Still no kittens!! Thanks for all of the responses - the links to the 2 articles were very helpful. We're still extremely anxious though - hopefully it will be today. We worry about Popcorn because she had kind of a rough start. For anyone interested, we'll tell her story - maybe it will take our minds off the waiting and waiting and waiting.........
Last fall (October) we saw a tiny little kitten run under our back deck. We tried to catch her, but she was too quick. We already had one cat (Katie) but had eventually planned on getting another to keep her company during the day. Although we weren't exactly ready for that 2nd cat I couldn't just let this little kitten stay outside. Fall in New York can be brutal, especially for a little kitten alone. Unfortunately, we couldn't catch her. Finally, after several weeks, our neighbor caught her and brought her over. I immediately put her in the bathroom to keep her away from Katie as I was sure she had fleas, worms, and possibly something worse. She was in such bad shape - fat with worms, completely filthy, and her voice was so hoarse she couldn't meow. My vet was able to see her that day, and estimated her to be about 10 weeks old, which means she was probably on her own at 3-4 weeks. It's probably a miracle she survived. She got dewormed and defleaed and checked over and I brought her home. My daughter sat in the bathroom with her for 2 days and held her and tried to play with her. It was cute, but kind of sad - I didn't think she was going to make it. She didn't know how to bathe herself and she was throwing up all the time - she didn't really even know how to play. Well, needless to say, thankfully, she did make it. She continued to throw up after eating for a long time and I ended up having to cut some of the "gunk" out of her fur. It took a while for Katie to get used to her, but they get along ok now. She still can't really meow too well - she probably damaged her voice meowing for her mother when she was abandoned. She's a really sweet good cat, but not affectionate. She's completely devoted to my 8 year old daughter who loved her and held her when she was so sick.
So, that's Popcorn's story - and that's why we worry about her. I'm afraid that because she didn't get the care from her mother that she needed she might not know what to do. And that because of her digestive problems, there could be a problem with the babies. Plus the fact that she's so young.......
Well, we'll keep everyone posted on how she's doing. Hopefully we'll have some news to share today!!
Thanks for listening and I apologize for the long-winded story!!
Cindy, Jenna (and Popcorn!!)