Mildred Hubble (the Housecat) Is A Mum

Proud Millie with her babies.

When we brought sweet little Millie home last October, she quickly became my cuddle bug. That first weekend she stayed on my lap most of the time while I binge-watched the entire second season of Stranger Things. Mildred was always meant to be my companion but was also intended to be a partner in crime for Paddy Murphy, Murr for short. Once Murr became comfortable around a new ball of fluff in the house, he never left her side. He was so happy to have a friend who was like him, rather than the dogs who seemed to love Murr but played too rough for his liking. Millie proved to be a fantastic companion and she grew up quickly. She is a delightful queen who grew up to be a very beautiful lady cat.

Then, the change came. One Friday night I had begun a frightful binge on the show Glitch I was up into the wee hours of the morning and when I woke up the next day, I turned the show back on and devoured it....my love for this show has little to do with Millie other than the fact that I was so engrossed that I overlooked Millie's insatiable need to breed moment. Now, as I said before, Millie was adopted so that Murr could have a family of his own. He has an appointment to be neutered this week. However, my husband thought that it would be a good experience for me to witness the birth of a cat or two or three in Millie's case. He also thought that it would be good for Millie and Murr to procreate before being fixed, as it would help them be calmer the rest of their lives. For a while, there was a lot of speculation as to whether Millie was "heavy with puppy" or not. As time passed the distinct feeling or furballs in her belly was prominent.
I was a nervous cat mum, to say the least. I had only witness kitten birth in the movies and I had a feeling that it wouldn't be as quick as had been seen in the movie The Adventures of Milo & Otis. I made certain to do my research so that I knew what to do should Millie need assistance. I don't know if there is a "What To Expect When Your Cat Is Expecting" book, but it would have been nice.
When it came closer to her time, I paid close attention to her activities. I didn't want her to give birth in the crawl space or in my closet, so I made a birthing box in my office for her. Having a birthing box/nest for her in my office ensured that she and her kittens would be safe from inquisitive dogs and would put her at ease. One day I observed that she had been going behind my books on the bottom shelf of my bookcase. I saw that as a warning that her time was near. The night before the birth she spent the entire night at my side. It isn't unusual for her to sleep with me, but usually, she would sleep with me for part of the night, get a snack, play downstairs, then up with me again for a sunrise snuggle. This time, however, she slept curled up next to me the whole night, never leaving my side. The next morning I was having my coffee and I noticed that she was once again behind the books and scratching the shelf. I asked her to come out and she refused, so I removed the books, scooped her up and immediately placed her in her birthing nest. I left my coffee and cell phone in the kitchen.

(L-R) Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee.

When Millie got in the box and didn't jump out of it, but instead curled up into a ball I knew something was up.  I quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed my coffee and phone as I wanted to document the birth as well as keep my husband up to date on the progress. Then, poor Millie started panting. This was when her "Blue Lagoon moment" began. She didn't know what was happening, but her instinct told her what to do. I turned on some soothing nature sounds on Youtube on my phone to help her relax. With the sounds of a bubbling brook and chirping birds playing I became my kitty's doula. With some serious fidgeting and probably the worst cry that I ever heard come out of Millie, Optimus Prime was born...breach. About half an hour or so later Megatron and a few minutes after that out came Bumblebee. Optimus Prime was the only boy born. He looks a lot like Murr, Megatron is all stripes with a white belly and Bumblebee looks like a perfectly fluffy cow, she is the perfect mesh of Murr and Millie.

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee

The kittens thrived and in a week they will be off to new homes, with the exception of Bumblebee (whom I call "Bumbles". Fear not, all the kitties will be staying with the family. O.P. will be going home with our oldest and his girlfriend. Megatron will be going home with the younger two kids to their Mom's house so I know that the kittens will be loved and well cared for.

Murr had proven to be a very good father. At first, I was very nervous about introducing him to his children. I was afraid that he would eat them after seeing horror stories online and from having my mother tell some gruesome tales. Happily, Murr is very doting on his children. He protects them from the curious nudgings of Rory and he gives them baths. I have found that he is very much back to his old kitten self in terms of having a very loving nature towards his humans and I think that he is much happier now that he has a complete family. Am I a crazy cat lady now? No, I don't have enough cats, turtlenecks or sweater vests for that. I have just enough cats and dogs to make life interesting and less lonely when my husband is away at work. If you follow me on Instagram you've likely seen a dozen posts of my kittens already. If not, check me out to stay up to date. I post on Instagram and Twitter far more often than I do on Facebook or the blog. I want to blog more often, but summer tasks make that more of a challenge. I think I might have found my groove though, so maybe there's hope for me yet? Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Rory snuggles with Optimus Prime

P.S. Megatron is a bit more shy than the other two kittens, but she is healthy, cuddly, and very sweet.

Ending My Hiatus

If you've been reading my blog for a time you might have observed that I will take sporadic breaks from writing. This really isn't unusual for those who blog as a hobby. I really needed to take the rest of the winter off. This past winter was dreadfully long and a bit dull. The snowstorms seemed to be ceaseless and just as it seemed as winter was coming to a screeching halt another snowstorm would creep in. It was a constant battle with the shovel and I was exhausted. So now it is May, Labor Day weekend and I feel ready to catch you all up. I think I will be having an evening writing session, where I will write several posts and schedule them to publish throughout the week. I have a cup of tea and my British boy band song list playing and I am in the zone....brace yourself.
In March my husband decided that he wanted to get a puppy. The kids had been campaigning for a while, approaching us the various adorable photos of random canines that they found on online shelter pages. The dogs varied from purebred to mutt, compact and giant and it was getting ridiculous. At one point I had one teenager messaging me about a dog, while the other teenager was messaging their father about said dog. I was on to them and I was not going to cave. However, my husband thought that it would be a good idea to get a puppy who could learn under the tutelage of Flynn and become a great companion. He was on the lookout for a good candidate when he found a litter of beagle pups that were up for sale. He immediately contacted the breeder and an appointment was made. Fortunately, he wasn't asking for much money for the pups and the tiny splurge was well within our budget- we lucked out. We were excited and eager to meet our new family member but had to wait. We had a specific puppy in mind, based on the photos that were sent to us. The week of our appointment we were counting down the days towards meeting our pal. Then the clouds grew dark and we were hit with a massive snowstorm, a blizzard to be exact, the day before our appointment. The next morning the sun was shining brightly and the snowploughs cleared the fluff away from the roads. The town was over an hours drive away and the breeder lived on a mountain...seriously...a mountain. Undaunted, we armed ourselves with coffee and decided to enjoy the road trip.
When we made our way to the breeders home, we were greeted by older beagles from previous litters as well as the beagle parents. Then the breeder opened the door to his home and let out the pups. Most of the puppies ran past us towards their parents, while two ran to us. One of the pups who came to greet us was the same puppy that we saw in photos and had hoped that we would bond with him. It was an immediate connection and the decision was made. If you follow me on Instagram or Tumblr you would have seen many posts of our Rory. He is a very smart beagle, full of love and energy. He is very obedient and follows Flynn around everywhere Flynn goes. He also loves to cuddle on my lap and be by my side whenever he can. Keegan could take or leave Rory, he tolerates him. Murr washes his paws of him and Millie wishes that Rory was a little less curious about her, but ever the lady, she remains patient and poised.

Since bringing Rory home he has grown quite a bit and he's not finished. He's learned a few tricks and has worked up the courage to ride in the car, so long as Flynn is with him. Overall, he is a wonderful companion and very loved by everyone in the family. He even likes to go with me to visit my parents and socialize with their dog. I am grateful for the opportunity to have him as a member of the family and will likely share more about him in other posts. That about sums up what was happening at the end of winter, I will update you on other topics in later posts to come. Until next time~ Toodahloo!