Milla had her kittens

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Joe_Danger
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Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

After a very easy delivery that lasted about an hour in total she gave birth to four very healthy and very active kittens, how things are going to progress from here on out is in the Lord's hands.
http://i.imgur.com/FTp123F.jpg

now here's the full story if y'all want to do some readin
I was up all night doing some 3d modeling...god knows I hate 3d modeling I'm an illustrator I shouldn't be doing this..but hey you gotta do what you gotta do and Milla was pretty active, I noticed she was going to pee every two hours with little amounts but since her poop and everything was 100% in order I wasn't worried figured she was getting ready

Of course she wouldn't leave my side through the night, come morning I was done with work and went to bed at 9AM just to have her wake me up at 12PM :) I got up figuring this was it since she got on my bed and was determined to wake me up(im a light sleeper and don't mind being woken and am up and ready the moment I open my eyes :) ) so I get up and she leads me to her nesting area, it was like she was telling me with actual words what was about to happen, she wouldn't let me leave her side not even to take my phone lol

She went into labor, strangely enough I wasn't afraid or worried because she seemed to have it all under control and just wanted me there by her side for emotional support.
Then BAM she jumps out of the delivery box and decides she'd have them in the middle of the room...so she is there now with the kittens and we walk around them but I don't know if that stresses her out or not, the vet said not to touch or move the kittens yet so she is to stay like that in the middle of the living room on the way from the kitchen to the bathroom lol I'd like to move the kittens in her nesting box which she did take to and loved it but I'm afraid of touching them now.

She took care of everything herself and seems to know how to take care of them for now


here are some bonus pics of her from the past two weeks

a PAL SNES and cats do not mix...that reset button is so easy to access and push
http://i.imgur.com/6RmoyxI.jpg

This was taken 2-3 days ago, she was active and playful until the very moment of labor
http://i.imgur.com/XkmDOkA.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Fpsw8tq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/e8EbXNK.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JfrEq2P.jpg
I hope it all goes well

You guys are very supportive and nice so if I need help with anything I will be sure to ask :)
I want to move the kittens as soon as possible since they're VERY active when not sleeping or nursing already and im afraid they'll crawl out of the makeshift playpen we made around them with sheets and such, they seem to have no problems climbing on her and going under her and all
all 4 are very active and eat a lot
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Lilith
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Lilith »

Aww! congrats! :D

Glad she had such an easy time - but what a madam! Still, as long as they're warm...Yes, no point moving them just yet, as Milla will just carry them back to where SHE wants them to be. Mother cats often do move their litters of their own accord - let's hope it's a more sensible place next time.

Great photos, and she looks to be in rampant health, and very proud of herself, and I'm sure you're proud of her too :D
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

thanks
the kittens are very active though so we're trying to kitten proof the house as much as possible and make it impossible for them to crawl under something, they can't get out of their enclosure for the moment but seeing as how they burrow under her and around her, it's only a matter of itme

Also I swear to god they grew in size a bit from earlier today till now
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

One more question
is there danger of her accidentally suffocating them? If they get stuck under her they mew and she immediately gets up, but should she be fast asleep or something is it ok wake her up in case we notice a kitten is stuck.

sorry had to ask to make sure
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Lilith »

No, worry not! She'll be aware all the time, sleeping or not.

One of my girls had a single kitten and insisted on bringing him to bed with me every night. I didn't get much sleep as I was too conscious of him and his mother curled up next to me; kept waking up to check on him. Once he disappeared, and I was frantic. I didn't have a duvet at that time, it was the old-fashioned sheets and blankets, tightly tucked in, and when I took the bed apart, there was this limp little body at the bottom...I snatched him up; he opened one eye - 'what you bothering me for, woman?' When I took him and myself back to bed, he immediately made his way back down to that cosy spot by my toes...

Kittens love to 'pile' and though they may look as if they're suffocating, they're not. Some animals, such as pigs, CAN lie on top of their young and squash them, but cats know better than that :)
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by p885 »

Great News!
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

wow the kittens are even bigger now, all nice and clean
Milla hasn't gone to the bathroom yet she doesn't want to leave them not sure when she is planning on going but I put food and water in her enclosure yesterday and she's been happily eating and drinking when needed

Bringing the little box to her is kind of not possible now due to room and all, but she should easily be able to keep an eye on the kittens from the bathroom it's a straight line and it's pretty close to where she is now
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by suelily »

Congrats on the new arrivals. What a beautiful cat. The kittens remind me of that film Gremlins, wee balls of fluff. :lol:
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

:)

brought the litterbox next to where she and the kittens are and just when she sat down to pee a kitten started mewing and she went back to tend to the kittens. She hasn't gone in almost 24 hours now so she is bound to soon, but these kittens won't let her do anything for herself

Her appetite is great, that's wonderful
I think she wanted me to keep an eye on the kittens while she walked all the way to the bathroom by her body language but the moment they make a noise she is back so I brought the litter box to her, hopefully she is going to have some spare time to do her thing today lol

I must admit I did not expect her to be this good with the kittens what with this being her first litter and all
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

Sorry to be a bother everyone but I have to a thing or two

Milla developed a new behavior I don't quite get, whenever I walk past her and the kittens she meows and if I sit down next to them she gets out of the enclosure and starts purring and wanting me to pet her and such leaving the kittens inside, though she does keep an eye on them. If I walk away she goes back inside.

Now when she meows she looks at me, then the kittening box we set up behind her which she didn't deliver in, dare I say she wants me to put the kittens in there? I'm not sure. She even walked to it, looked inside, then looked at me and the kittens a few times. I put her in there and she didn't stay there for long.

EDIT: She keeps asking for something but I am stumped
I usually know exactly what she wants but now I'm at a loss, she has her food, litter, water and the kittens all seem fine
They were meowing just now and she meowed back at them tho i doubt they could hear, then she got out of the thing and layed on the outside next to it but always keeping her kittens in sight.

She keeps asking for something but what i have no idea and if i come near her she leaves the kittens to interact with me

I am trying not to bother her but her nest is in the middle of the room so it's kind of hard to avoid it
she had a perfect spot for kittening which she took too but didn't deliver there so there's that
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Lilith »

It IS amazing, how devoted they are. And all through instinct.

Bless her, she's obviously wanting your company too, it's good that you've got plenty of time to spend with her. About the box - I'd personally try putting the kittens in there. Gently cup your hands round a kitten, avoiding the umbilical area, and lift...this is terrifying at first, but when you look at how they sprawl around and sleep in a heap, you end up realising they won't break. If Milla objects to the box, she'll take them back out, but from the way she's behaving I reckon she's interested in it - paws crossed!

Hey, tell you what is really cute - when they're all feeding and the milk's flowing fast, their ears flick back and forth lol.

Have you got any more pics? :)
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

Is there any chance she'd reject them if I mess with them? Maybe it's best if I let them stay here for another day or two I dunno, she seems very vocal and very eager to get out of the next as soon as i walk by
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Lilith »

No, it's very unlikely that she'd reject them. But no harm to leave them be and let her make the decision. Is there anything she really loves to sit on that you could put in the box to tempt her? Apart from your favourite sweaters of course lol!

One of my girls was divided like this between her kittens and me; the kittening box was by the bed and by a miracle she used it, but when I went to bed, I'd feel a 'thud' next to me...and then tiny paws and claws dangling across my face...yup, if she was that way out she'd carry them into bed with me. (She was the same one with that single kitten who HAD to sleep in the bed every night.) I do hope Milla behaves better than that (but they usually do.) :)
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

She definitely wanted the kittens moved to the suitcase we prepared for her, it's a big suitcase like a box
she kept meowing and pointing to it, coming up to it then up to the kittens so I had them moved and she settled in nice and cozy, it's been 3 hours since and she is very calm now when we walk by her and looks much much more comfortable

Seems she was afraid to pick them up and move them herself
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Lilith »

Hey that's great!

They do manage to make their wishes known don't they?

You'll be relieved the kittens can't crawl everywhere now - though in 6 weeks' time they'll be zooming around like their mama! :lol:
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Crewella »

Oh they're beautiful, like their mum. Congrats, and glad all are doing well. :)
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

Thank you :)

So far things seem to be progressing smoothly, Milla seems to feel more comfortable to leave and eat (food bowls and water are right next to the kittens) but we moved the litterbox back into the bathroom because she wanted it there, she wouldn't go in the living room and one time she entered the litterbox, then mewed and went to where it used to be basically telling me to bring it there. She doesn't go to the bathroom much because she tends to the kittens every time they make a more loud noise if she is out which is good so more often than not she just has enough time to groom herself for a few minutes before going back in.

She is still in the living room albeit in her suitcase so I'm reluctant about having friends over for at least another two or in all honesty three weeks, hope people don't mind me turning them down because of this, some of my friends don't understand what it means to care about animals as much as people unfortunately.

I'm not sure when we should change the bedding, I'd rather not disturb the kittens or her much and it seems pretty clean in there, some sites say to change it daily but at the same time sites say not to disturb the cat and kittens too much...
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Lilith »

Hi, I'm assuming you moved them on to fresh bedding in the suitcase, which is only a couple of days ago. I personally wouldn't change bedding every day, unless the kittens were fouling it, which can happen despite mother cats washing their kittens' backsides and (ugh!) swallowing the wee and faeces. Small kittens don't usually 'perform' without this stimulus but all the same I'd check to make sure the bedding's not wet or stained; if it's clean and dry, then don't worry too much. She may want to move them again in another couple of weeks, so if you have a place in mind where you'd like her to be, now's the time to get it ready for when she goes looking.

You do right to keep her quiet at the moment; friends will just have to understand :)

She sounds to be doing so well with them (and you too) :D
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

yeah we moved her on clean bedding

here's a new pic of the kittens
http://i.imgur.com/yQni22r.jpg

I noticed there's some yellowing on the bedding so maybe tomorrow or on Monday we could change it. Milla doesn't like it when stuff she is on isn't clean so she is bound to start complaining and let us know.
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by jillyvillyvoo »

Utterly gorgeous, well done mum!
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Lilith »

Aww they look a bonny lot, fat and contented like kittens should be :D
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Re: Milla had her kittens

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Today is the kittens' fifth day and they're even bigger it seems
Milla wanted the bedding changed this morning, she acted the same way as when she wants her litter cleaned after she's done her business so that went without problems.

But I've noticed since late last night she seems to be leaving the kittens more often, she always has her head turned towards them more or less but she goes out to groom herself more, to just chill outside the nest or even play a little.
She seems to do this when they're quiet and asleep

I thought she wouldn't be leaving much at all for the first 3 weeks but it seems she is becoming more and more active, hope this doesn't hint at her not being happy with the nest or kittens.
For now she is still attentive and caring.

Sorry guys i have to ask, nobody i know in real life knows anything about cats, even the people who do pay them no mind

literally every answer i ever got was "I dunno, my cat just did everything on her own" I learned that they didn't even bother changing the bedding or anything.

Edit: from what I can tell she has a pretty good routine going, even when she is out she is always paying attention to what's going on in the nest and the slightest noise sends her running to them. She is just an active cat, always has been and it seems she just wants to be up and about more.
They eat a lot...she eats a lot lol the kittens don't cry when they're on their own, so all seems well.
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Lilith »

Sounds as if everything's going very well but ask all the questions you need; it's fine :)

They're all different; some cats stay with their kittens more than others, but I reckon Milla's behaviour is about average; she likes her life in your flat and with you as well, so she's taking some 'Milla-time' out, as well as being a very good mother.

I once had a cat who went into labour, gave birth to the first kitten - and then ran off to play round the house with her (neutered) male friend. It was quite a shock for her to have to return to the nest and give birth to another pesky kitten. She didn't seem to know what motherhood was. She'd stay with them overnight (I hoped) but in the morning I'd find them abandoned. The only way to make her take any notice of them during the day was to put them in a basket and take them into the room where their mother wanted to be. Otherwise she'd never have thought of feeding them etc. That cat was not maternal at all...

I reckon Milla sounds very happy with her kittens - and I love it that she tells you to change her bedding/litter etc. I bet she's one of those cats who call their kittens to the litter-tray and demonstrate its use by scratching in it and telling the kittens to do likewise...never believed they do this, but they do! :)
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Crewella »

I'm not hugely experience with mothering cats, but she seems to be doing really well and I'm sure knows exactly when she can escape for a few minutes and leave them sleeping. She sounds like a great mum.

I love the relationship you have with her. You seem to have a real, proper 'understanding' between the two of you, you're a team, and it's lovely to hear about it. :)
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

Hey everyone
Had a bit of a worry this morning and I can't help but want to share this, it's probably nothing but you never know.

The kittens are progressing beautifully, they're bigger, fatter, they're active and eating.
However this morning around 5AM when while Milla was eating I figured I'd check on them and notice something I'm not too happy about, now I understand they're persian kittens but neither the mom nor dad are the overly flat faced types.
Basically I noticed that their breathing is noise, they don't sound stuffed up but it was much much louder than ever before, I know their sense of smell is developing and all and they clearly are trying to sniff their environment more now, especially since I got close it appeared that the white one poked its head up in my direction and started sniffing, but it was pretty darn loud.

My biggest concern is that before we bred Milla I asked my vet to if possible eliminate or treat what I suspect is a chronic URI she's been carrying since we got her(think we got her from a professional breeder...lol no this is Macedonia we're talking about) it doesn't cause problems for her apart from ever so often her nose being somwhat stuffed up and her shutting one of her eyes but the vet provided us with some drops that normally take care of it in no time.
When I asked her to treat this before breeding she said it won't be an issue for the kittens, she has no fever or anything and it's just something she carried over from her mom(no duh, hows about preventing these things in the first place by getting your cats FIXED...nevermind)

Either way I need to know if it's a reason for concern
naturally I'm going to call my vet later around 10AM or so but still

I hope to god it's just them being persians and nothing else, don't think I'm going to deal well emotionally if they start dying on me now and I have a ton to do for work and exams to prepare for college, I need to be at my best now.
My professors at college expect extremely good results from me as I'm among the best if not the best students there, I'm not saying I'm putting college or work before the cats don't get me wrong I'm saying that if they start getting sick and dying it'll mess me up emotionally pretty bad.

Either way I hope it's nothing but we'll never know, that's the worst part about these things.
Can't help but worry when the breathing was fairly loud
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Mayday21 »

Let's know what the vet said! Kittens like babies can be very hardy. They're gorgeous & she's a top mum.
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

I just checked on them and they were sleeping, their breathing seemed normal with the occasional hicup but they've been doing that when nursing and stuff from day one ever so often, plus they're all in each other's fur.
I think maybe and I hope that's the case the white kitten's sense of smell is kicking in rather strongly since the moment I get real close it seems to wake up and start sniffing, I hope that's the case.

I'll call the vet in about an hour
she is a very very nice lady and genuinely cares about these kittens so hopefully we'll sort it out if we can but it might be nothing
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Joe_Danger »

Well it turns out they're trying to hiss at me ...apparently that's what kittens call hissing
no wonder it happens right when I get close

I did some research online and many suggestions were that they might be hissing, so I didn't call the vet and went to college, when I came back just now I looked up a video of kittens hissing and sure enough that's exactly what mine are doing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it1RC9vXS7Y
They sure gave me quite the scare there, never could I possibly imagine that this is what a kitten's hiss would be like
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by Lilith »

LOL! So glad there's no cause for alarm!

When I read your post about the 'sniffing' I was stumped too - but I've never had much to do with 'Persian-faced' cats and wondered if it was the short nose, but then when you mentioned the hissing - of course! That's something I used to see, but have forgotten about for decades. They don't do it for long; as their eyes open and they start to explore and get used to you they build up a relationship with you. God you must have been frightened though; I remember how it was if I was worried about a litter, but you bounce back; you get the strength to cope...from somewhere, don't ask me where, but you get it. :)

Again so glad it wasn't anything serious, especially in view of your studies, all the best with those and with Milla and the kitties too :D
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Re: Milla had her kittens

Post by lnxjenn »

Makes me want kittens, but all my cats are fixed
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