Lost One

One of the big fellas

Today is my one-month anniversary in this house, in this city and in my new life. This is me beginning anew after several years of health challenges, meaning of life challenges and questioning my relevance on this planet.

I am full of optimism for this new life… usually. Today it’s hard. 

Friday night when I got home, Torts had moved her kittens under the bathroom sink cabinet. I’m not sure I would have found them if it wasn’t for the mewling. I had to lie on my tummy and use my phone’s light to see them. I was chagrined.

I decided to worry about THAT after dinner. By then, Torts had moved three of the kittens back to the crevasse and I was hopeful. I gave her a little more time, but then fished the last three out and barricaded the slot.

Cat conference in my bedroom.

Saturday, I noticed that mom spent a lot of time MIA (missing in action). I found her snuggled up to Todd in my bedroom. I kept checking on the kittens and they seemed content, so I left well enough alone.

However, this was the first time my complete lack of cat/kitten knowledge gave me misgivings. What if I was doing exactly the opposite of what I should be doing?  

Crevasse monkey pile

I hung out at home all day Saturday. Partly because I’m still getting settled here. I find myself moving furniture or rearranging storage because a lot of stuff simply landed during the move. Now that I’ve spent some time living here, I can organize work spaces and storage.

I kept going into the bathroom and looking at the monkey pile. Torts would roll her head back and look at me, but everything looked normal. (Actually, WTF is normal? Big hole in my knowledge there).

I took time to create a big baby box for Torts out in the sunroom. I’m starting to think about the reality of having a bunch of kittens loose in the house. I hoped Torts would move the kittens while I slept.

Big baby box waiting for the family.

Torts and Todd are feral cats. They came from the rodeo barns, I think. In any case, from what I’ve heard; which I will admit isn’t much, feral cats are hard to domesticate. It’s one of the reasons I’m being very cautious not to push myself on them. They both hide during the day when I’m around and then I hear somebody playing in the middle of the night with the little ball that has a bell in it. So I know they move around at night.

Before I went to bed, I sat down beside the crevasse to pet and talk to Torts. The little black runt of the litter was not nursing. All the kittens looked poorly groomed, but that one little guy worried me.  I managed to get a little milk into

him, so felt better about that.

That's some good reading right there.

When I got up Sunday morning and saw the crevasse empty, I was cautiously optimistic. Then I walked into the living room and saw books on the floor and the monkey pile in the bookcase. For crying out loud!

I made coffee and gave myself a few minutes to wake up. Then I went and removed the kittens from the bookcase. I was surprised Torts wasn’t with them, but not too much after Saturday. Then I looked in basket and noticed only one black one. Wait a sec! So I took all the books out of the bookcase. Nope. I went back to the crevasse and carefully examined the blankets etc. Nope.

I began to think the worst. I went through the litter box. There was a lot of poop and one large clump that was very suspicious. I did what no one should ever have to do and dissected that clump of poo. It was not a normal poo, but it was poo. Kind of hairy, oddly coagulated stuff, but again, what do I know?

I spent the next few hours trying to get Torts to join her kittens in the sunroom. You have to understand this is a very small house and I have a room blocked off. I looked everywhere

for the runt of the litter, but no joy and no noise. By now, I had most of the rooms blocked off, but after chasing Torts out of my bedroom, I couldn’t find her. 

I swear cats have the ability to go invisible. I called in the cavalry because now I was at a complete loss. I had found Torts back in the bookcase (seriously! I blocked it off!) She was fine with me cuddling her, but when I tried to take her to her kittens, she got very angry with me. I locked her in the sunroom with the big box of kittens and all the cat necessities.

When Shirley came, she sat on the floor by the box and pulled the blanket out to be able to reach the kittens. Then we went to the kitchen, warmed milk and talked for a bit. When we came back, Torts was with the kittens! Hallelujah!

Lessons ensued for me and we talked. As we sat there, Shirley found a tiny black paw caught up in the blankets that had come out of the crevasse. It effectively shut us up for a couple of minutes. We both stared at that little paw. Such a strange sight.

Torts back with her kittens in the sunroom

We talked a little about the ripple effect. This blog is in response to all the people who asked me to keep them posted. But it also means a whole bunch of people are not going to want to hear what I just said. One tiny, black kitty didn’t make it.

One person asked me to keep it real and talk about lessons I might learn. Here’s one for you. It’s heart breaking to lose a little being in your care. anger consumed me because that’s what humans do when they hurt. We get angry - even when there is nowhere to direct our anger. For me, it painted this beautiful day a dull red.

And yet, there are blessings. Shirley showed me a kitten she had in her car because it’s going to a new dwelling place after surviving *panleukopenia. When I saw that little girl, I realized the difference between a kitten we are accustomed to seeing on the internet and the ones in my sunroom. Torts kittens have closed eyes, they can’t really walk yet and they sleep 99% of the time. 

The little kitten in that cage was so frisky! And she had those big kitten eyes we all fall in love with at first sight. One of Torts kittens, one of the tortoise shells, has one eye open. LOL Soon, I will be overrun with cuteness.

But, pray for us please. I don’t know why Noir didn’t make it. Maybe he wasn’t ready to be born. Maybe he just couldn’t compete with those extra large orange guys in the litter. But, God forbid, many of the cats that came out of the barns had panleukopenia. It’s not likely. The people involved took many precautions, but pray anyway.

Safe journey little one

Also, I think Todd is beginning to warm up to me. We played for a few minutes today and he didn’t lay his ears back when I picked him up last night. Progress.

40 seconds of cuteness

I figured you'd love a little
video of the monkey pile.

Melange aux kittens

So tonight my thing was, "Who's eating all the food?" I keep putting out big bowls of food and it keeps disappearing, but I never see who's eating it. I know Todd moves around the house because I see it, but every time I look for Torts (with the exception of this morning), she's in her crevasse with six kittens attached to her belly.
Considering neither one of them comes from a home with a doting cat lady, I suspect they both think this is pretty sweet to have bowls of food just laying around waiting for a cat to eat it.
I have to say too that Torts has a "Dear God get these little parasites off me," look in her eye sometimes. So, I decided I needed to know who's eating all the food. My first plan was to fill all the food dishes, then kick Todd out of the bathroom and close the door.

Todd curled up close by to mom and kittens

Shirley gave me a recipe for a milk mixture to feed the kittens, but mentioned that Torts could benefit from it right away too. So, I mixed up some milky stuff and refilled the most recently emptied food trough and presented them both to Torts - in her face like.
The milk got a "meh," but the food made her sit up. She was trying to find a spot to put her front paw that wasn't on the back of kitten, but it just wasn't happening. She leaned in (as they say women should) and managed a couple of quick mouthfuls. Meanwhile, the kittens were complaining and stayed latched on.
I decided the problem lay in the kittens not Todd.

Torts' buffet

Off to get yet another box. This time I lined a box with soft things and took it to the problem area.
I proceeded to remove the kittens one by one and put them in the prepared container. Of course, they complained. Then I tapped the side of the food dish and ordered Torts to eat while I watched. She did! She dug right in.
Meanwhile, this gave me an excellent opportunity to photograph the babies for their fans. Torts produced two orange kittens, two black kittens and two variations of tortoise shell
(I secretly like them best; don't tell the other children).

Monkey pile of kittens (eh?)
Kitten pile of monkeys?

Once Torts had enough food, she started making a noise that sounded like my phone on vibrate on a wooden table. I actually was about to leave and check my phone when I realized it was her. She could hear her babies and she was not amused.
I however was amused AND pleased.

Torts & Todd – Day 2

As I lay me down to sleep last night, I prayed that the cats would feel safe and begin to relax. I asked that whatever angels look over animals speak to Torts in particular and let her know she is in a safe place.

Before I dozed off, I heard one hiss, but when I got up to see what was up, I found everything just as I left it. I suspect now Torts was hissing at Todd. As in, “GET AWAY FROM MY CORNER.”

Squeaky

I got up to pee around 4:30 am and in the darkness heard teeny, tiny mewling. I turned on the light and saw that Torts had two extra tiny heads. She was in a very small box, but I didn’t want to move her because I was pretty sure she

wasn’t finished the job at hand.

I went back to bed, but couldn’t sleep. It was such a small box and while I figured Torts was getting smaller with every kitten born, I wasn’t sure that was helpful. So I got up and made an executive decision to move her. By that time, she’d had another 30 to 45 minutes to get it done. Of course, it took me nine hours to have one, but I digress.

Baby Face

I moved her first into the much larger birthing box Shirley provided. Then I deliberately counted aloud as I moved each kitten – one, two… five. Congratulations Torts, 5 squirmy little kittens. I made them as comfortable as possible with extra towels etc., threw the ad-lib birthing box outside and went back to bed.

When the alarm rang rather soon after that, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Not the plan for a workday morning.
When I got up it was time to go. I took a quick peak before I left the house and there were six kittens in the box!

Todd was hiding in the living room. I left rather quickly and spent the day wondering how things were going at home.

The whole fam-damly

When I got home, I found Torts and kittens in the much larger birthing box; which couldn’t be in the crevasse Torts has taken as her turf, and Todd sitting on the cold linoleum in the crevasse. So, I threw him a towel that covered half the

space. I figured if it were important to him then he would move onto it.

Then I started the job of cleaning lunch dishes and making the muffins I started on Sunday. I worked away in the kitchen for a while and then went to see how it was going in the bathroom. For crying out loud! Torts was on the little towel and Todd was in the birthing box. Torts really, really wants to be in that crevasse. I took a moment to bring in the bedding from under the china cabinet and switched Todd out of the box because it wasnt clean. She had one kitten in there after all.

I threw another towel down beside Torts and went back to what I was doing. Every time I went to look, Torts and kittens were on the towels and Todd was blocking the entrance to the crevasse with his body.

"Lady are you nuts?
What are you doing with that clicky thing?"

Finally, after muffins, dinner, clean up and some advice from kitten expert Luc, I went into the bathroom and kicked Todd out. Then I pulled Torts and the kittens out of the crevasse, put them on the big fluffy blankets and slid them all back into the crevasse. I’m not kidding about it being a crevasse. It’s a place you reach with a broom if something drops in there.

I almost got stuck.

Finally able to relax and purr

Torts is purring loud and constantly now. She likes a head scratch and doesn’t look quite as frightened as she did last night. Todd isn’t as sure, but we had a quick hug this morning at my insistance. Mostly, I wanted to make sure he was okay. I knew by morning that Torts had kicked him out while she gave birth and he spent the night alone. I don’t think these cats spend a lot of time alone.

Noir

So, Day two. Everyone is alive and I went from no cats to eight cats in less than 12 hours. It’s still pretty quiet, except for the mewling. I imagine it will be different in a week or three. 

Saints preserve me.

Torts & Todd

First, they seduced me with kittens!

I moved to Lethbridge, AB from Calgary, AB and because it’s difficult to shop for a house in a different city, I hired a realtor. We hit it off and, therefore, did at least as much talking as house shopping. It was inevitable that at some point I would mention I like cats.

Realtor Bev introduced me to Shirley of the cat rescue group in Lethbridge. She gets a lot of cats. I want a cat… one cat… two at most. 

Did you know you can foster cats? I’ve heard of fostering humans, but not cats. Long story short, tonight I took in a very, very pregnant female and her one-year-old son (maybe, hard to say, they came out of the rodeo barns).

Anyway, Torts (because she’s a tortoise shell) is feeling pretty vulnerable and, I expect, somewhat exasperated that she’s been moved several times during the last weeks of her pregnancy. (I know how I would have felt at 8.75 months pregnant if I’d had to move several times!)

Seriously, there can't be more
than 12 inches there.

As Shirley toured my house, I showed her the small space between the bathroom cabinet and the wall. I figured Torts would like that spot. But, there is Todd to consider too and they like to be together. So, we set up a spot for them under the china cabinet all comfy with beds and blankets. 

We put them under there and Todd came out almost immediately to check out the new digs. Torts stayed out of sight.

Tonight my sister and I finally had a chance to visit over Skype since we parted ways back in early August. We talked a long while.

Once I got off computer, I looked around for the cats. Todd was looking pretty comfy under the china cabinet, but I couldn’t find Torts. This is a small house and I have two rooms blocked off! 

 

Todd with all the blankies and fuzzies

Privacy curtain for expectant mom

Ah, ha! Of course she’s in the bathroom in that little space. 

Poor thing; no blankets, no privacy curtain; just the cold floor and a weigh scale of all things. So, I fixed her up. 

 She is sooooo pregnant. She is tiny and I’m sure mostly kittens at this point. I hope that she will feel safe here. 

You and I know her evil eye looks like
that because of the flash. Right?

 

Torts in a box.

 

For tonight, I’m not going to force myself on either of them.

I’m a big believer in letting children and animals come to me when they are ready. This is about hour three. I can wait.