Update

Sorry, mad week, poorly child, work 'restructuring' (which will resolve itself in more work for less pay I suspect!) and things ramping up at the allotment. Will I ever get it dug in time for the spuds to go in? And why, despite telling myself I will ONLY grow what I absolutely need this year, do I find myself with 29 tomato seedlings- oh and 11 aubergines? I need about 6 and 2 respectively lol!!!

Cats are all well, Indigo's feline acne is clearing nicely now- she's on the Ovarid again. She didn't get it nearly as badly this year anyway, perhaps she's growing out of it. It tends to be the younger queens who are the most susceptible, and Inds is only just 3 so pretty young for a cat. Last year you could see it from a distance, her chin was covered in black scabbiness, but this year her chin just looks a little grubby up close. In a darker coloured cat, you'd not even notice.

Kittens all seem to be well and healthy, got a few pics to share next week. Bailey is still not safe in the bedrooms though... he uses the box appropriately otherwise but it's so frustrating for M (and me too!) Come on Bailey sort it out boy! M's had some good advice from her vet and is a seasoned Tonk owner herself, so I know Bailey's in good and sympathetic hands- but it is becoming an issue so please keep your fingers crossed for them that it all works out. Bailey's getting a brother in May all being well, so if his issue is one of overattachment and 'marking' (which I think it is, he clearly loves M very much and there's no evidence to suggest he's unwell or unhappy, quite the opposite!) I'm hoping a playmate will help calm any seperation anxiety he may be feeling.

Last year, Alfie had some similar issues, his stopped after a short while though- although I am sure it didn't seem like a short while to D and S! I'm trying to find out what, if anything, I can do to improve MY practice. What I am finding, though, is that it's not a rare issue in the 'intelligent' breeds- Orientals and Foreigns, and the same sparkiness and zest that makes their characters so desirable can also make them anxious, nervy, overattached etc at times... I've often commented that Indigo, my Tonk, is by far my most 'needy' cat. That's Tonks for you, you can't have one without the other, and I do try to communicate that here on the blog, Tonks are such a specific 'flavour' of cat and being social and communicating and loving you is what they do, only occasionally one will do this by peeing (because in the wild, that's what cats do!)

It's interesting that both Alfie and Bailey are boys, and they are boys who went 'solo' IYSWIM. I don't know if that's relevent, and I don't have nearly enough experience to be able to say whether it's a trend or just coincidence, but it's something I'm recording here for future reference. Are lone boys more prone to anxiety than any other combination? I wonder.

http://www.ramesescats.co.uk/health/page111/page111.html this page is still under construction, but I can't tell you how relieved I was to find it! As you know I very much respect this cattery and aspire to be like it, and to read between the lines I'm guessing this breeder has had a few piddling kittens herself in her time. Certainly enough to have some good advice to give! Hallelujah, I'm not the only one! (seriously, I've been having doubts as to my fitness as a breeder, bad times!)

Queen Of The Castle

Lottie and Lola's family have bought the girls a fantastic full height cat climber, which to me looks a bit castle like... very appropriate for two princesses! They love it. Here's Lola at the top. I understand she's also *ahem* rediscovered curtain climbing. Lola!!!! What a monkey!

Looking at Lola, I can't see for the life of me why I ever thought Alfie or Jonah (last year) were blue minks... they looked quite different to Lola. Although having said that, will I have to eat my words this time next year with regards to Lola? I'm much, much more confident about the accuracy of my (eventual!) colourings this year, but even so, we aaaaaaaalllll know what a mess I made of it last year!!! *hangs head in shame*

At least with Tonks this kind of uncertainty goes with the territory... it's almost part of the fun. I guess. LOL.

Guess Who?

Why it's Ind....

Oh no, it isn't! This handsome chap is Alfie, Indikon Kenneth, from the REM litter last year. Looks very much like his mummy though doesn't he? And that's a solid cat, not a mink, for sure. Looks like either a lilac or a caramel to me, although I'd like to see that tail better, the bit that can be seen looks a bit caramelly to me!

Thanks S and D for sending me the piccie, he's adorable!

Happy Kitty

Slurp!

Slurrrrrrp!

Have you ever seen a happier girl?

Brigitta has her home! She was visited today by R and friends, but I was fairly sure she'd charm them without much bother. And she did, she was gorgeous.

She's going to a home with a big sister cat, Matilda. Poor Matilda... her companion, Rudy, went missing last autumn. R suspects someone has been light fingered- Rudy is a striking animal, very handsome indeed. Poor Matilda has been pining dreadfully. Tonks as a rule do not like being without other feline companionship and she has been so stressed she's started pulling out her fur and crying when R leaves the house :( R is very much hoping a little sister will give Matilda a focus again and give her the companionship she's craving.

It will be good to hear how that goes along, Matilda is friendly and easygoing, apparently, and Brigitta (to be known as Coco, as in Coco Chanel) is a sociable little thing, so I'm confident it will be OK once they have adjusted to each other. I know Lisl adores her big brother Boo, and Alfie has a good relationship with his sister Paloma so there's a good precedent there from Indikon kittens!

That settles things for all my babies... which makes me very happy as well

The Eyes (Don't) Have It

So, I've been in a bit of a quandary about Alfie and Jonah's colouring. Both were registered as blue minks, and they LOOKED like blue minks as kittens, but as they have gotten older, they have matured into very different colouration. They both have goldy eyes.... so are they even minks at all? So I asked the advice of two very experienced breeders I know.

Alfie now. Both the breeders I have chatted to (and I didn't ask them if I could say who they were, so I won't, but you know who you are and many many thanks!) agree that he is a caramel, both feel he is indeed a mink, despite the eyes. As for Jonah, whilst both agree that he looks mink, one thought he looked more lilac and one thought caramel. *grin* And both reassured me that they get it wrong regularly- it's a hazard of Tonk-dom, it seems.

 Jonah, man of mystery!

One lady told me that you do get Tonks seen occasionally on the show bench that don't have perfect eye colour. It's not uncommon, it seems. And the other said that it can take up to three years for a Tonk to fully settle into his eventual eye and coat colour- for all their quickness to mature in other areas, coats and eyes take their time. So we may yet see eyes lightening or coats darkening and change our minds about colours all over again! Jonah may eventually start to look more obviously one or the other

I will say this- I thought lilac minks were born white/ pale cream, and all of my babies were a pale beigey colour. So at the moment I am tending towards the caramel for Jonah. It will be interesting to see if I have any lilac minks in my next litter (a possibility, but I'm not telling you any more at this stage!) so I can compare photos as they grow. It will be interesting to see.

Alfie's Eyes

Sometimes a kitten's colour isn't always obvious. I've heard many stories of cats going to show and the judges witholding certificates because the cat simply isn't the colour he is registered as being, cueing red faces all round. Tonkinese are notoriously difficult, because they have the three coat patterns as well as the multiple colours (some of which are pretty similar) and sometimes it doesn't become clear until the kitten reaches adulthood. Well we have to decide at 8 weeks, in order to send off the paperwork. Sometimes we get it wrong.

Alfie's been bothering me lately. His family send me regular photos, and in one recent one, it shows Alfie with the most beautiful golden eyes... just like his Mama's.

Golden eyes. Alfie is registered as a mink, which means he ought to have aqua eyes, but he doesn't.

So it's almost certain that Alfie isn't a mink at all! His coat has also darkened so it is much more uniform, with less of a point/ body contrast than you would expect from a mink. I strongly suspect he's a solid, which means he can't possibly be a blue, as he's never been as dark as Wendell (Jacob). I now think, having spent hours looking through all my kitten pictures, that he is a solid caramel.

Of course now that I'm looking with fresh eyes, it seems obvious. This is one of the first photos of the kittens ever taken, they were less than 48 hours old. Looking at this, it now seems quite clear that the kitten to the top right is a solid- he's MUCH darker than the four minks in a row at the bottom. That, I'd be wiling to bet, is Alfie (Kenneth, as was). Ok, he's in shadow, but he's still darker. I hasten to add that most of my pictures were NOT so glaringly obvious! I swear they all looked the same colour to me! Interestingly one of my minks, second from left, looks a shade lighter than the other three... I wonder if that was Kensey, my other caramel?

And then there's this picture here. Definitely looking caramelly there too. Remember that Tonkinese are colourpointed cats, we use the term 'solid' but it doesn't actually mean the cat will have a uniform colour all over, just that the difference between points and coat will be subtle.

Where does that leave Alfie's pedigree? It's still valid. Alfie is a pedigree Tonkinese, and nothing can change that! If he was for breeding, then I would need to apply for a slight change to his certificate, and of course his solid-ness means he is no longer eligible to be shown, but Alfie's family do not wish to show him or breed from him, and as they say, Alfie doesn't care one way or another! However, I personally guarantee to change any pedigree in error at my expense, if the family wish it- that goes for any of my kittens of course.

Does it matter, then? Well, it matters to me. Obviously I want to get things right, and this kind of thing is incredibly useful to me. I think I must have been thrown by the whole expecting lilacs and getting blues thing! I'm still very much a novice at this, but it's all a great learning experience.

Of course now I'd love some more caramel kittens, to put my learning into practice!!! Perhaps next year eh, caramel isn't an option this time around!

Alfie's Sister

As promised, a quick update on Alfie, who now has a sister, Paloma, a Bengal. Paloma is a little bit older than Alfie but lots smaller, as Alfie seems to have turned into a big powerful mancat somewhere along the lines... I stil think of him as a kitten, but he isn't of course!

Alfie and Paloma's family say the first few weeks were really difficult- Alfie was fine but Paloma was seriously aggressive, but she's coming round nicely now and they play together, groom each other, and Alfie, whilst still ultra cuddly and affectionate, isn't 'needy' in the same way. I know exactly what they mean!

I'm a big believer that cats need feline company, and it's not so that I can persuade people to take a sibling pair! It really does make for happier, healthier cats. So I'm thrilled that Alfie and Paloma are rapidly becoming best buddies :)

Massage

Three of my cats have a traditional cat dignity. Ava and Sofia, whilst perfectly amiable and affectionate, do not like to be picked up at all. Theo tolerates it, but it's not something he enjoys as such, or would seek out. Unfortunately he's just so fluffy I can't resist.

Indigo is not like that. Indigo can be picked up, tipped upside down, roughhoused and otherwise mauled (gently! lol)with impunity, in fact she likes it, and will seek such hands on treatment of her own volition. Which is why it didn't surprise me in the slightest when Alfie's family sent me this video of him enjoying a massage...

Apparently this is one of his favourite things ever! LOL! I'm loving 0.38 where he does that blissed out slow blink!

What a big powerful cat Alfie has turned into hasn't he? Apparently he's a very muscular 7kg now, which is more than my Theo even, and nearly twice as much as his new sister Paloma, who is built on a more miniature scale. I'll update on that soon but they are getting on well.

Incidentally, I am confusing myself no end trying to file posts under the Indikon kittens' old names, took me ages today to remember that Alfie was once 'Kenneth'. So I'll be filing under their proper names from now on. I'm sure anyone searching will soon realise that Alfie and Kenneth are one and the same cat, for example, if they read back far enough. If I then wanted to use Alfie as a name I'd file it as 'Indikon Alfie'- the pedigree name.

Only just in- Jacob and Jonah's summer holiday. Stay tuned!