The Kittens Are Here!

Exciting (and delayed) news: THE KITTENS ARE HERE!  If you've been following us on Twitter, this is no surprise.  But here's the official blog post about their arrival, with more details and pictures.

Last Wednesday, April 10th.  It was a day like any other day.  I got ready for work, and went to check on M and tidy things up a bit before leaving.  I opened the Kitten Room door and gave M my usual greeting: "Hi Mama!"  I can usually see her peeking out of the side windows of the carrier.  She's still a little shy, but she's beginning to like me and actually enjoys being petted quite a bit.  As I lifted the blanket covering the carrier to give her a goodbye pet, I noticed something new... a tiny, still wet, wiggling kitten.

A kitten!!!  Finally, the day had come!!  My parents happened to be visiting, so I quietly exited the Kitten Room and then exuberantly ran to the kitchen to announce, "The kittens are coming!!!"  My mom and I went back in to peek at M and her first kitten, then we left her alone so they could get acquainted (and I made arrangements to go into work late).

After a little while, we went back in to sit with M - and discovered another kitten had already arrived!

M took her 'new mom' duties in stride (she is experienced in this, after all), and proceeded to give kitten #2 a first bath, all while purring and kneading.  Kitten #1 was busy nursing, and kitten #2 soon joined in.  My mom and I sat with M for a while, and she seemed to enjoy our company and the sweet talking/words of encouragement we were giving her.  M was going from having contractions, her belly moving around quite a bit, to laying calming, just purring and nursing her first two kittens.

After a couple more hours and still no more kittens, I reluctantly went in to work, leaving my (human) mom to monitor the new (cat) mom, and send updates.  Predictably, less than an hour after I got to work, I received a text from my mom: "#3 arrived," followed very shortly by "#4."  And that was it - four kittens total!  The first was born around 9 am, followed by the second around 10 am.  The third and forth were born in quick succession, at 1:05 pm and 1:11 pm.

I got home to find a content M, purring away while her four new, tiny, healthy, freshly bathed kittens nursed.  They're all adorable of course, and I'm glad this new little family is doing so well!