# Tabitha's having her kittens



## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

First one born


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Woohooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

We want a minute by minute account, or at least a kitten by kitten account!! 

What colours?? Piccies please!! :001_wub:


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

second born


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

both look black


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## suzy93074 (Sep 3, 2008)

At last  good luck  xxx


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

third born 18:27


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## egyptianreggae (May 26, 2012)

Hooray! Come on,Tabitha!


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

tabs has had fourth kitten but umbilacle cord of third one is still inside her. what do i do


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

wait . . . . . . . do not pull the cord.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Is the third kitten still attached? Is she cutting the cords herself?


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

she's done it now thank god. looks like 2 tabbys, 1 black and maybe a torty so far


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

just a quick picture


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

ooo wet!:001_wub:


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

5th one 19:07


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

I'm guessing Daddy was black..


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

1 black, 2 tabs, 2 possble torties? and more to come


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

nooooooo...........whats going on, i leave my laptop for one afternoon and miss all the fun. now tabitha although im very pleased kittens are finally here, it is not wednesday.

.................................CONGRATULATIONS.................................


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## TrinityWitch (Sep 17, 2012)

OMG!!!! they are boootiful!!!

Well done tabatha.. well done to you both, i bet your nerves are shot to bits lol

Take care

Nikki


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

cats galore said:


> 5th one 19:07


one more to make 6 then i was half right on the betting. yipee come on tabitha dont you let me down.xxxx


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Treaclesmum said:


> I'm guessing Daddy was black..


...Or one black daddy and a ginger one, to make the torties?! 

I've heard that if a litter has more than 1 daddy, it could be an extra-large litter......


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## Firedog (Oct 19, 2011)

Wow,she kept everyone waiting so long and now she is firing them out like a good'en.Congratulations.


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## MCWillow (Aug 26, 2011)

Ooooooooh!!

Congratulations Tabitha, and midwife!!! :thumbup:

Gorgeous babies :001_wub: :001_wub:


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## PetloverJo (Nov 4, 2011)

Well done


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Dry photos pleasssssssssssse.


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## Lisac27 (Jun 8, 2012)

Yeaaaaaaa go Tabitha, go Tabitha, go Tabitha
Wow she is firing them out, is she finished yet?
I am made up that mum is finally having her kitties


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## JordanRose (Mar 10, 2012)

Fantastic news!! I'm so glad they're finally making an appearance! :001_wub:
Are there any more, or has the clever girl finished now? 

CONGRATULATIONS Tabitha and well done midwife


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

she seems quite content lying down feeding them but i'm sure i felt another one in there. maybe she has finished but i'm not too sure


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## sharonbee (Aug 3, 2011)

Congratulations, well done Tabitha, they are beautiful. So pleased she has finally had them.:w00t::w00t:


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

she's still got five but not sure if there are more to come. will let you know in the morning. this happened so fast. first i noticed she was wet, then seconds later the plug came away, then 1 contraction, thenanother 1 4 minutes later then another 1 3 minutes later then within a minute a kitten was born. then all 5 came within about an hour. i'm so excited
i think there are 2 blue/grey tabbies, 2 torties and 1 black. will tell better when they are properly dry.


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## PetloverJo (Nov 4, 2011)

They look so cute :001_wub::001_wub::001_wub::001_wub:


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

...tricking me starting a new thread

When i saw them pics of her this morning she looked ready to me.

Well happy for you so great to log on and find this.:001_wub:


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

if she has another baby then that makes 6 kittens and i was right haha.
well done tabitha, must say i was getting quietly worried.
beautiful babies....now which one am i having.


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## ESAB (Jan 29, 2010)

congrats, now the fun starts!!


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## Alaskacat (Aug 2, 2010)

So very pleased that she has finally had them (waited until I went off to do the Brownies run and the week's shop) - well done and congratulations to you both.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

another photo sorry to be a pest with them but i can't help showing off


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Ooo, two blues, a black, a tortie, and a brown tabby. A nice mix.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

spid said:


> Ooo, two blues, a black, a tortie, and a brown tabby. A nice mix.


the brown tabby has quite a lot of ginger on it. ginger back legs and ginger on the face (see photo below)


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## Lisac27 (Jun 8, 2012)

I love all your pics, can't wait for more. What a wonderful chocolate box of kittens


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

cats galore said:


> the brown tabby has quite a lot of ginger on it. ginger back legs and ginger on the face (see photo below)


Couldn't see that on the other pic - yes a tortie tabby


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## JordanRose (Mar 10, 2012)

Well, they were certainly worth the wait- what a gorgeous array of kittens :001_wub: I hope they all thrive with their lovely Mum looking after them


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## tylow (Feb 11, 2009)

Well done Tabitha, clever girl  Lovely kittens.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

cats galore said:


> the brown tabby has quite a lot of ginger on it. ginger back legs and ginger on the face (see photo below)


a torbie


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## kiara (Jun 2, 2009)

awww congratulations. they are sooooooooooo cute. and you have my fave colour of all time, a torbie! (tortie tabbie) xxx


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Spid you beat me to it lol


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

cats galore said:


> another photo sorry to be a pest with them but i can't help showing off


after ive waited for 3 weeks to see them i expect lots of photos. they are adorable.


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

tabitha has made me proud and i dont even own her, a beautiful selection of colours, i adore blues.
sorry had to add this photo.............my girl says horray for babies.:
(ive waited 3 weeks for that).xxxx


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## egyptianreggae (May 26, 2012)

Oh, she looks so relieved! And I love her front paw cradling them. What's the difference between a blue and a silver tabby? I thought only pedigree cats could be blue?


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## MCWillow (Aug 26, 2011)

So if a tabby has any ginger on her, she is a torbie? Or does it need to be a certain amount of ginger? And a certain colour tabby?

Another reason I would never breed (apart from keeping all the kittens :blush: ) I just dont understand the genetics/colours!


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

egyptianreggae said:


> Oh, she looks so relieved! And I love her front paw cradling them. What's the difference between a blue and a silver tabby? I thought only pedigree cats could be blue?


Any cat can be blue, it's just dilute black - my lovely moggy Charcoal had 3 blues, and Pixie had 2 blue brothers. I love it, wish I had kept one of our blues!

I think a torbie is a tabby with any amount of ginger, isn't it?


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## sharonchilds (Jul 7, 2011)

Well done Tabitha, your babies all look gorgeous 
Can't wait to see more pictures as they grow


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

MCWillow said:


> So if a tabby has any ginger on her, she is a torbie? Or does it need to be a certain amount of ginger? And a certain colour tabby?


Any colour tabby can be a tortie tabby. It's easier to see (usually) if there is white as well as then you get clear patches of red / cream tabby and whatever the other colour is, and the pattern runs through them without interuption.

So, you can get black (seal / brown), blue, chocolate, lilac, cinnammon, fawn and caramel all in tortie-tabby. You can get all of those as silver tabbys, in any of the tabby patterns, so the number of colours becomes completely confusing.

But in non-pedigrees, anything beyond black and blue occasionally with silver is very rare.

What can be confusing is that some tabby cats have a lot of rufousing - they are a very warm colour - and a tortie tabby without white can have very finely mingled colours in their coat. With the later the pads can give a clue. A normal tabby without white only has coloured pads, but in tortie-tabbys you often get some pink pads. However a cat with white markings will often have some pink pads as well, and in a cat with white feet they are usually all pink!


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

just managed to weigh them all:
tortie = 110g
black = 127g
torbie = 120g
blue = 132g
blue = 123g
from what i have seen on other threads these weights seem quite large. does this point to her being over due do you think?


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

Not at all. If she were significantly overdue they'd start to lose weight as the placentas started to fail.


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## PetloverJo (Nov 4, 2011)

Lovely weights  No wonder she was huge


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

They have probably put weight on already! Keep weighing them at about the same time each day, and prepare for the mountains of food Tabitha will need and the piles of poo she will produce keeping 5 kittens growing fast.


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## Lisac27 (Jun 8, 2012)

Those weights are really great, what chunky healthy kittens. 

I was also advised to weigh them at the same time everyday, it really helps to keep up with how well they are doing. The average weight gain is 10 grams a day, but I found some would put on much more and some much less. 
I only started to worry if they put on a lot less than 10 for 2 weigh ins, then I gave them nutridrops and made sure they had some special feeding time with mum (it's amazing how newborn kittens can fight over nipples). 

Well done Tabitha, and congratulations on your gorgeous babies, I am so jealous you have some blue kittens, my absolutely fave colour


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

great weights them that explains the huge belly


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## moonkitty (Jul 25, 2012)

Beautiful babies and what a clever mummy cat


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

hang on tabitha ...... why did you only have 5 kittens, i said 6.
they are a great weight and adorable, so will you keep all of them. fantastic colours.
i agree with the other posts, keep weighing them at the same time each day, this way if one kitten has a problem you will be able to sort this out quickly. i dont think you will have any worries as they are all chunky babies.
im feeling broody for kittens now but have to wait until 18th october for my litter.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

egyptianreggae said:


> Oh, she looks so relieved! And I love her front paw cradling them. What's the difference between a blue and a silver tabby? I thought only pedigree cats could be blue?


ANy cat can be blue - it's just it is a recessive gene so lots less common in the moggy world.

Blue is dilute black
a silver tabby is tabby with silver - you can get blue silver tabbies, red silver tabbies, etc. The whiskas cat is a silver tabby (without the silver he would be a normal brown tabby)


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## egyptianreggae (May 26, 2012)

spid said:


> ANy cat can be blue - it's just it is a recessive gene so lots less common in the moggy world.
> 
> Blue is dilute black
> a silver tabby is tabby with silver - you can get blue silver tabbies, red silver tabbies, etc. The whiskas cat is a silver tabby (without the silver he would be a normal brown tabby)


Oh, ok! So what colour is my cat Simba? (in my profile pic)


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## Kittenfostermummy (Jul 25, 2011)

Cats galore, have you checked Tabitha's belly again as you said you thought you could feel another kitten in there? Just to check there isn't anything left otherwise you will have to pop her to the vets.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

Kittenfostermummy said:


> Cats galore, have you checked Tabitha's belly again as you said you thought you could feel another kitten in there? Just to check there isn't anything left otherwise you will have to pop her to the vets.


i've checked her but cannot feel the lump that i felt last night. her tummy is still really big and round but i haven't felt the lump again since.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

catcoonz said:


> hang on tabitha ...... why did you only have 5 kittens, i said 6.
> they are a great weight and adorable, so will you keep all of them. fantastic colours.
> i agree with the other posts, keep weighing them at the same time each day, this way if one kitten has a problem you will be able to sort this out quickly. i dont think you will have any worries as they are all chunky babies.
> im feeling broody for kittens now but have to wait until 18th october for my litter.


i really want to keep them all but i have 11 cats already and the sensible thing would be to re-home a few but i'm not sure i can be sensible


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## Kittenfostermummy (Jul 25, 2011)

cats galore said:


> i've checked her but cannot feel the lump that i felt last night. her tummy is still really big and round but i haven't felt the lump again since.


I am not a breeder so I don't know if it is normal to feel something or not. Maybe it would be a good idea to give your vets a quick call to check with them that it is normal? Mind you she seems happy and is feeding the kittens ok.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

I was either her bladder or her womb - don't worry about it.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

egyptianreggae said:


> Oh, ok! So what colour is my cat Simba? (in my profile pic)


Blue tabby & white.

Bigger photo of him:

http://www.petforums.co.uk/members/...6304-taken-simbas-webpage-rescue-shelter.html


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

egyptianreggae said:


> Oh, ok! So what colour is my cat Simba? (in my profile pic)


from that pic - looks blue tabby and white.


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## MominsMummy (Jun 14, 2012)

Congratulations to Tabitha and Midwife! Theyre all booooootiful! x


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## egyptianreggae (May 26, 2012)

cats galore said:


> i really want to keep them all but i have 11 cats already and the sensible thing would be to re-home a few but i'm not sure i can be sensible


11 cats! That sounds like heaven! Can you tell me their names/colours/ages? (if it doesn't take too long!)


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Congratulations Tabitha!!!!!! Those are some very pretty kittens that you made us all wait so long to see. 

Now the real fun begins!


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## egyptianreggae (May 26, 2012)

OrientalSlave said:


> Blue tabby & white.
> 
> Bigger photo of him:
> 
> http://www.petforums.co.uk/members/...6304-taken-simbas-webpage-rescue-shelter.html


Thank you, Spid and OS! Blue tabby and white sounds very fancy and grand. I'll tell him when I get home. I'm even more proud of him than usual now. He does also have light brown tabby bits under his chin and on his front legs.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

egyptianreggae said:


> Thank you, Spid and OS! Blue tabby and white sounds very fancy and grand. I'll tell him when I get home. I'm even more proud of him than usual now. He does also have light brown tabby bits under his chin and on his front legs.


Yep, it's called tarnishing.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Thought the word tarnising was reserved for Silvers which he isn't? Caused by rufousing though, polygenes which warm up the coat colour.

Some breeds (think Bronze Mau) need lots of it. Silvers shouldn't have any of it.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

egyptianreggae said:


> 11 cats! That sounds like heaven! Can you tell me their names/colours/ages? (if it doesn't take too long!)


right lets see where to start
milly semi lomg haired black and white - 5 yr
buddy black dsh - 5yr
smokey blue/white tabby - 4 yr
kacey long haired persian x tabby - 3 yr
snowbell white persian x - 3 yr
evie torti - 2 yr
ella torti - 2yr
alfie black dsh -17 months
grace calico? - approx 16 months
mittens tabby - approx 16 weeks
tabitha tabby not sure of age
and 5 little babies
so 16 at the moment altogether
if you look on my albums you will see photos of all my pets - cats, dogs and guinea pigs. all are rescues and a lot have come from really terrible places but they are very healthy and happy now


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## Misi (Jul 13, 2009)

I'm away at the mo, so only checking in from time to time, so I'm delighted that Tabitha has finally given birth. I'm a bit puzzled as to why none of them appears to have a trunk, though 
They're all gorgeous, and what a dreamy range of colours :001_wub:


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## sharonchilds (Jul 7, 2011)

cats galore said:


> right lets see where to start
> milly semi lomg haired black and white - 5 yr
> buddy black dsh - 5yr
> smokey blue/white tabby - 4 yr
> ...


Have just looked at all your kittys, they are all so lovely. Your mittens looks a lot like my poppy (rip pops). They all are so cute


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

hows tabitha and babies doing tonight. i can see us all fighting for a blue kitten. i bet you keep them all to yourself.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

tabitha and kittens are doing really well she is such a good mom and so loving with us all. i have homes for two where i know they will be really well looked after and possibly a third. which means i am keeping two of them i shall be keeping a blue and the torbie i think - i would love to keep them all but i know i have to be sensible to a degree.
here's some more photos for you to see- hope you like them


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## PetloverJo (Nov 4, 2011)

They are very beautiful, well worth waiting to see.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

cats galore said:


> just managed to weigh them all:
> tortie = 110g
> black = 127g
> torbie = 120g
> ...


Having looked at the pictures, the tortie & tortie-tabby (torbie) both look to be with white, and the two blues look like blue tabbys. They are adorable, how is the weight gain going?


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

OrientalSlave said:


> Having looked at the pictures, the tortie & tortie-tabby (torbie) both look to be with white, and the two blues look like blue tabbys. They are adorable, how is the weight gain going?


they have all gained at least 10g except the one blue. it has only gained 3g. i will check it again later and keep an eye on it to make sure it is feeding properly. not sure which are boys or girls yet.


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

> I am not a breeder so I don't know if it is normal to feel something or not


It can be as the uterus contracts back down over the few days after the birth. The shape you can sometimes feel (and see) is very definitely sausage shaped ie a horn of the uterus. Once you know what it is it's fairly obviously not a retained kitten.


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## colliemerles (Nov 2, 2007)

_i dont know how i missed this thread, silly me, . anyway ,*congratulations xxxxx*_


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## colliemerles (Nov 2, 2007)

catcoonz said:


> hang on tabitha ...... why did you only have 5 kittens, i said 6.
> they are a great weight and adorable, so will you keep all of them. fantastic colours.
> i agree with the other posts, keep weighing them at the same time each day, this way if one kitten has a problem you will be able to sort this out quickly. i dont think you will have any worries as they are all chunky babies.
> im feeling broody for kittens now but have to wait until 18th october for my litter.


_awww what colours are you execting on 18th october, please tell,,,_


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

I have to say i like them all what a great litter


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

colliemerles said:


> _awww what colours are you execting on 18th october, please tell,,,_


Brown Classic Tabby, with or without white.
Silver tabby.


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