kitty birth

our cat, tuna,gave birth to 3 kittens today.
the labor was long and difficult. so unlike her mother's and grandmother's.
baby one was breech and she was crying so pitiously i finally grasped the tiny rear legs of the kitten and the next time she pushed i pulled a bit.
the sweet thing slid most of the way free and with another push the head came along too.

kitty number two was born 15 minutes later without a problem.
number three took an hour but was problem free.

tuna is contentedly nursing her little ones in a cardboard box with a door cut in it.
she seems to be recovering from the trauma well.

this will be our last litter as ava is scheduled to be spayed soon and tuna will be as soon as the babies are 10 weeks old.
edwin and winston have appointments for late may.

we have had one litter a year for 3 years and keep all the kittens.
i am a huge proponent of spaying and neutering so this is unusual for me.


UPDATE
she just had #4, 2 hours later.