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Luckylu, Bootsie must be so proud of those cute babies! They sound absolutely adorable. Enjoy the kitties!!!
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luckylu, make that "fathers". It's my understand each time a cat mates, that is one kitten per mate, so if the cat was an outdoor stray then she probably had a lot of partners when in heat.

I have a brother and sister cat from one litter, stray kittens. He resembles a very large Black Bombay, and his sister resembles a Maine Coon.
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How did your brother know, Luckylu, so very early, that there would be four?
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May be he did an ultrasound or just guessed or is psychic or maybe Bootsie told him. Four is a good usual average for a cat litter.
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THANK YOU EVERYONE!
Veronica...That's neat that Bootsie will litter box train her babies.It's really something that the Mother just knows what to do....And Send and Veronica,I guess my brother just guessed and got it "spot on".I'll never know how he knew that-...And Freqflyer,I just let the cat out for 2 days before Christmas,so I think there was only 1 Father because I only saw this "tuxedo" black and white feral cat around our house and also it came to our back door wanting in or wanting Bootsie at Christmastime,and it has never come to our back door or wanted in,so I bet Bootsie was in heat then.What I couldn't believe,was how long it was between each baby...This is how they came #1 came at 3:00 a.m
#2 came at 4:35 a.m
#3 came at 5:05 a.m
#4 came at 7:00 a.m
After the 3rd one,I thought she was done for sure and then almost 2 hours later,here came #4!
I feel like a zombie with no sleep all night.We'll all hit it early tonight.
It is so great to have this new life in our home after so many deaths last year.I feel very blessed and proud of Bootsie~
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So blessed!
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luckylu, you are going to have hours of enjoyment with those kittens in the house :)   Once the kittens stop wobbling and get their leg strength watch out... the climbing and rough-housing.

Don't be surprised if you find a kitten climbing up your bluejeans while you are wearing them... ouch those tiny claws.   Or find one climbing the dish towel on the bottom cabinet door.   Oh, curtains, good grief, the curtains got a workout.   Fake tree in the house, watch out.

Bootsie will probably move the kittens to a new "home" within the house.   I remember awaking to tiny kitten cries from under the bed.   Good grief, Kitty moved her kitten from the main level to the upstairs bedroom.

BEST REALITY TELEVISION EVER !!!
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Same here, FF. Under the bed! Hard to get them out when the adoptive parents came to pick them up!
Tried to pen them in, those babies at six weeks climbed up the walls, we caught them before they could fall.  Where were they going?  The feral cat-mommy was meowing and didn't like them to be picked up or taken out of her sight.
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Congrats Lucky and Bootsie. My two kitties said to tell Bootsie she is the cat's meow. MEOW!!!!! ^.. ^
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What happened, where did the time go? I was awake, tired but not sleepy.
What is it exactly, I am wondering, that keeps me vigilant long after the crisis has passed?
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I should try to keep the kitties out of any room that has wallpaper you like. Wallpaper is perfect for feline mountaineering (and abseiling down again, sigh).

[note to self: No You Do Not Need A New Cat]. I'll just enjoy following you, Lucky!
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It is totally unbelievable...all day yesterday,there were 4 kittens,and when I went to bed,there were 4 kittens,but this morning when I went to feed Bootsie and check on things,There are 5!!!!I just can't believe it!
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Amazing!
How is Bootsie? Maybe she dropped it somewhere on her way to her present location, got up and went to save it last night? I have heard of delayed labor-don't know the term.
Welcome little kitty.! ! ! ! !
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Congrats Luckylu on the baby kitties. I would take one if I lived near you. My tiger kitty was a year when we got him. He would jump up onto the mantel of the fireplace to try to reach the second hand on our clock. He broke a couple decorative knick knacks as a result, lol!!! Enjoy the kittens, they are so much fun!!!
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Saw this online concerning delayed labor or interrupted labor in cats:
"Absolutely normal, I've had fosters give birth more than 24 hours after the first kitten. If she isn't distressed, crying or pushing/contracting with no results, I wouldn't worry. Good luck!"

No worries!
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Send, did your Mom cat sound off like an air raid siren if another cat came into the yard? I remember Kitty had her 3 kittens outside for some fresh air and to play in the grass, then up over the fence came an adult cat. Kitty was not a happy camper, and she sounded an air raid sound that was so very LOUD. The adult cat decided this wasn't a user-friendly back yard to he/she left.
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FF,
My neighbor's cat was a temporary visitor, came in, gave birth, never went outside, (no way was she getting away with leaving those kittens here) and all were found good homes and spayed. 8 weeks of love, worry, hard work.

Great to hear cats can scare away intruders!

Still learning about cats.  Because of allergies, am a dog lover.
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Sharyn Marie...I'd Love to give you a kitten! I guess I'll have to find 4 homes now.I just gotta keep 1,but that's it.The vet is too expensive.
And CountryMouse...Thank you for mentioning the wallpaper because I know nothing about all this.
And Send....Eight weeks of Love,worry and hard work?Whew-wow~
They are SOooo cute and tiny.Tiny little tails and faces.I just Love looking at them,but I don't pick them up.She sure picked a hard location for me to get to under the desk in our junk room.At some point,I'll have to move them all someplace else.My husband is going to build a cage or box he said in our kitchen nook and he's at the hardware store looking right now for ideas.He doesn't know what to think about all this either.I think it's great.
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Lucky, why don't you just make a nest inside a nice cat carrier, they are easy to clean and it would be much simpler than building one. As a bonus it will be useful in the future and the kitties will not balk at having to be put inside when you need to transport them.
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Awww, your sweet husband! - only, that really is enough to make a cat laugh :D

Until the kittens are quite a bit older (I'm not sure how long, but your vet or local animal shelter will be able to tell you) their mother won't tolerate your moving her nest. I mean, obviously you *can* force her out from under the desk because she weighs less than ten pounds and you've got a broom... but it wouldn't be very kind. She picked that place because that's where she feels safest, so unless you absolutely have to shift them then leave it for now. It's probably only a couple of weeks, if that.
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Also, ask the shelter if they know of any charities who will have the mother cat spayed for you, free of charge, and don't leave it very long. Because otherwise this will become a regular occurrence and you will run out of good homes for them.
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I sure don't want her to have any more CM so just as soon as it's safe for her to be spayed,we will get it done.I have already called a Spay-Neuter program that helps people financially and found I can get her done for $55.00 including a rabies shot too.The same goes for our little dog,Precious.She will be spayed very soon.No puppies for us!
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She has rented the junk room for 8 weeks! You can go in there in a few weeks, but don't take her out. She may move the family elsewhere, but needs a safe place from the other dog and cat.
Know before you build! Bought a fencing surround about 36" high, ho ho ho, they climbed out!
Litter boxes please-about 6?
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Put the litter box food and water close to the nest and they will be fine for a few weeks.
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Lucky I remember when our cat Gus had her kittens, one day she took them all one by one and tried to hide them behind an old freezer we had in our storage room. Fortunately, we discovered her doing this before any harm was done. We took the hint and stopped handling them so much. I guess she was trying to protect them.
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How many kids was that, Gershun? Do you remember if the kittens were moved right after birth, or later?
We were 3 kids, two girls, one boy.  Our cat was named Sam, until she had kittens in the woodbox next to the fireplace.  Then her name was Samantha.
One day they all were gone-no explanation to us kids.  Never an explanation for anything.
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All this kitten talk, people are putting up their cat/kitten Avatars, remembering their cat experiences. Kinda nice, huh?
Mew mew mew mew, mew mew mew mew.

Did Ms.Madge get locked out again?
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Luckylu, if mama cat does not like the space her babies are moved to, she will move them one by one to where she wants them. When I was 12 yrs old, I had Siamese cat. We made her a box from cardboard placing it in my bedroom closet. She would not sleep in it. I moved it to my bed between the wall and my pillow. That is where she gave birth in the middle of night as I watched her, petting her. We tried to move the box with the babies to the closet, one by one she picked up each baby in her mouth and brought them back to my bed. We put the box back on my bed. After a few weeks, she was fine with us moving them to the closet.

Kittens are usually weened by 6-8 weeks while you introduce a solid kitten food. Don't give them milk of any type (cow, goat) as they will get diarrhea and dehydration will kill them. By 8 weeks they are ready for their forever home.

You are going to have so much fun watching the kittens play together. Make sure to video them, lol!!!
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Send in answer to your question, our cat Gus had 4 kittens when I was around 9 or 10 years old I think. My Mom had made a nice cozy bed for her so she could have her privacy while she had them but Gus wanted to be near us. So she had them beside the couch in the t.v. room with all of us. My Mom petted her head and told her how brave and great she was.

Once they had been properly weaned my older brother took them with him every day when he went to work and three of them ended up being taken in by my brothers friends which was nice cause he kept in touch with them and we all could hear how they were doing. We kept one of them. She became my little buddy. She and Gus lived to be almost 20 yrs. old which is quite old seeing as they were both outdoor kitties.

Now I have my two guys. My two chubby ragamuffins. LOL
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Had to change my avatar and post a comment about kitties! My avatar is of my first cat "Tomboy" he was the best! Over the years I have been without a cat but eventually one or an orphaned litter always seem to find me. Right now I have a 13yr old polydactyl (extra toes) and a 7 yr old Siamese that doesn't know he's a cat. He was from an orphaned litter. Their eyes weren't open. I bottle fed them (I know, I'm crazy) and they survived. He is nuts, wacko,crazy, there just aren't words! He's my best bud though. 🙃
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