OT Expensive QI

Oops! They do pick their moments and places, don't they!

But congratulations anyway. New kitties are so cute...

So sorry about the mattress! I hope the new family is doing well, however. Many years ago my sister had a lovely Puli, due to have her puppies any day and who had inspected, napped in, and showed every indication of her inclination to give birth in the special box set up for her in the family room. Instead, while my sister was out running a few errands, the Puli chose to give birth in a chair in the living room -- a wonderful antique that had new silk upholstery!

Fortunately for us, we were able to notice the signs early enough in the process to put down the plastic sheet and a 'throw away' sheet on top so we didn't have ruined sofas and mattresses during puppy birthing! The most problematic issue we had was when the puppies were sliding along the various potective layers and slipping behind and under the sofa cushions! Had to fish them out quickly. Fortunately mom was too busy having the next one to worry about anyone picking up her new babies. Moving them all to the whelping box after the big event was easy.

Kim in NJ

Ooooh if Jake comes around, please don't let him near the kittens. I'm certain you already know this, but on the off chance that you don't -- tom cats all too often will kill new kittens, putting the mother cat back into estrus and ready to mate again. He doesn't take into account that the kittens are his, he just has this drive to mate. My Meemaw's cats were constantly having kittens and she never let them into the house. And the tom cat typically killed at least a couple of the kittens and sometimes the whole litter. As a little girl this was horrifying and it still is.

Sunny

Guess Miss Lucy knew where she felt safe. Sorry about your mattress. :-(

As for Jake, I'm sure he feels his duty is done!

Best regards, Michelle in Nevada

Oh dear. What a story! Good luck with the new kittens. And new mattress.

ep

Our Marblecake had two litters of kittens on our bed (early in the morning while we were in it). Both times there wasn't much mess and we just had to wash the duvet. Seems a bit drastic to throw a mattress out over what can't have been more than a few grams of sterile blood.

Her son Ollie has spent a large fraction of his life since then no more than three feet from the spot where he was born. And he also seems to think that the amount of kicking he did as a foetus was quite enough exercise for a lifetime. Zzzzzzzz...

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

Cats can vary as much as people in how much fluids they "produce" giving birth. Tootsie had nearly a dry birth. The kittens were damp, but we found not a drop of fluids anywhere. She chose to litter on the bed of rags we had made up for her. Mitzy chose to litter on my brother's bed, on his pillow to be precise. The pillow soaked right through onto the sheets there was so much fluid involved. Curiously Tootsie abandoned her kittens immediately, while Mitzy was extremely motherly. Mitzy would also not tolerate having them moved, she would go and get them and bring them right back to the bed. My mom finally reached a compromise with her, and the kittens were moved to a box under the bed.

I never could understand why my family always intentionally chose a female dog and had her spayed, but would never spay or neuter cats. A cat having kittens always earned her and the female kittens a trip to the pound.

NightMist

Nightmist, my Aunt Doot was one of those people who collects cats. Her husband was longgggggggggg suffering and put up with a house filled with as many as 100 cats from time to time. She usually had between 50 and 70. They lived inside, outside, wherever they wanted. She would never have the females spayed, but when one gave birth, she was right there with a bucket of water to drown the female babies. The whole family found her bizarre, but she was good hearted and fun to have around and of course you accept family. Still, the fate of female kittens always boggled me as it was the male cats bringing on the whole thing. I asked her once why she didn't drown the tom kittens instead and she looked like she'd never even thought of such a thing.

Sunny