Surprise! We’re raising kittens that were born in the barn.
Well, this doesn’t sound right at all.
If you know us, we don’t do barn cats around here anymore.
The road we live on is a little too dangerous, and I’m always worried about barn cats getting hit by cars, which we’ve had happen to us in the past.
So what’s the deal, and how did this happen?
Well, we’ve never had this happen in the 21 years we’ve lived here, but I found a stray in the barn, and she had a BIG belly.
Yep, we’re getting a litter of unexpected barn kittens.
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FINDING A STRAY CAT IN THE BARN
So, what do you do when you catch a stray cat in the hay bin?
If you’re like me, your first instinct is to feed it, which I did.
Next, you try to see if you can pet it, which I did, and it turns out this cat doesn’t mind being petted.
Then you notice it, the BIG BELLY and this cat is female with babies on board.
The cool thing is education is never a waste.
I studied animal nursing/assisting and worked in a veterinary hospital for a short time.
The job wasn’t for me, and some of you pet owners, shame on you for how you treat animal health care providers.
It’s a very tiring, underpaid, and emotional job.
Anyways, because I’ve seen a few pregnant cats in my day, I was able to look her over and give an estimate on the kitten’s arrival.
She gave birth 3.5 days after we found her in the hay.
I was one day off on my guestimate.
I thought she’d give birth on Sunday, and she delivered on Monday, but in my defense, she did have milk in her nipples, which usually happens two days before delivery.
THINGS CATS DO WHEN THEY ARE CLOSE TO GIVING BIRTH
- Show affection, and enjoy being petted.
- Their hair thins around the nipples.
- They have movement in the belly.
- They’ll be finding a spot for delivery/nesting.
- They’ll groom themselves more.
- Milk will begin to show in nipples about two days prior.
After I had fed her for the first time, she climbed back up in the hay bin and climbed down a hole about eight hay bales deep.
She had created a little spot for herself, but it was deep down in the hay, and since we don’t do barn cats, I needed to reach these kittens, so I built her a new birthing spot, and she excepted it.
In my opinion, her spot was a little gross too.
She was stashing dead mice. I know it’s what they do, but that’s icky!
The house I built for her was made of hay and had a cozy pink fleece blanket placed inside.
This little stray girl was making biscuits with happiness.
BARN KITTENS! IT’S DELIVERY DAY
A special delivery day, this was so exciting!
I had been watching for her backside to see if I saw any mucus to indicate labor, and eventually, my husband came to say, “I see something.”
Sure enough, she was finally in labor.
She started at 6 p.m. and finished with her last baby a little after 10 p.m. that evening.
At the start of her labor, she seemed a little stressed, so I stopped videoing her before she could push out baby number one, but I went to check on her every 20 minutes or so.
In total, she had five deliciously adorable babies!
TAKING CARE OF MAMA AND KITTENS
Now that Mama has delivered her babies and is nursing, she gets a mix of wet and dry food multiple times throughout the day.
I’ve chosen IAMS PROACTIVE HEALTH KITTEN.
Surprise!! They also moved into the laundry room once they hit one week old, and mama kitty was wormed.
I moved them to the laundry room to be played with and handled more as they get older.
I would like them to be indoor cats and learn to use the cat litter box.
They were also all born with genetic mutations.
Three of the kittens have no tail.
One kitten has a stub tail and is polydactyl, and the only kitten born with a tail, is also polydactyl, meaning extra thumb or toes.
Tailless cats can live happy and healthy lives but also can have some health issues.
They sometimes also suffer from balance issues and, in my opinion, do best as indoor cats.
As for the polydactyl, our indoor cat Macho Man is one, and so was his brother Mouschi.
They’re stinkers when it comes to being mischievous, and opening cupboards.
Those extra thumbs are helpful.
I may have to write a future post about why it’s important to spay and neuter barn cats to stop inbreeding.
It’s also important because my little hobby farm just got the gift of six mouths to feed and some unexpected spay/neuter vet bills.
As fun, as it is to have kittens, it’s bittersweet.
We have a rule if it’s born here, it stays here.
We’ll have to see how this story ends.
Can we actually keep all of them?
As for now, Mama Kitty has been named May May because she showed up in May.
I’d like to transition her to an indoor kitty, but she’s skeptical about the cat litter box.
Macho Man, my indoor cat, and May May have had some hissing words through the glass door in the laundry room, but she’s found a forever home here whether she decides to be indoors or out.
XOXO
Emily
UPDATE
All the kittens will be staying with us!
You can find out what we named them under the post MEET THE HOBBY FARM ANIMALS.
Mama May-May has learned to use the kitty box and will now be an indoor cat.
Macho Man and her are slowly getting use to each other.
Mama-May-May and all the kittens will be spayed and neutered.
I built them all a catio and playroom.
READ THE POSTS
HOW I BUILT A CATIO WITH A SMALL METAL SHED & LUMBER
THE DESIGNATED CAT SPACE COME SEE MY KITTY PLAYROOM
FIND OUR FAVORITE CAT SUPPLIES HERE.
For more hobby farm posts like this one, visit the ANIMALS & FARM PROJECTS category, or if you’ve never been to SHE PAINTS FOR PONIESbefore, get to know me by starting HERE.