KITTENS

Tom's cat Iive might be pregnant.....!!

Let me back up here with some explanation. Tom and I each brought one cat into the marriage. I brought beautiful, strong, masculine, and exceptionally-friendly Siamese kitty Lancelot (usually called Lance).

Sweet baby Lance

Tom brought the mischievous, clumsy, and biggest bully-cat in the world, Iive (prounounced ee-vay. It's Tom's Latinization of the word "jive").

Don't be fooled - she's a meanie

**commence rant against Iive**

I don't like Iive, and I never have. Which is odd, because I'm definitely a cat person. There's rarely a cat I don't like. She's so bad, though. She always ALWAYS get into stuff. If there's anything "new" in the house, she will climb on it, sit in it, open it, etc.. Before Sly was born, she kept sleeping in his crib, his cradle, and on his changing table. And leaving her gross orange fur everywhere. Tom claims she's just curious, but I know better.

And she's so clumsy! Cats are supposed to be the most graceful creatures around. I've watched cats walk across a chessboard in use, stepping carefully between each piece, and not knock over a single one. Iive can't even avoid picture frames on the mantle! Or perhaps she can, she just doesn't care to. Humph.

Every time I open the front door, she runs out. And then two seconds later - completely literally - she wants back in. SO ANNOYING.

And she's so mean to other cats. She HATES other cats. She beats up Lance ALL.THE.TIME. For no reason! She actually waits around corners to pounce on him. Luckily, Lance is stronger than her, and can defend himself. But I can't say as much for the cat she used to live with. When Tom had roommates, they had a tiny delicate little wisp of a cat named Eliza. Iive terrorized the poor thing so much that she wouldn't come out of hiding. Ever. She couldn't access the food or the litter box. She started losing weight and, well, going to the bathroom in places she shouldn't. They had to keep the cats living on separate floors of the house after that, with their own food and litter. As if they each had their own apartment!

And Iive doesn't like any people - except for Tom. She absolutely fawns over him. And he fawns right back. And it's annoying. I think Iive and I are like jealous women, fighting for the affections of the same man.

**okay, rant over**

Anyways. She's never been spayed. And yet she's never been pregnant. She's only been in heat a handful of times, unlike other unspayed females who do so much more often. Tom and I suspect maybe she's infertile. Or it could be that she's so mean to all the other male cats, that none of them want to touch her (hehe). And if she does manage to find a willing male while she's in heat, it's likely that all the male cats wandering around are already neutered. But both of us would love if she got pregnant. Because I LOVE KITTENS!!

Iive was in heat 3 weeks ago, and we saw her gallivanting outside with a black kitty. Now, for the past day or two, she's been acting differently. Much friendlier. She's even been coming to sit on my lap for pets. And she appears a touch pudgier in the belly. Maybe it's all just a coincidence. But my mind can't stop considering the possibility...

Cat gestation is about 2 months, so it won't be long before we know one way or the other. I was talking to Tom last night about how much I would love love love to have a litter of kittens in the house. I said, "you know, I think I'm more excited about the prospect of kittens than I was about the birth of my own baby." He gave me this look to say "wow, you are the most terrible person on the planet for just saying that."

But when I say excited, I mean in that girlish, gleeful, giggly way: "KITTENS!!!!" Of course - of course - a human soul is higher than a cat soul. The birth of my own child was a much more important and momentous event in my life than a litter of kittens in the house could ever be. But all my life I've hoped to have children. Planned for it, expected it to some extent. And then once I was pregnant, I still had nine months to prepare mentally. It was wonderful, but I was at least partially prepared.

But kittens? That would be a sweetly unexpected little surprise. Sly and I would spend all our free time just watching those soft fluffy squeaky little balls of happiness. And I would get so many cute pictures of my baby with the kitty babies. squeeeeeeeee!!

I don't want to get my hopes up too much, though. Iive might just be in a weird mood for some other reason. Anyways, it might be for the best if it didn't happen. I mean, if there were kittens in the house, this blog would probably turn into something that would better be titled: kittenskittenskittenskittensKITTENS!!!!.blogspot.com :-P