Hi all!
I'm new here, but felt the need to join a community of other kitty lovers out there. We have a female cat named Blessa. In norwegian, Blessa actually means "blaze", due to the stripe down her nose. We adopted Blessa and her sister last year in late June, though they were born in early April. They came from a litter of 3 kittens, all of which were female and long haired. We got to see the mother cat, but of course the father was likely a neighbor cat or stray.
Needless to say, Blessa is just over a year old and we had not spayed her yet, so of course it was only time before she became pregnant. Nonetheless, she gave birth yesterday to 5 healthy and very cute kittens! The number surprised me, as she is just a year old. Nonetheless, we are all very happy and are prepared to take on the responsibilities of being new "grandparents" (I'm only in my 30's!).
The new litter was born yesterday, and the timing is perfect. Around the end of August (just over 12 weeks) we will have two large family gatherings here at our farm. By then, Blessa will be spayed and the kittens will have their shots. I will check into whether it is a good idea to spay and/or neuter the kittens so early, but if it's fine to do so without side affects due to their age, I will have that done as well.
Around 12 weeks, we'll begin to let them go to good homes, but we keep the philosophy that if it doesn't work out, the kitten can be returned to us without any problems whatsoever.
I'd lastly like to say that community forums such as this for pet owners are a brilliant source of information and support for new pet owners that might find themselves dealing with a situation where they may be uncertain as to what to do. It's also a wonderful place to share with others in the joy of having a cuddly friend in your life.
Here is the 5th (the youngest) of the kittens born yesterday. Although the photo is up on my facebook wall, I provided a direct link here.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v4460/163/52/1563907568/n1563907568_30178911_5567085.jpg
