We can haz Kitteeezzzzz!
The New Arrivals At Casa Vila


2-26-08, 2:30 PM: Rascal went into labor. 1st kitten born @ 3:00 +/- 10 minutes.


















5:06 PM: 2nd kitten born...























 
5:20 PM: 3rd kitten born...










 
6:08 PM: 4th kitten born...













10:40 PM: Four seems to be the total. We've been waiting, but Rascal's contractions seem to have ended. The kittens are all suckling and seem quite happy. Rascal is content to lick and pet them rather than getting annoyed or running off to the food bowl. She'll be starving when she finally gets up to go eat, I'm sure. But for now she is being a wonderful first-time mother

Miss Kitty has been quite reasonable about not being the center of attention. I can tell that she is jealous, if only a little, but she is being a good little grandmother and not bothering Rascal or the kittens at all. She's been jumping into my lap whenever I sit down, or following me wherever I go when I get up.

 In this last photo, you can see Miss Kitty looking on at her daughter Rascal, who is licking the first-born kitten. Miss Kitty stood there long enough for Lyn to come and tell me to bring the camera. When I got there, she turned and looked up at me, then went back to gazing at the mother and child. None of the three of them flinched when the camera flash went off. In fact, they all acted as if I weren't doing anyting out of the ordinary at all. I suppose that they've gotten used to the camera flash by now, since I've taken lots of photos of them recently. Of course, the babies have yet to open their eyes. They are still protected from the worst of the flash.

 They are so tiny and so perfect. They seem to be healthy and have a good appetite. The first-born is already suffering from a full belly and has spent the last hour or so sound asleep, purring like a miniature chainsaw. Come to that, all four of the kittens have been purring, as has Rascal. A gentle rumbling purr, in five-part harmony. They are all so cute!

 We haven't named any of them yet, but our daughter Michelle did suggest a name for the second one that was born. I think we ought to wait until we see what their personalities are like, and then pick out names. I don't know if Lyn will be able to give any of them away now that she's seen them. I must admit that I don't know how I'd feel about that, myself. We'll see. The future is, as yet, unwritten.

 Dan