Kitten Season: Chloe, Ramona, & Rula kitten watch

April 4, 2018 7:29 AM

Meet Chloe, Ramon, and Rula, three pregnant feral cats, all due in the next two weeks. (YT live cam) They come from a colony of more than 230 feral cats, where 90% have been spayed/neutered thanks to Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) efforts. Grandpa Mason, a terminally ill, battle-scarred feral cat, requested a litter of kittens, and the universe answered in a big way. (Previously) Grandpa Mason has already met Chloe, and they get along very well. (link to FB video)
posted by gladly (98 comments total)

I love that old kitty.
posted by Artw at 7:31 AM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

Squeee! So glad that Mason's family is growing.

(Quick quibble: it's Ramona not Ramon.)
posted by orrnyereg at 7:35 AM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

Grandpaw Mason!
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 7:35 AM on April 4, 2018 [5 favorites]

He is happy to snooze away his days in front of the fireplace, on his tiny sofa, but he overflows with joy when he has kittens to smoosh, play with and love.

OMG, same.
posted by amarynth at 7:49 AM on April 4, 2018 [19 favorites]

I hope someday I'm described as a battle-scarred kitten loving network engineer.

I also want to request that if I'm ever terminally ill I can live out my days at Tiny Kittens headquarters.
posted by poe at 8:20 AM on April 4, 2018 [23 favorites]

I'm another Grandpa Mason fan, and I'm thrilled he's getting some more cats and kittens to snuggle.
posted by kimberussell at 9:09 AM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

LOVELY! Grandpa Mason is still out there rocking it!
posted by wotsac at 9:56 AM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

Kitten-stuffed Chloe zonked out on tolerant pillow Mason is adorable.
posted by nicebookrack at 9:57 AM on April 4, 2018 [4 favorites]

AAAH! I have a grumpy older cat who patronises the same couturier and make-up artist as Mason. I would like to try some kittens out on him. Need a rent-a-kitten service.
posted by paduasoy at 11:10 AM on April 4, 2018 [2 favorites]

Don't we all.
posted by amtho at 11:18 AM on April 4, 2018 [5 favorites]

You guys. Macrofloof. Description: Floofy.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:21 AM on April 4, 2018 [13 favorites]

I love Grampa Mason! And I remember watching that other litter be born a while back - I can't remember the mother's name, but the kittens were mostly orange and named after eggs.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:12 PM on April 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Aw! I still cry when I watch the original Grandpa Mason video. I'm glad he'll have some more kittens to love. :')
posted by Meow Face at 1:19 PM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

Awwww. And how lovely of Metafilter to have a thread where I can shamelessly show off my new kittens (adopted on Monday).
posted by daybeforetheday at 1:48 PM on April 4, 2018 [20 favorites]

CREAMSICLE KITTIES!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:52 PM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

With pink toe bean sprinkles!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:59 PM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

Gladly, there MUST be a follow up to this post when Chloe Grandpa Mason has the kittens.

Metafilter is waiting with (fishy) baited breath!
posted by BlueHorse at 2:03 PM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

can't remember the mother's name, but the kittens were mostly orange and named after eggs

Corsica?
posted by dilettante at 2:33 PM on April 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

daybeforetheday, such clean white paws!
posted by paduasoy at 2:43 PM on April 4, 2018 [2 favorites]

Corsica?

Thank you!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:25 PM on April 4, 2018

If anyone else would like to shamelessly show off their kitten pictures...this is a safe space.
posted by amtho at 8:47 PM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

Here’s my cat that we think looks like Anderson Cooper when he does his serious face.

(She’s more of a teen kitty than a kitten now though)
posted by Artw at 9:06 PM on April 4, 2018 [5 favorites]

Not my cat, but the friendly, flirty but shy neigbourhood kitty let me pet her the other day.
posted by MartinWisse at 5:20 AM on April 5, 2018 [5 favorites]

It’s the follow up picture that makes that.
posted by Artw at 6:09 AM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]

We adopted a kitten in August and we suspected that he and our older cat were secretly snuggling while we were at work (we would come home and examine the dents in the comforter like we were CSI: Cuddle Scene Investigators), and then one magical day we caught them in the act. (Maybe because our older cat was still high from his vet appointment that morning, but still! Confirmed kitten cuddling!)
posted by amarynth at 7:52 AM on April 5, 2018 [7 favorites]

Is there some setting that you folks using Twitter to share pictures can adjust so that the pictures can be viewed by non-tweeters?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:25 AM on April 5, 2018

SO MUCH... napping. Groom a bit, then perhaps a nap. Chloe likes Mice TV, she was stalking the TV then Bird TV happened, the letdown was palpable. Also palpable the kittens, bouncing & boinging in the belly, which earlier Chloe's human was petting and the purring was quite loud.

With Rula & Ramona it's harder to see what's happening, since they're black cats. Lounging and grooming the order of the day. Ramona got scritches but I'm not sure she enjoyed it so much as allowed it.

This has been your no-kittens-yet report for Sunday, April 8.
posted by wallabear at 6:37 PM on April 8, 2018 [3 favorites]

Chloe does seem to like belly rubs, and she's also discovered the joys of catnip.
posted by gladly at 6:40 AM on April 9, 2018 [2 favorites]

Chloe is fit to burst. I wouldn't be surprised if we had Sunday babies :)
posted by wallabear at 10:54 PM on April 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

I don't think you're too far off, wallabear. Chloe seems to have chosen a nest, and TinyKittensHQ says she's in pre-labor.
posted by gladly at 6:26 AM on April 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Kih-tens! Kih-tens! Kih-tens!!!
posted by orrnyereg at 6:58 AM on April 16, 2018 [2 favorites]

Ramona seems to be in labor! Even though she's so dark, you can clearly see her contractions.
posted by gladly at 5:55 AM on April 17, 2018 [4 favorites]

I'd have thought Chloe would've been the first, but oh well. Soon there will be teeny tiny baby kittens! Soon.
posted by PearlRose at 7:45 AM on April 17, 2018

Kittens seem pretty imminent now.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:47 AM on April 17, 2018

Much heaving and twitching. Also very heavy purring .

Oh, that stopped and something is happening.
posted by Artw at 8:16 AM on April 17, 2018

I have to go to a meeting in 10 minutes and I am going to be SO PISSED if I miss this! I don't care about your makerspace plans, TINY KITTENS ARE BEING BORN
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:20 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

I think she's resting again. I should get ready for work.
posted by Artw at 8:23 AM on April 17, 2018

Ramona's first kitten is out and according to the closed captioning, it appears to have little white muzzlepuffs!
posted by amarynth at 10:03 AM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]

MANY KITTIES!

There is cleaning happening.
posted by Artw at 11:05 AM on April 17, 2018

Tinee tabbees, you guys! TINEE TABBEES!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:01 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]

If you missed any of the births, you can rewind the feed to the times noted from the births: #1 -10:01 am classic tabby; #2 - 10:12 tabby; #3 - 10:27 tabby; #4 - 11:19 tabby, #5 - 12:23 pm, tabby. The recording only goes back 4 hours, so it's just for this afternoon. Could be more to come, but the forecast was 5.
posted by gladly at 12:44 PM on April 17, 2018 [3 favorites]

Five tabby kittens! Still not clear if there is a six, but looking unlikely as the others kind of all popped out pretty fast. Except the first one which gave a lot of trouble.
posted by cui bono at 1:07 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm going to have quite a story to tell when my son asks me tonight what I did at work today. (He asks me this every night and the answer is never interesting, but still he persists.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:08 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

My husband will ask, and I will say I watched a kitty giving birth while job searching:)
posted by cui bono at 1:13 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

TABSTERS! Five of them! <3
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:30 PM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

They are good kitties.
posted by Artw at 1:31 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

AAAAAAH! Five little tabbies all in a row. Thanks for posting this, gladly.
posted by paduasoy at 4:10 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

So I guess we know what Dad looks like! You know, it’s possible that Grandpaw Mason is actually these kittehs’ granddad!
posted by orrnyereg at 5:56 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

TinyKittens is doing a DNA map of the colony to see who is related to who, so it's possible we'd eventually know if Mason is truly a Grandpa to these wee ones. Also possible to find out if Ramona and Rula are related.

You can see the gallery of suspected dads here. Focus on the Ms, if it's a tabby suspect. I am hoping it's Macrofloof, who was linked above!
posted by gladly at 8:45 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

One of the kittens passed away during the night. It's really tough hearing Shelby cry on the livestream about it.
posted by PearlRose at 10:13 AM on April 18, 2018

Oh no, was it Purple?
posted by Artw at 11:12 AM on April 18, 2018

Yes, it was wee little purple. I believe they've settled on the name Prince for him, and names for the others will follow soon, I hope.

Shelly came back to the live stream after taking a minute to compose herself to explain that it was a case of Fading Kitten Syndrome and they'd done all they could. I believe it -- the amount of compassion and love they have for these beautiful cats is obvious.

The other four seem to be latching well and Ramona's milk appears to be coming in. I don't know much about cats, but Shelly seemed fairly optimistic about the other four's chances. She supplemented with formula throughout the night yesterday for a couple of them, and they're not losing weight.
posted by PearlRose at 11:26 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

That poor little guy was having some problems soI'm not entirely surprised, it just happens sometimes. Hope the others do well.
posted by Artw at 11:33 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Kittens have been named! They're going with a theme based on Beverly Cleary's books, thanks to mama Ramona. (I was kind of hoping they'd go with that theme.)

Mackerel tabby (no collar) - Ribsy
Yellow Collar - Huggins
Other male tabby (no collar) - Quimby
Female tabby - Beezus

And of course, little purple Prince, sniff.

.

The joys of watching live birth.
posted by PearlRose at 1:14 PM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]

Oh, I love the names. I was a big fan of the Ramona books. Shelly's doing another supplementary feeding now, and it's a chance to get an up-close look at the kittens.
posted by gladly at 1:27 PM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

TK is chaos! Rula is in labor, but privately so far. She started in the wedge while Chloe was there too, and Chloe was very put out that Rula was about to have kittens on her. (Rewind to 5:45 for the argument) Now Rula has been moved to a nest, but her first kitten (looks all black) is in with Ramona's litter because Rula was too stressed to handle kitten care.

Chloe is bunked in with Ramona and the kittens.
posted by gladly at 6:54 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Rula had her three kittens last night. One tux boy, born on camera, and very unexpectedly, at that! There are also two girls, one black/panther and the other is a torbie.

They were not born live, save the first one, who bunked with Ramona for a bit before being returned to mom. But there is video, and it will be up later today.

Rula is very feral, so this situation stressed her out a ton. But she looks a little better on the cameras this morning. It's early yet.
posted by PearlRose at 5:55 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

Good girl!

I can't wait to see Chloe's kids. I'm such a sucker for marmie kittens.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:21 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

Chloe is showing signs of labor today, and I guess she's decided that Ramona's nest will be hers too. Thankfully, Ramona loves having another cat around.
posted by gladly at 5:40 AM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

Shelley says she expects Chloe to start any time now.
posted by wallabear at 6:04 PM on April 21, 2018

Chloe gave birth in the wee hours to five kittens, in Ramona's nest with Ramona's doula services. You can roll back the timeline or Shelly put up separate videos of the births.

Right now Ramona and Chloe are snuggling to an extent where I'm actually concerned for the newborn kittens being able to find nipples. It's just a giant ball of cat.
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:54 AM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]

I fell asleep last night shortly before the action started, but I watched the replay this morning. I've known my share of feral cat mamas, but Ramona has gone above and beyond anything I've seen in the wild. And now they're co-parenting like the Dickens! I imagine they'll need supplemental bottle feeding for a little while, because there are so many of them and Chloe is so worn out.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:52 AM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

I've totally lost track of whose kittens belong to whom, and I don't know how TK is managing all the moving pieces (literally) of this. Between the weigh-ins, the nest logistics, the health of mothers and kittens, and milk supply, she must barely sleep.
posted by gladly at 8:39 AM on April 23, 2018 [3 favorites]

.
posted by virago at 9:32 AM on April 23, 2018 [3 favorites]

And Chloe's cleft palate kitten is not guaranteed to make it. I wonder how many of these kittens would have made it in the forest?
posted by gladly at 10:27 AM on April 23, 2018

They've said that all or all but one of Ramona's kittens likely would have died in the forest, due to her milk production issues early on.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:03 AM on April 23, 2018

No! Not Quimby, too.

.
posted by PearlRose at 5:11 PM on April 23, 2018

The little panther girl lost weight today, so she's being monitored and supplemented. She's one of Rula's.
posted by cui bono at 9:05 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

Chloe's kits are named after cheeses! It's perfect!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:56 PM on April 24, 2018

Poor little Okoye, sweet one. I feared the worst when I saw Shelly swoop in to try and give her emergency treatment on the live feed last night.

.
posted by PearlRose at 1:27 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

Oh, I didn't see that. Swooping in on one of Rula's kittens definitely means serious problems. Shelly seems hopeful that the rest of the kittens are strong and thriving. Even Aura (Chloe's girl w/ cleft palate) is holding her own. I didn't realize this would be so sad. I sort of want to stop watching and not come back for 4 weeks, until they're bounding, happy bundles of fluff.
posted by gladly at 1:48 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

I didn't realize this would be so sad. I sort of want to stop watching and not come back for 4 weeks, until they're bounding, happy bundles of fluff.

Shelly (paraphrased) said to come back in about a week if you wanted happy kittens on the feed, right between frantically texting the vet and trying to get a tiny needle in Okoye. It was very stressful, and you could tell Shelly was trying to do all she could.

(The beau asked me if I wanted to check in on the kittens last night before bed, and I was very much NO. ONE IS VERY SICK AND WE JUST LOST ANOTHER AND I'M GOOD, THANK YOU.)

I remember when Evolene lost all her kittens -- I think I came into the MF post right after the worst had happened. But still, I had been looking forward to watching a TK experience from the ground up. It's still so, so sad that three of them have been lost so far. I know the numbers would be higher if they'd been left in the wild, and Chloe would probably be gone, too because she had such a tough time recovering herself. But it still hurts to lose every one.
posted by PearlRose at 1:59 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

There's a good video of Aura.
posted by paduasoy at 3:21 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I have to come back when it's a little happier. Too sad right now:(
posted by cui bono at 7:16 PM on April 24, 2018

There was just some manual kitten rearragement and then T'Challa was put on a nipple.
posted by Artw at 7:58 PM on April 24, 2018

There was just some manual kitten rearragement and then T'Challa was put on a nipple.

Shelly said she's had to "micromanage the milk bar," as she put it.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:38 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

Shelly's pretty much an honorary cat at this point.
posted by orrnyereg at 6:57 AM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

Chloe and Ramona did some moving house this morning. Now they're cuddled up together in one nest with all their kittens again. Watching the kittens can be sad, but it's keeping me out of the politics megathreads, and they're much sadder.
posted by gladly at 7:03 AM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

Agreed, gladly. I was watching to cheer myself up after my grandparents' deaths, and so I'll come back when it's a little more stabilized, and I can just enjoy it without the darker aspects of rescue reality.
posted by cui bono at 7:35 AM on April 25, 2018

Lovely video of Chloe and Ramona snuggling.
posted by paduasoy at 10:01 AM on April 25, 2018

Awww.

She does just sort of floomp down on one kitten, but cats are very squishy, I’m sure they’ll be fine.
posted by Artw at 11:27 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

OMG major kitten pile going on now.
posted by Artw at 5:28 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm sorry to hear about T'Challa, but I'm glad he was cared for and loved until the very end.

.

In better news, it's good to hear that the other kittens are doing well (even Aura, considering). Ramona's should be opening their eyes any day soon.
posted by PearlRose at 9:33 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]

Beezus looks so big compared to all the others, even his own littermates! Reminds me of Corsica's Scrammy from last year.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:30 AM on April 26, 2018

I am so charmed that Shelly started calling Beezus the B. Rex, and I love that she's a girl! But, I think it's Ribsy who opened his eyes first, even though I doubt he's seeing anything.

Now that T'Challa is gone, I can see the wisdom of getting Rula out of the caternity ward and treated, and either returned or adopted into a barn situation. All the human contact does stress her, and I'm sure she'd be happier back outside.
posted by gladly at 10:51 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]

I think Rula has kidney issues, much like Chloe. I know that Rula would probably prefer to head back into the wild, but I don't think that may be an option for her yet.
posted by PearlRose at 11:33 AM on April 26, 2018

Yeah, what they're talking about is to move her into care focused on her kidney issues. Depending on how stabilized she gets after that, they'll either release her back to the colony, or find a barn adoption situation where she can have minimal human interaction but get medication still.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 3:29 PM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

From the same discussion, Chole and Ramona are likely to be socialized enough to be adopted out once they're done with the kittens.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 3:30 PM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]

Yes, Rula does need treatment for her kidney issues and her spay before going anywhere. She does have time to develop a more sociable temperament. TK has had a couple of feral mothers return after their spay ready for human contact. It would be nice if Rula could have a comfy landing place. Chloe and Ramona definitely look like they'll be receptive to socialization.

The might Beezasaurus Rex has broken the 200g barrier! All kittens gained weight yesterday.
posted by gladly at 9:26 AM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

Some of Ramona's kittens are starting to open their eyes! It feels like things have finally turned the corner for this group.
posted by PearlRose at 7:32 PM on April 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

Found this article about Grandpa Mason. I love the Trojan kitten method.
posted by paduasoy at 3:53 AM on April 28, 2018 [3 favorites]

Must not get attached to Aura ...
posted by paduasoy at 3:54 AM on April 28, 2018

It would be so nice if Chloe and Ramona were adopted together, but I know that's putting the icing ahead of the cake. I think they'll be fine, happy housecats.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:50 PM on April 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

I think Shelly has posted videos, probably on the Grandpa Mason facebook group, of the Trojan kitten method in action.

Rula has left the nursery room, and she's getting comfortable in her new room. There's a cam there too, and when I just took a look, Rula was sitting in the window very near one of the other cats (Pansy).

Lots of the kittens are opening their eyes now. Beezus is probably furthest along with open eyes and her drunken kitten stagger-walk. Some of the torties are opening their eyes too, but I have a hard time telling those apart. Plus, Ramona is spooning Chloe adorably with kittens hanging off them. It's helping my Monday morning.
posted by gladly at 7:16 AM on April 30, 2018 [2 favorites]

Yesterday the B-Rex was sitting up when she started to look drowsy. After a minute, she stood up and fell backwards onto her back, à la the Nestea Plunge. It looked for all the word like she had been dragged down by the weight of her big, round head.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:20 AM on April 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

And now there's a serious display of sleep twitching from one of the tinee tabbees.

I can't wait until the tinee tortees get a little bigger and we can get a better idea of how their spots are going to shake out.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:30 AM on April 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

Much purring and snuggling at the moment. Aura is out on a business trip.

There is a good video of the ginger twins on FB.
posted by paduasoy at 1:35 PM on May 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

The Chloe and Ramona snuggling is so lovely! Much furore on the chat about "lesbian cats", mods deleting messages.
posted by paduasoy at 12:45 PM on May 3, 2018