Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Midwife For Cats

Precious is my "wildchild" in cat form. From the time I got her till we moved here she had never been outside except the time Whiskers knocked the screen out (another story). Before we got her she was wild. She was born in an old barn and it took animal rescue several weeks till they caught her. When we moved here where she was safe to go outside she decided she would not come back in. I tried to bring her in and she went crazy running from window to window trying to get out so I let her stay out. She would come up each morning and evening to eat and for her petting on the deck but that was it. I didn't get her fixed (yes I know I should have) cause I just didn't want her stressing out being locked in a carrier and the trip to the vet. (the 2 hr trip here when we moved was a nightmare) Anyway she met a beautiful gray cat and they became a pair. He came here to eat but would not let anyone touch him. I noticed Precious was pregnant and wondered where she would hide to have her kittens . I wanted to be able to handle them so they wouldn't be wild and could find homes for them. Not to worry.. Yesterday from the moment I stepped out the back door Precious was under my feet. Every step I took she was right there crying. I started down the steps and she got under foot and I fell. Sprain my hand and wrist but I am fine. I finally just sat down on the deck and petted her. She layed down in my lap and I rubbed her big belly. It seemed to relax her. William suggested I take her inside and I did and I rubbed her belly and she was fine till each time the phone rang. She would bounce off the walls running trying to get out. I finally let her back outside and sat down to rest. A few minutes later I hear her crying at the door. I open the door a little and tell her if she wants to come in to come on and I go sit back down. She comes in and sniffs around for a few minutes and then hops in my lap. I get a blanket and spread it out on the sofa and start rubbing her belly and talking to her..... her water breaks and I see a moment of panic in her eyes but she relaxes as I rub and talk to her. Dimples and Whiskers are sitting across the room on the other sofa watching everything. About an hour later I am talking to William on the phone while I am rubbing her belly and she lets out this horrible scream and her eyes hold so much fear my heart breaks. William hears her and says good luck and hangs up. I rub and talk and after one more scream she has a baby. A BIG baby but beautiful and it starts trying to nurse right away. She starts cleaning the baby and relaxing while I am still rubbing and talking (its hard talking a cat thru labor let me tell ya). About 45 minutes later I hear her grunt and another baby just pops right out with no problem and no screaming.Its now about 8:15 and she is tired but happily cleaning and nursing her babies. I haven't had supper, my arm is hurting and I want a shower but I know she has more babies to come. Its a good thing we were on the sofa and I could watch American Idol to pass the time ! I finally go take a quick shower at 10pm and come back and she is grunting and pushing again so I start rubbing and talking. We have another baby! Okay 3 babies is enough Precious lets call it a night..... Not yet. She has one more baby taking his own sweet time in coming into the world. I give her a few sips of milk, get some warm water and wash her a little as she is tired but dirty and is busy washing her babies. She seems to relax as I wash her and closes her eyes to rest. Finally at 12:10 the last baby is born. She has 4 beautiful big babies and you would never know she is a first time mommy the way she is taking care of them. She seems to be handling staying inside just fine (for now anyway). The inside of my coffee table has been made into a nursery. I padded it with old pillows and blankets and then put down a nice flannel sheet for her to rest on. (sprayed lightly with lavender of course) She is all cleaned up and babies have been nursing a lot. In fact when I gave her some food and she stood up to eat she had one of the babies still attached nursing and he wouldn't let go the whole time she was eating. I carried her to the litterbox so she could do her business and carried her back and she is resting. Yes I know she can walk but she just had 4 babies and needs pampering! I promise pictures soon but want to give her a couple of days rest before posing for a family photo. In the meantime if you need a cat midwife just give me a call! I finally got into bed around 1am so I could get back up at 10 till 6 to let Whiskers out. He and Dimples left the room after the first baby was born and hid in the diningroom till morning. They are outside on the deck enjoying the sun and still in awe of what they saw. *grin* So that's how I spent my Tuesday, hope you enjoyed yours!
By the way Precious has had her one and only baby experience as she will be fixed as soon as she is able. Thank goodness Whiskers and Dimples have already had that as I don't need anymore babies of any kind around here!!


Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise. Matthew 21:16

Who can tell what God may let those little hands or that baby voice do for His glory in the turning of the nations?

11 comments:

Amy said...

aww you sound like a cat person like me. btw due to blogger problems I've had to change my blog service, it's now at iluvretro.iblogs.com

DonnaB said...

Peggy, what a tender heart you have to stay by Precious' side until she was done having kittens. I hope you aren't in too much pain this week from your fall. Take care of yourself...you need pampering too!

Laurie said...

Peggy,God love ya! What a wonderful midwife you would make!!Take care of that ankle and wrist!
Hope Precious and family are doing well..

*Princess Sleeping Butterfly*

Mindy said...

What a dear you are...taking care of your cat and kittens. I'm a cat person too! You have been a busy lady...take care of you...
xo

Maggie Ann said...

Sorry to hear you fell, hope everything heals up well. What a loving person you are...Precious should be grateful forever and ever.

Leanne said...

I hope your wrist and ankle feel better soon! But what a day you had -- I can only imagine how special it really was. All babies, even kittens, are little miracles from God and to be there when they arrive is truly "precious"! Congratulations on the new additions!

eyes_only4him said...

well first off sorry bout the fall..that really sucks..hope your not huting too bad..

secondly...i didnt know it took a cat all day to have kittnes..thank God it isnt that way for humans..

your gonna have to post some pics of your new little kittys..I am a sucker for a kitten;)

Spock said...

AW! That am all way sweet!! Don't forget to give Dimples..& Whiskers extra lovins....

Judypatooote said...

Oh that is so cute....I would probably call 911....I hope you are feeling better.....and you are now one happy family....lol

Unknown said...

Congratulations to both of you! Can't wait to see pics of the babies :)

hugs xx

Patricia said...

what a beautiful telling of that event! i felt like i was there. and if my husband wasn't so horribly allergic to cats, i'd be knocking on your door for one of those little cuties!