#that picture is from a few weeks ago farid is twice that size now ajghjfasklgdfagjds

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

This popped up in my notes again and it's so weird to read eight months later after all the ups and downs of raising the babies. The absolute shock and joy I had when Maraly's five kittens were born alive and then LEELI'S six were. The stress and happiness of monitoring newborns and their weights and hearing their little squeaks and PURRS (the internet will tell you that kittens can't purr until they're a few months old. this is a lie, kittens can and do purr from BIRTH). Watching the babies grow and trying to find them homes and give ALL FOURTEEN (3 big, 11 little) kittens attention. Tulip, the happiest little kitten who had a heart condition we didn't know about and passed during her spay surgery because her heart gave out but she lived the HAPPIEST four months of life any kitten has ever had, purring like crazy through them all and as fiesty as any of her siblings (and I can't regret knowing her even though I lost her because there would have always been something missing from my life that I couldn't explain and now I've figured out she's a missing piece in my BOOKS that I started writing A DECADE AND A HALF before she was born). Finding homes for the kittens and having to say goodbye to them. Getting UPDATES from their new families about how loved they are. Learning I got to PICK A KITTEN TO KEEP and taking all of ten minutes to decide on Madia, the kitten who God literally handmade for me. How we decided to also keep her brother Farid because my mom fell in love with him. How Maraly and Leeli and Kalmar have learned to run around and play like kittens and are catching up on their lost kittenhoods. How HEALING it has been for all of us to have these precious babies, to have these little lives entrusted to us.

And then remembering before all that when I didn't even know if they would survive, or if Leeli and Maraly would survive HAVING their kittens, and now their kittens are happy and healthy and thriving and seven months old. It's wild to me.

(L to R: Maraly, Madia and Farid on our screened in porch)

Rescue Bengal Kitten update (warning for discussions of possible animal death)

I'm feeling very much like the guy who pulled over on the side of the road to rescue one kitten standing there and ended up rescuing fifteen.

We have been forced to accept that Leeli and Maraly are pregnant. Which is. upsetting, because I really don't think they're more than six months old. Like, I need to stress that as much as I want teeny tiny newborn babies to raise again I didn't want the KITTENS I rescued to be pregnant. But, unfortunately, my mom and I agree that they definitely are. Current likely theory is that when they went into heat at around 4 months (which is APPARENTLY the earliest cats can get pregnant) their former owners couldn't deal with the yowling (if you have never heard a cat in heat count yourself blessed) and instead of getting them spayed they threw them out on the streets. And the girls subsequently got pregnant.

I also have to stress that we don't know if their kittens will be born alive or survive after they're born. Maraly and Leeli (especially Leeli) were STARVING when I found them, and depending on how long they've been pregnant the unborn kittens might not have had enough nutrients to survive....

BUT if I hadn't gone and saved these kittens Maraly and Leeli would have died after they had kittens AND their kittens would have died. Guaranteed. So at least now the little girls should make it through okay and hopefully some of the kittens make it. I am already fully dedicated to doing EVERYTHING in my power to keep as many kittens alive as possible.

Uh, however this also means we'll have to care for an unknown amount of kittens soon which we weren't planning for. We've never really had a surplus of money but goshdarnit if I have to use 98% of my paycheck (the other 2% is for gas) for the whole year to pay for their food, litter and spaying and neutering I WILL do it. They don't call me a crazy cat lady for nothing.

Anyway, sorry for a more serious post about my new babies, but we could really use some prayers here. My mom especially is having a hard time wrapping her head around it. Part of me wants to be excited but I'm also sad that Maraly and Leeli don't get to be KITTENS like they should. ... but this does mean I might get to raise some kittens from newborns and my GOSH have I missed teeny tiny babies ;-;

Here's a happy, sleepy Maraly

tl;dr- my rescued kittens are pregnant and Idk how to feel about it please pray for us