Tess and her kittens
 
 
Tess (below) is 3 years old and the mother of Toby a beautiful male that I took in three months before. Aweek ago I also took her in as her previous owner no longer wanted her. She is due to give birth to kittens in the next week or so. It will be her third litter having already giving birth to eight healthy kittens. Whilst the kittens are a priority the welfare of Tess is also very important. I do not agree with letting cats have litter after litter and at the first opportunity she and Toby will both be speyed.
 
 
Getting close to her birth date and she is getting really grumpy though since I have taken her in she has settled in well and become really much calmer. One week after taking her in I was told that the kittens were due in approx two weeks as she wasnt very big. That very night she went quietly to bed tucked away in th e cat carrier that she favoured as usual. I also went to bed and all was quiet until half an hour later at 11pm I heard the strangest noise. A high pitched squeal unlike any I had heard from Tess before and the sound of much licking. Wondering if she was giving birth to kittens but not quite believing it I looked into the carrier. Inside it was very dark and it was not easy to see anything but as I watched a little tail suddenly appeared and my heart missed a beat. A new born very tiny kitten had been born. To say that I was somewhat shocked is an understatement.
 
 
March 1st 2009 - The first kitten was born around 11pm with another one following about 20 minutes later. The third kitten was born at 2am with the final kitten surprising me by being born at 8.30am. Sadly one of them died but we were still left with three beautiful kittens. This photo was taken when they were 9 hours old. There are 2 tabbies, one dark brown with ginger, one more grey and one black and white one.
 
 
After a very brisk wash and clean up from mum they were straight onto her nipple for a feed.
 
 
When mum is away feeding and always licking and cleaning them. I take a swift look to check they are ok whilst Tess has gone to feed. They are looking quite clean already. Here they are one day old, very vigorous and doing well.
 
 
3 days old
 
At 3 days old their movements and co ordination are getting stronger. Still blind they can easily crawl back to mum if they stray and are feeding well. When mum leaves to feed they all quickly seek each other out huddle up and keep warm.
 
 
 
 
 
 
4 days old
 
This is their little world. Nestled inside a cat carrier in my front room next to the radiator. The kittens were actually born in my bedroom but I moved them as I was concerned that they were not warm enough. Downstairs I can keep an eye on them much better. Now they are well co ordinated and find Tess very quickly once she comes back from her morning feed.
 
 
One week old
 
One week old and Tess has been getting much more restless. Yesterday she moved her kittens behind the television and into the pantry but as both where cold places I made her take them back to the carrier where she has settled back and not tried to move them again. She is taking more time out for herself and even went exploring outside in the back garden for a little while. Never does she leave her kittens for long though and very quickly she is back nursing them once again.
 
 
Day 9 - Fun and games trying to stop Tess from moving her kittens upstairs. Yesterday I awoke to the sound of much squealing to find she had put them under one of the beds. Naturally they couldnt stay there and I couldnt reach them either so up came the beds and I took the kittens downstairs where they settled back down. This morning Tess was scouting upstairs once more but all the doors were firmly closed. Then poor Tess was sent into another panic as I took Bruiser from the carrier. For the last two days his right eye has been closed obviously due to some dried mucas. Getting some cooled boiled water I bathed it gently. Bruiser was crying and Tess jumped up on the table trying to take the kitten from me. Gently I soothed them both and after a very short time kitten and mum were both quiet and just let me get on with the bathing. The warm water worked its magic and the eye opened nice and bright. Now Bruiser can see again and kitten and mum were reunited.
 
 
Day 10- Tess has moved them once again. This morning I found them at the bottom of the bookcase. As they are on a soft blanket and its reasonably warm there I left them to it. Yes I found out that Tyler has a bad problem with her feet. To see her story click on her page below. In the photo below Bruiser is the one awake on the left. Tyler and Isacc are asleep. To follow the progress of all the kittens from this day click on their pages below.
 
 
All the kittens have done beautifully well. They love sleeping and playing together. Here are some progress photos of all the kittens together. The first one below shows them at almost 4 weeks old.
 
 
At 7 weeks old they are really starting to look like little cats.
 
 
At 11 weeks old this is one of the last times they will all be photographed together as Sammie is shortly going to her permenent home. Tyler front, Isacc back right, Sammie back left.
 
 
 
 

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