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community weblog
Kittenpalooza
Three cat moms and fifteen newborn kittens (so far) . Tiny Kittens (Facebook page) a cat rescue based in Langley, BC, found itself this month in an unprecedented situation with five expectant cats, all which were/are due to give birth within a ten day period. The entire pile of 15 (so far) kittens and their three moms are settled in a shared nest, and the cuteness, as they say, is off the charts. You can watch the livestream on Youtube, and take a break from, you know, all this other stuff.
Some details: The first batch of six (Smudge and the Smudgelets) arrived the night of April 10/11th, the second litter of five (Spectra, kittens not yet named) on April 12th/13th, and the third litter of four (Oriana) on April 14th. Two more catermelons are in the wings: Cornflower, litter expected on April 17th, and Opal, April 18th. All the births were streamed live.
posted by jokeefe on Apr 16, 2026 at 1:29 PM
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Oh wow, these folks are local to us and i had no idea they existed. Thanks, jokeefe! (Also OMG THE CUTENESS)
posted by adrienneleigh at 1:54 PM
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AAAAAAAAAAA!
But wait! I ALREADY have a kitten livestream up and running!
HOW MANY KITTENS CAN I POSSIBLY WATCH AT A TIME?
THIS IS SO GREAT! Thank you so much for this, jokeefe! I'm sorry to shout I'm just SO MUCH CUTENESS!
posted by kristi at 1:55 PM
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I know! The little fuzzy potatoes and their mix and match moms!
In all seriousness, it's been wonderful to watch the cats care for each other during labour and delivery. Oriana had two doulas catching and cleaning her kittens as they were born, and nursing is currently a free for all.
posted by jokeefe at 1:56 PM
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The Tiny Kittens live feed, which I found about 8 years ago, is the reason we decided to become a cat/kitten foster home. My wife and I started 6 years ago and have fostered over 100 cats and kittens, with only three foster fails! You really do see the good, bad, and ugly via Tiny Kittens. And it helped us to prepare for all of those in real-life fostering. They are doing a world of good.
posted by Miss Scarlet with the Candlestick in the Lounge at 3:28 PM
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Thank you for the update! I think I first heard about TK on MetaFilter, or possibly Ravelry. I still find myself saying "make good choices, PuffPuff". Grandpa Mason was a legend.
posted by paduasoy at 3:53 PM
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I foster cats and kittens as well, and will occasionally peek in on Tiny Kittens for a fix, when I'm between kittens at home.
posted by notoriety public at 4:15 PM
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By the way, a "foster fail" is a cat you keep, not something more sinister!
paduasoy, Grandpa Mason is the adult cat all fosters wish we could have!
posted by Miss Scarlet with the Candlestick in the Lounge at 4:26 PM
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kristi, I am envisioning an evil mastermind style lair with a you behind a giant desk with like fifty monitors in front of it and they're all showing kitten livestreams
posted by phooky at 4:31 PM
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Awww so cute.... don't forget the sound when you watch the livestream. They were all purring when I checked it out a few minutes ago.
posted by rpfields at 6:02 PM
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The nice thing about this gigalitter is that while the mother cats are outdoor colony cats, they're not FERAL-feral; they're accustomed to some human contact and are not tooth-and-claw defensive.
This is especially important regarding blood typing, which involves snatching a newborn and giving it a quick type test before it can nurse. Type B cats are comparatively rare in the feline world overall but are dominant in this particular colony, and a type A kitten must be kept from nursing on a type B mother for the first day to prevent a fatal antibody-related syndrome (Neonatal Isoerythrolysis).
Hard enough to manage when a mama is cooperating, of course. But when one is angrily protesting BEFORE it had newborns at its paws? At one legendary birth, Shelly had to go in with one padded hand and the other holding a trash can lid as a shield. (They have worked out tricks with towels that are also effective, as if Mama can't see you or what you're actually doing, she's far less aggressive.)
posted by delfin at 6:17 PM
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This is almost enough to fix me
posted by supermedusa at 7:41 PM
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Awww. Monday this week was our bonded-pair twin (well, 2/7) cats' 10th birthdays. I remember then coming home and being so small they somehow both hid *inside* a tiny hollow cardboard scratching panel we got them, we were sure they had escaped somehow. We got them an IKEA cat cube to put up on a shelf - they love it.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 8:03 PM
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What a lovely snugglefest
posted by cynical pinnacle at 8:18 PM
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In a strange sychronicity, on the other end of the spectrum, I just drove by this place; also in Langley.
An actual cat resort, Purrfect Cabins.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 9:12 PM
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On the next TinyKittens stream over (same colony, mamas #4 and #5), Cornflower welcomed kittens 16 through 19 into the world this morning with the help of Opal, who could also have HER kittens at any time.
posted by delfin at 1:17 PM
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