Family Portraits... And An Update

A couple of family pictures from recently :)

The last one... poor Mama! they all piled around her for a feed and she was left sitting there, kittens attached and slurping away, unable to move! I need to take a more recent group picture, but more and more they are not all piling up together for naps, but settling down with maybe just one other kitten. They are growing up!

This morning when I went to do the eye routine, all the pirates were clear. Not the merest hint of soreness, goo, or anything of the kind. However, Hope's right eye was looking a bit suspect. Ah well, more of the routine eh?

Indigo's head is a work in progress. It's actually looking quite alarming at the moment... bright pink and bald! But the bald patches are where the scabs were, and the pinkness is because the crusts are coming off, with new, healthy skin growing underneath. The fur will grow back (I assume, it did when she was pregnant although it never got this bad then...) and she will look beautiful again- hurrah! But even more telling for me is that she brought her pipe cleaner to me for a game of fetch earlier... she hasn't done that for the best part of a week. So I know she's feeling a LOT better :)

I've been deciding on what food to put the kittens on. I've been looking at several factors. These include

Is it a 'complete' food?

Does the food have a single or multiple protein sources?

Does it contain artificial flavours, colours and preservatives?

Is it grain-free?

Is it organic?

Does it contain 'meat by-products/ derivatives'

The price, per 100g, for comparison

None of the foods I looked at ticked every box, of course. I was specifically looking for a food with no artificial colours and preservatives, and of course a 'complete' food is a must. Price was worth knowing but not a major deciding factor. And I wanted a dry and a wet food.

In the end, I decided on James Wellbeloved Turkey and rice kitten kibble. This contains a single protein, is artificial colour, flavour and preservative free and contains no wheat and has the benefit of being easily available which is good to know- makes no difference to me as I buy all my cat supplies online and in bulk, but much more convenient for my kittens new families! And when the kittens have gone, assuming the food suits Indigo, we can graduate to Turkey and rice adult food.

Wet food was a bit more difficult. I couldn't find a single protein source kitten-specific food, so I chose Grau kitten food which has turkey, like the kibble, and beef as it's protein sources. It too is artificial colour, flavour and preservative free and has rice, not wheat, so I think it will be a good match, and then Indigo can go on to Grau adult food which IS single protein- turkey, to match the James Wellbeloved. It certainly isn't the cheapest kitten food available, but it seems to be the best match.

Of course Grau is a rather more obscure brand... but the kittens will bring samples of this home with them in their kitten packs, and should easily switch over to the wet food of your choice. They have all been eating Whiskas, for example, with no issue, it isn't the kittens who have the allergy after all... it's Mama! So whichever wet food you choose should be fine for them.

I'm very happy to have now made a decision lol... now off to order some :)

Indigo's Head

Yes, her allergy has well and truly reared its head again. She's now spotty over both her temples, and one ear is scabby... poor, poor Indigo! She looks awful, and I feel so bad for her. And of course, everything that was true about treatment she could have when she was pregnant (ie not a lot!) is still true now, because she is nursing, and anything she could be treated with- an antihistamine injection would be the first choice- would be passed on in the milk. *sigh*

So I'm going to try two things...

1) A topical aloe vera gel. This was recommended to me by another breeder and I did intend to get some, really I did, but I went online to find it and ended up ordering something else and then clicking on another link and... oh you know how it is. Anyway, I forgot to get the gel. And then it seemed to clear up. Worth a try, and I've actually ordered some this time! Hopefully it will arrive today. Indigo will hate it, of course!

2) This is a more long term thing, but I'm going to take the cats- en masse- off the Royal Canin and Whiskas that they eat now, and put them on to a more 'natural' food- no artificial preservatives and so on. Still looking into which one, exactly. I'm changing them all over because I also have Theo, with the ongoing occasional stomach issue... perhaps it will help him, too? And Theo eats everyone's food! So it's all or nothing, really.

Now, new families, worry not. The kittens are all quite happy and healthy on Royal Canin, Whiskas wet food and the occasional boiled chicken dinner, and I won't be interfering with their diet. These changes will be made once the kittens have left. Royal Canin is a very very good food, repeatedly said to be 'the best', which is why my cats get it, of course... and most cats who eat this do so with no issue at all.

Chances are, Theo and Indigo will still have the same issues on the new food... we will see. In any case, when the kittens are gone, we'll be treating the allergy much more agressively than we can at present... unless it magically clears up before then. But the diet is worth a try I feel, because whatever is bothering Indigo is no joke. It's bugging her, and I don't like to think of her feeling uncomfortable.

Of course I will record every last etcetera on here. Don't say I don't spoil you, now...