Starry Night gave birth to eight beautiful kittens today! We were only expecting six or seven so #8 was a welcome surprise.
The kittens are doing great, though the sound of eight simultaneous sucklers might keep us awake tonight. Starry is naturally protective of her kids but welcomes a chin rub or any opportunity to eat.
Update: One of the kittens didn’t make it after a few days. All of the others are doing fine. Starry was pushing her away from the others and she wasn’t gaining weight. We kept her warm and supplemented her feeding but it didn’t help. We know this happens sometimes, but it saddens us nonetheless.
Eight!
Buster, the father, has become rather accustomed to his success as a mate. “The ladies love The Buster,” he said, winking as he passed out catnip cigars.