Getting Along

I belong to several Tonkinese/ breeder- related internet groups, and a question was asked on one of them about how the different cats in the household get on. So I got to thinking about the complex relationships my lot have, and how Lucy's coming has changed the dynamic.


They do say in a multi-cat household there is often an ambassador cat, that gets on well with everyone and essentially holds the community together. That's Theo in ours, although I do wonder whether Lucy might end up fulfilling that role too. Far too soon to tell with her of course, and as she will reach sexual maturity will probably be rather more volatile, but she's very different to how Indigo was as a kitten (except in the naughtiness stakes) so who knows. Everyone likes her though, so it's a good start!


Anyway, hre's a little bit about each relationship. No photos, am cameraless at the moment.


Ava and Sofia


Ava and Sofia are littermates- sisters. They are friendly and very occasionally snuggle, although neither of them are especially demonstrative cats. They will show their affection by occupying the same space, for example either end of the bed. They squabble occasionally. Sofia always wins.


Ava and Theo
Ava tends to stay out of Theo's way. Theo likes to chase and pester, like an irritating little brother, and Ava is a quiet little puss who just wants to be left alone. Theo is very fond of Ava though, and will groom her when she lets him.


Ava and Indigo
These two don't really interact. Indigo tends to pick on Ava (everyone does! Poor Ava is the bottom of the pecking order) so Ava tends to stay out of her way. It's a shame, as they were very fond of each other when Indigo was a kitten. Ava doesn't have any interest in the kittens when Inds has them.


Ava and Lucy
Ava and Lucy are cautiously friendly. Lots of mutual nose/ butt sniffs and I've even seen a bit of snuggling but it hasn't lasted long. Either Ava gets creeped out or Lucy bounces up, being a kitten she rarely stays still for more than a second anyway. Either way, Ava ends up making a run for it.


Poor Ava! But she's a happy little soul fortunately, and very sweet.







Sofia and Theo
These two squabble apparently to their mutual satisfaction, as they are also quite affectionate towards each other but not super- close. They were very close before Theo basely deserted her for Indigo, I don't think Sofia has ever quite forgiven either of them!


Sofia and Indigo
HATE HATE HATE!!!! Well, kind of. These two are the reason I kept two separate spaces in one small flat for over a year, before I decided it was ridiculous and put my foot down. Reintroduction took a long time but it was (mostly) successful. These days it is more of a mild antagonism, but let's just say I can't see them becoming best buds any time soon. Sofia has nothing to do with Indigo's kittens when she has a litter- Indigo would probably kill her!


Sofia and Lucy
They play together, much to Indigo's consternation. Chasing games, mostly, up and down the hall. No snuggling as yet, I think Lucy would but I suspect Sofia would bop her on the nose if she tried.


Theo and Indigo
True love! Lots and lots of snuggling, with the occasional lovers' tiff followed by more snuggling. These two are very sweet together. Theo also loves the kittens, when Inds has them, and will snuggle, wash and play with them.


Theo and Lucy
Lucy thinks Uncle Theo is won-der-ful. Theo is quite fond of Lucy but will administer the occasional smack when he thinks Lucy is being too impertinent... like when she is pouncing on his tail. He's a bit sensitive about his tail. Unfortunately every kitten without exception thinks it


Indigo and Lucy
Obviously being mother and daughter these two are very bonded. Indigo is kept very busy having a bad daughter to look after, and has zero time to misbehave herself, but she doesn't seem to mind, and where one is, the other is close by.

Violins

Lucy gets some cuddle time in with her favourite Uncle

Gah! That cold I couldn't shift, that some of you noticed from before the babies came home? The one that's been coming and going for several months now but wasn't ever bad enough to 'bother' the doctor with? Yes, well. It now appears to have morphed into a gigantic chest infection! Steroids, antibiotics, several inhalers... you name it I'm on it at the moment, and feeling mighty sorry for myself as well. Can I hear the sound of a tiny violin there? I am much gratified, thank you!


So, right at the moment, Lucy and Theo look pretty similar in colouration, so I thought I'd try and keep a record of how Lucy's colour changes. As an adult, she ought to resemble the majority of her siblings as babies, if you see what I mean... not precisely but her colour should darken to that sort of milky chocolate on her back, with her belly that creamy colour and obviously the darker points as she has now but they will extend a little about the mask etc. Theo is done changing colour now, as a mature cat, so he will do nicely for comparison purposes (as well as clearly making a very nice fluffy pillow)

I tried to get a picture of both sets of eyes to illustrate the mink/ pointed colour difference (Theo is a pointed cat, although not of the Tonk variety) however Theo wasn't up for that this time round. I just like the photo and you can see Lucy's eyes are going a nice aqua now.

Yes, I kiss that little face about a zillion times a day...

The other day there was some very brief (less than a minute) Ava-Lucy snuggling and ear cleanage going on. Awesome! Lucy and Sofia have played together too. Indigo doesn't know what to make of it all. Keeping a kitten has totally rocked her world... she seems happy and occupied with a kitten to fuss over, and certainly for none other than her own daughter would she have ceded her place as centre of attention and chief troublemaker but I do wonder what she thinks about it all!

Finally an update post!

Lucy reminds me it is high time for an update!

The funny thing with kittens, is that they often behave differently alone or in a pair than they do in a pack, much as human children, in fact. So when they go home, very often they can reveal themselves in unexpected ways. Even Lucy has shown me a previously unsuspected naughty streak! As a breeder you shape their development in the group setting as best you can then wave them off to discover who they are with their new family. Sometimes it's a little bit if a surprise! I just love hearing about who they are becoming.


Figaro and Tigerlily (Digory and Jadis)


Figgy and Tiggy are doing great! Figgy took the lead when they first came home, and Tiggy had no choice but to follow him around. They are very much enamoured with their cat tree and Figgy has started to play Fetch, which I am really pleased about, it's such a very endearing habit. Tiggy is her own sweet self... sigh... she gave the best cuddles :)


Sophie (Aravis) and Caspian:


Sophie is getting herself quite a reputation for mischief! Nice naughtiness, of course, she's still very much a lady, (bends repressive glance at Lucy, who is not!) but it seems she's a little pickle, and not the shy, retiring miss she once was.. Caspian is his usual laid back self and adores his sister. Apparently all she has to do is mew and he's there by her side. He seems happy to let his sister lead and trots along after her in his own sweet way. He seems determined to keep his name, doesn't he?


Nala and Sarabi (Susan and Jewel)


Nala is another one who has really benefitted from moving on. You remember how I'd said she could be somewhat aloof, and not immediately friendly, as the others were. Oh my word, not any more! Nala comes running whenever she is called, she's super- affectionate and people- oriented now. How awesome is that? Sarabi loves being cradled like a baby by A's daughter, who still can't believe they are theirs. Sarabi also loves her fuss, in fact, when Nala is being petted, Sarabi will nose her way in too. Bit of sibling rivalry there!


aaaand.... Lucy


In my bedroom there is a clothes airer. On the floor under the airer are a pile of clothes that were once on the airer, before Lucy pulled them off. Again. Ava is now asleep on the pulled off clothes, which are now so crumpled it's probably going to be easier to wash them again. And that is all you need to know about life with Lucy!

She's beautiful

And an absolute nut.

Oh, and KENSEY IS HOME!!!!! and improving day by day. Whoop!

Poorly Boys... And Lucy

A Kensey Update:


The vets are now thinking his illness is more symptomatic of cardiomyopathy than lymphatic cancer... still serious but with a MUCH better prognosis! He's still got to stabilise a bit more to have the tests he needs to diagnose it, but he has made steady progress. Today he managed meows and headrubs for his family when they visited- two days ago he was barely aware of their presence so he's done brilliantly, good old Kensey!


I'll update as I get news (or should that be mews?), but please keep his family in your thoughts.




A Theo Update:


Well after the shenanigans of last week (no... week before. I lose track), when I truly thought his number was up, THIS week, you'd hardly know he'd been poorly. He's regained nearly all the weight he lost and is now at 3.68 kg. Still a way to go till 4.5kg, but y'know, we're getting there. I can only surmise that it WAS just a random bug he picked up, and because he's been so poorly and his immune system may be somewhat compromised at the moment, he got it and the other four didn't. Anyway he's back to his normal, cheeky self this week so I can breathe a sigh of relief!


His steroid dose has been reduced again, as of Friday, and he is now on monthly cobalamine injections as opposed to weekly ones, so I will be keeping a close eye on him to make sure he tolerates the meds reduction but I am feeling really positive about things.


Lucy!

Lucy's eyes are changing! At last, she seemed determined to hold onto her baby blues, but the pic above shows they are starting to look aqua now.


She's continued to be super-charming and adorable and a bit of a pickle, but she's so adorable with it it's impossible to be cross with her. Although Indigo did get a little annoyed at being pounced on earlier, and administered a proper spanking to her unfortunate daughter... who, I might add, was only momentarily subdued. Poor Mama Indigo!


I have updates on the whole litter so will make that my next post :)

A Lucy Post

We are totally loved up with our kitten!


This week Lucy has:


Stolen the cheese from my sandwich (and I let her, bad Mummy!)
Gotten to the top of the wardrobe to pester the adults- impressed as it's a big jump for a kitten
Committed GBH on an unsuspecting toilet roll
Nearly caused several accidents by leaving toys in the middle of corridors for humans to step on in the middle of the night
Managed to get into, and get shut into, the wardrobe. Howl, said Lucy, sending her Mama into a frenzy!
Decided Theo's tail is the Best! Toy! Ever! much to the consternation of it's owner
... and many other such badnesses.


The best one though was when she climbed the clothes horse and pushed, pulled and tumbled all the nice clean dry clothes onto the floor. Definitely reminds me of her mother at the same age! Indigo used to walk along shelves and deliberately knock things off if she felt she wasn't getting enough attention, which, being a Tonk, was a good deal of the time. My tastes became very minimal when I got Indigo!


We had no more accidents after that first one, which was my fault anyway, and she will now use any tray in the house. There really hasn't been any problems at all... Indigo gets a bit antsy when she feels Sofia is looking at Lucy in the wrong way but other than that it's all good.


Some other things we have noticed are:
When she meows, she sticks her tongue out. Oh. My. Goodness, it's cute.
She looooooooooves her Uncle Theo and cuddles with him a lot. When she isn't attacking his tail.
She knows how to play fetch! Yay! As does Figaro, I have heard!
She likes Star Trek Voyager. Or rather, she likes the fact I sit down when it comes on so she can get into my lap and purr. Yes, I am a Trekkie *blush*


She has amazing 'seams' including a back seam which Indigo doesn't really have


t5rpolfdcv999999999999999999- yeah, that. She thinks walking on the keyboard is great fun!

Uncle Theo was quite unwell again last week, and Lucy was most solicitous, leaving his tail alone and giving him lots of snuggles instead which was very sweet.


Can I ask my readers to keep Kensey in their thoughts please? Kensey is from the first Indikon litter, the REM's, and is extremely unwell at the vets right now. The vet is thinking lymphatic cancer and things aren't looking good for the poor little guy. It's so desperately unfair... he's only three and his family adore him and are understandably devastated. So if you could keep him, and them, in your thoughts at the moment I would be very grateful.