all the mews that fits

Well, Kiki made me hold her paw and murmur encouraging words to her from about noontime Tuesday…Not really, but I had her at work with me and every time she meowed, the staff asked ‘Anything yet?’.

I then had to leave work for my therapy appointment and thought about taking Kiki with me (my therapist used to bring her poodle to work before she passed away earlier this year) and know she would have understood (as I have birthed more babies than my vet, hahameow).

But I left her at work and got back 2 hours later, nothing new! Then I went and had my hair cut and came back in an hour, nothing new…so I made the 45 minute drive home…nothing new.

I got her settled into the tent at home, or tried to…she was sticking to me like velcro! I heated up some leftovers and popped a movie in the dvd player but finally gave up trying to watch it as Kiki wouldn’t settle down.

About 10pm, her contractions started and I was a bit worried as this one baby looked so large on xray, but she had a short, 30 minute labor and gave birth to the cutest,kinkiest furred little tortoiseshell girl kitten ever! She weighed in at 99 grams (about 3 ounces) which is perfect! She nursed within 30 minutes and while Kiki was restless all night, her kitten was happy and contented in the morning, so she must have nursed enough inbetween Kiki’s moving about!

It’s always fun to see what colors mother nature picked! I think I would find it kinda boring to breed something like Russian Blues, where all the kittens were blue…The daddy, Sammy, is black and white and Kiki is a tortie and so the color possibilities are almost endless: black, blue, orange, cream (and all those colors plus with white), calico, blue cream, dilute calico, tortie. About the only colors I can’t get are colorpoints or brown tabby variations.

Now, I have to think up a ‘call name’ for this little girl. Nothing pops right out at me. I keep thinking of ’summery’ names, maybe a flower? Maybe I should have a contest to name her? Then it came to me…Firefly or FiFi, for short. What do you think? I love fireflies! They don’t have them in Oregon, where I came from, and the say ‘Summer’ to me, for sure! And they look black til they light up and glow…kind of like a tortie!

Not a lot new around the Furrydance household, but I did take some cute pix yesterday, so that’s reason enough for a post, right?!

The kittens are now 5 weeks old, and are purrfecting their litterbox habits (after finding wee spots on the floor a couple of times and thinking it was water from the water dish), I moved one of the 2 litterboxes to that spot and they’ve been using it consistently now.

They are starting to eat canned food, with Spottie being more eager than Dottie about eating on her own. But if I ‘finger feed’ Dottie, she doesn’t spit it out, hahameow. So, I have found one kitten poop in the litterbox so far and will take the next one  in for testing this week. They are healthy–no eye or tummy issues, yay! Though food transition time can always be stressful in a way for them, I am happy to report they are doing great so far.

They now get time out in my bedroom 2-3 times a day (under supervision) and quickly learned when the bathroom door opens that playtime begins in the ‘rumpus room’. They all love the new toys I got at the cat show last week, including Coco and there is lots of prey and pounce going on.

I am on babywatch this weekend with Kiki, and so far, no sign of imminent labor. So I don’t have to wake up every 2 hours during the night to check on her in the birthing tent in my bedroom, I have been sleeping with her and shutting the other cats out of the bedroom so it’s just her and me in case she goes into labor. I still wake up and feel her abdomen and check her vulva for any discharge, but I don’t have to actually get out of bed!

If she hasn’t had her baby by tomorrow, then I will take her in to work with me so I can monitor her closely and hope she goes into labor during the day so I can have a restful night. I can always sleep in on the weekend if a kitty keeps me up all night delivering kittens, but have to be up at 4:30am during the week for work but at least this time, once Kiki has delivered her one baby, and it has nursed, I could go back to sleep.

Spottie and Dottie have reached the 1 month milestone, and are learning there is more to the world than a 5’ x 4’ x 4’ tent! They moved into their new ‘studio apartment’…my master bathroom. They are still not venturing too far, but are learning to us their kitten sized litter boxes and perfecting their pounce and play moves! Now their personalities will start to shine and the family that is adopting them will have two bonded siblings to love and enjoy.

There is something so cute about sisters and adopting littermates! Each adoptive family I pick is unique, of course, and I try and personalize each family to the right kitten. The family waiting for Spottie and Dottie had littermates before and liked that bonded relationship.

Most of the time, especially with someone adopting their first Cornish Rex, I suggest getting one, and then if they fall head over heels, get a second one 4-6 months later. Typically, when adopting 2 littermates together, they are bonded to each other first, and then to humans second, or it takes longer for them to depend on you instead of each other.

For some families, that is great as they might have busy lives, travel for business frequently or have kids or parent obligations that take a lot of their time. I know I feel less ‘guilty’ when I am gone from home, knowing the cats have each other to keep each other company.

Update:
Mama-to-be Kiki went in to work with Teri today to be xrayed so we know how many buns-in-the-oven are waiting to be born. She is not very ‘round, so Teri thought there might be just 1, like her vet felt, or 2…hoping for 2, as she has 4 people waiting for a Cornish Rex of their own! But the xray showed…One Bun! Oh, there are going to be some disappointed families on our waiting list, and Teri has a tough job ahead of her deciding who will be the best home for this little one…it’s hard not to count ‘chicks’ before they hatch, though!

The kittens, Spottie and Dottie, are doing great and this past Sunday celebrated their 3 week birthday by growing up enough to move from a crib (their birthing box with 4 sides just tall enough to keep them from crawling out) to a kiddy bed (a birthing box with one end cut our so they can learn to crawl around their tent!)

That is a pretty big transition and it makes Mama Coco just a bit anxious that they aren’t ‘corralled’ any more! The kittens get a bit anxious too, at first, and there is lots of mewing and ‘where’s mama’ cries, but that is why I always make that transition on a weekend, so I can watch over them closely.

They are up to 377 and 352 grams now, about 12 ounces, with Spottie being the slightly larger one but Dottie has almost caught up with her sister, and she was a lot smaller at birth! This is the age where they realize they have paws–they start to groom themselves in a fashion and begin to put ‘the bitey’ on each other…the beginnings of play!

Another week and they will begin to drink water, start sampling real cat food (mostly by stepping in Coco’s plate and licking their paws) and begin to pounce and play! Once they start eating solid food, Coco will stop her toileting duties and they will begin using the kitten sized litter boxes. In between the tough job of being a mommie, Coco does get out for some ‘Rest and Relaxation’!

Spottie and Dottie are doing great and Coco’s such an attentive momcat. They are gaining weight right on schedule and look like chubbie hamsters now. And now that their eyes and ears are open, they look at Teri when she talks to them…

They are crawling around well now, just starting to lift their bodies up off the ground, and you could almost say they were ‘walking’, but not yet strong enough to climb out of their kitten box. Another week and they will be bobbling around and ready to move into the master bathroom ‘playroom’…that’s their next step…

And a few new photos to smile over!

This time last Saturday, I was on baby watch, and 1 week later, I am happy to let everyone know that Spottie and Dottie are thriving and have more than doubled their birth weight, just as they are supposed to.

Spottie weighed 83 grams at birth (just under 3 oz) and today is 161 grams. And Dottie weighed 66 grams (just over 2 oz) at birth and she is 142 grams now (more than double and that’s good as she was sooo small at birth). Kittens should weigh between 80-100 grams at birth though most Cornish Rex are between 80-90 grams. Here’s a few photos for your viewing pleasure :

Coco, waiting for babies...

Coco had a difficult time with her delivery this time

She went into labor about 3:00am Sunday morning and the first kitten arrived about 4:20am, a typical length of time.

The the first kitten, a black and white male, was stillborn. Coco then stopped labor for 4 hours. No contractions visible but she was content and comfortable and I could still feel kittens kicking.

After that long without progression, my vet recommended giving her an injection to help with contractions, but just one, in case one was blocking the birth canal which would be life threatening for her and any live kittens.

Within 15 minutes her contractions began again, and the 2nd kitten, a cream and white male, was delivered, but he was stillborn also. I was very sad, that they wouldn’t be able to add joy to someone’s life. I couldn’t feel any movement from the two kittens yet to be born. I was devastated.

But as my vet advised, it would be better for Coco to deliver the kittens on her own rather than have to do a c-section on her, so I gave a third injection.

Newborns...Just hours old

Coco then delivered 2 live kittens, both black and white girls. A happy ending to a very stressful and sad morning. Both girls are spoken for by a couple who have been waiting for over a year for 2 available sisters.

Contented Momcat Coco, and her babies

Coco is always very anxious the first 24 hours, wanting to take the kittens out of the kittening box and even though she is confined to a large tent, you have to worry about hypothermia or trauma, so I am glad I am home today and also can go to bed early tonight and try and catch up on the sleep I didn’t get last night. Coco, too!

Coco in the kitten tent, with her buffet, and the kittens all warm and cozy in their heated bed!

I will have both kittens that were stillborn necropsied (have an autopsy done) to find out if there was a cause, such as a virus or internal abnormality, but they were normal birth weight and looked fine from the outside. Doing the pathology is the responsible thing to do, to help ensure the continued good health of the remaining kittens and to know if there was a cause, in which case it might be time to let Coco be spayed and retire…

Sweet Sisters!

I will rest a little easier when these girls, Spottie and Dottie, have made it through the critical first 72 hours and relax a bit as each week passes. Kiki is due to have her kitten(s) around August 23rd, and by that time, Coco’s babies will be 4 weeks old!

Be sure to watch the Blog for updates!

Coco and Kiki went in to work with me this morning (The Cat Hospital is where I work) and the vet said Kiki is pregnant, but she only felt 1 fetus…but she has been ‘off’ before and at this stage she doesn’t want to squeeze too hard, as all we are really wanting to know is a Yes or a No.

And Coco, well the xray today showed she is carrying 4 kittens, not 2 as felt in early pregnancy, so we are looking forward the weekend, and being on baby watch and crossing our fingers that Coco has an uneventful delivery and all goes well!

Watch the blog for updates and kitten news.

Furrydance Colours Cove (aka Coco) is expecting! Her due date is July 15th and while the vet palpated 2 ‘buns in the oven’ when she was about 3 weeks along, I am thinking there might be a third on hiding in there, too!

As we already had a waiting list, with one couple wanting to adopt two, when Furrydance Gweek (aka Kiki) came into heat, we bred her also, and it will be about 2 weeks before we know if she is pregnant. If she is, her kittens would be due to arrive around August 23rd.

The father to both these expected litters, is our stud cat, Angelwaves Undeniably Sentimental (aka Sammy).

So, if you are thinking about adding a Cornish Rex to your life, be sure to visit our blog for updates!

What? Six weeks since a kitten update? All is well here at Furrydance, I’m just in the midst of Spring Cleaning and sprucing up the yard now that the weather is nice!

The kittens are now 14 weeks old and have had full run of the house for about 2 weeks. If they aren’t sleeping, they are racing up and down the stairs, laying on the cat trees soaking up the sun, and still squeezing in a little nursing time, mostly for comfort now…

They passed their vet exams with flying colors and last week, three of the boys were neutered and microchipped and next week the other two will have the the same, and then they will start packing up to leave their birth home here.

They all have names now, that their new owners picked out.

Bosco is the black and white kitten.

Miles is the red tabby kitten.

Carlos and Zeus are going to the same home, how fun!

and Hiro is the black kitten that started out the runt, but caught up in size before long!

Update: Kiki has been bred and I will know if she is pregnant on May 14th, so check back for “expecting” news! We already have four families on our waiting list for our next litter, so hopefully mother nature will cooperate and Kiki will have a kitten for each of them!