Blue or lilac?

Now you know me... I am the first to admit that colouring kittens? Not something I would list as an achievement. I do seem to have a particular issue with lilacs- I think they are blues. Apparently I can't recognise a lilac if it jumped up and purred at me.

But I think I could be forgiven for the confusion here.

I mean, that's a blue kitten, right? That's absolutely a blue kitten. (if anything its sister Lola who is looking a bit lilac-y there, and that's a whole nother post!)

Haha...

That is not a blue kitten. It is a lilac kitten, or rather, a lilac cat, because at the grand old age of 6 months, I suppose they would be terribly offended to be thought of as babies (they will always be babies to me!) Lottie, here, looks just like Mama Indigo.

And again, I would say that was a lilac cat too. As an aside, not sure how old they are here, but I'm assuming they've both stayed smallish cats- they were both small as kittens weren't they? Well, the whole litter was smallish but Lottie and Lola were the smallest of the lot! Maybe not though- Bailey, who was average sized (but the biggest in the Von Trapp litter) is getting to be quite a big cat, I think Sulley might be as well. But my diddiest kitten from the REM litter, Lisl (Hope) stayed small, so I assume L and L will do so too.

I don't half go on... back to colour now...

But here? Here she looks more blue.... but not as blue as I would have expected given her earlier pictures. But still blue!

As I said yesterday, and as you can see in the picture above as well, they have a sufficiently different eye colour now to let us assume Lola is indeed mink and Lottie is a solid (so I am improving!!!) but oooooh I am undecided about Lottie's colour now. Grr!

Any opinions? Lottie and Lola's family don't mind a bit (remember Lottie has already distinguished herself by being undecided as to whether she was male or female for many weeks, she was thought to bea girl, then a boy and she was going to be called Charlie as in Charlie and Lola!) but it is a source of never ending frustration to me to not have this whole colour thing a little more secure in my mind than I currently do.

*grin*

But they are beautiful, and this post has given me an excellent excuse to post more lovely Lottie and Lola pictures. Which is always a good thing! You must be very proud of them K and family- I know I am.

Lottie and Lola at 6 months

Lottie (with Lola's foot)- blue solid- apparently.

Lola- blue mink

And sooooo adorable!

Remember I swithered over whether  Lottie was a mink or a solid for ages, before deciding, and registering her as, a solid? Or it felt like ages anyway. Well you can see in the above pictures that the contrast between Lola's points and body is much more than Lottie's now. And in the picture below you can see the difference in eye colour too, Lola's are a light greeny-aqua, Lottie's green-gold just like her Mama's.

Must say though Lottie is looking far more like a lilac solid than a blue... she's looking like Indigo. And Jonah. What do you think? Thank heavens I always warn my customers how terrible I am at colouring kittens! Anyway, she doesn't look a bit like Jacob, my definitely- no- doubt- about- it blue solid (and I think I agonised at the time that Lottie didn't look a bit like Jacob... should have known shouldn't I? *rolls eyes*)

I love how regal looking the Tonkinese are. Such beautiful girls- many thanks to their family for sharing!

By The Way, Kittens...

It's nearly time for your 'special visit' to the vet!

I know Mr Sulley has already lost a couple of ounces (hee!)

Far Too Old

Definitely far too old for all this nonsense... but Mama cats will keep letting them! Poor Indigo looks ridiculous, hidden under that sea of kitten!

Weights today and nothing else as I'm really busy, may not get an entry in tomorrow either but Sunday I will finish the weight comparison and do a proper entry I promise.



Liesl

Birth 96g
1 week 172g
2 weeks 226g
3 weeks 250g
4 weeks 325g
5 weeks 420g
6 weeks 586g
8 weeks 880g
9 weeks 1050g
10.5 weeks 1310g
12 weeks 1460g
FriedrichBirth 101g
1 week 187g
2 weeks 239g
3 weeks 271g
4 weeks 349g
5 weeks 449g
6 weeks 630g
8 weeks 950g
9 weeks 1180g
10.5 weeks 1380g
12 weeks 1500g

KurtBirth 102g
1 week 205g
2 weeks 280g
3 weeks 341g
4 weeks 448g
5 weeks 570g
6 weeks 740g
8 weeks 1020g
9 weeks 1220g
10.5 weeks 1460g
12 weeks 1550g

LouisaBirth 82g
1 week 157g
2 weeks 219g
3 weeks 260g
4 weeks 334g
5 weeks 394g
6 weeks 530g
8 weeks 820g
9 weeks 960g
10.5 weeks 1160g
12 weeks 1260g

BrigittaBirth 83g
1 week 179g
2 weeks 248g
3 weeks 301g
4 weeks 374g
5 weeks 497g
6 weeks 641g
8 weeks 890g
9 weeks 1070g
10.5 weeks 1300g
12 weeks 1400g

MartaBirth 91g
1 week 178g
2 weeks 249g
3 weeks 311g
4 weeks 389g
5 weeks 468g
6 weeks 603g
8 weeks 840g
9 weeks 970g
10.5 weeks 1130g
12 weeks 1270g

GretlBirth 81g
1 week 150g
2 weeks 220g
3 weeks 269g
4 weeks 342g
5 weeks 402g
6 weeks 516g
8 weeks 780g
9 weeks 950g
10.5 weeks 1140g
12 weeks 1260g


Comparison:

Birth

REM litter 83g-103g. Average 92g

Von Trapp litter 81g-102g. Average 91g

1 week

REM litter 182g-217g Average 195g

Von Trapp litter 150g- 205g. Average 175g

2 weeks


REM litter 257g-294g, Average 272g
Von Trapp litter 220g- 280g, Average 240g

3 weeks


REM litter  338g-390g. Average 359g.
Von Trapp litter 250g- 341g. Average 286g.

4 weeks


REM litter 437g-524g. Average 466g
Von Trapp litter 325g-448g. Average 365g

5 weeks


REM litter 539g-604g. Average 581g
Von Trapp litter 394g-570g. Average 457g.

6 weeks


REM litter 712g- 792g, Average 752g
Von Trapp litter  516g-740g, Average 606g

9 weeks

REM litter 1070-1340g. Average 1238g

Von Trapp litter 950-1220g. Average 1057g

10.5 weeks

REM litter 1130-1530g. Average 1368g

Von Trapp litter 1130g-1460g. Average 1268g if Liesl's weight is correct.

10.5 weeks

My Von Trapps seem to be catching up with their predecessors on the weight front... very interesting... perhaps they are just late developers? Or did they all just have extra large breakfasts to confuse matters?

Six out of seven kittens are now in varying stages of vaccine site reaction- nearly every man jack of them (except- well, Jack! Freddie as he is at the moment) which must be a record. Some of them, like Brigitta's, are practically gone now and some, like Liesl's are still quite large although I hasten to add not harmful, very common and they will go down in time. Probably in time for the next vaccination LOL- whereupon they will promptly get another one I have no doubt! They feel like a squishy lump between the shoulderblades and unless you were looking for it, you'd be forgiven for not noticing it at all.

They've all been microchipped today and the chips registered directly to their new family- paperwork should be arriving through the door at some point. Poor Louisa bled a little bit- the needle for the chip is really quite big- but she was OK after a bit of TLC. The microchips can be felt as a grain of rice sized hard lump in the top of the neck, the neck muscles holding them in place (although they can 'slip' slightly and be a little off centre with time)

Inds was also given a clean bill of health. Hurrah!


Liesl

Birth 96g
1 week 172g
2 weeks 226g
3 weeks 250g
4 weeks 325g
5 weeks 420g
6 weeks 586g
8 weeks 880g
9 weeks 1050g
10.5 weeks 1310g (can this be accurate? its a bigger leap than I would expect...)

Friedrich
Birth 101g
1 week 187g
2 weeks 239g
3 weeks 271g
4 weeks 349g
5 weeks 449g
6 weeks 630g
8 weeks 950g
9 weeks 1180g
10.5 weeks 1380g

Kurt
Birth 102g
1 week 205g
2 weeks 280g
3 weeks 341g
4 weeks 448g
5 weeks 570g
6 weeks 740g
8 weeks 1020g
9 weeks 1220g
10.5 weeks 1460g

Louisa
Birth 82g
1 week 157g
2 weeks 219g
3 weeks 260g
4 weeks 334g
5 weeks 394g
6 weeks 530g
8 weeks 820g
9 weeks 960g
10.5 weeks 1160g

Brigitta
Birth 83g
1 week 179g
2 weeks 248g
3 weeks 301g
4 weeks 374g
5 weeks 497g
6 weeks 641g
8 weeks 890g
9 weeks 1070g
10.5 weeks 1300g

Marta
Birth 91g
1 week 178g
2 weeks 249g
3 weeks 311g
4 weeks 389g
5 weeks 468g
6 weeks 603g
8 weeks 840g
9 weeks 970g
10.5 weeks 1130g

Gretl
Birth 81g
1 week 150g
2 weeks 220g
3 weeks 269g
4 weeks 342g
5 weeks 402g
6 weeks 516g
8 weeks 780g
9 weeks 950g
10.5 weeks 1140g


Comparison:

Birth

REM litter 83g-103g. Average 92g

Von Trapp litter 81g-102g. Average 91g

1 week

REM litter 182g-217g Average 195g

Von Trapp litter 150g- 205g. Average 175g

2 weeks


REM litter 257g-294g, Average 272g
Von Trapp litter 220g- 280g, Average 240g

3 weeks


REM litter  338g-390g. Average 359g.
Von Trapp litter 250g- 341g. Average 286g.

4 weeks


REM litter 437g-524g. Average 466g
Von Trapp litter 325g-448g. Average 365g

5 weeks


REM litter 539g-604g. Average 581g
Von Trapp litter 394g-570g. Average 457g.

6 weeks


REM litter 712g- 792g, Average 752g
Von Trapp litter  516g-740g, Average 606g

9 weeks

REM litter 1070-1340g. Average 1238g

Von Trapp litter 950-1220g. Average 1057g

10.5 weeks

REM litter 1130-1530g. Average 1368g

Von Trapp litter 1130g-1460g. Average 1268g if Liesl's weight is correct.

8 Weeks Old

Chaos! In the past 24 hours the heating has broken down, the washing machine has broken down, and, today, Indigo is unwell- vomiting. Indigo is never sick. When she then vomited a bright red fluid I whisked her off to the vet pdq. Several injections and a nasty tasting medicine later, she's back home, and I must say, looking distinctly chirpier this evening so something has helped.

She's lost quite a lot of weight- pre pregnancy she was 4.3kg, and she was a little portly if I'm honest. Now she weighs 3.5 kg, which is underweight for her and a significant drop. I know she's had 7 babies to feed, and mama cats DO get thin, but that's a big drop in just a few months. She's also rather dehydrated. If she hadn't improved over the course of today she would have had to go back in and be put on a drip.

Poor Indigo! She had that funny thing where her third eyelid was showing, then she had the dreadful morning sickness, then on/off diarrhoea, then her ear, then more tummy issues, all one after the other.  Once the kittens have gone I'll have to build her up a little and then consider her breeding career- perhaps not breed her again or give her a longer break between litters or something. Or perhaps it's nothing to do with that at all and it's just one of those things... I don't know, but everything will be carefully considered.

Oh- the heating is fixed, by the way. But until it was, the kittens stayed nice and warm with blowy heaters placed inside a cage so they couldn't get TOO close to them, much like a toddler fire guard... worked well. I understand our gas is going to be off next week for the day, so they will keep us all toasty on that day too, especially if the snow in the north heads this way! Stay warm!


Liesl

Birth 96g
1 week 172g
2 weeks 226g
3 weeks 250g
4 weeks 325g
5 weeks 420g
6 weeks 586g
8 weeks 880g

Friedrich


Birth 101g
1 week 187g
2 weeks 239g
3 weeks 271g
4 weeks 349g
5 weeks 449g
6 weeks 630g
8 weeks 950g

Kurt

Birth 102g
1 week 205g
2 weeks 280g
3 weeks 341g
4 weeks 448g
5 weeks 570g
6 weeks 740g
8 weeks 1020g

Louisa

Birth 82g
1 week 157g
2 weeks 219g
3 weeks 260g
4 weeks 334g
5 weeks 394g
6 weeks 530g
8 weeks 820g

Brigitta

Birth 83g
1 week 179g
2 weeks 248g
3 weeks 301g
4 weeks 374g
5 weeks 497g
6 weeks 641g
8 weeks 890g

Marta

Birth 91g
1 week 178g
2 weeks 249g
3 weeks 311g
4 weeks 389g
5 weeks 468g
6 weeks 603g
8 weeks 840g

Gretl

Birth 81g
1 week 150g
2 weeks 220g
3 weeks 269g
4 weeks 342g
5 weeks 402g
6 weeks 516g
8 weeks 780g

Comparison:

Birth

REM litter 83g-103g. Average 92g

Von Trapp litter 81g-102g. Average 91g

1 week

REM litter 182g-217g Average 195g

Von Trapp litter 150g- 205g. Average 175g

2 weeks

REM litter 257g-294g, Average 272g
Von Trapp litter 220g- 280g, Average 240g

3 weeks

REM litter  338g-390g. Average 359g.
Von Trapp litter 250g- 341g. Average 286g.

4 weeks

REM litter 437g-524g. Average 466g
Von Trapp litter 325g-448g. Average 365g

5 weeks

REM litter 539g-604g. Average 581g
Von Trapp litter 394g-570g. Average 457g.

6 weeks

REM litter 712g- 792g, Average 752g
Von Trapp litter  516g-740g, Average 606g

8 weeks

REM litter 962-1149g. Average 1063g
Von Trapp litter 780-883g. Average 883g

Poor Indigo!

This was last week... Indigo was suddenly accosted on the cat tree by seven hungry babies wanting milk. All she'd done was get up to stretch, but the kitten clearly saw this as an invitation for some lunch. Poor Inds! She doesn't look too happy about it does she? Heehee!

5 Weeks Old

Louisa and Liesl say hel.....

.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Five weeks old! Yesterday seemed to pass in a flurry of phone calls, and the first visitor comes tomorrow all being well, so we shall see.

For now, nerdy stats time!

Liesl

Birth 96g
1 week 172g
2 weeks 226g
3 weeks 250g
4 weeks 325g
5 weeks 420g

Friedrich


Birth 101g
1 week 187g
2 weeks 239g
3 weeks 271g
4 weeks 349g
5 weeks 449g

Kurt

Birth 102g
1 week 205g
2 weeks 280g
3 weeks 341g
4 weeks 448g
5 weeks 570g- Kurt likes his solid food an awful lot!

Louisa

Birth 82g
1 week 157g
2 weeks 219g
3 weeks 260g
4 weeks 334g
5 weeks 394g- Louisa is refusing to eat solids at all. She prefers Mama!

Brigitta

Birth 83g
1 week 179g
2 weeks 248g
3 weeks 301g
4 weeks 374g
5 weeks 497g

Marta

Birth 91g
1 week 178g
2 weeks 249g
3 weeks 311g
4 weeks 389g
5 weeks 468g

Gretl

Birth 81g
1 week 150g
2 weeks 220g
3 weeks 269g
4 weeks 342g
5 weeks 402g- And Gretl is too active to do anything as dull as eating...

Comparison:

Birth

REM litter 83g-103g. Average 92g

Von Trapp litter 81g-102g. Average 91g

1 week

REM litter 182g-217g Average 195g

Von Trapp litter 150g- 205g. Average 175g

2 weeks

REM litter 257g-294g, Average 272g
Von Trapp litter 220g- 280g, Average 240g

3 weeks

REM litter  338g-390g. Average 359g.
Von Trapp litter 250g- 341g. Average 286g.

4 weeks

REM litter 437g-524g. Average 466g
Von Trapp litter 325g-448g. Average 365g

5 weeks

REM litter 539g-604g. Average 581g
Von Trapp litter 394g-570g. Average 457g.

Freedom!

The first two come out for a mosey around...

Then a couple more...

But they were soon overcome at their newfound freedom and retreated to the safety of the nest. And Mama. Aww!

Sniff

Theo, getting to know the kittens. What an old softie he is.

Just a quickie today.

 Poor Indigo is really struggling to eat anything, I'm supplementing her with calcium and nutri-drops but yesterday she ate half a sachet of kitten food and a small bowl of chicken. Hardly enough to sustain herself, let alone seven hungry kittens. The kittens, predictably, have had truly appalling weight gains and indeed losses as a result, and I have resorted to the bottle. Nature knows best? Yeah, maybe, but I'm having no kitten going hungry on MY watch, sorry Mother N.

So I've been bottling. But will any of my kittens readily TAKE the bottle? Will they b******s!!!!! Do excuse my language, but the sheer frustration of it!

So I've been very, very busy trying to slot milk, squirt by tiny squirt, into seven wriggly, reluctant kittens. But even so, with two of them, I'll be delighted if they end the week the same weight as they started it. The others aren't so bad, but weight gains will be very very poor this week.

The thing is, the kittens... well they are absolutely bursting with vitality! They are all incredibly healthy, active, curious little beings now, and looking like proper cats as opposed to furry sausages. You advance the nest and they approach, squeaking, eager to be sociable. They really are a joy.... I just wish they were putting on weight.

And yes, I know exactly the same thing happened last year (to a lesser degree), and I know its a phase and I know it will pass, but I still don't like it!

Never mind. Inds comes off her antibiotic today, and I am hoping her appetite will come back with a vengeance.

2 Weeks Old Yesterday...



But yesterday I wanted to tell you about Friedrich. So today I'll record their 2 week weights, a day late but better late than never. Indigo is feeling rough on her antibiotic, she was sick yesterday evening, then had wobbly bowels and didn't eat at all overnight, as a consequence weights are pretty much all down today (except Marta). Her ear seems a bit better though, it was hot and inflamed and sore yesterday, so clearly the antibiotics are needed, its just a shame it's upsetting her digestion

I do think that it has been right to hold off on the supplementing this year (I supplemented Friedrich and Liesl, once, and that's it) as they have been feeding constantly from Mama and that seems to have got the milk supply up again. That and the food I'm trying to slot into Indigo. Chicken today I think, bland and easy to digest for her poor tummy. She's had a bit of breakfast so I'm hoping for a better day.

If weights are down again though, I will have to start thinking about that bottle. Oh this kitten business is worrisome!

Liesl

Birth 96g
1 week 172g
2 weeks 226g

Friedrich


Birth 101g
1 week 187g
2 weeks 239g

Kurt

Birth 102g
1 week 205g
2 weeks 280g

Louisa

Birth 82g
1 week 157g
2 weeks 219g

Brigitta

Birth 83g
1 week 179g
2 weeks 248g

Marta

Birth 91g
1 week 178g
2 weeks 249g

Gretl

Birth 81g
1 week 150g
2 weeks 220g



Comparison:

Birth

REM litter 83g-103g. Average 92g

Von Trapp litter 81g-102g. Average 91g

1 week

REM litter 182g-217g Average 195g

Von Trapp litter 150g- 205g. Average 175g

2 weeks

REM litter 257g-294g, Average 272g
Von Trapp litter 220g- 280g, Average 240g

Vet

Well it had to happen sooner or later didn't it? We've all had our first trip to the vets!

The kittens are getting so active now, and crawling all over their nest. Watching them the other day I noticed that Friedrich looked- well, a bit odd. On closer inspection, there was definitely something not quite 'right' about his hips/ leg. One leg seemed to pop out at an odd angle when he walked, and he'd kind of go in circles. Clearly we needed to have that looked at.

Not very clear, but do you see what I mean?

Definitely not 'right' poor lamb.

In addition, Indigo's appetite hasn't been fabulous and as a result weight gain in the kittens hasn't been great either (although it's picked up a bit) and a couple of times Inds has shaken her head and looked like her ear was bothering her so I thought in for a penny in for a pound and bundled the lot off to the vet last night.

The net result is:

Despite the slowing down on the weight gain front (better gains today actually) all the kittens are fat and healthy and doing just fine- nice healthy lungs (!) and hearts and decent weight gains from this morning. Excellent! Incidentally, even the vet couldn't tell whether Louisa was a boy or a girl!!! 'She' is a mystery that one, just as well her name can easily be switched to Louis later on if needs be.

Indigo did have a gunky ear, which was cleaned out with saline and alcohol, Q-tips and cotton balls. She's got a mild antibiotic as ear drops contain steriods, and I'll gently wipe her ear now and again with a cotton ball dipped in olive oil to stop the crud building up again. Nothing will induce me to poke about my cats ear with a Q-tip though... I know how wriggly she can be!

Friedrich's results weren't so fabulous. The vet thinks that at some point, probably during the birth process, the little guy's leg got broken, and being so young and the bones being so plastic, it's knitted back together incredibly quickly... but wonkily. Because kittens don't do anything for the first few weeks but huddle about in heaps in dark corners, I hadn't noticed it. But once he started to move about, there it was.

The good thing is, the vet doesn't feel he's in any pain, it's not interfering with his development otherwise and he's a nice strong healthy kitten. It's too soon to tell what, if any, issues his dodgy leg will cause and he's far too small for an xray, which will involve an anaesthetic. He may just walk a bit oddly. Even worst case scenario and he needs to have the leg removed, well, cats do perfectly well on three legs, and he won't know any different.

It will, however, make him much less 'desirable'. He may struggle to find his forever home. He will be available to the right owner, at a negotiable price, (ie less than the going rate) once I know what, if any, his issues are likely to be. But if Friedrich- or 'Freddie' as he will inevitably be known here from now on, doesn't find a family he will always have a loving home here with us.

Why Am I Always Last?

Never mind, Gretl!

The kittens are nearly two weeks old now, and just starting to do other things than just eat and sleep. Like small babies, eating and sleeping still take up a large amount of their day, but they do now have periods of alertness, looking around their nest, making clumsy attempts at washing their paws, etc. They are very active at times. Perhaps that's why their weight gain today was truly shocking :( they are burning off far more calories than previously?

Don't get me wrong, newborn kittens are lovely and I love to watch them all snuggled up, fatly, to Mama cat, but they aren't as interesting as older kittens. Now is the exciting time, as their characters start to unfold and they become proper little kittens.

Can't wait!

Hiss!

This is Marta, the second from last kitten.

Like her sister Brigitta, she's also quite a confident lass. Speaking of her sister, I poked my head over the side of the nest earlier, and Brigitta HISSED at me! She did! Of course I then stroked her for being so cute, so as a 'go away' tactic it wasn't terribly effective.

Both Liesl and Friedrich have had feeble weight gains for two days running now. I am keeping an eye on the situation but not getting too jittery about it. Well, maybe just a bit. I wouldn't be me without a little bit of neuroticism, right?

Brigitta

Unhand me, madam!



Brigitta is by far the most confident kitten, but even so, she doesn't look convinced about this 'cuddling' business, does she? She'd much rather be at the milk bar.

Nerdiness alert... if you come here for the cute pics, this will not interest you one bit! Time to go now. I mean it! Don't say you weren't warned... obsessiveness is a breeder's perogative!

Ok, I've thought of something else I can do now I'm on litter 2- compare last year's weights to this year's. Useful for me to be able to do this so I can see trends within the litter that might indicate Indigo is struggling to keep up the milk production for seven of them.  So:

Birth

REM litter from 83g-103g. Average 92g

Von Trapp litter from 81g-102g. Average 91g

Pretty much the same- REM litter was born on the due date, Von Trapps the day before so possibly would have been a couple grams lighter anyway.

1 week

REM litter from 182g-217g Average 195g

Von Trapp litter from 150g- 205g. Average 175g

So this litter is noticeably smaller already. (although they have all doubled their birthweight now) This could be for many reasons:

1) This litter is girl-heavy, the last had more boys. Even at birth, boys tend to be heavier and they go on being heavier, it's just the way it is. My two boys in this litter are heavier than the girls, the boys in the last litter were heavier than their sisters.

2) This time Dadcat is petite, and they might take after him. Last litter we only had one 'small' kitten, Hope (Lisl) and she was small-average rather than small small, you know? This litter- who knows.

3) Indigo may be struggling to keep up with the demands of feeding 7 kittens and they aren't getting the nutrients they need.

Obviously 3 is the one I will be watching for. Last year, I ended up supplementing the REM litter when their weight gain started to slow right down in week 2. I'm going to try NOT to do this this year, as I feel my interfering was possibly counterproductive. You feed the kittens, they suckle less, that doesn't stimulate more milk and so on. From my reading on the 'net, a slow weight gain is probably OK as long as it IS a gain... obviously if a kitten started losing weight I'd be there with the bottle and the KMR. But there's no need to metaphorically wet my pants if a kitten only makes a gain of a few grams one day at this stage. Its the overall pattern that's important (see how calm I am with this litter!)

Instead, I'm trying to stuff as much food into Indigo as I can. It seems to be working, she's currently eating about four sachets of wet kitten food a day, sometimes I'm giving her boiled turkey- she wasn't keen on the baked- or similar just as a change, plus a sizeable bowlful of kitten kibble and the occasional cat treat!

Switcheroo

Now in the film, the Von Trapp children go Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt (girl, boy, girl, boy) but our kittens are not arranged that way. T'would be freaky if they were!

So here's kitten 3, a boy, who is to be known as Indikon Kurt.

Kurt looks like he's got some serious eye gunk going on there doesn't he? As soon as I saw the picture (which was pretty much just after I'd taken it) I dashed over to get a better look, and his eyes are fine, no gunk at all. Must just be fluff, or a funny lighting angle or something.
And here's kitten 4, Indikon Louisa, who may well end up Indikon Louis if she turns out to be a boy after all!

On the eye theme, Louisa is one of two kittens that hasn't got open eyes yet. These two kittens tend to freak out if handled, whereas the others will just gaze at you for a bit (and then freak out!) Shouldn't be long before she can see as well though :)

Only one more has doubled birthweight today... but the remaining four are all mere grams away... come on, slowcoaches!

A Very Good Place To Start

Here's Friedrich!



I discovered something last night. None of my cats will touch raw meat. They all sniffed at it, looked at me like I was insane and resumed howling for their food, and no redirecting would persuade them to eat it. Yes I'd rinsed it thoroughly.

One lot into the bin. And only one, Indigo, and I suspect she will eat anything right now, will eat the turkey and rice concoction I then cooked up for them. What a waste of four turkey steaks THAT was (ok the teenager had one, so three...)Next time I will just do the turkey, rice is an odd thing to be giving to cats anyway isn't it, well it sounds an odd thing for a carnivore, but that was the recipe!

And here's the weights this week: as you can see a couple of the kittens have doubled their birthweights, some are very nearly there and will hopefully hit it tomorrow, but I'm happy all are making steady progress. See what a good job I am doing of Not Panicking Unnecessarily this year? Heh!
 Can you believe they are a week old already?

Kitten 1- Liesl

Birth 96g
1 week 172g

Kitten 2- Friedrich


Birth 101g
1 week 187g

Kitten 3

Birth 102g
1 week 205g- doubled!

Kitten 4

Birth 82g
1 week 157g

Kitten 5

Birth 83g
1 week 179g- doubled!

Kitten 6

Birth 91g
1 week 178g

Kitten 7
Birth 81g
1 week 150g

Let's Start At The Very Beginning...

Having agonised over the sexes of the kittens, I have finally (well, for now!) decided we do in fact have two boys and five girls!!! What are the chances of that happening eh? So the names are a foregone conclusion, really. After all, I did promise the teenager, (he's thrilled!) so this litter will be named after the Von Trapp family children. Unless the sex change fairy visits us again, that is...

This little darling is Indikon Liesl, who I am reliably informed does NOT need a governess. She will need lots of love and kisses and care though, and it will be a pleasure to give them to her. Here she is :)

And yes, I know there's already a tag for 'Lisl'- our Indikon Hope was named Lisl by her family. No problem, I'll tag these kittens by their full pedigree name. So 'Lisl' refers to Hope, 'Indikon Liesl' refers to Liesl. Confusing, much?