Our babies are growing like weeds, which is the only thing growing here in Tennessee! Everyone is eating now and trying to learn to use the litter box regularly. They're starting to get fluffy, and their little eyes are more focused this week, too.
They are a social and lovable little bunch! Of course they wrestle with each other every waking moment, and all the little girls have these adorable little war cries that sends their mama running around checking everyone and dragging babies back to the safety of the nest.
They're just starting to climb everything in sight, including me. I love this time with them! The next 4 weeks will be LOTS and lots of fun!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
My spoiled angels...
I just had to blog this picture because I love so much that my girls all love each other and get along so well. Here, they're sharing dad's pillow.
This next week, I'll be sending off Buttercup and Jasmine's DNA samples to UC Davis labs to get them tested for PKD. Next, they will both go to the vet and get their feline AIDS and leukemia tests and a full check-up so that we know everything is right in the world for them.
All of these tests are done before they are ever bred so that I know they don't have anything wrong that they could pass on to kittens. Buttercup is due to be bred very soon, and Jasmine can be bred as early as November, IF she ever goes into heat. She may be too prissy to have babies!
Now I'm off to play with kittens and get their pictures posted for their expecting parents. My goodness, they are getting cuter by the minute now! They are 4 weeks old today, and we'll have special "birthday" pictures on Flickr. NEXT week, they get baths! AND visits from their parents!
This next week, I'll be sending off Buttercup and Jasmine's DNA samples to UC Davis labs to get them tested for PKD. Next, they will both go to the vet and get their feline AIDS and leukemia tests and a full check-up so that we know everything is right in the world for them.
All of these tests are done before they are ever bred so that I know they don't have anything wrong that they could pass on to kittens. Buttercup is due to be bred very soon, and Jasmine can be bred as early as November, IF she ever goes into heat. She may be too prissy to have babies!
Now I'm off to play with kittens and get their pictures posted for their expecting parents. My goodness, they are getting cuter by the minute now! They are 4 weeks old today, and we'll have special "birthday" pictures on Flickr. NEXT week, they get baths! AND visits from their parents!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
3 wks old, our first meal...
Our litter was 3 weeks old yesterday, and we had our first meal today. With such a big litter, I wanted to help Dutches out a little bit and get them started eating as early as possible. But I also wanted to make sure that they had something gentle on their tummy - after all, they just started being able to pee and poo by themselves at about 2 1/2 weeks old. So we started with Gerber's baby food, chicken and gravy.
Everyone loved it except for Peyton. At this age, they are also just holding their heads up pretty well, but not well enough to eat from a bowl, so they got to eat off my fingers until they get the hang of it. A couple of them took a bite from a spoon but stuck their head all the way in! hahaha Gotta love the enthusiasm, though! And Dutches comes back in and licks them all clean for me.
They'll get fed a couple times today, a couple times tomorrow, and then when I start letting them eat from a plate, they'll get fed 3 times a day. At 4 weeks old, we'll give them softened kitten food with a little of the Gerber's mixed into it, maybe a little KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer). Then when they are eating that well, they'll stop getting the baby food. But it helps to give them a jump start and really get their interest at first.
It'll be amazing to watch them grow and develop from here on out, and it will happen quickly! They'll be playing all over their room in a few more days and are already starting to climb things!
Everyone loved it except for Peyton. At this age, they are also just holding their heads up pretty well, but not well enough to eat from a bowl, so they got to eat off my fingers until they get the hang of it. A couple of them took a bite from a spoon but stuck their head all the way in! hahaha Gotta love the enthusiasm, though! And Dutches comes back in and licks them all clean for me.
They'll get fed a couple times today, a couple times tomorrow, and then when I start letting them eat from a plate, they'll get fed 3 times a day. At 4 weeks old, we'll give them softened kitten food with a little of the Gerber's mixed into it, maybe a little KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer). Then when they are eating that well, they'll stop getting the baby food. But it helps to give them a jump start and really get their interest at first.
It'll be amazing to watch them grow and develop from here on out, and it will happen quickly! They'll be playing all over their room in a few more days and are already starting to climb things!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
3 Weeks Old Tomorrow...
Our little babies are growing quickly. I kept hearing little squeaky meows today, and I'd run to the nursery to find kittens roaming everywhere and Dutches in a frenzy trying to round them up! They have moved to the "big kitty" nursery now that is set up for 4 to 8 week old kittens with lots to explore and stimulate their little minds.
Today was my writing day, and I wanted to ask that everyone stop by our Cats blog and read the latest on Feline Heartworm. Even if you have indoor cats like I do, they still need to be protected from mosquitoes because they can and do get inside the house. Many cat parents aren't aware that it is such a problem, so please spread the word to all your kitty friends. Prevention is key with heartworm!
Now off to play with babies... I'll give them all an extra hug and kiss for their expecting parents :-)
Today was my writing day, and I wanted to ask that everyone stop by our Cats blog and read the latest on Feline Heartworm. Even if you have indoor cats like I do, they still need to be protected from mosquitoes because they can and do get inside the house. Many cat parents aren't aware that it is such a problem, so please spread the word to all your kitty friends. Prevention is key with heartworm!
Now off to play with babies... I'll give them all an extra hug and kiss for their expecting parents :-)
Monday, August 6, 2007
Ms. Bella...
This little escapee (yes, escaping the nest at 6 days old) is the one we are keeping out of this litter. She will be Cheek's Bella Delphinium Sunny Skies.
I wanted to post some weights for our kitten parents so you can see how much everyone has grown, and for our Suite readers, this will give you an idea of what a litter gains by the end of a week. Though this litter, being so large, has grown more slowly (believe it or not) than say, our litter of 3.
Bella - up to 4 1/4 oz from birthweight of 3 oz
Peyton - up to 5 1/2 oz from a birthweight of 3 7/8 oz
Blaze - up to 5 oz from a birth weight of 4 oz
Adara (Dorrie) - up to 5 1/8 oz from a birthweight of 4 oz
Charlotta (Charlie) - up to 5 3/4 oz from a birthweight of 4 oz
Tiger - up to 6 1/2 oz from a birthweight of 4 1/2 oz
Mako - up to 6 1/8 oz from a birthweight of 3 7/8 oz
Mowgli - up to 4 7/8 oz from a birthweight of 3 3/8 oz
Everyone is doing very well! They are all active and strong, and they are already starting to crawl all over their nest area and are just beginning to open their eyes.
They can already sniff me out and seek out my hand if I place it near them. When I pick them up, they fuss until I snuggle them close and kiss their little heads and tell them how much I love them. Then they quiet right down and let me weigh them and take their pictures without any fuss at all.
They've just lovely little babies!
I wanted to post some weights for our kitten parents so you can see how much everyone has grown, and for our Suite readers, this will give you an idea of what a litter gains by the end of a week. Though this litter, being so large, has grown more slowly (believe it or not) than say, our litter of 3.
Bella - up to 4 1/4 oz from birthweight of 3 oz
Peyton - up to 5 1/2 oz from a birthweight of 3 7/8 oz
Blaze - up to 5 oz from a birth weight of 4 oz
Adara (Dorrie) - up to 5 1/8 oz from a birthweight of 4 oz
Charlotta (Charlie) - up to 5 3/4 oz from a birthweight of 4 oz
Tiger - up to 6 1/2 oz from a birthweight of 4 1/2 oz
Mako - up to 6 1/8 oz from a birthweight of 3 7/8 oz
Mowgli - up to 4 7/8 oz from a birthweight of 3 3/8 oz
Everyone is doing very well! They are all active and strong, and they are already starting to crawl all over their nest area and are just beginning to open their eyes.
They can already sniff me out and seek out my hand if I place it near them. When I pick them up, they fuss until I snuggle them close and kiss their little heads and tell them how much I love them. Then they quiet right down and let me weigh them and take their pictures without any fuss at all.
They've just lovely little babies!
Friday, August 3, 2007
3 days old...
Everyone is doing really well. I was worried a bit this morning because my little blue cream was trying to nurse and couldn't get settled in. It looked like she finally latched on underneath Dutches's arm, and when she crawled over and gave me a view of her behind, it looked WAY too pink!
So I panicked, started trying to "calmly" encourage Dutches to let me pick the baby up - got my first slap of this litter hahaha I was finally quick enough to grab her by the scruff of the neck and hold her still while I reached in for the baby. Upon closer examination of my darlin' little one, I could see that there was nothing to be worried about. Her little bottom is just REALLY pink like her little nose.
To make sure everything was okay "down there," I took a moistened cotton pad and stimulated her bottom like you do orphan kittens, and she tinkled right away, not a lot, and no bad odors or dark yellow urine. I went ahead and weighed her while Dutches waited at my heals waiting to slap me again if her baby squealed. She gained 2/8 of an oz since last night - for the smallest one of her litter, that's good improvement! We'll weigh everyone else this afternoon and see if there's any need to break out the baby bottle - we have formula on hand.
But so far, everyone is doing very very well! You can SEE the difference in their size this morning. Sometimes it's a shock when you go in the nursery, pull back their curtain, and see how big they have gotten since you went to bed! More later! :-)
So I panicked, started trying to "calmly" encourage Dutches to let me pick the baby up - got my first slap of this litter hahaha I was finally quick enough to grab her by the scruff of the neck and hold her still while I reached in for the baby. Upon closer examination of my darlin' little one, I could see that there was nothing to be worried about. Her little bottom is just REALLY pink like her little nose.
To make sure everything was okay "down there," I took a moistened cotton pad and stimulated her bottom like you do orphan kittens, and she tinkled right away, not a lot, and no bad odors or dark yellow urine. I went ahead and weighed her while Dutches waited at my heals waiting to slap me again if her baby squealed. She gained 2/8 of an oz since last night - for the smallest one of her litter, that's good improvement! We'll weigh everyone else this afternoon and see if there's any need to break out the baby bottle - we have formula on hand.
But so far, everyone is doing very very well! You can SEE the difference in their size this morning. Sometimes it's a shock when you go in the nursery, pull back their curtain, and see how big they have gotten since you went to bed! More later! :-)
Thursday, August 2, 2007
My new baby...
This little girl is a precious angel! As are her brothers and sisters - what a crew we have! Everyone has gained at least a little weight today. I haven't tried bottle feeding yet so that doesn't has a couple of days to accept me handling them. I'm snatching quick pictures with her in a kitty carrier hahaha Time for bottle feeding will require a little extra patience from mom! I try not to cause her anxiety, and when I'm holding a baby, I'm constantly reassuring her and allowing her to be in a space where she can SEE me. That's important to her!
All of these kittens have homes except for the middle black boy. Not bad for only being 2 days old! Special thanks to all their expecting parents! I'll make sure all of you are invited up to visit very soon.
All of these kittens have homes except for the middle black boy. Not bad for only being 2 days old! Special thanks to all their expecting parents! I'll make sure all of you are invited up to visit very soon.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
The gang's all here...
After a long and exciting night, we now have our babies all safe and sound with their mommy, who is resting peacefully and just terribly in love with and protective of her babies.
We had:
1 blue cream girl - which will be staying with us
3 tortie girls - I have reservations for at least this many
3 black boys - I have reservations for 1... 2 might be available
1 blue boy - we'll see :-) He might end up available
That gives us 8 adorable little bundles of love! Everyone gained about 1/8 of an ounce since last night. I will be giving them supplemental bottle feedings to help mom out some and make sure everyone gets a great start.
Hope everyone has a wonderful day! We sure are :-)
We had:
1 blue cream girl - which will be staying with us
3 tortie girls - I have reservations for at least this many
3 black boys - I have reservations for 1... 2 might be available
1 blue boy - we'll see :-) He might end up available
That gives us 8 adorable little bundles of love! Everyone gained about 1/8 of an ounce since last night. I will be giving them supplemental bottle feedings to help mom out some and make sure everyone gets a great start.
Hope everyone has a wonderful day! We sure are :-)
aaaaaaaand Kitten #8...
This one is the blue cream I've been dieing for! Good job, Duck & Hooch!
And Dutches is sleeping - I will be very soon. It is 2:16 a.m., and everything seems to have calmed down.
Our kittens were born at 10:00, 10:15, 10:24, 10:55, 11:19, 11:53, 1:10 and 1:27. Duckie just did so great! Of course with so many kittens, she didn't have any 5 ouncers this time around, thank goodness. My little blue cream is the smallest, and she weighed 3 oz... Everyone else weighed near 4 except for the teensiest boy, and he was 3 3/8.
I am a very tired and proud kitty grandma!
And Dutches is sleeping - I will be very soon. It is 2:16 a.m., and everything seems to have calmed down.
Our kittens were born at 10:00, 10:15, 10:24, 10:55, 11:19, 11:53, 1:10 and 1:27. Duckie just did so great! Of course with so many kittens, she didn't have any 5 ouncers this time around, thank goodness. My little blue cream is the smallest, and she weighed 3 oz... Everyone else weighed near 4 except for the teensiest boy, and he was 3 3/8.
I am a very tired and proud kitty grandma!
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