did all i could for her, and all i can do now is make sure her babies are safe and loved by me as they would have been by her.

We did sadly lose one. And it was the worst day of my life. And beleive me, i have had some bad days. I didn't cry like this when my own father died. Gray was our 4th cat, she was a female, and as sweet as could be. One day though, she got outside by accident, and got hit by a car. I don't wish to go into this further as it is very hard for me to talk about it. 

Thank you all again.


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## BoscosMum (Apr 29, 2004)

I am sorry for your loss of Gray...I believe that Gray and Felix are together now!  I hope you can find comfort in that.

'Please forgive me' for being so harsh in my post!
Spay/Neuter is just something I feel ever so strongly about.

I know how much you love your cats! The same as the rest of us...
that is why we have all joined this awesome cat forum!


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## jonsgirl (Nov 7, 2003)

Oh dang I didnt notice their ages. That means no kitten pics  .

Oh well, I tried. Hehe. They are super cute kitties though.


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## Samantha (May 27, 2004)

:lol: fear not Jonsgirl, our outdoor stray just had kittens, and they are soooo adorable! We are having trouble finding homes for them all, but who could resist???? I will post some pics when i get a chance.

Its ok that you feel strongly about spaying/neutering BoscosMum. I admire it. Maybe if I had enough money i could get all these strays out here neutered. Unfortunatly, I don't. I had to do without food for a week just to take my cats to the vet last week. And i have looked everywhere and there are no spay release programs anywhere in my area. I guess there are just some situations beyond your control.


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## Gabreilla Moushigo (Jun 14, 2004)

That's an amazing story! To be able to nurse the babies all the way through to adulthood is just... well... amazing! ^_^

My first cat was a stray too, she was also very young when she had her babies... and what was really weird... was that she had her babies on mother's day. When you said "one day before mother's day" thing it just hit home and made me think of my little kitties.

Your story sure beat the heck out of my stories, which I like to refer to as "my horrid days of youth" *sigh*

I'm glad that you kept them too - kittens that you get to see from the day that they were born are always the best.. because they ARE your babies, yes?


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