Five beautiful kittens born 1/22/08 to Hooch and Jasmine. We had an amazing array of colors and patterns: 1 cream male, 1 red classic tabby male, 1 brown classic tabby male, 1 blue female, and 1 tortie female. Mom and babies are doing very well, and everyone put on weight from their birth weight.
By the way, these reds and creams in this litter proves that Jasmine is indeed a lilac cream point. This, as you can see, really expands the color possibilities in my breed program! We were really pleased to see Hooch's tabby pattern come out, too!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Today is our due date!
Jazzy is very clingy today and cries for me when I go out of the nursery. She has spent some time in her nest and is still eating like a horse. I've never had a girl handle pregnancy this well, and I expect everything to go very smoothly as we progress towards delivery, which should be any time now!
Everyone is very interested in kitten colors right now because it is funny that Jasmine can't have kittens with Hooch that will be the color of either one of them. The Color Genetics of Red Cats is very interesting, and I enjoy the puzzle of breeding with them. All kittens get two color genes, with male kittens getting both genes from the mother and female kittens getting a gene from each parent.
What this means is that Jasmine's boys will get their color from her and will be black, chocolate, blue, or lilac. But her girls will get a gene from her and a gene from Hooch, which means he throws red or cream in on top of the other color, so she can get tortoiseshells like Lily and Poppy, chocolate tortoiseshells, blue creams, or lilac creams.
Now the color point genes are affecting everything, too. BOTH parents have to have color point genes to produce color point (himalayan) kittens. Jasmine is a color point, and Hooch has color point in his pedigree, so they CAN have color point kittens. Our problem is that it was Hooch's GRANDmother who was a color point, so the genes aren't very strong for that in him. He hasn't given us one yet. So none of our kittens while breeding with Hooch will probably ever be himalayans. That means we'll be adding a himmy male in here sometime soon because I do love the color points!
One day soon, I'll explain how we're playing Hooch's extreme face off our doll face girls to produce semi-faces, or chubby cheek Persians, like Lily.
Everyone is very interested in kitten colors right now because it is funny that Jasmine can't have kittens with Hooch that will be the color of either one of them. The Color Genetics of Red Cats is very interesting, and I enjoy the puzzle of breeding with them. All kittens get two color genes, with male kittens getting both genes from the mother and female kittens getting a gene from each parent.
What this means is that Jasmine's boys will get their color from her and will be black, chocolate, blue, or lilac. But her girls will get a gene from her and a gene from Hooch, which means he throws red or cream in on top of the other color, so she can get tortoiseshells like Lily and Poppy, chocolate tortoiseshells, blue creams, or lilac creams.
Now the color point genes are affecting everything, too. BOTH parents have to have color point genes to produce color point (himalayan) kittens. Jasmine is a color point, and Hooch has color point in his pedigree, so they CAN have color point kittens. Our problem is that it was Hooch's GRANDmother who was a color point, so the genes aren't very strong for that in him. He hasn't given us one yet. So none of our kittens while breeding with Hooch will probably ever be himalayans. That means we'll be adding a himmy male in here sometime soon because I do love the color points!
One day soon, I'll explain how we're playing Hooch's extreme face off our doll face girls to produce semi-faces, or chubby cheek Persians, like Lily.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Still patiently waiting...
Well, I lie when I say patiently :-) But no kittens yet, and she is still calm and relaxed and sleepy and hungry.
Today is bath day for Buttercup, Poppy, Lily, and Hooch. I don't like to give the preggy girls baths because 1) they hate it so much, and I don't want to traumatize them when they're pregnant, and 2) I don't want to chill them or anything that might harm their health. They're also pretty heavy to be tossing around in the sink to give them a bath hahaha Buttercup isn't very far along in her pregnancy, AND she is really not bothered a bit by a bath. So she's getting one!
Also, it was our writing day. If y'all are interested in ways to help the environment where our kitty products are concerned, you'll enjoy Green Living with Cats
If we go into labor, I'll post it right away!
Jazzy's waiting list, btw, is more than full now. Anyone interested in a kitten from us this spring should go ahead and get on Dutches or Buttercup's waiting list. You can find details on our website
Today is bath day for Buttercup, Poppy, Lily, and Hooch. I don't like to give the preggy girls baths because 1) they hate it so much, and I don't want to traumatize them when they're pregnant, and 2) I don't want to chill them or anything that might harm their health. They're also pretty heavy to be tossing around in the sink to give them a bath hahaha Buttercup isn't very far along in her pregnancy, AND she is really not bothered a bit by a bath. So she's getting one!
Also, it was our writing day. If y'all are interested in ways to help the environment where our kitty products are concerned, you'll enjoy Green Living with Cats
If we go into labor, I'll post it right away!
Jazzy's waiting list, btw, is more than full now. Anyone interested in a kitten from us this spring should go ahead and get on Dutches or Buttercup's waiting list. You can find details on our website
Friday, January 18, 2008
Jasmine is REALLY really close now!
Jazzy has begun the first stages of labor... of course she was due on Monday, so this is really just natural progression if she "plans" to have them on her due date. But I have thought she was getting ready for a couple days now, so it wouldn't surprise me a bit if she has her kittens before in the morning.
At any rate, I'm not leaving her side now. I'll be sleeping on the floor beside her nest, and we have everything all set up and ready to go. I will sit back out of her way and just be there for her, unless she needs me. It's best to let the new mommy handle things on her own, unless she either chooses not to (as Persians are known to do) or needs help in some way.
She is still very sweet and calm about the whole thing. A mother this content raises a great little litter of kittens! I'm really anxious to meet them all! :-)
At any rate, I'm not leaving her side now. I'll be sleeping on the floor beside her nest, and we have everything all set up and ready to go. I will sit back out of her way and just be there for her, unless she needs me. It's best to let the new mommy handle things on her own, unless she either chooses not to (as Persians are known to do) or needs help in some way.
She is still very sweet and calm about the whole thing. A mother this content raises a great little litter of kittens! I'm really anxious to meet them all! :-)
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Belly cleaning...
Jasmine is cleaning the fur off her belly to get ready for nursing kittens... though when you're this far along in your pregnancy, licking your own belly can prove to be a challenge! She has finally started to do some mild nesting, and I think she is most definitely going to make us wait full term for these kittens. She's just so relaxed about the whole thing!
Dutches is starting to show, and Buttercup is still as petite as can be. These are my two oldest girls, and Dutches has had several litters for us now, but it will be Buttercup's first.
We originally intended to breed himalayans, but when we changed males, our Hooch ended up not being a very strong CPC (color point carrier). He "can" but hasn't produced any himmies for us. So this summer, we are hoping to keep a little solid male of our own that will definitely be a color point carrier, as well as bringing in a color point male from another cattery - hopefully a cream point so that we can focus on dilute colors.
I have recently published an award winning series of articles on breeding pedigreed cats. It starts with Becoming a Pedigreed Cat Breeder and ends with A Day in the Life of a Cat Breeder
Follow up on these articles should continue with Caring for Pregnant Cats and Caring for Newborn Kittens
Also, for those of you who would like to help feed hungry animals, check out this blog post on how A Click a Day Feeds Rescued Pets
Dutches is starting to show, and Buttercup is still as petite as can be. These are my two oldest girls, and Dutches has had several litters for us now, but it will be Buttercup's first.
We originally intended to breed himalayans, but when we changed males, our Hooch ended up not being a very strong CPC (color point carrier). He "can" but hasn't produced any himmies for us. So this summer, we are hoping to keep a little solid male of our own that will definitely be a color point carrier, as well as bringing in a color point male from another cattery - hopefully a cream point so that we can focus on dilute colors.
I have recently published an award winning series of articles on breeding pedigreed cats. It starts with Becoming a Pedigreed Cat Breeder and ends with A Day in the Life of a Cat Breeder
Follow up on these articles should continue with Caring for Pregnant Cats and Caring for Newborn Kittens
Also, for those of you who would like to help feed hungry animals, check out this blog post on how A Click a Day Feeds Rescued Pets
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Due one week from tomorrow...
The impatience is killing me! hahaha It's always like waiting on Christmas. What are we going to get? How many? What colors? Boys? Girls? Will they have their mommy's face, their daddy's coat? Oh the possibilities!
At least she's sweet and lets me rub her belly and feel kittens kicking!
For those of you who are waiting on Jazzy's babies, here's a link directly to her photoset on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnhimmies/sets/72157603272555568/
At least she's sweet and lets me rub her belly and feel kittens kicking!
For those of you who are waiting on Jazzy's babies, here's a link directly to her photoset on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnhimmies/sets/72157603272555568/
Friday, January 11, 2008
Only 10 days to go!
Jazzy and I have been busy getting ready for her kittens. Before the kittens are born, we do LOTS and lots of cleaning and sanitizing - you can never do too much of that, can you? Jasmine's sleeping a lot, and her appetite has slowed down a bit. When your tummy is the size of a basketball, you have to eat teensy meals. I've been able to feel kittens kicking around in there, and that's always such a joy!
She is a very mellow mommy kitty. Where some cats get anxious and others get pushy for attention, Jasmine is so very calm and sweet. She sleeps belly up and loves to have her tummy rubbed. When Dutches is pregnant, I don't go near her tummy with a 10' pole! hahaha
Jasmine should start nesting here in about 3 or 4 days. We've got her a little covered place set up for her to have her babies in, and so far, she hasn't touched her blankies. I'll know her hormones are getting ready to have babies when her blankets are all bunched up. From that time on, I don't leave the house until the kittens are about a week old. During the nights of the last week, I set the clock every 2 hours so that I can wake up and check on my kitty girl. So next week will be a long week, but it is worth the extra trouble!
And that's enough from me. Just wanted my expecting kitten parents to know how Jasmine was doing. I'll update y'all in 3 or 4 days, and of course there are always pictures of our chubby little furball on flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnhimmies.
Don't forget to stop by Cats at Suite101 for any help you might need with your beloved feline friend - http://cats.suite101.com Or just to chat!
She is a very mellow mommy kitty. Where some cats get anxious and others get pushy for attention, Jasmine is so very calm and sweet. She sleeps belly up and loves to have her tummy rubbed. When Dutches is pregnant, I don't go near her tummy with a 10' pole! hahaha
Jasmine should start nesting here in about 3 or 4 days. We've got her a little covered place set up for her to have her babies in, and so far, she hasn't touched her blankies. I'll know her hormones are getting ready to have babies when her blankets are all bunched up. From that time on, I don't leave the house until the kittens are about a week old. During the nights of the last week, I set the clock every 2 hours so that I can wake up and check on my kitty girl. So next week will be a long week, but it is worth the extra trouble!
And that's enough from me. Just wanted my expecting kitten parents to know how Jasmine was doing. I'll update y'all in 3 or 4 days, and of course there are always pictures of our chubby little furball on flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnhimmies.
Don't forget to stop by Cats at Suite101 for any help you might need with your beloved feline friend - http://cats.suite101.com Or just to chat!
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