Birth - 9/2 to 9/3/2021

A fun tradition we're thinking of starting is that if our dogs have a third litter, we'd make it a fun and silly theme. Kyra had the Chicken Nugget Litter for her third, due to the cute nickname she got from a child that met her (see the Summer of 2016 litter for the story). I may be a dog breeder, but I'm also a cat lover. I liked the play on words for "litter", the litter of puppies, a litter of kittens, and you know... kitty litter. So I decided we could name the puppies after different breeds of cats, and give them cute nicknames from the cat breed name. What can be more fun (and confusing) to name our puppies after cats?!?! So now we (including our cat Spyro) present to you the Kitty Litter!

Zazu spent a solid day going through the first stages of preparing for her whelping. On September 2nd, puppy #1, a boy, came and an hour later puppy #2 followed, a girl. The little girl was so tiny compared to her brother! She was in the size range of other puppies born in the past, but following that big boy, she was such a dainty little thing. Sadly after a while with no contractions, we trudged to the emergency vet to check Zazu out. She whelped the four puppies in her first litter fine, and six of her nine on her second, so we thought this should be ok. She didn't seem too tired from whelping like on the last one, and were quite surprised her contractions stopped. An x-ray at the e-vet revealed that a puppy was stuck in her birth canal, and was kind of folded so it wouldn't be able to come out if we tried to do it naturally with some help from an oxytocin shot. Our poor baby needed to have a c-section, and while that sucks big time, it was what needed to be done to save her and the puppies.

A while later, when the surgeon called to give us the status of the surgery, we got some happy and sad news. Happy that Zazu did great and seemed to be doing really well from the surgery. Happy that we got two more big and healthy boys (who surprised me when I went to pick them up that they were black and tan, as we knew Zazu carried the gene, but we didn't know what Marv carried so now we know he has it as well). Incredibly sad that the puppy that was stuck, a little girl, did not make it. I know that breeding dogs is not for the faint of heart, and that at one point, all breeders, no matter what they do to prepare and help save them, that they will eventually lose a puppy if they do this long term. I am tearing up again as I recount this story, no matter how much we know it will happen, it's never easy and always sad. It's hard to stay away from the "what ifs"... but all we can say is that we love that little girl, and are incredibly sad she didn't get a chance at life, but we will always take that knowledge and use it for things we can do to try to help a future puppy out if we ever get into the situation again. So here's another shout out of our love for you our little angel.

Photos

Videos

We are still grateful though that the surgery saved her brothers lives, and after a few days of the anesthesia making Zazu a little uneasy, she is now healing well and back to herself as she takes care of her four sweet babies. I hope you will join us on our 8 week journey with our little "kitties"! I will post pictures of them and their breeds on Facebook as well. Having a cat themed litter is also a shout out to Spyro our cat. He's been with us from the very beginning of this dog breeding journey, raising all 6 of the in house Desert Sol litters! He helps socialize our puppies, he loves sneaking some food while the puppies lap up the goat's milk, and then when they're older and realize he's fun to play with, he shows them how they should mind their manners when it comes to this prince of the house!

So come check out the strangest cats you'll ever see with our Kitty Litter! And from the wise words of Spyro, "Cats Rule, Dogs Drool!"

Shout out to Wikipedia for all the name origins below.

So now, the moment you've all been waiting for, we would like to introduce the puppies of the Kitty litter, in order of appearance:

Desert Sol Mau

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Pronunciation:

MOU

Sex:

Male

Weight:

1lb 2oz

Name Origin:

Eqyptian Mau: Egyptian Maus are a small to medium-sized short-haired cat breed. They are one of the few naturally spotted breeds of domesticated cat. The spots of the Mau occur on only the tips of the hairs of its coat. It is considered a rare breed. The Eqyptian Mau is the fastest of the domestic cats, with longer hind legs and a unqiue flap of skin that allows the legs to stretch back farther. Maus have been clocked running more than 30 mph! The Mau is known to be a loyal, playful and friendly breed.

Desert Sol Aby

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Pronunciation:

A-bee

Sex:

Female

Weight:

12oz

Name Origin:

Abyssinian: The Abyssinian is a breed of domestic short-haired cat with a distinctive "ticked" tabby coat, in which individual hairs are banded with different colors. The Abyssinian breed is one of the top five most popular breeds worldwide. In the terms of domestication of cats, the Abys have been found to be one of the oldest types of animal in existence, with mummified cats in Eqyptian tombs. Abys are frequently regarded as "Clowns of the Cat Kingdom", and their dog-like characteristics include their particular need for affection and desire for interaction.

Desert Sol Manx

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Pronunciation:

MAYNKS

Sex:

Male

Weight:

1lb 1oz

Name Origin:

Manx: The Manx cat is a breed of domestic cat that has a naturally occurring mutation that shortens the tail, known as the "Manx taillessness gene". Many Manx have a small stub of a tail, but Manx cats are best known at being entirely tailless, the most distinguishing characteristic of the breed, along with its elongated hind legs and round head. Manx are prized as skilled hunters, and have been sought out by farmers as rodent hunters and a preferred ship's cat breed. They are social, tame and active cats.

Desert Sol Bir

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Pronunciation:

BUR

Sex:

Male

Weight:

1lb 1oz

Name Origin:

Birman: The Birman is a domestic cat breed with long-haired, color-pointed fur, distinguished by a silky coat, deep blue eyes and contrasting white "gloves" on each paw. Birmans were almost wiped out as a breed during World War II. Only two cats were alive in Europe at the end of the war, a pair named Orloff and Xenia. They were the foundation of the breed, and all offspring were of this pair. They were heavily outcrossed with other long-hair breeds, like the Persian and Siamese, to help rebuild the Birman breed.