Greetings, Kitten Academicians!

Mural has finally had her six precious kittens after the second-longest pregnancy ever* at Kitten Academy! But before that — literally the day before — we brought in Rue and her sixlets. So today’s mewspaper post is going to introduce two families!

(* Mural gets second place with 34 days spent pregnant at the Academy. The record continues to be held by Tempest who lasted 37 days!)

Rue’s Ruse

Rue was discovered in the Bronx where she was rescued and brought to Hoboken, NJ and given the name “Rutabaga.” Reportedly very sweet and playful, she was a joy but soon concern mounted over her growing belly and a trip to the vet was in order. The vet quickly determined that she was pregnant with six little kittens, so her rescuers called the one person they knew could help — Mom! (Their mom, not ours or Rue’s.) Mom brought Rutabaga to Dr. Katz in Fairfield, CT where the kittens were delivered, and spent their first two weeks. Now that they’ve reached an age appropriate to more mobility, we’ve brought them in to the Kitten Academy to give them a little space to stretch out and zoom around! They are currently living in the “Second Annex” next door to Mural, with hopes that eventually the two families can come together.

“Mom” will be adopting Rue (so actually Rue’s mom after all) after she’s done raising her last litter of kittens (Rue, not Mom), and the kittens will go through the usual adoption process here at Kitten Academy when they are about three months old.

A Note on Applications

Speaking of which, DAWS — the shelter we work with and who process applications for Kitten Academy kittens — have asked that anyone who wants to apply for any of Rue or Mural’s kids use the Kitten Academy application here on this website. They ask that you don’t use the regular DAWS application. The Kitten Academy application will open after the kittens are a few weeks older and we’ve had a chance to get to know them a little better. We’ll be sure to put the word out here and on our Twitter when that day arrives.

Here’s the Rue crew, and see below for Mural!

Caper - Male “Classic” Grey Tabby

Hijinks - Male “Mackerel” Grey Tabby

Hustle - Male “Mackerel” Grey Tabby

Gimmick - Male Black with Ventral White Spots

Sham - Female Black

Gambit - Male Black with Grey-Flecked Prosterior

Rue - Momcat

Mural’s Tinypaints

Mural is another momcat who was brought to Dr. Katz, this time from a sort-of cat colony near her practice in southwestern Connecticut. Mural was brought in with the intent of performing a spay and returning her to her usual place (TNR), but Dr. K discovered she was pregnant (Mural, not Dr. K) and very friendly so offered to have her attend the Academy. We initially suspected she’d deliver kittens within a week of her arrival but it turned out to take over a month! During that time she’s shown that she’s very comfortable around other cats, and spent most of her days just hanging around the Academy with the faculty.

Etch was born with a special talent for reviewing movies and Facebook posts.

Mural is a polydactyl cat, which in her case means she has one extra toe in-between her fourth toe and her dewclaw on her front paws. Four of her kittens are the same, each with one extra toe on each of the front paws, as noted below. This is an unusual, but not rare genetic mutation that is unlikely to have any impact on health or longevity. However, it does allow for an impressive thumbs-up!