Sangria went into labor at 8am. The first kitten to be born was golden striped. About an hour and a half later, the second came out, this one was white. Yet another hour and a half passed before the third little kitty joined the rest� it is black and white patched. And after another grueling hour and a half of pushing, the last baby arrived� white, but smaller than the other white one.

Sangria was such a trouper, squirming and struggling for six hours, only yowling when the kittens passed through the birth canal, as if to say, �here it comes!� She also did what mama cats do and ate the placenta� but after the second one she was too tired to eat the other two, so I ate them for her.

JUST KIDDING!

Actually, despite her obvious exhaustion, she is an excellent mother. She�s very good about keeping them cleaning and warm. And whenever she gets up to eat or drink and hears the kittens scream (�it�s cold, mommy!�) she runs straight back to her box and comforts them. She trusts Philip and me completely and doesn�t mind when we pet them or hold them.

Sangria did end up vomiting three times throughout the evening, which has me a little concerned, but I won�t really worry unless it continues.

Here is the first pic of Sangria and her new litter (oddly enough, the kittens are lined up in the exact order of their birth� well, I can�t really tell if the small and large white ones are transposed).

I stayed with Sangria for the entire six hours of labor and pet her. This is perhaps the third or fourth cat-birthing I�ve been present for� and I just love that I was able to bear witness (I worried that she�d have them during the night while we were sleeping and I�d miss the whole event).

I felt strongly about keeping Sangria�s first litter (Hepsebah and Bitumen) outside, so they wouldn�t get in the way or make her nervous. I wonder who they�ll react to the new additions to the pride?!

So, last year it was just Philip and myself� our family grew to five when we adopted Sangria, Hepsebah and Bitumen� and now� we�re a family of nine. But I think we�ll stop here� seven kitties should be enough pussy for any pussy-lover. How ever will we raise the cash to get them all fixed?!

:-)

When Philip got home from work we watched SGT. PEPPER�S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (in high definition), which he�d never seen and I haven�t seen since I was like 10 or 11. I still love the �Maxwell�s Silver Hammer� number to pieces.

And congratulations to Martha Stewart on her release from prison.