The New Arrivals

What a busy weekend!  Not only did we have family visiting this weekend, but Callie gave birth to her kittens this weekend.  It has been a roller coaster of emotion for most of us.  I am rather drained now, making this a difficult post to write in so many ways.

About 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Callie gave birth to the first of her litter, and by 8:30 p.m. we had three cute, healthy kittens being welcomed to the world.  By the end of Saturday, both mama and kittens were settled in comfortably after a long journey.

Sunday arrived with everyone doing well, but in the early afternoon I noticed a sort of rattling sound in the breathing of kitten #2 (center of pic on right).  A gentle tap on the back seemed to help, but I am concerned and will be looking for advice at the vet tomorrow. 

The Hidey Hole

Callie relaxing on the bed.

Although you wouldn't know it from her current behavior around the house, Callie has been an anxious cat from the very beginning.  She would greet us by rolling on her back for a tummy rub, and if another stray competed for food, she would express dominance by hissing, "My food, stay away!"  In fact, we felt sorry for the other stray (who is most likely the one to get her pregnant later), and would hold her back so that he could share some of  the food.

However, as we approached Callie to take her up on that tummy rub, she would skitter off and peek at us from behind the dumpster in front of the apartment building.   We got to know her as we lured her out with some food and eventually she would allow us to pet her.  In time, she started to peek into the apartment building and one day followed us down the hall to our apartment, going back to the front door when we'd walk her out.

Playtime!

Callie took a while to get to know us and didn't really play much until we got some catnip. I think she was on her own too long and just needed some more socialization with humans. To be safe, I checked around to make sure it was okay to have catnip while pregnant, and it is! Here is a short video (a little low-quality) of Callie in action.

She is also quite fond of the laser pointer. I'll have to put up a video of that one another time.

Grooming

Callie playing with a wand toy -
more to report about this in a later post. 

Dana was courageous enough to give Callie a bath, and it all went pretty well. She cries (a long cat call sort of cry) a bit, but other than that, she's very trusting of us. She seems a lot happier now that she's clean, and so are we.

I noticed that it's also time to trim her nails a bit.  I hope to do this in the next few days when she's sleepy and definitely before the kittens arrive.  Just to make sure  I trim her nails correctly, I'm reviewing a site I've had bookmarked.  Callie does pretty well having her nails trimmed, and fortunately (for me), they're white, so it isn't too difficult.  I'm hoping all will go smoothly again this time.  Just the same, if anyone has additional advice, I'd love to hear it!

Callie was taken to a local vet to be checked for a microchip. Unfortunately, no microchip was found so she will be staying with us a little longer.  It was confirmed that she is healthy and indeed pregnant (we were saving to have her spayed).

We're hoping to find her a good home - my allergies have gotten bad enough that I'm having asthma trouble now.

Fortunately, the vet said they have people asking for kittens frequently so there may be hope in that respect. If you can help, please contact me so that we can find her (and the kittens) a good home. She is a very loving, mild-mannered, sweet cat in need of a good home.

Callie is still living with us and appears to be rather pregnant. I didn't have the nerve to keep her cooped up while we were saving our pennies to have her spayed, so now I'm hoping to find a home for kittens as well. Aaargh. Add cat allergies to the mold from a neglected humidifier, and the past month has been a real pain in the arse.

Well, I've done it. I've picked up a sinus/respiratory infection thing from spending too much time with the cat. How dare she be so lovable.

I'm about halfway through my course of antibiotics, and Sunday will be my last day of Prednisone. I need to be using my asthma inhaler until we have another home for the cat as well (grumble, moan).