Whoo... OK. Here's where Bou's at.

six so far? oh how exciting! but please take care, boumommy, of yourself and your kitties!!

Oh, my. Poor Bou--she must be worn out! I am sending her and the new kitters all good thoughts. I hope things will go well for all of them. And bless all of you for taking such good care of everybody!

Hmmph.
Your mama cats are always more productive and quicker on the draw than I expect.
Six kittens, what was she thinking.

I'm sure she'll be more mama-like when she feels better.

EIGHT!

Yikes.
You'd better get mamacat back on her little feets fast.

Congratulations all around! Yes, what comes in eight? Besides Discworld colors. Hmmm...

BOU YAH!!!

Hee hee!!

Congratulations to Bou and to you all at the Cat Cave- I hope they're all healthy and that mama feels better soon!

Wow, eight kittens! But she shold stop there. I mean, Eight is Enough.

Bou Yah.! from me too.

Eight I got a couple of choices (Eight is enough sitcom) snow white and the seven dwarfs.

Character names from Dune too.

Anyway good job JAye and Crafty Redhead and momma bou too and I hope she is back on her paws soon

EIGHT? And poor MammaBou is under the weather besides? Give her and the bebehs gentle snorgles for me... 10 dollars (starving student here) going to MVHS as soon as it's organized.

My goodness.... 8 little ones... I'm all agog and stuff. My best friend's hubbie had said at least six and probably today, but he wasn't in on the betting....

Oh, I hope Bou is feeling better soon. She has a lot to cope with. (So do all of you, ackshally...) Hope she takes to motherhood after the shock of having eight kittens wears off. (Eight???) (EIGHT?????) (see, Teho, I wasn't so far off with my !!!111!!!, now was I? From Bou's perspective, it prolly might as well have been 111...) Poor catty-cat. Gentle pats on the top of her aristocratic head. And luvz for teh kitnz, too... lots of luvz.

One very tired but wired Jaye here, reporting in on the evening's events. I think--I hope--that Bou has delivered all of her kittens. We've got seven, and I feared there might be an eighth but there have been no new appearances for a couple of hours now.

The excitement--or at least the worry--really started this morning, when I noticed that Bou was mouth-breathing because she was too congested to breathe through her nose. I consulted our vet and the Humane Society, and consensus was that Bou needed antibiotics and some help getting hydrated. So MVHS put together a care package, and I raced home to dose her with medicine and the cat equivalent of Ensure.

Except the dosing couldn't happen right then, as it turned out, because I got home to find a distressed Bou in the office closet and two newborn kittens lying far away from her on the floor where she'd dropped them. Poor little things, no bigger than mice! I was sure they were dead, but when I picked them up they were moving and breathing, albeit cold and damp. Bou had apparently managed to help them out of their birth sacs, but then she'd just left them, not even licked off.

I scooped up the little guys, and there followed a few incoherent moments where I had no idea what to do first. My brain sort of short-circuited. I think I ended up simultaneously calling Theo and drying the kittens off with a towel. He recommended A) warm washcloths in a Ziploc and B) calling the experts. I did both. The experts said to get them warm and cleaned up first, then try to induce them to nurse. OK, that was a plan. But meanwhile, the next kitten was arriving, and Bou seemed even less equipped to cope than with the first two. More cleaning off and warming up.

Around this point I abandoned the warm washcloths, because I had to keep dashing to the bathroom to warm them up again. So instead I dashed upstairs, whipped off my nice work blouse and bra, and put on a cotton sports bra and t-shirt better suited to--well, stuffing poor chilled kittens down my front. I also called my friend CraftyRedhead with a desperate cry for help, as another kitten was arriving and I was running out of hands (and cups). She arrived in time to help deliver the last two kittens, and she was a trooper. We tied & snipped cords, cleaned up blood and other nastiness, and generally ministered to a listless Bou and some very weak and frail kittens.

Seven is a lot. The weakest ones (the white ones) are having trouble nursing, and I'm very much afraid that a couple of them won't make it. :( They're so small and frail, they're having trouble competing with their siblings for the milk. But they're all warm and snug near Mama now, and doing their best to nurse. So I am going to hope for the best and see how everybody is doing in the morning.

Poor Bou. She'd been sick anyway, and she had a tough time of it delivering all those kittens. I kept syringe-feeding her liquids every time there seemed to be a lull in the action. She's barely more than a kitten herself, poor little thing.

So far she's not showing much inclination to mother them. She's accepting them being near her, but she's not licking them or anything. She didn't really try to help them out of their birth sacs; I ended up helping them get out and cutting cords and cleaning them with towels. I think she was just too sick and exhausted for her maternal instincts to kick in. I hope it'll be better once she's had a chance to rest.

Well, I should get some rest too. Think positive thoughts for our tiny kittens. Theo or I will report more in the morning on how they've fared.

oh, what a day. I hope the kitties survive and Bou feels better. I put in my donation online at MVHS "to Theo and Jaye" I hope that was enough and it gets through.

Poor mama. I hope they'll all be ok. It's wonderful that she had people there to help.

teho and Jaye - remember however this turns out, its turning out better than it would have if you weren't there to give this care...

All our thoughts will be with the Bou and kittenz today...

best of luck to Bou and all the little ones (especially the teeny tiny white one). jaye, you are being the best mother's aide possible, though it must be heartbreaking.

Seven kittens! Oh my. Didn't I warn you to keep the Calico Hindenburg away from sharp objects? ;o) I hope she's recuping--that cannot be easy on anyone having the mama sick. At least Jaye has everything in hand.
(Having nursed a few kitty respiratory infections in my day, I do strongly suggest a tub of Vicks Vaporub or Mentholatum. Put it right under her nose and give her a good whiff every once in a while and it will do just what it does for humans--clear the sinuses and ease the pressure in her head.)

Sending positive thoughts your way, Bou family. I hope everything improves.

Teho and Jaye, troopers both of you. The kittnz thank you, I'm sure.

Too nervous to comment. Update when you can. I've named the littlest one, Great White Hope.

When my cat had kittens I was amazed that instinct didn't just kick in at once.
As the first little girl was emerging she was all what the heck. and half way across the room.
She didn't get into what seemed like good delivery mode til the third one.
If she hadn't started basically in my lap (under the covers, 5am) I think she'd have lost the first two.

I'm guessing Bou is a first time mom too.
I suspect that the blocked up sinuses are bad news, as there are probably pheromones like mad going on, and she's missing them and the placentas.
But her mom skills may pick up as she recovers.

If not she doesn't pick up on this as she recovers, does MVHS have any spare mom cats underfoot?
Seriously, I have known mom cats to adopt litters.
A childhood cat did this, and so did my mama cat (three times!).

And would it work to send littlest guy out to full-time foster now?
You guys have your hands full enough with mom and sibs.
As an only foster babe, maybe he'd have a better shot at making it?

Best of luck to the whole fandamblies.

Quick update: Bou and family are spending the day at the Companion Animal Hospital near us. I took them in before heading to work, and it's a good thing: Bou had a fever of 105! That's not *quite* as alarming as it sounds, I learned, because cats' normal temperature is higher than ours (99-102). But it's still high.

Could be just the respiratory infection, but they're going to do a quick x-ray to make sure there's nothing (nobody) still inside, and they're hydrating her and doing the kittencare that she's to sick to manage. So I'm breathing easier for the moment, knowing that they're all in expert hands. Theo will pick them up after work and one of us will post an update tonight (and probably some pics at last, although perhaps not the ones with the newborn kittens in my rack).

Jaye - I agree with lauowolf - racks are the purrfect place for sick needy kittens.

Prayers continue. I (and everyone else) will be excited to see pix when you guys can.

Thank heavens for Animal Hospital daycare :-)

Oh, dear. Best wishes to all of you and your kitties. Thanks for the updates.

I had a long post all written out, but Vox ate it when I had to register.

I've been a (semi) long time lurker, ever since mama Kenya first appeared with her fluffy yet large belly, and watched with much squeeing all the kitty antics of the Kenya Krew.

And I've been watching with tears to hear of Bou and her kittens. Thank you, both of you, for doing what you do. And for letting us into your kitty fostering lives, the good and the bad. Were I anywhere near that part of the country, I would have already been on your doorstep offering 24 hour care for those kits and their mama. Work wouldn't have appreciated it all that much, but.. *shrugs*

Thank y'all for the updates. And my prayers and hopes go out to that family, and to you all, because I know while it'd be heartwrenching to hear if even one didn't make it, it would be a thousand times worse to actually experience it. And I hope y'all won't have to go through that, now.

Thanks, Azhchay, it's much appreciated. :)

As are all the warm thoughts from all you commenters. We're hoping right along with you, and we'll keep you all posted.

Jaye and Teho - you guys are amazing! I'm sending love and best wishing for poor sickly Bou and her babies. I just donated $20 to MVHS in Bou's name. It was very easy. Take Care and get some rest.

The basket o'drama has been majorly upstaged by the life and death situation in the Catcave. I read the entire saga in one sitting, and I laughed, I wept, I bit my nails, and it's not over yet. Like waiting for the next chapter in a thriller. I hope and pray that Bou's instincts flower as her health returns, and that the Magnificent Seven all make it through. At the same time I anathematize the subhumans who toss their little kittens out like trash when they are no longer tiny and cute. They didn't bother to spay Bou, they just dumped her. I don't know enough bad words for them. Or enough good words for those who foster rescued pets.

Jaye, CraftyRedhead, and Teho,

Bless your little pea-picking hearts! Wish I could feel the joy and heartache of all this up close and personal. Sending you all good vibes. Come pay day you'll have a donation (just don't tell the hubby- he's not a furry person lover), as will my local shelters.

This is just the kind of story people need to hear to convince them to spay their kitties -- for the health of a young girl like Bou!

Good to hear that you guys were able to take the family to the animal hospital for the day. I hope everyone (human and feline) is all right.