Meet kitten Mama Maria and her 3 little beans!
This is a bit of a special situation, and the beginning of a program we hope to create this year!
A very nice family brought in 2 cats. Those cats weren’t fixed and well… When Maria had 3 babies suddenly they realized they were up to 8! (Please fix your pets, y’all!)
While her family loves her, Maria’s owners weren’t expecting this and didn’t feel comfortable taking care of the babies, so they surrendered them to us. And of course that means Maria comes with them.
Once the babies are weaned they’ll be vetted, fixed, and adopted out. Maria will be fixed… And returned to her original family where she is loved and cared for.
We’ll also be covering the cost to spay all the other cats in the household so there are no more unplanned babies.
We’re so excited to have some new baby beans in the house. I’ll share names later, but for now we’re giving them some time to settle in.
Welcome to the good life, little ones! 💚 @tinypawsrva said.
A few facts about the newest litter:
-They were born 3/1, so just about 48 hours old
-I an pretty sure they’re all girls
-they’re nursing on mom constantly, which we love to see
-they all weigh between 110 & 120 grams
-their little paws are smaller than dimes
If you’re trying to figure out how big/small that is, the average chicken egg from the store is 60-80 grams. So hold 2 chicken eggs in your hand and that’s what I’m working with.
The smallest kitten I’ve personally ever worked with was about 55 grams. It was both magical and terrifying. @tinypawsrva said.
That thing on her belly is her umbilical cord, it’ll fall off in a few days. Their eyes will start to open in about a week and a half.
Did any of this surprise you?
Today feels like a great day to meet the girls!
In order of photos we have kitten Lily, Clover, & Ivy. 🌸🍀🌿
These 3 girls are making huge gains and it’s so great to see! They’re nursing on mom constantly. They’re starting to get little round bellies and they’re very active, which is a great sign.
Please don’t message us asking to adopt them. Our only priority right now is helping them grow big and strong. 💗 @tinypawsrva said.
We’re sending you good vibes for a happy, calm, and stress free Monday ✨✨✨ @tinypawsrva said.
Here, have a lucky Clover 🍀 @tinypawsrva said.
Maria & her babies are doing great. Two have broken 200g, and all three are so close to opening their eyes!
When I first introduced Maria, I mentioned that there were more cats at the house that are unfixed. Today, 2 females of 4 are being fixed, and in 2 weeks the other 2 males will be fixed. And as promised, Tiny Paws RVA is covering the costs. Once the kittens are weaned, Maria will also be fixed.
If we didn’t fix those 5 cats, the 3 females could have roughly two litters EACH by the end of this year. That’s somewhere around 20 more kittens. And if those 20 aren’t fixed… Well, you can figure it out.
By fixing Maria and the rest of her family we can make sure there are no more unplanned litters in that household. It’s also better for the cats health wise, and behavior wise.
Don’t get me wrong, we love kittens. Kittens bring joy and happiness (especially in this mess of a world these days). But there are more kittens born than there are good homes, and rescues are the ones that take on the side of the problem most people don’t see. There will already be more kittens needing help than we’ll have space to take on this year. And yes, it breaks my heart I can’t help more than we already do.
While rescuing kittens is still our first priority at Tiny Paws, we’d like to be able to help more families make sure that any unplanned litters are taken care of by bringing them into Tiny Paws, and then fixing any adult cats in the home so that they aren’t contributing to the over population of kittens.
It costs roughly $50 per cat to fix and vaccinate them against rabies. If you are interested in sponsoring a kitty in this way (or simply donating to tiny paws in general), we’d appreciate your support. This is one of the best ways to help the problem. @tinypawsrva said.
You can find ways to donate in our bio. 💙😺💙😺💙
Sweet baby Ivy needed a little love tonight. She’s harder to get photos of because she’s usually hiding her face in the blankets 😂
Also, do you see her nose freckle? I can’t with her. 😍 @tinypawsrva said.
Can we give a little love to all the hardworking moms out there, whether cat, human, or something else? They’re pretty much superheros! @tinypawsrva said.
