We interrupt the regularly scheduled techno-geek programming to bring you: newborn kittens!
Snowflake gave birth to six Ragdoll kittens late on Easter evening. Despite the comfy cat bed cave we built for her, she went under the couch of course.
Here’s a short video of the kittens, a few hours old.
Here are some of the earlier posts on Snowflake, starting with her own arrival last year:
The "teen" years
The marriage ceremony…
And last night, her nesting instincts went into overdrive as she explored every nook and cranny for a good place for kittens
And then this morning, with the oxytocin purr box rattling
What a beautiful cat family! You posted on my kitten birth photo years ago, now I get to return the favor. 🙂 http://www.flickr.com/photos/85496853@N00/132473767/
Oh, da sweeet little purrfelly kitteness! And ma and pa properly hitched.. Congrats!
PS… Da kitten toes. Oh, gosh – da purfelly smurfelly toes!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveh56] – would you like one or two?
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/85496853@N00] – the sisters are adorable! Thanks for the memory!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/physicsman] – get a load of this – the lady who keeps adding cats to the house is allergic… One "outdoor" cat to start (Keeper, who was born to a feral cat in the ‘hood)… and then she wants company (Snowy)… and then Snowy wants to be a mama… Two years later and we have octopussy in the house!
The dander seems to differ by breed, you might get lucky if you try some exposure to breeds you have not tried before. For a while, we thought about a hypoallergenic Ashera:
…but the company that breeds them is Vegas is quite sketchy, and I suspect they take advantage of this random variation in dander (for example, they offer a hypoallergenic cat that they claim they bred, but it looks just like our Ragdoll sub breed with the grey nose and blue eyes).
The Ashera is a huge cat, being a cross between a domestic cat and an African Serval. Here are some photos I took of a Serval:
The Serval can leap 8 ft. straight up and catch two birds in flight while airborne… but mainly it dines on rodents – 4,000 per year!
No thanks
I was referring to thinking about breeding my (new) young girl…
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveh56/7014220567/in/photostream/]
Bubbly milk and catnip for all…
P.S. My mom just reminded me of my collegiate kitten experience by email:
"Remember when the small feral cat you named "Maggot" and brought home from Stanford had kittens, our huge fluffy male cat tried to snuggle next to mama and kittens in their nest on our balcony.
Well, she would have none of that and chased him right off the balcony. Thankfully, he survived the one floor drop, but his pride took a beating…. no oxytocin bonding for Maggot and Fluffpot."
In a few weeks they will be little balls of energy that will be too fun to watch,…a purrfect stress reliever! Congrats, Snowflake & family!
What a love story! And I mean a love story between the cat family and your family.
Snowflake grew to become a mother of so many kittens who will surely be adorable like she was when you got her…and still is. I want to see more of this new family.
Félicitations à la maman, la chatte, et les chatons!
that’s the plan.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveh56], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimosa0] – OK, Daily update: Snowflake comes out from time to time for a breather and a little human affection. The kittens eyes are still closed and they generally sleep in a squirmy pile. They appear to move toward heat, and so when mom lies nearby, they sense the differential and closest one crawls to her, revealing the next. Sometimes they clump in two clusters of three (local heat max basins). My son made these observations and then said "Oh, they are just like cellular automata!"
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/myfun] – Yes, with such a cute mama, they should be adorable. And somewhat similar looking since they all have the same dad.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/slopetrash] – 6 kittens + Snowy + Keeper (the big Maine Coon bridesmaid)
So my daughter is keeping a kitten diary…. how purrfect!
Day 1
Snowflake gave birth under the couch on Easter night. There were 6 kittens and the other cat didn’t like the scent and started hissing at the kittens so we had to put her outside. THEY ARE CUTE!
Day 2
The kittens started rolling around together and having little kitty fights. The kittens would huddle together for warmth when Snowy had to leave to eat, drink, or use the bathroom.
Day 3
The kittens felt more comfortable by themselves. I could tell they were more comfortable because they squeaked less. Most of them also started losing their umbilical cords.
Day 4
Today Snowflake tried to move the kittens to under the big King-sized bed at the other side of the house. The way she tried to move them is she would wait until someone forgot to close the door and then she would run out with one of the kittens in her mouth. We would have to bring them back under the couch. I wonder if she had been planning this and waited for her moment to run for it.
Day 5
I noticed they started growing lots of fur today. On the first day they had pink legs, now they have furry white legs. They are white all over. They still have cute pink noses.
Keep up the good reporting…:)
Maybe a few update pics too…..
(we cat people will understand)
Kittens, you want kittens? Here they are, one week old. Snowy moved them from below to the top of the couch… better light for photos.
and two weeks old, with video of the cuteness. =)
Eyes opened, some wobbling, Snowy moved them to the cat-cave.
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