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The Miracle of Life
May. 2nd, 2010 08:30 pm I am so proud of Malkhos.
Sylvia gave birth to her kittens today. I knew early this morning she was in labor because she was just creeping around the house pitifully. "I feel your pain," I told her, remembering how hellish labor was (but all worth it in the end, of course). I felt so sorry for her; the poor cat didn't know what to do with herself.
I decided to at least quiet the house by taking the children to my parents' house. As I was doing some grocery shopping, I got the first call from Malkhos.
"Well," he said. "She's having them."
"How many so far?"
"One didn't make it," he said. "She left that one on the kitchen floor, then went to her box and doesn't seem inclined to leave it. There are three more now."
"Alive, I hope," I said, though I could hear them mewling loudly in the background.
"I'm not surprised one wasn't alive," I said. "She had some bleeding a couple of weeks ago, which usually indicates one has died."
After I finished shopping, I went home for a while, and there they were--one tiny white one and two dark ones. I couldn't get over it. But mostly what I couldn't get over was how attentive Malkhos was to her, tying off umbilical cords with dental floss and keeping the other cats away from Sylvia and her newborns.
After a while, I went back to my parents' house to spend time with the kids. I wanted them to stay overnight so that they didn't upset Sylvia and her new babies by being too loud in their excitement. While I was there in the afternoon, my phone rang again.
"There's another one!" Malkhos exclaimed.
"Another kitten?" I said.
"Yes," he said.
Five minutes later, to my disbelief, the phone rang again.
"There's another one!" Malkhos exclaimed.
"Another kitten?" I said.
"They keep coming in waves," he said.
"She's probably done," I said. "Five babies. Well, six, really, but five live ones--and she's such a small cat."
And in the end I was right. Right now, as I sit here, Sylvia is cleaning herself and her five babies, whose eyes aren't even open yet. They nurse off and on, and sleep. Tonight I'm going to take Sylvia and her little brood upstairs into our bedroom to be sure the other cats--especially the male ones--don't get too aggressive. I don't want poor little Sylvia having to defend her babies after such a long day, though she seems remarkably recovered.
We will post pictures soon.
Sylvia gave birth to her kittens today. I knew early this morning she was in labor because she was just creeping around the house pitifully. "I feel your pain," I told her, remembering how hellish labor was (but all worth it in the end, of course). I felt so sorry for her; the poor cat didn't know what to do with herself.
I decided to at least quiet the house by taking the children to my parents' house. As I was doing some grocery shopping, I got the first call from Malkhos.
"Well," he said. "She's having them."
"How many so far?"
"One didn't make it," he said. "She left that one on the kitchen floor, then went to her box and doesn't seem inclined to leave it. There are three more now."
"Alive, I hope," I said, though I could hear them mewling loudly in the background.
"I'm not surprised one wasn't alive," I said. "She had some bleeding a couple of weeks ago, which usually indicates one has died."
After I finished shopping, I went home for a while, and there they were--one tiny white one and two dark ones. I couldn't get over it. But mostly what I couldn't get over was how attentive Malkhos was to her, tying off umbilical cords with dental floss and keeping the other cats away from Sylvia and her newborns.
After a while, I went back to my parents' house to spend time with the kids. I wanted them to stay overnight so that they didn't upset Sylvia and her new babies by being too loud in their excitement. While I was there in the afternoon, my phone rang again.
"There's another one!" Malkhos exclaimed.
"Another kitten?" I said.
"Yes," he said.
Five minutes later, to my disbelief, the phone rang again.
"There's another one!" Malkhos exclaimed.
"Another kitten?" I said.
"They keep coming in waves," he said.
"She's probably done," I said. "Five babies. Well, six, really, but five live ones--and she's such a small cat."
And in the end I was right. Right now, as I sit here, Sylvia is cleaning herself and her five babies, whose eyes aren't even open yet. They nurse off and on, and sleep. Tonight I'm going to take Sylvia and her little brood upstairs into our bedroom to be sure the other cats--especially the male ones--don't get too aggressive. I don't want poor little Sylvia having to defend her babies after such a long day, though she seems remarkably recovered.
We will post pictures soon.
