Friday, September 23, 2011

I'm still here...

I know - you probably think I have fallen off the face of the planet. Sorry for the prolonged absence. I am sure you all remember me telling you about the cats that have taken over my front door. Well, things got a little more 'exciting'. You remember the kittens, of course. But another one of the cats had kittens while we were away. Nobody had any idea that she was going to have kittens. She wasn't heavy around the middle. In fact, she is such a skinny cat that I just thought she was beginning to finally put a little meat on her bones. Boy, was I mistaken! I still can't get over the fact that I was not able to detect her pregnancy, because she was so skinny.

Anyway, after we came home, she brought them over here. Three of them. I wasn't exactly overjoyed - the cat head count is pretty high already. And then - she stopped eating. Not entirely. But a tablespoon of food two or three times a day does not count as a meal in my book. Especially not for a nursing cat. So I have been feeding them with a syringe.


This is what they looked like last weekend. So very wobbly on their little legs. They are coming along fine - even though we have had our ups and downs. But they are taking up pretty much all of my free time. But they are beginning to take an interest in cat food and today even had some of their milk from a bowl, instead of the syringe. So things will be getting easier.


Taken today - they had their first real outing this afternoon. Up to now, they have spent most of their time in their 'nest'. Today they had a bit of adventure in the sun.


Did I ever say I was a sucker for kittens?

19 comments:

steufel said...

Me too:-) Sind die niedlich! Und wie schön, von Dir zu hören. Happy weekend mit viel, viel Sonne!

Gayle said...

Dramatic difference. You are a good kitty mama.

Doreen said...

What a huge difference you have made, Renate! They are so beautiful!

SummersStudio said...

Oh my goodness but you are a kind soul to take in these kittens and nurse them along to health. They are quite irresistable.

Wanda..... said...

So cute....I'll take the little tiger-striped one in the back.

Palimpa Lim said...

Oh, die Äuglein sehen ja schon viiieeeel besser aus! Gut gemacht :) Das ist doch jede Mühe wert, oder?! Und was ist mit der Mama? Ist die auch mit bei den Kleinen "im Nest"?

Hopemore Studio said...

Oh my goodness, more kittens!! Bless your soul for taking care of them.
Angie

Anonymous said...

oooh, they are so very precious! i do understand how much time it takes though. we found two stray babies a couple of years ago (sibling brother and sister) and poof, the girl got pregnant at about 4 months of age. she had a litter, we had an appointment to get her fix, and though she was only outside ONE time in 7 weeks, she was pregnant again when we took her in! so, two rounds of babies. we kept one kitten and got rid of the rest and three weeks after getting the little boy fixed, we realized it was a few weeks too late 'cause his twin son showed up a couple of weeks ago and adopted us too. kitties are almost as bad as bunnies. :)

how many will you be keeping? i want one, but we have 4 now, i guess, since the little one has taken to us.

Unknown said...

What a kind soul you are Renate. Maybe once the other kittens and these are big enough, you can find some other nice people who will take them in. One at a time tho! One can only hope given the cost of feeding so many. Bless you for taking such good care of them.

lunedreams said...

poor little babies! mama knew what to do with them! take them to her human "kitty mama" (ha, I like that). hope mama feels better soon too.

lilylovekin said...

What difference will 3 little kitties make? They are so cute, and you've done all the hard work your their mother now!

Lesley said...

Your cats obviously know where to come when they're in need - you do a wonderful job looking after the little cuties.

In the Light of the Moon said...

Oh my those little bitty eyes are too cute!!Hugs,Cat

Judy said...

Oh my gosh,that is all you needed was more kittens! I have a weakness for babies myself and would be doing the same thing you are. I actually raised baby squirrels once...that is a story in itself!

Barry said...

R- the first photo was enough to pull at the heart strings. Glad you have taken them in and so glad they are looking so well. Whilst I'm a reasonable cat person Fiona is big fan and just thinks what you are doing for the cats is brilliant. Go well. B

mairedodd said...

they are so very lucky to have you renate, and what a huge difference...

Sharon said...

Such a darling litter and they look so healthy now. Will you keep them all?

sharon said...

Too cute Renate! I wouldn't expect anything else of you but to do what you are doing....you are thee most giving soul ever.

Luthien Thye said...

goodness!! poor little kitties! i know how you feel. when my dance studio was in a house, we had loads of strays coming in and as we fed them, more came. and births of course!! but they're so cute we hardly had the heart to push them aside. we ended up with 16 cats!! and is was time to take them to the vet for the capital N :)