I am so sorry, you guys, I didn’t even think of the fact that a lot of you are reading from work and can’t go to Facebook!
Here’s a quick post to get you up to date, and of course there’ll be lots more pictures tomorrow.
Fred gets up in the morning at 3:40 am (not 3:41, and for GOD’S SAKE, not 3:42! Are you CRAZY?), and at my request, before heading downstairs he’s been going and looking in on Emmy. This morning he went in and sat with her and petted her. He said he was pretty sure she was having contractions, he could feel them under his hand. At 4:30, he came in and woke me up (he always says goodbye before he heads off to work) and said he thought maybe there was a baby coming. He opened the door to her room, then closed it and called to me “I think there’s already a baby in there!”, and as soon as he said it, I could hear the sounds of a little kitten with big lungs howling and howling. I got right out of bed, and we both went into the room.
Emmy did NOT want us in there. As soon as Fred stepped away from the door, she growled and she meant business. So we looked as closely as we could, saw one baby in there next to her, and then left the room. Fred kissed me and left for work, and soon I could hear a second irate baby voice in there.
I didn’t want to stress her out, so I didn’t go in there again until 5:30, and only because I realized we’d left the light on in there (Fred had turned it off, but then Emmy growled, so he turned it back on, which I didn’t know until I was crossing the hallway to go to the bathroom). I stepped in, and it was pretty hard to tell what I was seeing.
I had an appointment that required me to leave the house at 8:45, and to be gone for OVER two hours (it was pretty important or I would have rescheduled), but before I left I took up a plate of food for Emmy, and I snapped some pictures. I could pretty clearly see three tails, so I figured we had three babies – though the way she was positioned, it was really hard to tell! Definitely three, though.
Now, a note: although there was the kennel, all set up with nice soft bedding, Emmy had decided that not only did she want to give birth in the wooden box (which Fred and I have been using as a chair of sorts), she pushed the cat bed OUT of the box before she did so. Emmy wanted what she wanted, and who were we to tell her there was a better way to do it, right? Fred did push the bed part of the way into the box at one point, and she pushed it back out. Okay, Emmy. Message received!
I went off to my appointment, was gone for OVER two hours (couldn’t stop thinking about Emmy and her kittens the entire time), and the first thing I did when I got home was go up and check on them. Emmy had turned around, and when I walked through the door, I was greeted by the sight of four wee babies, belly up to the milk bar.
Someone put on their striped leggings for the occasion!
This afternoon, Emmy was MUCH calmer. She let me touch her babies and she let me touch HER, too. I didn’t try to pick up any babies and kiss them, I have SOME self-restraint, y’know. When I went up a little while longer to see if she still had just the four, one of them had escaped the box and was worming around right outside the box. I picked him up and put him back in with Emmy, and the kitten yelled, which caused Emmy to growl, but it was a pretty calm growl, just letting me know that I better STOP THAT RIGHT NOW.
But here’s the interesting thing about that wee kitten: he only has half a tail! I haven’t gotten a picture of it yet, but I’ll definitely get a picture and post it for tomorrow’s entry.
So that’s the state of Emmy and the Nominees. Because they were born sometime between 3:40 and 4:30 and one person chose 3 am in the Emmy Pool and another chose 4:40, I’m going to let each of them name a kitten. So congrats, Catsy and Lesley, who will be choosing and naming their kittens as soon as we can tell them apart and tell which are male and which are female.
Thank you, everyone who entered in the Emmy Pool!
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Previously
2012: There were two posts on this day – make sure you’ve seen part 1: Emmy’s alien belly.
2011: Corbie ear floof.
2010: No entry.
2009: “Here, let me get that for you… ::SLURRRRP::”
2008: No entry.
2007: Smackdown Stage 1: The Taunting.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Woohoo! Lovely babies. But then, lovely meow-mommy. Adore the 4th picture, sweet kitten and identially peaceful momma cat.
That photo is my favorite so far — such beautiful faces on the two to them!!
🙂
OH WOW. Oh Emmy! Oh wow!!
Awwwwwwwwwwww!! Super duper congratulations Emmy and Robyn and everyone!! Awwww four adorable terrific tabby babies! Oh wow. That’s really really nice. It’s great that Emmy’s given birth somewhere safe and warm and lovely! Yay!!
Take care
x
Yay, Emmy! What a good, set-in-her-ways mommy. 🙂 I watched her belly video yesterday and am going to use it on the Cute soon. I’m assuming it’s OK, but just wanted to let you know. I’ll send the link when it’s up!
More baby pictures, ASAP, please!
Absolutely, you’ve always got my permission. 🙂
Welcome to the world, little tabbies! You don’t know it yet, but you are in Feline Heaven there at Crooked Acres!!
Oh yay!!! Four little babies! Stripies! Aren’t they adorable!
Yay! Babies!
About the baby with the half-tail, isn’t that the one on the seventh picture, the close-up on the stripey leggings? The tail looks quite short on this one, unless it’s tucked under somewhere.
Actually, the tail is tucked under – the baby with the half-tail is under Emmy’s paw, to the left, in that picture. I got some close-ups of the little half tail that I’ll post tomorrow.
So this year March came in like a tabby, eh?
Adorable stripey-ness!
Came in like a tabby, indeed – I’m scared to know what it’s going to go out like! 🙂
yay!!!!! Thank you SO much for posting it here so I could see from work!! Look at the babies! Awwww! how precious! Yay yay yay!
Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Emmy’s Nominees… Happy Birthday to you!
Exceptionally well done, Emmy. You make bee-yoooooo-tiful babies! I’d pay good money for tabby striped pajama pants that are are pretty as that kitten’s legs 🙂
Welcome little Nominees,
know that Robyn and Fred will see you set up well in this world. You couldn’t have chosen better foster parents. Well done, Emmy, 4 little mini-me’s, hey? Cute!
That 4th picture is so beautiful! Emmy looks so happy! I think she knows that this is so much better for her babies than where she was before.
This is wonderful. The cat looks happy and relaxed now
Yaaaay babies! 😀
I would love to have heard those little kitten yells when they were newly born. <3.
Emmy is gonna be a wonderful mama!!! 🙂
Hmm. If daddy had a manx-gene then you’d expect 2 of 4 to inherit, so one is not that unlikely. Or the kitten could have mutated on its own. If the tail were malformed or damaged, mama might have docked it herself – is the tip have a wound?
If it were the ‘Japanese Bobtail’ gene, both Mom and Dad would have to have one, and in that case one in four is the correct odds. Those are pretty rare cats in this part of the world, thought.
At least with a half tail odds are the kitten won’t have some of the troubles taillessness gives.
I looked at the Flickr picture of the short tailed guy – sure looks like he/she was born that way!
I’m pretty sure s/he was born that way – I looked at the tail end and didn’t see any wounds.
Congrats! Adorable, beautiful babies! I can’t wait for more pictures!!!!
Congrats to Emmy and you.. They are adorable..
Mama Emmy didn’t want her babies to only have birthday celebration once every 4 years.. heehee
gorgeous kitties!!