Meow, meow, meow, meow...

A few months ago we went to the farmer's market for some fresh vegetables. Little did I know my husband was a sucker for stray cats . Consequently, we brought home more than fresh vegetables that day. Malnourished with a scratched eye, we didn't have the heart to rush "Penny" to the vet to get her fixed, and after a few all night excursions (who knew she was a floosie), she found herself in the "family way". We, of course, were in denial. Perhaps she had swallowed a grapefruit! I scoured the internet reading up on the signs of impending labor. Not necessary in the end. As she snuggled up to me at midnight one night, she was panting with her mouth wide open and seemed to be experiencing some "discomfort". (I never have figured out why they use this word to describe labor pain - no offense but some man must have coined the term.) In the next two hours I stayed by Penny and saw her through the delivery of four kittens. The whole experience seemed very familiar. (I have three kittens, I mean kids.) My husband slept through most of it - yes, definitely experiencing deja vu now.... ;-) They are just a week old, still cannot walk and have barely opened their eyes. Thought I'd just let you have a peek!

The day we found Penny at the market!

19 comments:

Laura in Paris said...

Here at home in paris, we all thank you for Penny (Dont; forget to pass the I love your blog award!).

azahar said...

This is a story of a cat that came to our house.

She came to our new house looking very pregnant. She was small bodied (perhaps she was mated very young - the result of uncontrolled breeding.

As she came close and sat on my lap, I did what a Veterinarian usually did on pregnant cat. There were five kittens in her uterus!

Barely a week after she came, she gave birth right smack on my sofa!

We really took care after the mother and her kittens.

The kittens, oh so cute, grew fast and soon they were everywhere in and out of the house.

One day, a tragedy occurred. I saw her playing around the car as I was reversing my car to go to work that morning. Thinking that she would be gone by the time I started the car (which she normally did) I reversed the car.

Suddenly my daughter yelled out. I didn;t hear the exact words as the car windows were completely shut.

But her body language told me something bad had happened.

I had accidentally ran over the cat!

The sight of her in great pain saddened me. She, as if knowing that her time was up, ran over to her kittens and soon after breathed her last breath.

I had killed my cat! The kittens were now orphans. Kamal, my brother-in-law, quickly buried her and washed away the blood from the floor of the porch.

My daughters cried, and so too was Kamal.

The kittens, they all had different luck in life. Finally only one was left alive or rather remained in my care. Others were either lost, killed by renegade tomcat or stolen by neighbors.

It was a pity to see the lonely cat having to learn about life on his own. I am not sure what he has learned by himself.

What I know is that he learned very little about hunting for food.

It is still a baby eventhough it is almost a year old now.

It is now a very scared cat as it has been constantly harassed by the neighbour's old tomcat!

High Desert Diva said...

Very cute!

heidi said...

awww... what a sweet pile o' kitties!!!!

littlebyrd said...

Oh my gosh - if I was there I would want to take one of those babies home! So cute.

Laura @ the shorehouse. said...

Look at those cute little fur balls!! Yup...you definitely got more than you bargained for that trip to the farmer's market. Maybe you should name them Snowpea, Pepper, Peaches and Apple, lol. ;-)

dee said...

How precious! Congrats...they're adorable:)

Fifi Flowers said...

Awwwwwwwwww... so cute! Makes me want a kitten!

Robin said...

Sooooo cute! I can't wait to come visit them. You have to name that last one Phantom - he has the mask and everything!

RoyalTLady said...

How adorably furrrrrrrrry! Thanks for sharing your new family with us.

Oh some emotions there...Dr.Azhar's cat would have been delighted to read his beautiful scribe...

Anonymous said...

I miss having cats. Oh, and the Bods would like to borrow your kittens.

lotta said...

Oh they are so precious. I know that this was probably more than you bargained for, but how wonderful to see these tiny creatures grow up. I am sure your girls are delighted.

Marie Louise said...

Laura - I won't forget my award - just want to do a nice post with it - stay tuned!

Littlebyrd - I can express one or two overnight if you'd like!

Robin - yes, you have to come see them - Penny moved them to my closet, so if you can make your way over my laundry and shoes...

Lotta - yes, the girls love them. I think every kid should have kittens once in their life.

Fifi - ditto to you. Fedex can make it happen!

Ladies, I know Bods just wants to make a muffler out of them.

Simplement ... said...

Oh les merveilles !
Des boules de douceur à câliner sans modération.
Bisous et belle soirée.
Marie-Ange

Camille said...

When my husband deployed a lot. Two out of three years at this one duty station so my children and I fostered stray cats through a rescue organization. Doing that helped my children in so many ways. We had a revolving door of kittens as we nurtured them until they were adopted. We ended up keeping two of them, but I'll never forget the joy those kittens brought to my children.

Adeline Jessica said...

So sweet and wonderful! Thank you for sharing!

Sabina said...

I have experienced the almost identical story -- wonderful memories of a house full of kitties!!

Such adorable photos that warm my heart!!

Have a great day :)

Gruppie Girl said...

How amazingly sweet!

Who doesn't love baby kittens?

DeniseinVA said...

Oh how adorable are they? Another great post and absolutely wonderful photos of the wee little things.

"It's never too late to be who you might have been." --George Eliot