Bob/Marley, the Perfect Mama

Bob/Marley/Bobbie Sox had five kittens last night. I have been watching her like a hawk lately. I was convinced she was going to have them last weekend so we took her to Fayetteville with us. She looked so huge. She isn't a big cat (but neither was her mom). Anyway, last night I decided it would be a great night to go fishing since Darrell had the night off. We didn't leave the house until about midnight. She was acting a little bit funny, but she has been acting funny for a couple of weeks now. I had prepared a place for her in our closet that she loves to kind of hide in. Carolyn was home and didn't go to bed until 2:30 am. Bob hadn't had her kittens at that time. I came home from fishing a little bit after 5 am. When I got home, the first thing I did was to go check on her. Sure enough there were 5 newborn kittens. The weren't as small as I was hoping they would be (for Bob's sake) but that is a good sign that they are healthy. Poor Bob looked like she had been beaten. She and the kittens were shivering and it didn't appear that Bob was able to feed them. I got a bit worried. I went to my shed and got a light that I could put over the box and that helped warm them all. I gave Bob some water, which she drank like a cat who had been in the desert for weeks. Because I was worried about the kittens feeding, I woke Jamie up around 6. Jamie is the resident animal expert of the family. She reassured me that things were probably okay, but told me to watch carefully. Anyway, Bob began feeding the kittens and was showing that she is the perfect mama cat.

When I got Bob, I was told that her short/bobbed tail was that way since birth, but many doubted this. The young girl that gave her to me just called her Bob even though she was a girl. It kinda stuck with many of us. I started calling her Bob Marley, while other members of my family called her Bobbie Sox and Marley. None of the names really bother me, and the cat doesn't really answer to any of them. I can tell that she does know the names, but she isn't a cat that you can go out and call when you want. She comes and goes on her own time table. She is an excellent hunter and is always bringing me treats. She is the most loving, people cat I have had in my life. Even though she was born and spent the first part of her life around a ton of other animals, since she has been with me, she won't tolerate other animals around, with the exception of the raccoons that come to eat her food from time to time. She complete ignores the dogs as she comes and goes. I am a big animal lover and have had some great animals in my life. My last cat, Arthur, disappeared about this time last year. He was a one man cat. I was sad when he disappeared and decided I couldn't stand the heartbreak of losing another one. I was taking some pictures for the young girl described above and she wanted to pay me by giving me Bob (clever way of getting rid of kittens). I didn't feel like I could say no, so I reluctantly took her when she was old enough. I am so happy that I did.

Now, for all you animal lovers out there, I didn't intend for her to get pregnant. She spent pretty much the whole winter in the house. We kept meaning to get her fixed, but being the idiot that I can be at times, I didn't get it done on time. Once I realized that she was pregnant, I could have taken her to the vet and had her fixed and the kittens removed, but I just couldn't do that. Soooo, here I am now with 6 cats. They appear to be very beautiful little babies. One of the kittens appears to be a beige/muted orange color with a long tail. The others are all variations of black, grey, and white. One appears to be marked very similar to Bob. The interesting thing to me is that one of the kittens has a tail that is bobbed and has the same little bend in it that Bob does. There is another who has an even shorter tail.

I do promise to get Bob/Marley/Bobbie fixed as soon as possible, but right now I am going to let her enjoy being a great mom. I am enjoying watching the kittens and look forward to when the kids and grandkids get to come see them.

From a man who has no right to say this, "GET YOUR ANIMALS SPAYED AND NEUTERED".