Kittens - 3 weeks old

The kittens turned 3 weeks old today so here is an update and pictures. The kittens have grown at warp speed. The black one is over a pound and 2 of the yellows are just under 16 oz. One of the yellows is about 13 oz. Their motor skills are improving and they play and attack one another. We moved them to a new box that is much larger and so far mom has left them there. The other night about 2 in the morning Martha was awakened by a kitten cry and discovered Patches moving the black one into our bedroom. She stopped her and moved the kitten back to the original box, all the time explaining to Patches that she could not bring them to the bedroom. All was well for a few minutes and then she tried again with the same result. Once again Martha intercepted. This time she left them where they were. So Martha made her a new box that has more room and we are trying that to see if it helps. Here are some pictures.

Injured Bird

Anyone recognize this bird. This one has a severely damaged right wing. We cannot recall seeing this bird before so it is new to the neighborhood. It's mate was in a tree nearby and was bigger than this one 

Kittens - Day 15 plus a pretty flower

Martha suggested last night that we get the kittens out of the box and let them play, so I tried it for a while and they liked it a lot I think. I got them all out and Patches scrambled around to protect them but once she saw that they were just outside the box she was fine and she laid down so they could nurse and she could bathe them. I left them out for almost a half hour and they were quite playful. I will do it more than once a day. Here are some pictures at 2 weeks plus a day.

Above - all 4 of them fresh out of the box. Where are we, they say, I've never been here before! Below - Isn't that a cute face, I couldn't resist it.

Below - giving a bear hug and a bath

Below - all of them explored their surroundings while out of the box. I will probably regret that when they get a few days older and discover that they can get out of the box by themselves.

More to come

and

Our first Canna Lily this year 

Kittens - Day 5

They are growing and are now 7 ounces +-. The black one is the biggest, weight wise. Here are some other pictures.

Who's in Control Here Anyway?

Luke 8:25  He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

I found myself in one of those moments a couple evenings ago, marveling at God’s power over nature.  Clarence has talked about the kittens on this blog and posted photos for all of you to see, so if you are reading this you probably know we have a cat and her family staying in our house.  The biggest downside of this adventure is that this particular cat is not litter box trained, and she has no interest whatsoever of using it no matter what we put in it.  I even bought a bag of top soil and “planted” tufts of grass in it so that it would make her think of the great outdoors and maybe, just maybe, prompt her to use it.  Nothing doing.

Now, I must say that except for a couple times a day or two before giving birth, she has always done very good at holding it all in until she could get outside, and not disposing things where she should not.  Since the kittens were born though, she has hardly gone at all and that of course is cause for concern.  She doesn’t want to leave the kittens (though that is changing), doesn’t want to go outside (the rain hasn’t helped that), and one would think she would be just about to burst. When we do get her to go outside she generally won’t venture far from the door and, consequently, continues to contain it all. 

Well, the other night I had carried her outside and was practically begging her to “let it go”.  We had been out for a few minutes and I decided to sit on the landscape timbers we have around our garden.  My hope was that Patches would follow and use one of her favorite areas (our garden).  I sat alone for quite some time.  Suddenly I realized that it was lightly raining, but I wasn’t getting wet. I could see the rain, and it was right there, but I didn’t feel anything. Granted there was a tree nearby but the rain was coming from a direction that the tree wouldn’t have blocked it.  Hmmmm, God must be holding an umbrella over me or something.  Even though I decided it had to be the tree, the thought of God protecting me from those raindrops reminded me that God controls nature, all of it, and wasn’t Patches a part of that?

I decided it was high time that I talked with God about Patches.  Since it was semi-dark and everything was wet, and no one else in their right mind would be out there, I might as well just talk out loud to make sure He heard me.  After a minute or two of talking to God (OK, maybe I did do a little whining and begging), telling Him I remembered His power over nature and that Patches was part of the nature He created, and indicating what we needed Patches to do, she got up, strolled by me, and started to take care of it.  I did a quick switch from asking to praising.  If our neighbors had been out and about they probably would have thought me nuts, but I couldn’t help myself.

Now some might say that all of that was coincidence.  It could be I guess, but I choose to believe that God found a way to remind me that He was in control, He did something that got me thinking about His great power, which brought me to the point of asking for His help, and then He helped us and I had the opportunity to praise Him for what He did.  We really do have an amazing God don’t we?  Who then is this, that he commands even the raindrops and the cat, and they obey him?

Kittens Day 2

The kittens were weighed this morning and 2 were 4 ounces each while the other 2 were 5 ounces each. That seems large for newborns but that was the weight. I dare say they are more now after a day of feeding.

As you can see from the pictures, they are big. A while ago they had decided that Mom had only one source of food and they all wanted the same spot. There was quite a cat fight over that one spot but they finally sorted it out.

Birthing kittens

Well the day started as it normally does, Patches wants in or out and today we had a bit of a thunderstorm but not a real bad one. Patches had disappeared last night in the rain and about 5 AM she finally showed up. Martha let her in, but about 8 she wanted out. I let her go after telling her that she would get wet. About 10 she came back in and wanted attention, a lot of it. After a bit it became obvious that today might be the day for kittens. We have been trying to estimate how far she is along and I think today is 62 or 63 days. About 11 o'clock I decided that she should be in a box or on some towels and went to find one. She tagged along and she went straight to the one that has been there for over a month. First she got under the chair but then got in the box. After a while she came out and I put some towels down for her as best I could with her laying on it. The first kitten was born at 11:30 AM and the 4th one at 12:45. Patches handled it great and the kittens look quite healthy. The third one is black and the others appear to be yellow. I will post more pictures as they grow.