Sunday Evening.........

Well, Sunday evening has arrived, and the one thing that I do know, is that by this time next week, the birth will be over. If I am honest, it is hard to think of much else at the moment. Lily has slowed down so very much, and as you will see from the photograph, the poor girl really is very large now.

She has started to follow me around a lot, and looks for cuddles and reassurance. Last night, ( I shut her in with me at night, away from the others now), I woke up feeling uncomfy. Lily had spread herself accross the entire length of my pillows, leaving me just a nice hard piece of mattress. She looked so relaxed and comfy that I hadn't the heart to move her.

She is not showing any great signs of 'nesting' so I am not expecting kittens tonight, nor tomorrow night really. I would expect them to arrive nearer the middle of the week. But I have things covered here, so I do not have to make any of the school runs. If Lil was to start her labour in the middle of the afternoon, I would be completely stuck, because I could not leave her. Both her life and that of her unborn kittens could be at risk if was to do so. So, it is Lily watching for me, for the next few days.

I know some people, who have made the observation,that, 'hey, cats just go off somewhere quiet and have their kittens on their own, what's all the fuss'.

Well, the fuss and preparation is about ensuring that Lily goes through the whole process, without any danger to her health. She is not just my cat, she is a very special friend, and I am deeply proud of her.

I need to be there, incase something goes wrong with the delivery, and she needs to be rushed to the vets. That is my greatest fear in all of this. I don't want to even anticipate the anguish if anything should happen to her.

I also need to be here, to try to ensure that every little kitten, developing inside of her, has the chance to survive, and has the chance of a long and happy life. And if Lil's last 2 deliveries are anything to go by, she will need me to assist. They came so quickly the last 2 times, that I really did need to intervene.

I can feel a rise in my adrenaline levels at the moment, this is causing me not to eat as much as I should, and I can ill afford to lose weight. Thankfully, Richard, who has been in Belgium all weekend with the school, has brought his mum back lots of chocolate. I may well need that through the nightly vigils to come.

Lily is snuggling up with her daughter at the moment, which is good. So I am going to try to get a little more sleep tonight.