Thank you for your assistance!

The results are in! I now have names for my babies!


Gus-Gus (based on Cinderalla's mouse friend)


Oreo



Opie


Figaro


Lily

Now... if they would just listen to me....

Too many babies

It has been a little while since I have been able to get away and get to my blog. As you saw from my previous post- I had my kittens!

So Sunday night, after the Food Lady came to visit me, I started to feel a little funny. I had this insane desire to nest somewhere, and I seriously considered getting comfortable behind Mrs Jessica's computer... but there were too many wires. Eventually I found a box that was just right and even had a blanket in it! SCORE!

I will spare you the details... but by the end of the night I had five hungry mouths to feed!

I am happy report that the kittens look like me and do not take after their father.(Though some seem to have inherited his intelligence...)

The trouble now is, I can't tell the kittens apart! I call them- "Hey you!", "Move over here you little munchkin!" and all the kittens answer! I need to have them named so if I need Kitty #1, I can get Kitty #1's attention!!

In the interest of my sanity, I am asking for your help in naming these munchkins. In the sidebar, you will see a poll for the kitties names. I have three boys and two girls. Please help me out-- they are getting more active and listening less and less to my "Hey Yous!".

They're Heeeerrrrreeee!

Short end of the stick

I miss Jessie. She would always call me a "sweet baby" or "kitty kitty" and I found her very cute. From what I hear, she was married off and they got rid of her. I guess that is how humans get rid of people? Do they marry them off? It doesn't sound pleasant, but Miss Jessica assures me it is. Miss Jessica also said that Jessie is on her "honeymoon" and will be back in a week or so-but she will be leaving then for someplace south of here.

Apparently there already was a big party to celebrate Jessie's going away and I wasn't even invited. How wrong is that? Staff just left me--pregnant, bloated, and huge and had a party. Jessica showed me one lousy picture.
They at least could have brought me a piece of cake...

I'm ready.... I'm SO ready!

So... I love attention. I love the pats, scratches, pets, and general loving I get on a constant basis. I would love it even more if I was not so pregnant! My poor belly has gotten bigger and bigger and my perfect kitty figure is completely gone.

I am so big that staff and visitors to the Center make it a point to see if I have "popped" yet. It seems, however, that I just keep getting bigger and bigger. I suppose I will go into labor when no one is here and I will be able to howl loudly and not bother anyone.

One awesome benefit to my pitiful state, is when The Food Lady (sometimes I call her Nana) feeds me my favorite canned cat food. She knows the way to my heart is through my stomach. I hope the canned food continues even after I get these kittens out of me.

I have to say I really like The Food Lady. I think she teaches something, but I did notice that she is not especially good with things like copy machines and paper shredders (why do they have a paper shredder when they have me?). But she is a funny lady and she visits me over the weekend, which I appreciate. I do tend to prefer the company of humans, you know.

Life Changes

At first I thought it was just a super intense case of gas. Then it felt less like bubbles and more like kicks…that’s when I got suspicious.

And then some other changes started taking place: it’s harder to jump up on the counter, I feel heavier, my girlish figure is slowly but VERY surely vanishing, I crave strange foods, and some other obvious physical changes. It’s official. I am pregnant.

Sure, I am excited, but it is also very scary, especially since I am so young. Luckily there are some people around here who are helping take extra good care of me and the little ones that are coming soon. I’ve learned that I have to change how I eat and take care of myself to make sure the kittens are born healthy, that I need to learn how to nurture them so that they develop at the correct rate once they are born. Otherwise, they will not be ready to do “big cat” things when the time comes. I am so glad someone told me, otherwise I would not have known how to best take care of my babies!

Something tells me that this kind of situation can be similar for my human counterparts. I hear of something called the CARE program that is here at the Center that is run by Liv. (Liv REALLY loves me.) Sometimes I hear her talking about things like pre-natal care, eating right for you baby, getting vaccinations, nurturing your baby, and preventing another unexpected pregnancy. Turns out this is good information for me too. I know she usually just mentors young ladies in the local high schools, but I wonder what my chances are for getting into the CARE program. Humm….

I love to eat. I eat all the time. And seeing as though eating is one of the…5 activities that make up my daily life, (including napping, licking, sitting, and playing with shiny/dangling objects), I figured that its something I should know more about.
There is something in my inner cat that craves the rich, juicy, and satisfying taste of food that is not necessarily so good for me…like red meat. Oh how I love red meat! However, as it turns out other things are better for my little kitty system than all that stuff that I love the most. And turns out that those good-for-me things aren’t too bad to eat either. Here are a few nutritious things that I like:

Spinach:

Salad:

And you know what else is great? Here at the Center, we have a great garden started so that we can get even more fresh veggies—both for me and people who live around here. Some students who come to school here planted some big boy tomatoes and basil plants in the back of our building that were donated to us (thank you!) and so I am so excited about the Italian salads that should be poppin’ up soon!
And there is a LOT of gardening going on all around me. Across the street, Dr. Hanna has taken the whole side yard of his dental office property and last weekend planted a HUGE garden. It looks great and he is going to donate some of the good stuff for us to give out here at the Center! It is called “Dr. Hanna’s Victory Garden for those in Need”. YAY! I am excited.



The only question now…where is the ranch dressing? Oh wait…I guess I need light ranch!

Nutrition is important for everyone—not just for kitties…so here are some resources for the human types!

MyPyramid for Kids: Helping Parents Make Healthy Choices www.mypyramid.gov/kids
MyPyramid for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding moms: www.mypyramid.gov and click on “MyPyramid for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Moms