March 13, 20251 yr Aaaany time now. This picture is from a couple of days ago. She's even bigger now. Definitely medium cantaloupe. She's about that heavy, too. At least she likes to be picked up and held. Wife said a couple of weeks ago that she looks like she's tired of being pregnant. I thought it might be best not to ask her how she knows. Hook Larry Hookins Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of EarthAnd danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
March 13, 20251 yr Author Not shown in the pic above are eight pregnant sheep, two with twins. Although we have coyotes here, the sheep are kept perfectly safe by a pair of Livestock Guard Dogs, Anatolian Great Pyrenees mix. This is Winston, a darling gentle giant. He'll come inside and cuddle for a few minutes at a time, but following his genetic programming he prefers to stay outside with the livestock. Remington cuddles if I go outside, but refuses to come in our house. There is also Sentry, a Foxhound, gentle but not a cuddler. She likes butterflies, mentioned previously, and doesn't mind spending time inside inhabiting our entire couch. Further reports as events warrant. 😄 Hook Larry Hookins Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of EarthAnd danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
March 14, 20251 yr What a lovely feline she is... and Mr. Winston is a very impressive canine. Keep us posted, we want to see those kittens. Edited March 14, 20251 yr by martin-w
March 15, 20251 yr Author Wife took off with her schoolteacher sister on a multi-day Spring Break trip, leaving the cat midwifery (midcattery?) duties to me. I'm hoping to enlist my son's wife to perform said chores. She's used to doing sometimes difficult midsheepery work. Cats are pretty good about assisting their own birthing but I feel better about having someone there in case of emergency, especially on a first birth. Before she left she showed me the likely cat nest under a desk in her bedroom where the cat has been rearranging padding for a few days. The dogs certainly won't be able to access it, but neither will I so early pictures might not be all that early. If there's a problem we can dig out the obstructions. I did inform her before she left that if the kittens were born before she got back, *I* got to name them. 😄 I'm hoping for a black one I can name Spot. She'd give it a pedestrian name like Jane. 😄 😄 Hook Larry Hookins Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of EarthAnd danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
March 15, 20251 yr My dog thinks I am a wonderful saint. My cat knows better. 5800X3D, RTX4070, 600 Watt, one or two 1440p 32" screens, 64 GB RAM, 4 TB PCle 3 NVMe, Warthog throttle, VKB NXT EVO stick, Honeycomb Alpha yoke, CH quad, 3 Logitech panels, 2 StreamDecks, Desktop Aviator Trim Panel. Crystal Light VR.
March 16, 20251 yr Author She's havin' kittens! 😄 More later. Larry Hookins Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of EarthAnd danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
March 16, 20251 yr Author Looks like four. All mostly black with one calico, two tuxedo and one looks like a tabby. Mamma, kittens and uncle doing fine. I woke up about 2:30 to meowing and Leo was sleeping beside me so It wasn't him. Katie was in the middle of the floor. I laid down in my wife's bed (she has a getaway from my snoring) and Katie laid beside me. At one point she was restless, so I put my arm around her and felt something warm and wet on my forearm. Got the puppy pads spread out for all the good it did, called Son's wife on the intercom to let her know (she was already awake) and laid down with the cat, letting her know I was there for her if she needed me. I guess I got my midcattery wings tonight. Don't they usually cut your shirttail off after you solo? 🙂 Hook Larry Hookins Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of EarthAnd danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
March 16, 20251 yr 3 hours ago, LHookins said: I guess I got my midcattery wings tonight. Congratulations and welcome to the club. I earned my “wings” in 1994; 2 mothers within a week. The second one was a feral that insisted on coming inside to have her kittens in the garage and became tame, probably because of the amenities of indoor living 😻. Edited March 16, 20251 yr by Mike A Clarity
March 16, 20251 yr Author Final count is six. Three of the grey stripey tabby cats. I'd set a box on its side with padding inside on the bed so she'd have some shelter if she wanted, and I went off to bed myself in my own room. Later got up and saw a pile of kittens beside the box, moved 'em in with mama. This morning she came out of the box to eat and refresh herself and I counted six. I *think* that's accurate. 🙂 You don't know how effective the grey stripe camouflage is until you can't find a cat sitting anywhere near a pile of faded firewood still with the bark on. Hook Edited March 16, 20251 yr by LHookins Larry Hookins Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of EarthAnd danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
March 17, 20251 yr Author After examining the kittens in the light, I discover that the one I thought was calico was just normal black and white tuxedo. Maybe mommy hadn't cleaned her enough yet. So, three tuxedo, three grey stripe. One of the tuxedos is a "rorschach" pattern like the mom, ornate and curiously symmetrical. One of the greys is a little browner than the others. I didn't get my black "Spot". Son got home from an out-of-state conference this afternoon and I invited him in to see the kitties. Also showed him this thread. They're making plans to come take pictures some time. I thought I'd have to wait until the kittens were a few weeks old, but they're just so cute already. After I called his wife about 3 AM she went out to check on the sheep. One of the sheep had her twins. Lotsa new babies early this morning. I'll post pics as soon as I can after I get 'em, so stay tuned. Hook PS. I was gonna say I didn't have a phone/camera, but I just remembered my Kindle has a camera. So maybe. Larry Hookins Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of EarthAnd danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
March 17, 20251 yr Author OK, let's just call this a preview. 🙂 You can see the "rorschach" kitten on the right. More to follow. Eventually. 🙂 Hook Larry Hookins Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of EarthAnd danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
March 17, 20251 yr Congrats Grandpa Hook!!!!!!! I have my Pepper giving me lovebites on my chin as i type this.
March 17, 20251 yr On 3/16/2025 at 10:01 AM, LHookins said: Looks like four. All mostly black with one calico, two tuxedo and one looks like a tabby. Mamma, kittens and uncle doing fine. I woke up about 2:30 to meowing and Leo was sleeping beside me so It wasn't him. Katie was in the middle of the floor. I laid down in my wife's bed (she has a getaway from my snoring) and Katie laid beside me. At one point she was restless, so I put my arm around her and felt something warm and wet on my forearm. Got the puppy pads spread out for all the good it did, called Son's wife on the intercom to let her know (she was already awake) and laid down with the cat, letting her know I was there for her if she needed me. I guess I got my midcattery wings tonight. Don't they usually cut your shirttail off after you solo? 🙂 Hook Oh my god! You have brought a new batch of feline's into the world. A wonderous occasion for which you deserve great Praise. I feel a new cat point needs to be manifest. 😸 Special Feline Parturition Assistance Award! X 100
March 17, 20251 yr 23 hours ago, Mike A said: Congratulations and welcome to the club. I earned my “wings” in 1994; 2 mothers within a week. The second one was a feral that insisted on coming inside to have her kittens in the garage and became tame, probably because of the amenities of indoor living 😻. I'm afraid that due to the time that has passed since your wings were earned, no cat points for you. Sorry. 😒
March 17, 20251 yr 1 hour ago, martin-w said: I'm afraid that due to the time that has passed since your wings were earned, no cat points for you. Sorry. 😒 No problem, the experience was rewarding in itself 😋
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