Cointreau really had us guessing with this one, and I have to say, that up until April 19, I was getting quite concerned because we had seen no movement whatsoever. Her due date should have been the 17th, so on the 18th, when I still couldn't see any movement, I was thinking that perhaps there were no live babies at all. At this stage we should have been seeing lots of kicking and we certainly should have been able to feel babies moving around. On the evening of the 19th, I noticed quite a lot of movement, but instead of the movement coming from both sides, it was coming from from just one side, and the movement was way down underneath. It's a bit hard to explain but normally, you would see the babies moving around about half way down each side of the queen and this is the first time I've ever seen babies who are so incredibly low down, almost sitting directly on the bottom of her abdomen as opposed to being higher up. As you can imagine though, the fact that I was suddenly seeing a lot of movement did make me incredibly relieved. For nights now, Cointreau has been keeping us awake which is okay as you expect that in the week coming up to the birth, but she was showing no signs at all of going into labour. She was just content to spend her evenings with us and chill out. I know we aren't the only ones who were becoming impatient though as Jill, the Blue Paw Clan, and Teen were in touch quite regularly to see if "anything had happened yet". I also had Julie asking via email but then I think she has an ulterior motive in that her lovely Suki may be having a honeymoon with Ashanti later this year, so I secretly think Julie is just desperate to know just what he is capable of producing :) It was at the point where Caryll was giving me advice on what to do, and that went along the lines of "Lift her tail and shout very loudly come out, you buggers!" Okay, I'll admit that I did do exactly what Caryll said and did it make any difference,.....................................of course it didn't :) By the time Saturday afternoon came around, I said to Graham she's got until Monday and if nothing has happened by then, she'll be taken straight to our vets for a scan and then a decision would be made but I was of the opinion that as she had gone overdue by quite a few days that there would be nothing live in there but throughout it all, Cointreau was perfectly fine in herself, eyes were bright and clear, coat was smooth and soft and she was eating well and had normal toileting habits. Now all of this is a prelude to what happened during Sunday morning but I'll start with Saturday night. First of all, we were both already tired as we had been moving things around all day so we decided to have an early night because prior to this, Cointreau had been keeping us awake, night after night, being very restless and incredibly noisy. She then chose Saturday night to howl on and off all night long, and despite us both checking her constantly, she was perfectly fine, not in any distress, it was more as if she was in a state of confusion. When Sunday morning came around, we both slept in as we were shattered. Graham was up at quarter to eight, and when he got up, Cointreau was fine, still wandering around and still howling. I then wok up at quarter to nine, and again it was the same. No evidence of anything at all and Cointreau was still incredibly restless. I came downstairs, made a coffee, did a few minor bits and pieces, went back upstairs to collect the washing and check Cointreau again and when I was in the bedroom, I heard the unmistakable sounds of a tiny baby squeaking. I checked the box, no Cointreau, no baby, I checked under the bed, no Cointreau and no baby, I checked Graham's clothes shelves in the wardrobe, no Cointreau and no baby. I called out (well okay screamed out to Graham) to come upstairs and I took the box out of the wardrobe and in between the box and Graham's shelves, sure enough, there was Cointreau and an Oriental Black baby!!! I ran into the kitten room, grabbed loads of bedding, put it on the floor in the wardrobe, placed Cointreau on the bedding, picked up baby for inspection and weighing, baby was perfectly dry, and perfectly fine, and perfectly beautiful. I then placed baby back with Cointreau who proceeded to snuggle him in close to her and all was well. I then came downstairs to put another load of washing on, and to make a coffee and as I was washing up, I realised with horror that the bedding I had put Cointreau and baby on was fluffy bedding and I stood there at the sink totally petrified the long fur on the bedding would choke baby so I flew up the stairs and changed the bedding all over again, in a total panic and Teen got quite a giggle out of this when I told her on the phone. Throughout the day I waited and waited to see if there were any more, but by 3pm it did appear that was it, just the one. I very quickly evicted the Racers from the kitten room, did some quick reshuffling of items, put the box into the kitten room and put in fresh bedding and then put Cointreau and baby in there. Cointreau settled in the box straight away with her baby, whom already she adores and since then, I have been going up to check on her every half hour and all is well and baby is feeding and doing just fine. So we would like to introduce you to Liquorice, whose birth details are below................

Now if you were to ask me am I disappointed that we didn't get a miniature Ashanti, or that there is only one baby, well if I were being perfectly honest, I would say no. In fact, I am just over the moon that Liquorice was an excellent weight, and that Cointreau is fine. As mentioned, I had been thinking the worst because today she would have been approximately 5 days overdue and with very little movement, I was anticipating an urgent trip to the vets tomorrow, so no, I am totally and utterly delighted with the appearance of Liquorice. Ashanti was only 6 1/2 months old when he sired Liquorice and we are thrilled that he has successfully sired his first "litter" now. Okay, litter being just one baby of course, but one baby with fantastic weight and beautifully formed, is a very good start to Ashanti's "stud" career and we are extremely proud of both him, and Cointreau.