Tuesday, May 18, 2004

mutant kitten babysitter

Yesterday I get woke up to Widget going insane. She was insisting I get out of bed, insisting I follow her around the house like we are hunting something(sometimes she drags me on mouse hunts when she needs me to move something big for her to get under). After a few minutes, I realize we are hunting a nesting place for her to give birth. So I set her up a basket at my feet and stick her in it. No dice, she refuses. Instead, she hops up in my lap and refuses to be left anywhere but right square in my lap to deliver these kittens. At this point I’m just glad I’m not wearing anything that makes any difference if I burn it afterwards or not, because when Widget decides she’s not taking no for an answer trying to get her to do anything but what she has decided is just a cat-astrophe.

About an hour later of constant meowing and panting and clinging to me like her life depends on it while David just looks into my study at us and shakes his head....she has the first baby. Which David affectionately commented “It looks like a mutant. What the hell is wrong with it?”

Cleaning it off I reply, “It’s just a baby, and it’s wet. Wet cats look freaky, besides, look who its mama is.”

“That looks a lot freakier than Widget”

“Oh come on, look it’s cute.”

“I think you should stomp it....it looks evil.”

“Oh shut up...get out of here if you are just going to bitch.”

Of course he doesn’t leave, despite his game of ‘say the most inappropriate thing possible’ he was as intrigued about the lil mutant as I was. So, we sit for another 8 hours...waiting. And still no brothers or sisters...Widget had just the one baby. Even the next day, just the one baby. I have had so many cats have babies in my life, but never a cat that only had one kitten in a litter. Widge is very happy though, she is now in her basket at my feet, but, of course, every time she goes to the bathroom or gets up for food she sticks the baby in my lap. I’m now a mutant kitten babysitter full time.

2 comments:

tragic_melodies said...

One kitten in a litter is...a wee bit weird but..Maybe the mutant kittie ate all the rest and that's why it's mutanty? Could be! :D

By the way -- nice music selection. Where'd you get it? huhhuhhuh? ;)

flasher said...

First - doctors do that "you must be naked, wear a paper-not-shirt and allow us bring in every intern on the floor to visit" trick to everyone, doesn't matter why you're there. They get real uptight about you being uptight if you complain about it, too.

A litter of one isn't that odd for a first time mother. If she starts running a fever or acting listless, then you should worry. She might have had more than one and they do go out of labor if one gets stuck long enough.

If she's up eating and using the litter box and acting fairly normal, you should be fine.