More Grandkitties

Look at them, count them! See all seven of them? All my Grandkitties!

I have been keeping an eye on her because she was so big. I was expecting more than seven babies that is for sure! I felt so sorry for her. I thought that she was going to explode.

The kids let Grace out in the morning and did not let her back in. I didn’t think to let her in before I went back to sleep or when I got up again. When I went out in the afternoon to spray Tyler’s pants with the hose I called her. It took a bit but she finally came to me.

Oh my goodness! You are so skinny! Now show me where your babies are. It took her a long time to finally show me where she delivered them. Under the house!

We live in a manufactured home. She dug a hole to access the underneath. We kept filling the hole ~ we want no animals (including a raccoon) under there. We even put some good-sized rocks and chunks of cement there to cover the hole that she kept digging and re-digging. Somehow, someway the rocks would always get moved.

She was bound and determined to be under the house! And that is where she had the babies. So I removed the access door thinking that I was going to crawl in there and go hunting for the babies. I decided against that when I saw all the spider webs. Bugs and me just do not get along all that well. Spiders and me get along even less! Besides the fact that the access door is on the back of the house and she had the babies on the front side of the house.

How am I going to get those babies out of there so they do not get cold?

I removed a vent hole cover, cleared away the spider webs, and stuck my head in to see how far away Grace and the babies were. I knew that I could not climb into that little hole ~ let alone get back out. So I stated digging. I was digging a hole under the house. Hey, if Grace can dig a hole to get under there I, armed with a shovel, should be able to dig a hole to get under there.

Just as I finished digging a hole big enough to feel around (because I could see that they were close to the edge of the house) the girls got off the bus. Today was one of the first days that they did not go to after school activities. So they helped me get the babies out.

Grace had already moved two babies closer to the vent hole. She wanted to bring them out but could not figure out how to hold them and jump at the same time is what I assume her problem was. Then again, maybe she wanted to get them all in a pile close to that opening and bring them all out.

We helped her. I dug the perfect hole to reach in and pull the babies out. We loaded them all into a laundry basket with the brand new rug that I had bought for Grace and hauled them in the house. Alexa climbed into the vent hole to make sure that we had found all the babies.

One has star shaped white around its eyes. That is how I can identify it so I can really keep a good eye on it. Grace cleaned the sac off and that was about the extent of her cleaning job on that one. By the time that we got all the babies out from under the house this one was very cold. I thought that it was dead and I think that it would have died if we didn’t get them out when we did. Its nose was plugged with dirt. Grace really did not want much to do with that one. So I took a wash rag and washed its nose and wiped its fur. She did lick it a little bit after that but still she did not show a whole lot of interest in it. I warmed up a towel in the dryer and held that little bugger until it warmed up. Then I would put it with Grace and the rest of the clan but it would not even try to nurse.

I called my neighbor who breeds dogs and asked her about it. She is willing to give me formula for it. But I still needed something to be able to feed it with.

On my way home from work I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a medicine dropper.

When I got home I went into the girls room to check on the bunch. They have been elected once again to have all the babies in their room. I thought that Grace would need to go outside to do what cats do outside if they do not have a litter box. She got up and wanted out. Two babies were not willing to let go so easily and they clung to her. I took them off her and Star (yes, most of them already have names) was one of them! Oh that makes me so happy!

I was not all that thrilled about having to feed a baby but I am not willing to just let it die because it won’t eat. So as of now all of the babies and mama are doing fine.

Now I must go to sleep so I do not keep hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock. I have to get up to do the banking.

Beth ~ once again I have put off typing up what you want! I will get to it sooner or later. Sorry!

Born 10-9-03