Sweetheart finally exploded into a shower of kittens Well, the process was a lot longer than that. About 3 1/2 hours from start to finish. Sweetheart is imy favorite mama. She wants me with her when she has babies. I rub her belly and her sides while she has her contractions and she looks at me the entire time with eyes that clearly say "Don't leave me."

So....as of this moment, she has 5 kittens. The first one born was a multicolored baby that looks a lot like Marina (who is her grandmother). The second one appears to be all black. The third one also seems to be all black. She jumped out of her box while having that one and on top of a kitty litter box--and had her kitten while standing there. He fell right into my hand. Interesting feeling, a kitten hot out of the oven. Really VERY hot. The fourth one took a while and I have concerns about him. He is yellow and small. Took about 45 minutes just for him from start to finish. But he is moving around and eating. He is just a little slower, so will watch him. The last one she had is black with white feet and maybe a little whilte on his face--like his daddy (Meowth).

I T HINK she is done. She still looks a bit big, but she is soft, so she is probably done. But she has surprised me before, so I don't know.

So...for those who seem to want to count...there are now 18 kittens:

Marina: 4

Little Girl: 5

Pretty Girl: 3

Little Baby: 1

Sweetheart: 5

And there are NO MORE PREGNANT CATS AND NO MORE UNNEUTERED MALES OF BREEDING AGE! *breathes*