Got the Jimmy Legs

The kittens seem to be doing well, from preliminary examination I believe we have 3 boys and one girl (the black-orange one). I could be wrong of course, I don't like holding them for very long cuz they keep wriggling so much I fear I will drop them on their exceedingly large heads. They are getting bigger, but still haven't opened their eyes or learned to walk properly. They get around mostly by slinking around and rolling on top of one another.

It's way too early probably, but some personality seems to be coming to the fore; one of the beige kittens seems to be pretty mouthy, and the black-orange one seems more independent. This is probably all projection, it will literally be weeks before they are ambulatory enough to display actual personality. What I keep wondering now is, who's your daddy?

The beige cats resemble Mugsy, who although not exactly the George Clooney of the feline set has a decided drive to procreate. There's also a beige cat who lives down the street, not a homeless cat for once, but who has free reign over Eldert Street. But what of the gray kitten? This guy has nothing in common with his mom besides the white undercarriage. Apparently, it is possible for a female cat to have a single litter by more than one father, due to the timing of egg release or something. And given the randy nature of the cats around here, I wouldn't be surprised if this rare feat was achieved here.

It's maddening to think that not only can a cat get pregnant when her last litter is barely out the door (as Stumpy may be!), but after she successfully mates with one male, she could theoretically mate with another dude and still get pregnant! Sheesh.

I'll put up more pictures when the kittens start doing something more interesting.

Labels: Cats, kittens, Pets

posted by Jimmy Legs at 12:10 PM

Comments:

Hey do you think that's common in Bushwick, to have all these kids and not know who the father is?

Odd the black one is probably the only female.

Little kittens do wiggle around a lot when you hold them. All they know how to do kow is vie for Lucymilk.

With all the stray cats in your area anyone could have knocked Lucy up. Time for a paternity test!

Posted by Anonymous | 1:07 PM

I thought I had heard somewhere that calicos (like Lucy) and tortoiseshells (her little black/red kitten) are always female, and Wikipedia says that is correct most of the time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico_cat

As the days go on and Stumpy's milk continues to dry up, she is getting much smaller - almost back to her fighting weight. So we are seriously unsure if she is or is not pregnant. We'll hopefully find out soon, though, when we take her in to see a vet.

You're gonna have your hands full with those little orange/beige guys. ;)

Posted by jenblossom | 2:35 PM

oh i hope it turns out she's not pregnant again! if you get her spayed, where will you have it done? you can get one of those low-cost spay certificate from muffin's pet connection, tho you have to go to a participating vet. but i don't know where else to find a $38 spay job.

Posted by Jimmy Legs | 3:56 PM

If you could send me the info on that, I would be very grateful.

We've been talking about what to do about Stumpy for a while now, and if she checks out as healthy and disease-free after a spay and check-up, we're thinking very seriously about taking her in ourselves. We've bonded so deeply with her, and her with us, that we want to at least give it a shot and see how she does with Dub & Kali. She's an awesome little cat.

Posted by jenblossom | 4:34 PM

Those poor little bastard kitties. Hey, could you shoot a little video of them once they are more playful? Rich says Hey!

Posted by Heather | 9:33 PM

The fathers have totally run out on these kittens.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:02 PM