Expected litter out of Schimmel Double Intention x Schimmel Sakuya

May 3, 2007 - Sambuca has given birth.

Sambuca was not in a particularly photogenic mood today so there are not many photos, and it's not a very long entry either as tomorrow, one of our Racers is leaving us so I have a day full of paperwork to get through, as well as the other 2 kitten diaries updates. It doesn't help that as I try to type this entry I have Red Rum sitting on my lap and chewing on my clothes, so I have to stop typing after every few words to give her attention :) Sambuca's pregnancy has really flown by and it's difficult to believe that her babies are due in just 7 days' time. In another day or two, Sambuca will be spending her evenings in the bedroom with us, where she can acclimatise herself with the kittening box, and where we can keep a very close eye on her. So long as she doesn't keep us awake night after night, like her daughter, Cointreau, recently did prior to giving birth, then all should be well. Sami is eating enormous quantities of food now and all she ever does is sleep, wake up, eat, sleep, wake up, eat. I think she must be getting quite uncomfortable now as there is a heck of a lot of movement and kicking on both sides that seems to be continuous sometimes so I don't know how she is managing to get any decent sleep. She is doing extremely well though and provided she doesn't go into labour before May 2nd, then her last pregnancy entry will go online on the 2nd. Her honeymoon lasted over a 5 day period, so it is entirely possible that she won't go into labour until the 3rd or 4th.

If I had to hazard a guess I would say that Sambuca is carrying a little Army of Siamese and Orientals as she weighs a ton, is eating for England, and is expanding at a very rapid rate! None of which bothers her as she continues to spend her days sleeping, eating, wandering around, chatting and doing everything that she would normally do. In fact, she is looking very good and we are pleased with her progress. Fortunately, she has stopped walking on top of the stair banister now which is an immense relief as you can imagine. I am hoping that it's finally dawned on her that as she is to be a mummy again soon that she should settle down a little and show some decorum. Sambuca would not stand up and show off her plump figure during the photo session, she was far too comfortable curled up with her daughter, Cointreau, while they both had a snooze.

I didn't bother taking photos for this week's pregnancy diary because the camera problem is still ongoing although I have ordered a new usb cable to see if that makes any difference but I do have my doubts it will work. Sambuca is starting to look very large now. She is in fact larger than Cointreau who is due in a mere 4 days time so chances are we will have large Sheridans babies again. At the moment Sami looks positively wonderful and is progressing extremely well. I'm really looking forward to the possibility of yet more Havana babies. She continues to walk and balance along the top rail of the stair banister and I have given up trying to get her to stop doing this. Her appetite is increasing now which is no surprise this far into the pregnancy and her JW kitten biscuit intake is much more than it was a week or so ago. She's also still enjoying her daily meals of cooked lamb mince, cooked chicken, and cooked fish, as well as the usual Hi Life, Natures Menu, and Felix Pate.

Please note: photos are not possible at this current time due to a problem with the digital camera. I have taken photos but am unable to download them at the present time.

Sambuca is definitely starting to show signs of being pregnant, so much so, that as I walked by her yesterday, I stopped and had another look, and then went and picked her up. She is looking decidedly large and is feeling incredibly heavy. She's bigger than I would have expected her to be this stage of the pregnancy so it will be interesting to see how she progresses during the next 4 weeks. Sami is content to spend her days with her daughter, Cointreau, who is also pregnant at the moment, as well as with Cacao (her mum), Nocello (her niece), Ashanti (her son), and Tuaca. They spend an awful lot of time in Graham's room sleeping by the fire, chasing each other around the room, and trying to steal Graham's food. I am pleased with Sami's progress so far though, she is doing really well and she has managed to go an entire week now without getting herself locked in the spare room. In actual fact, she no longer will be able to as we have now put a lock on the door so that the cat's can't open it any more :) She does like to scare me though by balancing herself on the banister at the top of the stairs and walking along it which I really wish she would not do in her condition.

Four weeks into the pregnancy and Sami had an extremely peaceful morning, due to the fact that I realised at 11:30am that I hadn't seen her. Came downstairs to G's room as that is where she normally spends her days, searched everywhere and she was nowhere in sight. Searched my room, and again, no Sami. At this point in time I was starting to panic a little. I went upstairs into the 2nd spare bedroom, called her name, looked everywhere, still couldn't find her but as I was about to close the door, she decided to make an appearance and even now I don't know where she came from, but she was obviously having a long cat nap and enjoying the fact that she had a room all to herself. This is the 2nd time she's done this now in the last fortnight! The problem is of course that there is no food/water/litter tray in that room. It is only opened up of an evening so that the "upstairs people" can choose to sleep on the bed if they want to, but the tray, food and water is in the upstairs hallway and bathroom. There is very little change with Sambuca but fortunately, the morning sickness has now ceased which is a big relief for us, and no doubt for Sami as well :) I certainly do not think she looks any bigger yet, not even the slightest swelling that I can see, however she is heavier when I pick her up. She also has a very good appetite at the moment and like her daughter Cointreau, she is now on extra meals during the day to help ensure she is getting not only enough food for herself, but also for the growth of her children.

On March 19, I was walking past Graham's room (this is where Sambuca spends her day), and noticed Sami lying in the top bunk of the bunk beds and even from that distance I could see bright pink nipples. Just to make sure I wasn't seeing things, I went into Graham's room, had a look, and knew without any doubts that her honeymoon with Sheridans was successful. So I guess it's fairly safe to say that we will have babies due in May and it's entirely possible that Sambuca will be raising this litter alongside her sister, Drambuie, as Buie may possibly be due a mere 2 weeks after Sambuca. Mind you, I had a feeling about a week ago that she was pregnant as she very kindly proceeded to go through a bout of morning sickness, on the carpet in Graham's room, a few days in a row <sigh>. The morning sickness has lasted a tad longer than it normally does with our girls. Today, Sami has not had a great day in the respect that at around 11am I went into Graham's room, had a quick look around, and asked him where Sambuca was. He then mentioned he hadn't seen her all morning. We both instantly knew where she must have been so I went upstairs to the 2nd spare bedroom, opened the door, and sure enough, here was Sami! Of an evening, the cats that sleep upstairs now open the door to the spare room, and then sleep all night on the single bed that it is in there. Sometimes, once they are all in there, they can't always get the door open from the inside if it closes behind them, and it would appear that when everyone was kicked out of the spare room this morning, Sami must had hidden so she could stay there. She was pleased to be freed from having been locked in the room and took her revenge by jumping up onto the television, where she then proceeded to vomit all the way down the TV screen. To say Graham was unimpressed was an understatement! Apart from this however, Sambuca is doing just fine, she's happy, and is enjoying the company of her mum and her son, Ashanti at the moment.