Our cat, recently and officially named "Calico" (we have a pink heart shaped tag and collar to prove it), gave birth all on her own. Before she became a mother she was nameless. We couldn't decide but I always called her "Cat" as in "Get that cat out of the house!" I shouldn't be amazed that she was able to give birth on her own since cats have been doing it since probably 7 months or so after their creation - but I was amazed and proud of her. She made her way into my heart with her bravery so she got her name.
In March David made an appointment to get her spade/neutered (whichever applies to the female breed) but then we started to suspect that we had waited too long. Her slightly bulging middle gave her away. The place where they do the surgery said they recommended we still bring her in and they would abort the babies. They gave us statistics of how many cats are euthanized each year and told us we'd never be able to find homes for the kittens.
Even with that information, and even though I wasn't thrilled about the cat being pregnant, I couldn't go through with it. I couldn't have that on my head. I felt like the responsible pet owner thing to do would be to let Calico fulfill the measure of her creation this one time and do whatever it took to find homes for the kittens. I couldn't live the rest of my life with the guilt of killing kittens on my conscience.
So...a true springtime experience has come to our home. The children have been fascinated and I have been impressed by what a good mama Calico is. She is diligent to nurse her kits and she is patient and attentive. Calico is one of the sweetest and most tolerant of cats. She has patiently been toted around by the kids and she tolerates our (obnoxious) dog. If her kittens inherit her temperament, they will be wonderful pets. She had five kittens but one died at birth so there are 4 living. Two are boys and two are girls. Three have black stripes and one has yellow stripes.
In about 4 weeks, these little creatures are for sale. Ten bucks each. The vet said not to give them away for free because people look for free kittens to feed to their snakes. I know that snakes need to eat too---but I hate snakes and the thought makes me sick. So ten bucks folks! -- Unless I know you and know you don't own a snake.---In that case they are free. They just started to open their eyes today and they are getting chubby.
Look for Dave sitting out in front of a grocery store in about a month because, as you recall, Calico became our cat without my knowledge/consent when I was out of town...so Dave will do the honors.
5 comments:
I won't commit to taking one in a month but I'd love to bring the kids over to see the kitties. Do you mind if we stop by?
Oh my goodness, Joshua would absolutely love a pet "kitty-cat". He loooooves them! However, I think I will have my hands full as it is with a newborn coming soon. :) They are really cute though!
So cute! Brings back memories from my childhood...I remember telling my parents that we were "borrowing" a kitten that I brought home one day. We had that "kitten" for over 20 years and probably 8-10 batches of kittens later...we were still "borrowing" her. She was a great cat. Still miss her. ;) I'm SURE you will find great homes for those kitties...they are too cute!
My sister just adopted a full litter of kittens. They live in the country and got them for mice-control. Wouldn't you love to have someone take the whole litter all at once?
That is quite tender! If only I were a cat lover...they'll find a home! Good Luck, Dave!!
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