Elbereth might have her first litter this week! According to my calculations, her earliest date could be Wednesday (as in, tomorrow!) and her latest possible date could be next Friday. She's been waddling around for the last week, so I'm hoping that we'll get to meet her babies soon! The first litter can be rough, as some new mother's don't really know what's going on, so I hope her experience goes smoothly.

I have a large (two tier) cage that she'll be spending time in until then (whenever she's not supervised). That way, I can guarantee that her litter will be born in a safe environment and that she doesn't move them to, or drop them from, great heights. I feel bad to have her cooped up, but I know it's for the best for her babies. I remember Lúthien's first litter - poor thing she really had no clue what was happening at first. I found her in a small clothes drawer of mine with one kitten out but she hadn't started cleaning him or anything. The space wasn't big enough for her to easily birth and clean the litter, so I had to carefully move her to a box I'd prepared ahead of time. I was scared that I'd gotten to her too late - kittens have to be cleaned off so they can start to breathe before 2 minutes or they risk suffocating. She did start cleaning him and tending to him, so it turned out well, but I still consider that first ever kitten to be a miracle fur-baby :) I actually kept him as a pet just because it felt so special to have her first baby stay with her/us forever.

I know you all share in my excitement and anticipation as we wait for Elbereth's first litter! I hope to update you all with good news soon!