Kittens!

Four fuzzy, writhing, mewling kittens arrived last night, between midnight and one am. Two are black and white, one is gray and white, and one is mostly black, with white socks. They may yet be blind and deaf, but they wasted no time in finding mom, and getting cozy in a heap in the corner of their cardboard box.

Generally, so I hear, cats seek out hidden, out of the way places to do their birthing. In anticipation of this, I set up a towel lined box in a dark corner of the house, to allow Mona to 'discover' it over the past few weeks. She jumped in and out several times, in what I took to be an approving evaluation of the site. When it came right down to it, however, Mona had a different idea of comfort. She gave birth in my bed. With me in it.

I was sleeping, and woke up when I heard her rustling around under my desk, then she hopped up on my bed and tried to curl up as close to me as she could get. A few minutes later I felt her get tense, and drowsily wondered if she was having a contraction. I didn't have time to finish waking up before I suddenly felt some warm liquid on my leg, and plop, there's a kitten. Mona didn't make a sound. I tried to gently extract myself from my bed, surrendering it to Mona and her burgeoning family. Over the next hour three more followed, without incident. Mona was very tired after, but otherwise seemed fine.

I let them stay the rest of the night there, and in the morning transferred them to the prearranged box. Mona promptly carried them back to my bed. I made the bed unreachable, by tucking in the mosquito net, and moved the box nearer by, under my desk, and that seems to be an acceptable compromise.

The neighbor's cat (who thinks she is also ours) Mona 2/too came investigating, as was inevitable, and Mona hissed at her quite a bit, but she wouldn't leave until I carried her outside. She didn't come back.

So far so good. Lots of nursing and sleeping. Unfortunately I'll be leaving for the States in two weeks when they are just starting to play, but its a short trip, and the housemate will be here (with all of my neighbors and coworkers, apparently, who are basically booking time slots to come and play with the kittens).


I have already booked an appointment to have Mona spayed..... (in a couple months, when the kittens are weaned).