A&MD Ranch

Out in our barn we have 2 female cats and we recently figured out they were pregnant. They are sisters one is a solid black and the other is a calico; gray, orange and white. So Hubby and DD were out in the barn Sunday 4/19 and they heard some meows so they went searching and found a litter of 5 kittens, 3 gray and 2 black. We figured out it was from our black cat Panther and the other cat Spots was still pregnant. We watched the kitten’s everyday to make sure they were doing OK and they were fine. Then on the following Tuesday DD says to me, “hey mama guess what”?? I said “what”? She tells me that one of the gray kittens has white on its head….I’m like OK that’s weird it I didn’t remember that from the other day but it must just be a really tiny spot. Then that same day they hear some meowing coming from a separate area so they go on the hunt again. And lo-and-behold they find 1 kitten it is cream colored. So we assume that it must be Spots’ kitten and I go check her but she’s still full of kittens?!?! So we thought well she just had the one for now but we were afraid she wouldn’t go back to the kitten so we moved the kitten to Panther’s litter to see if she would nurse the kitten. Later that evening we were heading to the city but I ran and checked the kittens to make sure the cream one was OK and sure enough panther was letting the kitten nurse!!! I was so excited!! So I ran and checked Spots again and she was still full of kittens. When we got home later that night DD and I went out to check on them yet again LOL!! So as we are sitting there looking at them under our flashlights I noticed something wasn’t right, there was too much gray in there. So I started counting them OK 1, 2, 3, 4, 5….Wait no that’s not right, DD didn’t we only have 3 gray kittens and she says yep! So I count again 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5….WHAT!!! How could that be?!?! I run over to Spots to feel if she’s still pregnant cause I thought maybe she just decided it would be funny to make her sister nurse all of these kittens…This is what we were envisioning, Spots delivering a kitten then taking it to Panther and saying OH here I found another one!!! LOL!! So I find Spots and pick her up to feel her belly and I didn’t need to feel long to figure out that UMM she is still pregnant!?!? OK now this is getting weird!!! I go back to the pile of kittens and pull them out 1 at a time to count them, so it’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 gray ones, 1, 2, black ones, and 1 cream one…So OK how did we start with 5 then mysteriously end up with 8?!?!?! So I started wondering OH I bet cats can carry 2 different litters? So I Google this and find out sure enough cats have 2 uterine horns so they can be impregnated twice at the same time, and they usually have the second litter within a couple of days which she did!!! OMG!!! This was way cool!! So the next day we go and check and everyone is fine until we find our next mystery. Now I check Spots and she has no kittens in her belly, and I can’t find them anywhere!! Well I have a hearing loss of 50% in both ears so I figured I would wait and when the good ears got home then I will have them find the kittens. So Hubby gets home and DD gets home and they go on another hunt but this time they turn up nothing!! And there are no more kittens with the other litter? So we guessed she must have hidden them away....Well a few days go by and I go to check on them and the kittens are gone!! And both mommies are there with me so when the good ears got home once again they went searching, but didn’t find them I was so upset, that would mean something took them…So we continue to look and listen everyday but nothing….Well then last Monday Hubby went to pull some hay off of a bale to throw to the yearlings and as he comes walking back he looks down where the hay was in this alley way and there lies the 8 kittens!!!! Panther hid them for some reason, she must have gotten afraid of something but I was so thrilled to run out and see them alive and OK!!!

So we leave them here, we were a little leery to do this but we didn't want to chance anything. They were fine there for a couple of days, until Conner my red merle Aussie found them...He apparently thought it would be fun to play with one cause when Hubby went to put him in his kennel a couple of nights ago Conner walks up and opens his mouth and out comes a kitten!! So I am at my computer while dinner is cooking and I see Hubby coming up to me then he holds something out at me and I kind of glance over and I'm not sure what I thought it was but it scared the CRAP out of me so I flew out of my chair and ran to the other side of the kitchen. Well it was the kitten all wet and sandy like Conner had dropped it in the water, then was rolling it in the sand :( So I grab the kitten and get it dried off and take DD to go check and make sure all of the others are OK. So we get down there and they are all fine so we moved them into the cats feeding room in the barn so the dogs can't get to them anymore...And yes the kitten is fine!!

Pile of kittens!!


DD loving on a gray kitten!!


This is our favorite, it's a cream color!