K -- Kittens

K is for kittens. We love kittens. Even some people who don't like cats like kittens. Kittens are so cute and fun to play with. But they need extra care.

When I had kittens, I made sure I had a place to hide when they were born. Sometimes they were all born about the same time. Sometimes it was a little painful; the human thought the cats were fighting the night that Rico and her littermates were born I meowed so loud. Sometimes there's a bigger interval in between; Butler was born on Saturday, Parker and Schwarzie were born on Sunday, and the fourth kitten was stillborn on Sunday a week later.

We usually tried to hide our new kittens. I used a box, or under the shelves (for Friendly's litter). Mama went outside the shed, and hid them under sheet metal, or went into the woods. Rico was looking for a box that was big enough when she had her litter the spring after Parker was born; she eventually gave up and had them in the middle of the shed. Blackie had her first litter in the carrier.

When there are not too many kittens, all the queens will get together to care for the kittens. That's my grandkitten going into the hay with me.

But sometimes there can be problems. Sometimes kittens get sick. Sometimes there are complications with the kittening process, and the kittens or queens don't survive. Sometimes the new kittens can't find new homes. Sometimes there are just too many kittens around, and the queens have to eliminate the unhealthy ones. When Rico moved her kittens one time, she did not move all of them to the new place. Fortunately, Inky and Parker were fixed before they had any kittens.