OT: Animal behavior

[Guest guest]

Two things right off, if you are a cat hater, fine. Stop reading. Other thing is

I frankly find a lot more value in the lives of the animals, wild and

domesticated, than I do in most humans. However, I find a great value in my

friends here on the list. Perhaps in time I might even like more of my fellow

man.

 

I've delivered a number of animals, two legged and four. Last week one of the

newest dumped cats was obviously close to delivery so she was housed in our room

where a few others have taken up residence. The other cats weren't happy but

they dealt with her.

 

She went into labor and was having a hard time of it. A very small cat, she

barely weighs 3 pounds. Whatever biped dumped her after allowing her to get

pregnant needs a 44 caliber enema, but that's just my opinion.

 

One of the elder cats, a spayed female who's lived here for close to 20 years

now, laid beside her, constantly kneaded her belly. Two of the large males, also

neutered, curled up beside her; one groomed her face and one licked her nipples.

In the human that stimulates contractions of the uterus. It does it in cats,

too.

 

Before jumping in there to assist, I watched the cats and it occurred to me that

I have done the same gentle kneading of a sister's belly in labor. Some times

she'd stop kneading and do long strokes of her tongue down the cat's back before

returning to kneading. As I watched, the elder cat moved her kneading to another

spot, pressing and moving her kneading to different spots and pressing there. 

Silverkins (the elder) would press fairly hard on one spot of the new cat's

belly, then stop, holding pressure there, then returned to kneading. Her face

held the same concentration I've seen in one of the other cats who heard a mouse

in the wall.

 

Just like would be done if a human baby needed to be turned.

 

The new cat delivered but the kitten (only one) never breathed. Silverkins kept

kneading the new cat's belly till everything had been expelled and the other

cats in the room curled around her for the next couple of days. They groomed

every inch of that little lady.

 

It was really beautiful, even if sad because the kitten never had a chance. When

she's recovered, our wonderful vet will spay her. I gave her the first shots

today, which she didn't mind. I'm fairly certain who dumped her, since we have a

LOT of cats that are obviously Siamese cross and there is a woman nearby who

breeds Siamese. (And if I ever catch one of her queens outside, I am taking that

" stray " to the vet for a spay faster than you can say meatish bits.) This one

has azure blue eyes, primarily white body, a chocolate half mask and some

chocolate splotches on her hind end and the typical body shape and confirmation

of the Siamese. She purrs magnificently.

 

We're calling her Rascal since she loves waiting till Carl's asleep before she

pat-a-patta-pats his beard and runs to the top of the shelves to watch him snort

and turn over in the bed. I could swear she is laughing.

 

Jeanne in GA