Thu, 21 Nov 2024

  

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ADVENTURES > PATIENCE REMAINS A VIRTUE

The day I brought Mirre to the stud, I was worn out. I hadn't slept for a few nights. Mirre was roaring me awake from the living room or my toms were acting tedious at the closed door. They were crying, whining and scratching, but the door remained closed. How ever drowsy I was, I managed to get Mirre and myself safely at the stud's address. There we exchanged papers to check vaccinations and snap test-results. For both cats everything was in order and so things could get started.

Mirre was taken in the pet carrier to the stud's accommodations and put on the floor. The stud receiving her was Mighty Muppet. They met through the door. Muppet was quit excited to become lady's company. Mirre wasn't al that sure. After a while I opened the door so the lady could get out and get acquainted. That didn't have the result I had expected. Mirre didn't want to get out and acted as if she was a shy schoolgirl. When Muppet tried to whisper something lovely into her ear, she turned her back to him. She was clearly not impressed by that bloke and had no intention to be bothered. Was this the same girl in heat that had kept me awake for several nights? The cheeky girl that couldn't care less at what others thought, as long as she would get her way? I really didn't believe my eyes.

After a while I removed Mirre gently from the pet carrier and put her on my lap. She looked around with interest, but especially nòt at Muppet. He was completely at a loose end. Parading handsomely, giving kisses, reciting poems, he opened quit a charm-offensive. Mirre kept herself def and blind for him. At last she was ready to explore her new surroundings. Carefully she walked around. Every time Muppet came to close, she bolted (with Muppet close behind her).

If it had been up to Mirre, she would have returned into the pet carrier and gone home with me. Sadly for her, I had already closed the door and I had no intention of taking her home before she had undertaken certain activities with Muppet. She was clearly bumbed out by that. Only after half an hour she became more relaxed. Muppet could come close, but not pushy. In that case she would hiss or growl at him, at which Muppet would back off.

After some time I said goodbye to the two dears and left. I will honestly confess that my knees were shaking, I wasn't at all easy about it. For the first time I had brought my little girl to a (for her) perfect stranger and left her at his mercy. What if she really didn't like him? I was reassured with the prospect of phonecalls and emails. I wasn't all that happy with the situation, but Ì had intended to breed a litter of Burmese kittens. And I knew very well that they weren't brought by a stork. So I went home.

After two days of no news, my curiosity was unbearable, not to mention my nerves. So I got on the phone. Both cats were having a great time and got along just fine. Mirre didn't seem to be in heat. Had she already been mated or was she getting into heat again? We didn't know, so we could only wait. After a week I went to pick up Mirre. She hadn't come back in heat, so it was possible she had been mated. We went home together and there we would wait and see.

Two weeks later I received an email from her breeder asking if she was acting pregnant already. I returned an email, writing that she was being more vocal and that I wouldn't be surprised at all if she would get in heat again. While I was writing, things got suspiciously quiet in the living room. I didn't trust things so I went to take a look. There I found Mirre with Robbyn on top of her. I grumbled at Robbyn that I had promised Mirre to another tom. I grumbled at Mirre for arousing the toms, she could do that with Muppet. Then I picked up the phone and made an appointment for the next evening to return Mirre to the stud. After that I finished my email with the news that Mirre would go back to Muppet.

The next evening Mirre was in luck. When we arrived at the studs, he was walking around in the garden. So I let Mirre out of the pet carrier to let her explore the garden too. Of course it didn't take long for Muppet to find her. She was less impressed with him, but still not all that interested either. They went about in the garden for half an hour, before we called them in. There Mirre started acting up again. After a hiss and a growl from Mirre, Muppet had had enough and slapped Mirre on the nose. Was she out of her mind? Even that didn't impress her much, but shortly after she stopped making a fuss. She went for a pee and climbed into the scratch pole. There she started to roll about. Thàt looked more like my girl and with a pat and a kiss I said goodbye.



After about ten days the two cats were still having a great time, but there was no sign of her being in heat. Besides that, the new house of Mirre's breeder ( and also the studs accommodations) was finally finished and the studs would return to Drenthe. Now what? Good advise is hard to come by, but this time I gave preference to the most practical above the emotional. Mirre would go to Drenthe too and then we would see if she and Muppet would create some offspring. And if she was pregnant already, I would go and pick her up there.

Again two weeks went by in which I heard nothing else then both cats were having a good time, slept together in a basket and found each others company quit pleasant. I started thinking that things wouldn't improve anymore between them. For sure she found him unfit to be the father of her children. Maybe she was unable to become pregnant. Moving to Drenthe was exciting, maybe they needed some extra time. Was I prepared to give them that? I was growing accustom to having only six cats instead of seven. I started seeing ghosts everywhere.

At home both Zohra and Robbyn took this opportunity to cuddle some more and more often. That surprised me at first. Especially from Zohra, she isn't all that cuddly. We enjoyed it, so we cuddled away. Apparently Mirre's absence had positive implications as well. That didn't mean I didn't miss Mirre and I decided that it was time for her to come home. If she hadn't been mated by now, we would have to think things over. So I emailed to Drenthe that I wanted to pick up Mirre and if it would be convenient. It wasn't a problem, but there was a surprise. It looked like Mirre was getting in heat and she had bite marks in her neck.

????!!????!!????!!????!!

Mirre spent one more week with Muppet before I could collect her. In that time, they mated several times. After a firm trip that went smoothly, I first wanted to cuddle Mirre. She looked happy to see me and was ready for a cuddle. To my surprise Muppet was in a greater need for a cuddle so we were busy for a while. He appeared to be ever as cuddly as his half brother Djavi. Since it was meat and drink to Mirre as well, it promised quit something for their offspring.

After an equally firm trip back that went even faster, for I broke the speed limit several times, we came home again. How would Mirre and the “gang” react to one and other? They hadn't seen each other for several weeks. Besides some hissing and growling ( and whining from Robbyn) things went without a hitch. After three nights they were all used to each other again. Now all there was to do was wait and see if Mirre was pregnant.



Precisely 21 days after the first bite marks had been seen, Mirre's nipples were swollen and pink. I couldn't believe my eyes. At night I looked again: they still were bigger and more pink. Just to be absolutely sure I checked with Zohra. I had to search real hard before I found a tiny little and pale nipple. So it was true. Mirre was finally pregnant! Hurray!! The next day I emailed half the world with the good news. After that I put the news on the website. Everyone was allowed to know now. Mid-October her kittens will be born. We will certainly report on that.

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