Quick Theo Update.

Theo and his shaved belly. You may be sure I find it necessary to stroke and kiss that baldy bit many times a day!!! Mmmm all soft and warm...

His belly was shaved for the ultrasound. Incidentally, you can see, in the pic above, especially, just how skinny he has become. And how deceptive the floof is! Poor old Theo.

So, Theo's biopsies came back, and they didn't find any evidence of tumours, but some evidence of inflammation. His blood was normal, and he's responded positively to a change of diet. The diagnosis is IBD- inflammatory bowel disease. He's on steroids for at least a couple of months, a big whack of them to be gradually tapered off or at least down, and he's on a strictly controlled diet. Very bland, hydrolysed  kibble, nasty smelling plasticky stuff from a can if I choose (I don't think I'll bother, it really does look like plastic...), no meat and no treats. poor Theo!

This means he can't have free run in the kitten room any more, and has to wait until I have taken away the kitten's kibble before he can come in. I don't think it is the kibble he reacts to, in all honesty and it may be possible to reintroduce certain foods later on, I don't know. But for the moment it's strictly controlled, and Ava and Sofia have to follow it too. Ava, fortunately, seems to be OK with the new food we have, but I don't think Sofia is too impressed.

He is a very bad boy though, and can sniff out a missed bit of kibble at thirty paces. And does. The other day I caught him with both paws under the sofa trying to hook out a stray piece of kibble that had been knocked under there. I mean, goodness knows how long it had been there!

My cats are insured with Tesco, and thank goodness again, I received a cheque from them for £500 yesterday, covering the first lot of Theo's treatment! Just in time, as I needed to buy a set of baby scales- vet has recommended regular weighings for the boy until he puts a bit on, and says baby scales are more accurate at his size than adult scales. So we now have a new gadget, and most comforting it is too. Theo hasn't put anything on yet, but his weight does seem to have stabilised. Given that what he is eating is so utterly uninspiring, I see that as a good result!


Speaking of the vets, the babies are now booked in for their first jabs. Can they really be that old???

Jewel-lery

Jewel is a neck snuggler.

See what I mean? Lets have a close up of that smug little face...

You'll have to use your imagination, but she's purring up a storm, there!

How that kitten hasn't been snapped up I will never know!


I was going to do a Theo update today but this pic was too good not to share! I was getting my cuddles in advance last night and this morning because later on today is Nail Clipping Time.. and they won't like it. But it's time. One of them took a running jump at my arm the other day and it hurt!


I've got smaller clippers designed for the littlest of claws, and I'm hoping to get the wrigglier ones (Susan, Digory) while they are napping. You do have to be so careful when they are this tiny because the clippable part, and the quick (the nail bed) are so close together, it really is just a tiny point you should nip off. The adults should probably be done too, which is 198 claws in total!!!


Best get started then...


Hope the weather isn't troubling you too much... stay dry, stay safe!

Jadis says 'You go 'way!'

Oh dear. I'm not terribly popular at the moment, am I?

You go away lady. I is snuggling with my mama.

She is MY mama! I means it! I'll...

Oh, wait... food!

The kittens have discovered a new trick. By balancing on the central strut of the dining table in their room, they have realised they can get onto a dining chair and  from there onto the table itself. And they are mightily pleased with their bad selves, too! I don't think anyone will be surprised that Digory and Jewel were at the forefront of this particular expedition.

This is part of a trend this week. The babies have all discovered the... vertical properties of their living space and are trying to get ever higher, as cats do. TV unit, drawers, cupboards, my head... they want to be on the top looking down. Some cats don't climb much, and are happy to loaf around on the ground all day. Tonkinese are NOT in that category and I do recommend new owners to consider buying a cat tree to satisfy this natural instinct to climb. It may just prevent them from using the curtains! On the other hand...!!!

Aravis says 'You go 'way!'

You go 'way lady. We is snuggling.

Ok, if you're sure you're comfy, Aravis. Everyone? Susan???

Mmmffff! Halp!

Kittens at 7 weeks

All this growing is exhausting!

When G was over yesterday, she commented on how much bigger Digory and Jadis seemed, even in just a week. Seeing them every day, it isn't so apparent to me, but seeing Jadis in G's lap I had to agree. I did wonder if there would be big gains this week. Well, G was spot on... approximately 200g for each of her two!


In fact they have all done brilliantly on the weight gain front, but the winner this week has to be Lucy, who has put on over 220g and left poor Caspian in the dust again. Even my more petite girls have made very pleasing gains indeed. What is it about babies putting on weight that is so very satisfying?


Mind you, I am not surprised. Last week the kittens, aided and abetted by Mama Indigo, got through two whole chickens (almost- I think the teenager had the legs of one), four 400g tins of Grau kitten food and 1 1/2 boxes of Whiskas kitten sachets. That's not including the James Wellbeloved kibble they have down 24/7 for snacking. It's not surprising they are growing really, is it, getting through all that!




Digory

Birth: 84g

1 week:186g

2 weeks:264g
3 weeks: 333g
4 weeks: 419g
5 weeks: 560g
6 weeks: 703g

7 weeks: 905g

 

Caspian

Birth:72g

1 week:151g

2 weeks: 227g
3 weeks: 286g
4 weeks: 353g
5 weeks: 525g
6 weeks: 665g

7 weeks: 837g

 

Jadis

Birth:89g

1 week:185g

2 weeks:272g
3 weeks: 337g
4 weeks: 400g
5 weeks 550g
6 weeks: 681g

7 weeks: 875g

 

Lucy

Birth:83g

1 week:171g

2 weeks: 263g
3 weeks: 327g
4 weeks: 420g
5 weeks: 531g
6 weeks: 653g

7 weeks: 875g

 

Aravis

Birth: 84g

1 week:177g

2 weeks:248g
3 weeks: 322g
4 weeks: 404g
5 weeks: 504g
6 weeks: 620g

7 weeks: 756g

 

Susan

Birth: 90g

1 week:184g

2 weeks: 279g
3 weeks: 366g
4 weeks: 444g
5 weeks 533g
6 weeks: 653g

7 weeks: 816g

 

Jewel

Birth: 80g

1 week: 163g

2 weeks: 237g
3 weeks: 293g
4 weeks: 340g
5 weeks: 486g
6 weeks: 595g

7 weeks 728g

Weight order heaviest to lightest:
Birth: Susan, Jadis, Digory and Aravis, Lucy, (Polly), Jewel, Caspian
1 week: Digory, Jadis, Susan, Aravis, Lucy, Jewel, Caspian
2 weeks: Susan, Jadis, Digory, Lucy, Aravis, Jewel, Caspian
3 weeks: Susan, Jadis, Digory, Lucy, Aravis, Jewel, Caspian
4 weeks: Susan, Lucy, Digory, Aravis, Jadis, Caspian, Jewel
5 weeks: Digory, Jadis, Susan, Lucy, Caspian, Aravis, Jewel
6 weeks: Digory, Jadis, Caspian, Lucy and Susan, Aravis, Jewel

7 weeks: Digory, Lucy, Jadis, Caspian, Susan, Aravis, Jewel

 

Comparison by litter:

 

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

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

Narnian litter 72-90g. Average 83g
 

1 week
REM litter 182g-217g Average 195g

Von Trapp litter 150g- 205g. Average 175g
Narnian litter:151-186g. Average 174g

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

Narnian litter 227g-279g. Average 256g

3 weeks

REM litter  338g-390g. Average 359g.
Von Trapp litter 250g- 341g. Average 286g.
Narnian litter 286g-366g. Average 323g

4 weeks

REM litter 437g-524g. Average 466g
Von Trapp litter 325g-448g. Average 365g
Narnian litter: 340-444g. Average 397g

5 weeks

REM litter 539g-604g. Average 581g
Von Trapp litter 394g-570g. Average 457g.
Narnian litter 486g- 560g. Average 527g

6 weeks

REM litter 712g- 792g, Average 752g
Von Trapp litter  516g-740g, Average 606g
Narnian litter 595g-703g, Average 653g


7 weeks


REM litter 832-1012g. Average 921g
Von Trapp litter- No data available for this week
Narnian litter 728g-905g, Average 827g

Monday murmurings

Darkest kitten/ lightest kitten!

Had a bit of a shock today. I came in the kitten room to find Aravis's collar wrapped round her MOUTH! The back was still round the back of her neck but the front had hooked over her jaw- heaven knows how- into her mouth, like a horse's bit. Dang. She was fine, I hasten to add, it was uncomfortable, I am sure, but not painful, the bands are soft. Still, not nice for poor little Aravis, and it gave me a nasty jolt as she obviously hadn't been able to get it off.

I'm on the lookout for a substitute method of identification. I think I could, with effort, tell the difference between them now, but sometimes you need to be able to do so quickly, like at the vet's- two kittens without a microchip and one with three isn't a lot of use to anyone! In the picture above, it's easy to tell which is Caspian and which is Lucy, but when you get the three darker girls together it's definitely more of a problem! Perhaps I could sew up some bands with soft elastic? I'll have a think.

Digory and Jadis's new mama came over for a play today which was lovely. Jadis cuddled on G's lap while Digory had a great time with the feather teaser again. He adores that teaser. I said to G I'd have to put it in his kitten pack... if it lasts that long, that is, he isn't exactly gentle with it!

Catching Up

So yesterday afternoon was entirely spent loving on Theo. That and giving the kittens some quality time, and I may have slotted a nap in there as well! Today will be mainly spent catching up on the skipped and scantily done chores of the last four or five days. The kitten room needs a good scrub, having just had brief sweeps and tidies since Thursday, I have just put today's fourth load of washing in and the kitchen needs attention. At some point this week I need to write the proposal for my EMA (like a dissertation) not to mention actually thinking about writing the thing itself, so yeah, not too busy at the moment...!!!!


Also, at some point, I need to make a bit more of an effort to advertise these pretties... can you blame me for dragging my heels a bit though??? They are both such darlings!

I needs a lovely home!

I does too! Pick me, pick me!