Who is Sissy? well lets see if I can break this down. Two years ago I was posting about Orange aka Momma Kitty having her babies. At the same time her sister (I think) next door was also having hers. Hers were Stripey, Star and Midnight. Last year Stripey and Star had their babies in my yard, Star got killed so Stripey took in her sisters babies. I am not sure which sister was Sissy's mother in the beginning. So this year it was Sissy's turn. It seemed like she was pregnant way longer than usual but I think that is just cause she is soo tiny. Really she doesn't look like a full grown cat and pregnant made her look ridiculous.
Early morning like just after midnight on friday the 10th, Sissy had her first kitten. Nearly pure black with just a tad of grey on his legs. I named him Panther. Sissy had him up against the house in the dirt and grass but I left her alone for fear that she would move them under the house. I wanted to be sure that they were in sight and hopefully be tame instead of her brother that wont even let me touch him. Tame kittens find homes! The second kitten came 2 hours later, dark grey with with on his face and legs. I named him Boo cause he was such a big boo boo for his mother, she really struggled to get him out. About an hour later came the third, a little girl this time, she was smaller than the boys so I named her Twiggy.
I placed a box out there for her and tried to get her to let them be in the box, she would have no part in it. I didn't like them being on the ground, I was fearful that ants were going to get all over the babies but she wouldn't let me do anything.
The next day my brother and his family were coming to visit. I checked the kittens only to find that Panther wasn't doing good. I brought him in the house, tried warming him up and feeding but all efforts failed. He passed away and my brother buried him. The best part of the day was Sissy finally agreed to let the kittens be in the box.
That Sunday night we knew we was in for some nasty weather. I tried building up some kind of shelter to protect them. It was a down pour and the shelter I made wasn't good enough to keep out the rain. I rushed outside to snatch them all up and rush them in the house but only Boo was in the box, the towel under him was drenched and so was he. I got him all dry and assumed she had rushed the other kitten under the house. The rain stopped and she was going back and forth from the porch to the box. I kept waiting for her to go in the direction of where she hid Twiggy. She never did. I tried to give her back Boo and she wouldn't take him. I was beside myself as to where she could be, I hunted all around the house hoping to hear her cry. I basically gave up after nearly an hour cause it had started to rain again. Later standing in front of the door looking out, I saw her go to a spot on the porch. I rushed out and sure enough there was Twiggy just laying there hidden behind the water bowl. She was practically lifeless, gasping for air and all she was getting was rain. Thankfully after getting vigorously rubbed dry, she came around. Both kittens safe in the house.
We kept them in the back bathroom and was letting Sissy in and out to feed during the day but keeping her in at night. Things were going fine for four days, till one morning hubby went to use the bathroom and there was cat poop EVERYWHERE! I mean everywhere, in the tub, on the sink, on the medicine cabinet, even up on the towels in the rack above the pot. That was all the hubby could stand and she got booted outside. No sooner than my feet touched the floor I was cleaning the bathroom, before my morning pee or even a cup of coffee! We put her box on the porch but she kept bringing them to the door as if she wanted them back in the house. Something hubby wasn't going to go for. The next week was a struggle to keep up with were the kittens were, she kept taking them out of the box.
One very hot day I found only Twiggy in the box, panting her butt off and no sign of Boo anywhere! I rushed twiggy inside out of the heat and proceeded to search for Boo. Sissy was pacing all over the place looking for her babies. She acted like she had no idea where he was like she couldn't remember what she did with him. She was following me around, I'm waiting for some signal from her and she was like waiting for me to find him for her. I was seriously angry with her! After searching for hours I finally found him way out in the front yard. I wouldn't have found him if it hadn't been for her going and laying under the truck. I thought maybe she did take him that far. Sure enough there he was out in the middle of the yard baking in the sun and meowing as loud as he could, which really ain't that loud for a week old.
That next Sunday hubby built her a better shelter and she stayed there with her babies all day, no problems. I was satisfied that she was happy with them being there. The next morning her and her babies were gone. I had no clue to where she took them. I did a brief search with no luck. At this point I am like..I tried my best to keep her babies alive and this is the thanks I get! Screw it, your on your own! Yes, folks I lost my cool with her and had had enough. She was going to have to deal with it in her own. Later that day I heard one of them meow directly under the kitchen, so good at least I know they are under the house. So much for having tame kittens that would be easier to rehome.
For the next week I watch her go under the house many times. I check to see of any nursing signs, all is good. Or so I thought.
One night I heard a cat fight under the house, it didn't last long so I didn't jump up or anything. The next day I noticed Sissy acting all grumpy with any cat that even came close to the porch. We have four other cats out there so she was in a constant panic and running them off. Later that day hubby and I were hanging out on the porch and I happened to look down through the crack between the house and porch and saw a kitten. I got down on my belly and reached in and picked it up. It was Boo and he was not doing good at all. His nose and paws were white, he was cold, covered in fleas and very lethargic. I handed him off to the hubby and located Twiggy and pulled her up. She was fine and BIG (from runt to the biggest), just covered in fleas. We gave them baths dried them up. I feed them every two hours and he was showing good signs of being back on the road to recovery.
All was good again, except what to do. Do we continue to feed them or let their mother have them back? I was concerned especially after examining Sissy and only finding 2 teets with milk in them. My conclusion was that she didn't have much milk and Twiggy the stronger of the two was getting most of it, leaving poor Boo to suffer. I finally convinced the hubby to let her have them back but in the bathroom again so we could monitor their progress. We decided that she was not to stay in the bathroom more than 3 hours at a time. So far that part has worked out great. But after a few days of leaving them be, I noticed Boo's nose and paws where losing their color again and I could feel his back bone. While his sister is steadily getting bigger, alert and even slightly playful. I decided to start feeding him when Sissy went outside. At first it was not something he liked, so I added some critical care soft food to his milk, now he loves it and acts like he could never get enough.
They are now going to be 4 weeks old tomorrow. Boo is finally starting to fill out a bit, still nothing like his big fat sister but who knows he might catch up! I on the other hand need a babysitter so I can sleep!
