Chew Chew

Kensey has been a baaaaaad boy this week it seems, having chewed his way through the wires of a clock and a clock radio. So I thought a blog entry was in order, in case anyone else was having issues.

Kittens lose their kitten teeth and get their adult ones somewhere between 3 and 6 months, so if your kitten suddenly becomes very chewy or bitey, this is probably why. It's a phase, they all go through it, but it can be rather annoying if they decide to chew on things that they shouldn't.

For some reason, chewing on wool gives the gums a bit of relief, but this habit is hard to break once established. Tonkinese are notorious wool chewers. Indie doesn't, but my Birman Theo does and he is a complete pain in the butt about it too, having chewed up both my new jumpers already this year. It's like an addiction with him, nothing is safe, not even in a drawer or wardrobe. So avoid letting your kitty pick up this habit if you can help it. I literally can't have anything wooly in the house because Theo will shred it within days.

You can buy chewy toys for kittens if their teeth are bothering them. Corrugated cardboard boxes also seem to be satisfying to chew on (and hide in, and jump on) Indigo still likes a box to chomp on even now! You might also find your kitty favours the dry food for a while, the crunchiness is soothing to the gums.

Obviously, if your kitten decides to chew on wires, this is an issue you will need to address because one, it's blooming annoying when you keep having to repair appliances, and two, more importantly,it's dangerous. Your kitten could get an electric shock,  or a frayed, chewed wire could shock you or start a fire. So it's worth addressing this as soon as the behaviour starts! You can buy cable protectors that enclose all wires, and I'm sure I read somewhere you can get these impregnated with citrus which is really offputting to cats. You can also get bitter apple spray- apply this to your cables- power off, just in case!!-  it tastes and smells absolutely FOUL to kitties... they soon get the message. I've got some of this and it works a treat!

He's A Little Runaway

Much drama with Theo the other day. The teenager was out walking him, and something startled Theo- a motorbike backfiring, I think. He darted away, and in doing so pulled the harness leash out of the lad's hand in the process. The lad yelped (I heard the yelp from inside) and made a grab for the leash, which of course frightened Theo and so he took off down the street.

I'd heard the yelp, and I looked out of the window to see the lad and about four other neighbourhood children charging up the path. Odd, thought I, he must have brought Theo in already. But then I saw Theo, sprinting back the other way, with the kids in hot pursuit. Argh!

So anyway I bellowed out the window 'STOP CHASING HIM YOU ARE SCARING HIM AND MAKING IT WORSE!!!!!!' and dashed into the kitchen to grab the cat treats intending to coax Theo out of wherever he had gone for, but no sooner had I opened the fridge than I heard a clattering at the door. He'd run home :)

Poor Theo spent the next hour under the sofa, which is also where he went the next day when I got out the harness for his walk! He was thoroughly scared by the whole incident- not just the motorcycle backfiring (which was what alarmed him in the first place) but then by having a bajillion children charging after him! Not the best way to coax a cat, as I pointed out to the teenager later on... thing is he knows this, I reckon he just got caught up in the moment.

Theo's fine now though, and I'm very happy that when he was scared, his instinct was to came home

It's A Hard Life

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Kitten Updates

Photo C.F

Jacob and Jonah (Wendell and Monty) have been charming their extended family. They've been full of the joys, climbing, racing and generally enjoying themselves hugely. What a handsome pair they make don't they?

Photo E M

Lisl (Hope) is slowly setting down with big brother Boo. There's been a bit of hostility, but also some grooming and affection as well... so that's all very positive I feel. Apparently Lisl has pinched Boo's favourite behind the sofa warm spot, the minx!

Photo S A

Kensey and Lotti (Kensey and AnnElise) left a while after the others, but have settled down nicely. Their new home is quite large, so they are restricted to quarters at the moment. Lotti is quite happy about this arrangement, but apparently Kensey is most indignant, and makes his feelings quite clear when someone goes through a door and he isn't allowed to! Patience, Kensey, it's just for the moment!

Photo S P

This must be one of my favourite kitten pictures ever! Stunning.

Reminds me that I need to do a blog post on cats and plants though. Tulips (above) might give a kitty a tummy ache if ingested, but some flowers, like lilies are highly toxic to cats. Basically, if you suspect your mog has munched on a lily (any part of), get him to a vet immediately. Don't wait to see if he shows any symptoms of being unwell, because by then it may be too late. Lilies are my favourite flower, but I simply do not have them in the house these days... not worth it.

Hmph- that was depressing! Wasn't I supposed to be updating on the kittens???

Alfie (Kenneth) settled in well, but in the past week there's been a couple of incidents of inappropriate urination. No big deal, he's a baby and it happens, but his family and I are trying to work out how to fix whatever it is that's bothering him. Otherwise he's a happy chappie though, and most adorable :)

Mama's Boy

Just some photos from weeks back that I never got around to sharing with you. On Jonah and Jacob's last day, both boys were 100% themselves. Jonah (Monty) settled in for some long snuggles- you've had that photo- and Jacob (Wendell) spent the morning doing this...

It was hilarious- Jacob trying to take on Mama, and Indigo prancing round like a kitten herself. And pinning Jacob every time. He wasn't daunted though, he kept getting up and trying again :) Funny little playful kitty.

How Is Indigo?

Just fine, thanks!

Every time a baby left, she looked for it a bit, peering anxiously under furniture and calling, then seemed to lose interest. When the last two went this weekend, she'd just gone into season and was far more interested in calling to the boys than paying her babies much attention!

The day the babies left, she went back on Ovarid (contraception for cats!) in part because that was what was planned anyway, continually calling is not good for cats, and in part to sort out the chin acne. So she was yowly for a few days, but in a 'I need a MANCAT' way, not a 'where are my babies?' way- and yes, the difference is fairly obvious if you've ever heard a Tonk in heat!!! Since then, she's just reverted totally back to her carefree pre kitten days, lots of cuddles, lots of games, back to normal, in short. She's not in Mama mode any more.

So that's great! I was worried she'd pine, but it doesn't seem to have worked out that way.

Just Like His Daddy

Pictures of Kensey, taken last week. And click here to see a picture of Daddy, Gr Ch Fecheldee Harry

Resemblance, or what?! Or is it just me?  

Kensey was always the pick of the bunch for type (in my miniscule experience, anyway) and Daddy's a Grand Champion, so I suppose that makes sense. None of my other kittens looked quite so Harry-ish as (I think, personally) Kensey does. Jacob (Wendell), on the other hand, looks just like his Mama.

Kensey (now known as... Kensey!) and his sister, Lotti, (AnnElise) are doing very well, well on the way to making friends with the family dog, and they are having an outside run built for them, the lucky things!

Ava, Illuminated

And yes... she's purring.

Sofia!

A few more pictures of my Sofia. Have I ever mentioned how beautiful Sofia's eyes are? Just a couple of times then? Hehe.

But at the risk of repeating myself, they really really are gorgeous.I'd be tempted to scoop her up and hug her if she'd allow it, which she absolutely would NOT- Sofia is a rather reserved cat that doesn't like too much handling, and she'd be horrified if I tried anything like that on!

What Now?

So, I started this blog on the day Indigo went off to stud, and kept it up all through her pregnancy and the kitten's early lives. But now they've moved on... so what's next for this blog?  

Well, I still have four cats! They've been rather neglected in terms of blog space of late, with me wanting to get in as much about the kittens as possible, but now the babies are all off and settling elsewhere, there will be much more about the adults. What they get up to, any vet visits and so on.

Also, for those of you who need a regular kitten fix, I'm sure there will be the occasional update about the REM litter... put it this way, if one of the families give me an update, I'll be sure to share it with you. There's plenty of old photos I haven't posted yet, and no doubt plenty of musings on what I would do differently next time... because I do expect there will be a next time!

There's also plenty to discuss about Tonks in general, cats in general, and just about anything else that takes my fancy really! In short, I'm sure there will be plenty to waffle about.

I can't promise blog entries as frequently. Spring is here and my other interest, my allotment, is just kicking off. Much of my spare time for the next six months will be taken up with planting, weeding, watering, digging and other such pursuits (perversely, I enjoy it!) and then cooking and scoffing large quantities of home grown tasty veg. Or rather that is the idea... the growing season last year was a bit pants.

So a blog entry every single day might not happen- but the blog isn't going to go away... and then of course next summer/ autumn, off Indigo will go to stud again, and the whole cycle will start over. I can't wait :)

More about me on this blog? Quite right too!

An Unexpected Pleasure

Well, this weekend we will be saying goodbye to Kensey and AnnElise. Regular readers will know they were due home last week, but because of unexpected (but harmless) vaccine reactions they had to stick around for a bit.

But it's been absolutely lovely having them here. Having an entire litter- that was hard work. But just having the two? It's taken me right back to the days when Ava and Sofia were small. Happy memories. All the pleasure of kittens, without the sheer hard work of having a herd of them. It's been almost as if they were mine...

But of course they aren't mine, and these past few days I've been trying to distance myself from the kittens a little bit. They've still had their share of cuddles, and I haven't neglected them in any way of course, but mentally I've been detatching more. It's easy to see why, when breeders don't place a kitten when young,  the kitten often ends up becoming a permanenet resident... one gets attached very very easily.

The teenager is definitely ready for them to move on, however! He was rather fond of Wendell, and I had to remind him several times he wasn't staying. This week though, he wasn't best pleased when the kittens literally ate his homework. Oops!

Just Saying...

Alfie's lump.... GONE!
AnnElise's lump... GONE!
Kensey's lump... well ok, that hasn't gone yet, much as I'd like to complete the set lol. But it is smaller, a lot smaller, and it can only be a matter of time.

NEXT litter, I will absolutely NOT freak when half my litter develop lumpiness following a vaccination. Absolutely not. And there goes that flying pig...

Settling Down

I've recieved a nice email from Hope's family :)

'Well Hope (we might call her Lisl)  has been rather scared and hid first under the bed and then under the bath, but then she came out after a while...

...We put her on the bed and I woke in the morning to find her nestled into my arm (she must have been sleeping there for a while), and then she just put her face right next to mine and looked into my eyes - she is adorable. She is still rather worried and cries a lot, but she is also so super cuddly and affectionate it's unbelievable and purrs really loudly.'

Awwww! Good on you Hope (Lisl, I mean!)

Goodbye, Princess!

Snoozing on the dvd player... nice and warm!

with the litter- from last week

False alarm on the lump front... Jonah's lump is just his microchip! *grin* Poor C, I worried her all unnecessarily! The microchip should feel like a grain of rice in the back of the neck or just below, for anyone wondering... and you may or not be able to feel it when the cats are adult too. I can feel Indigo's, but not any of my other cats, their fur is thicker than Indigo's (and short furred Sofia is just generally portly anyway lmao)

Anyway the main news of the day is that Hope went home to her new family yesterday :)

Dear little Hope. Such a dainty, prim little miss, head cocked on one side, regarding all and sundry with her big eyes! She was all purrs yesterday afternoon, showing her tummy and snuggling. I know her people will be absolutely charmed by her, and big brother kitty Boo as well.

Hope hasn't got a new name yet... her family are ging to get to know her first and then see what name she settles into. We'll miss you sweetie!

Hope was meant to be the last kitten, but of course Kensey and AnnElise are still with us. But not for long! They were both given the go ahead to come home yesterday at the vet appointment. They are still lumpy, but neither lump has grown in size, indeed Kensey's is a little smaller. They are also still happy, healthy and contented, so there's no reason to keep them with me any more... so off they can go! This weekend I think :)

So all is well again... ahhhh!

Lumpy Kittens

Well, Alfie now has a lump in his neck, and Jonah possibly has one. I really could cry. That would be a bit useless, however, so let me instead give a little more information, as I understand it :) (Update: Jonah's is his microchip... panic over :) )

Basically, the kittens are injected with  'dead' viruses. With live viruses (virii??) there's always the chance of the actual disease developing. Which is why it's not used, generally, and never in kittens who have immature resistance anyway. However, live viruses are actually much more efficient at prompting the body to make antibodies to that virus.

So kittens are injected with the killed viruses along with other stuff called adjuvants that poke the body into making a bigger immune response, thus better immunity. Only sometimes, the adjuvants can cause an extra immune response, and cause a smallish lump on the kitten's neck.

It doesn't mean kitten is not protected by the vaccination... it is! It doesn't mean the kitten will develop the illnesses they were vaccinated against... they won't, this is a reaction to the adjuvants, and the viruses used are killed viruses anyway.

The only time you should worry is if the lump suddenly grows bigger after a period of being the same size, is painful/ tender/ red, or your kitten seemed suddenly off colour. Really though that's just common sense!

There's an extremely rare condition called vaccine site sarcoma, which as its name suggests is a cancer at the vaccine site. This typically occurs from a few months to a few years after the vaccination. But I must reiterate this really is exceptionally rare- affecting between one in 1000 and one in 10,000 vaccinated cats. If you Google for vaccine lumps, this crops up a lot and there's lots of scary stuff about... ignore it :) The GCCF insists on kittens being vaccinated, and any breeder registering cats it hasn't vaccinated can be barred from breeding, I believe. This is because the diseases vaccinated against are real nasties. Feline panleukopenia, for example, has a 70% mortality rate IF the kitten is treated in time and very aggressively... if it is not, it's nearly always fatal.

This is a good site about vaccines/ vaccine reactions, if anyone fancies a read :)

Anyway I'm at the vets later, so if I pick up any more useful information, I will share it here.

Updates

Jacob and Jonah (Wendell and Monty) settling in. Photo by C F

Forgot to update on Alfie (Kenneth) yesterday. He's eating fine, and he's fine the other end too, settling down nicely into his new home.

I had another update from Jacob (Wendell) and Jonah's (Monty's) new home as well- they have cast off any shyness and are right at home. Love the photo above, doesn't it look as though Jonah has a big smirk on his face? LOL

So it sounds as though all three boyus have fitted seamlessly into their new lives... brilliant!

Hope's new family are hoping to collect her Monday afternoon, depending on what time their plane gets in. Of course I have no idea what the planes are goig to be like in the next little while, with all the disasters happening in Japan and the Pacific Rim at the moment. If their plane is delayed, they will have to pick up another day because....

... later on Monday, I will be taking Kensey back to the vet to have his lump looked at again. And I will be taking his sister with him because she's only gone and developed a reaction as well. *rolls eyes*

Today Kensey's lump is no bigger, but it doesn't look smaller either. Which is pretty consistent with a vaccine reaction lump. It should go away over time. AnnElise's came up yesterday- her new family noticed it, so I can pinpoint the time it came up almost to the hour... I checked her over that morning (and Hope, who is fine) and no lump, mid afternoon when her family visited we were feeling her back and thinking is it? Or is that just the microchip? and by evening it definitely was a lump. Same as Kensey's, no pain, no 'heat' etc etc.

I've been looking up about vaccine site reactions though... Apparently, this kind of lump is quite common, will typically occur up to 12 days after a vaccine is given -mine were vaccinated  for the last time 11 days ago- and they tend to go away without treatment, without any lasting effect. In fact, much of the available information suggests that whisking Kensey to the vet the same day might have been somewhat of an overreaction (me? surely not!) and that veterinary attention is only really needed if the lump hasn't disappeared several months later. Whoops! What can I say, I like to err on the side of caution where my kittens are concerned!!!

Oh well, you live and learn. I'll look into it more of course, as it doesn't hurt to be informed, and this is a new one on me... I'd heard they might get wobbly tums after the jabs, but not come across lumpy necks! Even though I've been googling, though, I'm pleased to report I have managed NOT to scare myself silly with what-if's and extremely rare and unlikely conditions this time. I'm learning! By the time we have our next litter, I will be as chilled as anything. Yeah, and pigs might indeed fly...

Oh, Cripes...

Last week, when I took the kittens in for their final vaccination, the vet said to me 'So, we won't be seeing these babies again then' and I said 'No, no... final time'

I really ought to have known better, oughtn't I? *headdesk*

Today, the day before he was due to go home, Kensey developed a swelling on his neck. He didn't have it yesterday. So off we went to the blessed vet, to see what was going on. They looked at it, prodded it, measured it, and made another appointment for Monday to see what it's doing.

So it's most likely a vaccine/ microchip site reaction. Kensey isn't in any pain, the site isn't tender, he hasn't got a temperature and o be honest he doesn't know the lump is there... there's therefore no treatment he can be given! It's a case of waiting and seeing. He's not remotely unwell... but I can't in all honesty send him home with a big, unresolved lump in his neck. Quite apart from it being dishonest it's against GCCF rules. This is why we keep the kittens for a week after their final vaccination, of course, just in case something like this happens... but you kind of don't expect it to, you know?

So Kensey is to stay for a bit, until I have more info on what the lump is doing. And of course that means AnnElise will be staying, too, as it would be daft to break their bond only to have to reintroduce them again. Poor S and K... they were looking forward so much to taking their babies home tomorrow, and now they won't be able to! They are coming to visit them though, later on :)

With any luck, come Monday the swelling will be smaller and Kensey will be given the all clear. Fingers, toes and paws crossed for Kensey, please!

Kenneth, Home.

Photo by S P

I shouldn't call him Kenneth, his name is now Alfie!

Anyway Alfie is doing very well. He was out of the carrier for a wander not long after he got home last night and the update this morning is he's been exploting and playing a lot. Still waiting on him eating and using the litter tray- perhaps it's all still a bit exciting?

Monty and Wendell are settling in nicely too. They've been exploring, have found all the nice dark corners to dash into and now they are starting to be a bit more brave and coming out for longer. Sounds like they are coming around nicely, too.

Bye Bye Boys!

Monty being adorable.

Wendell and Monty went this morning, and Kenneth has just gone this evening! So that just leaves Kensey and his sisters. He and AnnElise are with us till Saturday, and I have the pleasure of Hope's company till the middle of next week. It's purely chance it's worked out that way, but it's nice to have the leavings spread out a bit, I think, and less stressful for Indigo. Not that she seemed at all stressed earlier, snuggling into Kenneth's carrier and looking as if SHE was the one leaving today!!!

So we are down to three. The house seems dead quiet, now. It's odd to think that three/four kittens is a normal sized litter...

Wendell Wednesday... for the last time!

Wendell has turned into a grade A snuggler of late! He's still bonkers, though.

Wendell and Monty are leaving us tomorrow morning- the first of the kittens to go. Goodbye sweet boys.

Pic: Kenneth, on my lap, snuggling :) Light is different because it was on two seperate occasions. As you see, Kenneth is also developing his Mama's trick of rolling on his back in your lap. He is such a sweetheart!

Anyway. The kittens have all come over the second set of vaccinations with no issues whatsoever. In fact, they are eating so well that I had to go out and buy MORE dry kitten food yesterday. I'd calculated how much kitten food we were likely to need, and then added a bit more, but it seems that I didn't order enough at all for these Hungry Horaces!

(Does anyone remember Hungry Horace, by the way? I LOVED that game! Happy days. Reckon if I showed The Teenager he'd be decidedly underwhelmed by it though!)

It's truly amazing how much six kittens will eat. Although judging by the size of Mama's tum, she's partly responsible! Ah well, her days of munching kitten food are numbered- sorry Inds!

Numbers

I was drawing up the kittens' 4 generation pedigrees last night, a somewhat complicated procedure involving lots of strings of numbers (the cats' registration numbers) and thus checking and rechecking that I have copied the numbers correctly. I'm not finished yet, it's kind of a work in progress lol.

It was really quite interesting though. I haven't looked at Indigo's and Harry's pedigrees for a while. Indigo is a 5th generation Tonkinese, so her pedigree is all Tonk, and all the breed numbers are 74 and variations thereof. Harry though, Harry is a 2nd generation Tonkinese, so his near ancestors contains both Burmese and Siamese influences. So there's a liberal sprinkling of 24s (Siamese), 27s (Burmese) and even a couple of 32s in there as well (Tabby/ Tortie/ Red/ Cream/ Apricot Siamese, as these colours were not originally accepted by Siamese breeders, hence the different number)

As to which generation the kittens are, it's the lower of the parent's generations, plus one. So they are 3rd generation Tonkinese. Their parents and grandparents are all Tonks, their great grandparents and their great great grandparents are Burmese, Siamese and Tonkinese.

All the cats have letters before their number, too. Now Tonkinese are a relatively new breed (although in the 'wild', they are as old as the hills... there are Tonkinese street cats wherever the Burmese and the Siamese are...) so there are different codes, and it all gets quite confusing. There's a brilliant guide at Mymystic Tonkinese but I'll try to summarise on here as well.

If the cat has a CSREF on its registration number, it is e on the reference register. It is either a first generation, second generation, or has a solid or pointed coat pattern- so both Indigo and Wendell have CSREF before their numbers. CSREF cats can be bred from, if also registered as active (Indigo is, Wendell is not) but they cannot be shown in pedigree classes.

If a cat has CSSR before it's numbers, it is on the supplementary register. This means that the cats ancestry for 3 generations consists of mink tonkinese, pointed and solid variant CSREF Tonkinese PLUS at least one ancestor from a back cross mating (Tonkinese with Burmese or Siamese, but only pre 1997, it's not allowed now) or a pre 1999 first cross mating (Burmese x Siamese) All the minks have a CSSR before their number (as does Harry, their father) because they have a Siamese and a Burmese as a great grandparent. CSSR kittens can be shown. They can also be bred from if also registered on the Active Register, which mine are not, of course.

and THEN, we have the registration CS, which is the full register- fourth generation and above mink Tonkinese and onwards. Indigo had a mink brother, who would have been CS. Don't let the name 'full register' fool you though... all the codes are properly GCCF registered pedigree Tonkinese cats.

Tonkinese are such a 'new' breed (see proviso above!) that CS registered cats seem to be the exception rather than the rule- there's only one CS Tonkinese cat on the REM litter's whole pedigree! Once you get further and further up the generational ladder, the gene pool available for mating gets smaller and smaller, so eventually you have to mate with lower generations with new bloodlines in order to keep the gene pool healthy.

Not that this will matter to ANYONE but me of course... I suspect I'm a bit of a nerd *grin*. What can I say, I find it interesting!

I Got Up

... the other day, and went into the kitchen to get myself a coffee, and when I came back...

My seat had been taken! Yup, that's Indigo, feeding four kittens on my nicely warmed chair, the minx!

All the kittens love my computer chair, (and so does Indigo!) and it doesn't matter how briefly I leave it for, there's always someone in it when I get back. So Be Warned, new families... these kittens are seasoned chair- snatchers. Better get used to sitting on the floor.

Last Weigh In

Pretty AnnElise

Last weigh-in and last vaccination, yesterday. All these 'last' things... time seems to be going past awfully fast!

All went swimmingly, all are healthy, and even Hope had a good weight gain in the past 10 or so days- her last gain wasn't brilliant but this week's more than makes up for it. Yay Hope!

So there we are... the kittens are vaccinated, wormed, flead, chipped and just killing time now before coming home. I have the pedigree slips back from the GCCF, I have the free insurance slips ready to go, the microchip numbers are off with Petlog and will be with the new families shortly. I just have to assemble the kitten packs/ documentation now.

*sniff*

So anyway. Weights. I have two big kittens, three average ones and one titch... so all in all a pretty even litter!

Wendell

Birth 103g

1 week 217g

2 weeks 294g

3 weeks 362g

4 weeks 463g

5 weeks 593g

6 weeks 763g

7 weeks 907g

8 weeks 1045g

9 weeks 1240g

10.5 weeks 1390g

12 weeks 1630g

Kensey

Birth 91g

1 week  196g

2 weeks 255g

3 weeks 346g

4 weeks 437g

5 weeks 604g

6 weeks 777g

7 weeks 975g

8 weeks 1149g

9 weeks 1310g

10.5 weeks 1470g

12 weeks 1720g

Kenneth

Birth 94g

1 week 192g

2 weeks 274g

3 weeks 382g

4 weeks 480g

5 weeks 589g

6 weeks 757g

7 weeks 902g

8 weeks 1045g

9 weeks 1230g

10.5 weeks 1340g

12 weeks 1640g

Monty

Birth 90g

1 week  198g

2 weeks 290g

3 weeks 390g

4 weeks 524g

5 weeks 600g

6 weeks 792g

7 weeks 1012g

8 weeks 1157g

9 weeks 1340g

10.5 weeks 1530g

12 weeks 1830g

AnnElise

Birth 92g

1 week 188g

2 weeks 262g

3 weeks 338g

4 weeks 437g

5 weeks 539g

6 weeks 716g

7 weeks 897g

8 weeks 1017g

9 weeks 1240g

10.5 weeks 1350g

12 weeks 1600g

Hope

Birth 83g

1 week 182g

2 weeks 257g

3 weeks 340g

4 weeks 458g

5 weeks 562g

6 weeks 712g

7 weeks 832g

8 weeks 962g

9 weeks  1070g

10.5 weeks 1130g

12 weeks 1360g :)

Just One More Week

... and I bet the kittens' new families are counting down the days!

In just over a week, all my kittens will be safely home with their new people and going on to the next stage in their development- blossoming under the love and guidance of their families and growing into sociable, affectionate adult cats.
They will soon be showing their lovely natures off in person (or should that be 'in kitten'??) but I thought I'd just give you a teaser. So here's the REM litter's end of term report *grin*

Wendell

Funny-face Wendell is the comedian of the group. He reminds me of his mama the most in looks and is the most playful kitten of the litter. He's a bit bonkers, he never seems to stop leaping and running and pouncing. I've say 'I'm not sure when he sleeps' before, but he's taken to napping on my lap of late, so I can confirm he does, indeed, sleep. Occasionally!

Wendell was the first born, and I'm grateful to him for waking me up by squeaking incredibly loudly, so that I could assist with his next two siblings who were born in rapid succession. Poor Indigo was totally overwhelmed on her own. Thanks, Wendell- you saved the day! :)

Kensey

Kensey is sweet, playful, loving, all the things a kitten should be, but the most striking thing about him is his good looks. He is one HANDSOME boy! He's one of the biggest kittens,  lithe and muscular, and is a pleasure to look at. What is more, he's perfected the art of the pose as well. I can turn the camera on Kensey and know, despite my rather feeble photographic skills, that I'll take a good picture of him. Which is very gratifying, especially when I've been trying to photograph Wendell...

He's a curious cat and REALLY wants to know what's in my bedroom. He's gotten in there a few times as well, much to the disgust of Ava and Sofia!

Kenneth

Kenneth is a quiet little puss. Where his siblings will demand cuddles, Kenneth will sidle up to you confidentially, without fuss, and suddenly you will find a kitten purring contentedly into your lap. He's sweet, a little shy, and just lovely! He's a bit of an explorer at heart I think, despite his quiet nature. I don't think it will take him long before he's king of his new castle.

Kenneth, I feel, has been rather swamped by his litter of five siblings at times. He's so easygoing that he's just gone along with the pack for the most part, he hasn't had the chance to be 'the leader'. It's really going to be interesting and exciting for his family to see him blossom when it's just him (and a buddy, eventually) I wish I could be a fly on the wall to see it happening.
Monty

This boy likes to cuddle! I could just say that, and you'd know pretty much all you needed to about Monty!

... ah ok, I'll say a little more *grin* Monty has inherited from his Mama the trick of upending himself into your arms for cuddles. He will allow himself to be cradled like a baby or sat on your shoulder, on your lap or curled into a foot, but what he likes the best is to snuggle into your neck. And he purrs and he purrs and he purrs... bliss! He's chatty as well and will 'talk' to you. What he is usually saying is 'I need a snuggle!' so a chatting session is usually followed with a neck snuggling session.

AnnElise

I don't often see AnnElise alone... she's always snuggled with a sibling, washing someone's ears, biting someone's tail. She thrives on the company of other cats, so I'm especially pleased she's coming home with a brother.

Like Kenneth, AnnElise is a subtle snuggler. Her favourite trick is to wait till I'm at the computer, then snuggle into the small of my back. This basically immobilises me as I'm afraid of squashing her, so I'll tap away on my keyboard and try not to move whilst she purrs away! She's also quick to offer her tummy for rubs, and has charmed her new people with this very trick. Nice one AnnElise!

Hope

Tiny, but feisty!  The best things come in small packages, they say! At 12 weeks, she's by far the smallest kitten, but nobody seems to have told Hope this...  she was the first to hit all the kitten milestones, despite her diminuitive stature. She's an independent, confident and friendly kitty with a lovely purr and I know she's going to make a great companion.
Hope will remain in my memory for the way she befriended Theo... she really does adore him!  As it has worked out, Hope is going to a home where she'll have another 'big brother' kitty... so it couldn't be better, really.

I LOVE It When They Do This!

This is Hope, standing up, asleep! (next to Theo, naturally...)

She does this a fair bit, dropping off to sleep whilst still standing up. Kensey does to too and it is seriously cute! After a few minutes of head- nodding, they tend to wake up, look about groggily and settle down in a more natural sleeping position.

Usually the whirr of the camera turning on wakes them up, so it's been difficult to take a picture of the 'sleep-standing'... so pleased I managed to get one today!!!

Insurance

Unrelated picture of mama feeding- she'll still let them, occasionally!

Ok, so I'm going to waffle on about insurance today, and this is a post specifically for my new kitten families. The kittens come with four weeks free insurance with PetPlan. I'll activate this on the Monday or Tuesday before they come home, so that the paperwork should be with you (or at least on the way) by the time you bring home your kitten. This gives you a couple of weeks in which to sort out your own insurance.
My kittens will come home at thirteen weeks, to the best of my knowledge, fit and healthy. They will also have been vet checked five times (six for Wendell and Kenneth!) and had the usual kitten course of vaccinations, flea treatments and worm treatments. It's hard to imagine anything going wrong and yet it happens, cats get sick just like people do and there's no pet NHS to cover the cost.

I'm a big fan of cat insurance, and I would advise you to both to insure your cat and get the best one you can afford, rather than the cheapest going. One must be pragmatic about this... some are pricey- I would love to be able to afford Petplan, for example, but it's a little beyond my means. The one I have isn't as comprehensive, admittedly, and the very cheapest ones are, naturally, quite limited, but my thoughts are that some insurance is better than none at all.

It isn't nice to think about, but some insurances will cover the cost of the cat, if it dies- which leaves you with a sum of money ready to buy another kitten, when you are ready. Some insurances will pay out if your cat goes missing too, with a certain amount for costs incurred whilst looking for the cat. So I can't really recommend a specific insurance as it will vary according to your needs. I have Tesco's 'Extra' cover.

One last thing... I have heard that you can't claim for the first week or so of a new insurance, so don't wait till right at the end of the four free weeks to start the new one or you will have a gap. So unless you are continuing with Petplan, have an overlap of insurances for at least a few days to make sure that you are covered at all times.