Luisa, our newest cat had kittens four weeks ago. They are thriving.
We were worried because Luisa is very young. Will she be able to manage? Will she be a good momma cat?
Our concerns proved entirely unfounded. Luisa has been a very conscientious momma cat indeed, still nursing, still carefully guarding the four kittens, now each weighing more than a pound already. Soon the critical moment will come: Nursing will stop and the kittens will have to learn to fend for themselves, eat, drink, use the litter box. Eventually, they’ll have to make friends with our other three cats and move out of the basement that serves as their temporary refuge.
And once we are past the first vet visit, tentatively scheduled for the last week of August, we will need to find new homes for them. We were not planning to start a cat farm, after all. When I brought home Luisa — suddenly homeless, as the rooming house where she grew up was condemned by the city, the inhabitants moved out, and several cats were left behind — I did not realize that instead of one cat, I brought home five.
So let this serve as notice to all my friends in the neighborhood that if you are willing to adopt a lovely little tabby, well, we have several of them. We may opt to keep one of the four but the other three will need new homes for sure.