Welcome to Motka (Polish for "mother") and her babies. They will be named shortly (we have the honor of doing so). The kittens were born sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, and Misty brought them home with her on Wednesday night. Of course, we also had a full house of visitors from out of town that night as well. Thursday night was the most packed: 6 people, 2 dogs, 3 cats (2 our own), and 4 kittens. We loved it!
Motka wasn't exactly prepared for mama-cat-hood. She had the usual kitty cold, but she also seemed very confused as to what she was supposed to do with these 4 crying "things". Took about 2 days of pushing her on her side, attaching kittens to teats, and lots of praise, but she finally figured it out. She's being a great mama cat now. She keeps a close eye on her babies and will even take them away (carrying them by their necks in her mouth, as she's supposed to do) if she feels they are in danger. She readily feeds them now and we caught her stimulating them to urinate just tonight (kittens can't urinate/defecate on their own - it is a way nature keeps the nest clean and sanitary). Mama herself wouldn't eat the first day or two and had to be force-fed, but she is more than happy to eat whatever we set in front of her now.
We will probably be fostering everyone for about 8 weeks, so look for lots of new kitten pictures in the days/weeks to come.
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