Pot's first consultation with the vet

Today marked the 9th week for Noodle's little girl... well, I say little... she weighed in today at just over 1kg... from her birth weight of 103grams that's very impressive and a big well done to her mummy for producing so much nourishing milk and to Pot for getting so stuck in to the raw food diet.

Having had her weight taken, her heart and lungs were listened to and her mouth and teeth checked. Whilst those tasks were accomplished the vet and I discussed the vaccine, and I decided that I would forgo the feline leukaemia part of the vaccine this early on and felt very happy indeed to know that if Pot's New Owner wanted her to have it later on, there is no reason why she could not have that part of the vaccine only given individually or added in at the next annual booster. He referred to it as a bolt on which made me smile. We both held her so that there was no chance of her wriggling during administration and brave girl Pot didn't even squeak when the jab was given!

Next she was then given her worming pill. She took this incredibly easily, all credit to Phil our vet for that great talent as I'd never ever seen it done that fast and without any kind of fuss.

Dabbed onto her head next with delicate fingers was a spot on treatment for safeguarding her against parasites.

We decided to wait to have the microchip inserted until 12th January when she has her 2nd vaccination.

While this was all going on, Noodle sat very calmly watching on. I love that she never takes her eyes off of her daughter and monitors her so closely.

All I needed to do was pay up!

I have managed to get some fabulous photos of my beautiful girls this week... this one in particular melts my heart.

RESERVED!

Today was a milestone in the life of Naked Sphynx Cat Hampshire as a cattery as we received our first visitor to see Noodle's kitten who as you know I have been calling Pot.

A very gorgeous & very funky lady called Kirsty arrived at our door and came in to meet us. We spent a wonderful couple of hours talking together; a time during which she was I think very able to see the kind of home environment that Noodle and her kitten live in.

It was a joy to see someone so enamoured with my little kitten. I felt instantly drawn to Kirsty and hope she felt some degree of connection to me too as I'd love it if she felt she wanted to kept in touch in future when she takes Pot home. You got it - Yes she has reserved her.

It is a funny kind of feeling... I knew that once Pot was seen that anyone would become smitten and so would wish to buy her, but until that actually happened I could think of Pot as still being mine.  Now that she is reserved though I must begin to think of her as belonging to another family and learn to disconnect a little. It is a transition that, if I am to become a longterm breeder, I must be able to cope with. Meanwhile I still have a few weeks left where she will still be in our care.

 Good job too since there is much still to do before Pot is ready. First she must have her vaccinations given 3 weeks apart...and be wormed, and have her microchip fitted. She has some more growing to do and is still enjoying suckling on mum, though strictly speaking the mother's milk is no longer her main source of food and is simply a comfort thing.


Congratulations Kirsty and Family and Congratulations to Pot. Soon you'll have a new family, a new home  and a new name!

Petsafe Scoop Free Ultra - Review

This weekend I took delivery of a Petsafe Scoop Free Ultra I had purchased from Amazon UK.

The ultra model varies from the standard in that it has the privacy hood,  the ability to alter the rake delay time and it counts the number of visits your cat makes to the box which is very useful if you need to monitor output from a health point of view. 

The system uses the same silica litter I already use and promises to make waste management in terms of dealing with cat pee and poo scooping duties a doddle.

I got a good price, which honestly was a lot of the reason I bought it when I did.  I also paid half the price again in order to have (shipped from America) a reusable litter tray. It is a plastic tray and a plastic bar attachment that has been fitted with a couple of inexpensive magnets. It comes with a 2kg bag of Scoop Free Litter and this costs almost £50. I see no reason why it should cost as much as this and normally I would not even have entertained  buying such an overpriced item, however without it I would not have even considered using this scoop free system at all because (a) the disposable trays sold to be used with this unit are (to me) very expensive to buy and (b) because of the amount of environmental waste they create.

The Petsafe Reusable Tray £46.00 on Amazon UK Dec. 2017.

The idea behind the system is to make litter tray management easier and less of a yucky job.  And the cartridge system promises to do just that. To be honest, cleaning the cat poo isn't a real problem for me, I'm not one of those who is squeamish but I am immune suppressed due to medication I take so anything I can do to safeguard my health in terms of less handling of pet waste even though I am very careful with gloves and handwashing is going to be beneficial.

The scoop free litter box system is basically an outer unit with a motorised rake. With the unit held up at one end, a disposable litter box prefilled with its litter crystals and its lid removed is slid in underneath and then the machine is lowered back down. Essentially, for the next 14 - 30 days (dependant on several factors, more on this later..) you have no more to do.

The litter crystals trap urine, its odour and bacteria held hygienically within them. while the water content of the urine is able to evaporate away. The crystals also draw moisture from the poo drying it out completely and thus pushed into its waste compartment there is no odour or worry about germs. 

The system sensors pick up movement as your cat enters the box and a countdown timer begins after they leave. Dependant on the model you have this time is a set  20 minutes or a customisable 5, 10 or 20. 

Having dried out the poo slightly (or absorbed the urine) during the 20 minute time lapse the rake now slowly sweeps across the litter, pushing the poo along. As the rake approaches the opposite end the lid of the waste container lifts up and the poo is pushed inside. Now the rake returns, lowering the lid of the waste container immediately keeping the waste out of site and as it goes it evens out the crystals ready for the cat's next visit.

As the litter crystals are saturated and become used, they change colour becoming yellow from the concentrated uring held inside them. Now it is time to change the cartridge by lifting the machine at the end again, sliding out the box and replacing it with a fresh one. You then pop the lid onto the used box and put it into the bin - all without touching the litter or the cats waste.

I mentioned earlier that there were several factors that might affect the length of time between cartridge changes. The most obvious would be the number of cats who would be using the box. The recommendation in the manual is that one box is ample for 2 cats. 

The second factor would be the diet the cat is being fed with. A cat being given a raw food diet does not produce the same number of poo's and as an added factor to that, they are also smaller, less smelly and much drier.  The raw fed cat also does not drink as much as a cat who has dry kibble in their diet and so the urine output is also reduced thus the crystals will not become saturated as quickly. Cats fed on commercial dry and canned food have more frequent need to poo, the stools are larger, softer and more malodourous.

Another factor that would affect urine output and shorten litter cartridge lifespan would be if the cat were older and/or suffered from health complaints affecting the kidney or urinary tract which cause the cat to urinate more frequently.

One way to make sure the crystals are being used most efficiently whether using the box cartridge system or a reusable tray as I do is to stir the crystals which can be done using a poop scoop each day. Yes, it is true this system is meant to do away with you having to work at the litter box with a pooper scooper but this will take 30 seconds at most each day and is well worth it.

Silica cat litter works by absorbing urine while allowing the water content of it to harmlessly evaporate. Stirring it will allow air flow and so aid in evaporation making it more efficient. True, the rake moves the litter but the rake goes up and down in one direction and cannot stir.

Stirring is essential to use all of the litter as cats often have a preference to wee in just one spot. Without stirring the crystals in your cats' chosen corner will saturate until they cannot soak anymore causing a pool of urine to form and sit underneath them while the rest of the crystals in the tray remain clean and dry.  

Stirring saves you money because it makes your silica litter more effective extending its lifespan and able to do the job it was designed to do.

While it is a system that is by using the replacement cartridge box designed to be hands-off,  the lidded boxes make the system very wasteful. Not just in terms of the actual materials, but also in their production and then in their disposal.  Made from a cardboard with a plastic lining type element incorporated it to them and which is intended to reduce any chance of urine leakage should the crystals not absorb all of the urine while it is in use the box and its lid are bulky items to dispose of creating more costs on the environment.

Disposable Box Cartridge - £16 or £46 for a pack of 3 (Dec. 2017)

To try to reduce my impact while still enjoying most of the benefits of the system I purchased at the same time the astronomically priced plastic tray accessory also made by Petsafe which is impregnated during manufacture with an antibacterial agent. Admittedly it too uses resources to make it, but overall, since it will be reused many, many times over,  and used with a biodegradable silica crystal it is I feel, a more environmentally sound option. The downside is that rather than simply popping on a lid and throwing away a box filled with litter, I will need to bag up the contents of the tray and also clean it before refilling it again. It means then that there is still going to be some need for me to deal with the cat waste. I feel I can live with that job every 2 - 4 weeks for the sake of the planet and of my purse as I will still benefit from not having to poop scoop.

I have found about 3 different versions of the reusable plastic tray available for sale and all very similarly priced at around £45-50. All of them look similar and all work in the same way and I struggle to see why there is such a huge price tag. The only reason I went for this is the responsibility to planet and purse. When choosing it is worth bearing in mind that Petsafe will not honour the warranty on the scoop free litter box system if you use any other reusable plastic tray than their own. I'm not entirely sure why since the tray does not interfere with the workings of the motor or rake in any way and is simply a receptacle of the right size supplied with a separate magnetized system to work the opening and closing of the waste compartment lid as the rake does its sweep. I would hazard a that it must be more to do with the litter that its put into them.... or perhaps more likely is that this exclusion is intended as a way to make sure system users stick to using their expensive box cartridge refills or buy their own reusable tray.

As well as feeling discomfort at the amount of waste produced by using the box cartridge refills their cost is also rather significant and prohibitive. For a pack of 3 lidded boxes with litter for each  (at the time of writing) the price is upward of £45.  For an individual one, the price is £16. Factor in a delivery charge too if you are buying online. If you need to change your box every 14 days, a 3 pack is going to last you only 6 weeks making it a very expensive system indeed! Perhaps you hate the job of pooper scooping for your cat so gross that you feel this is a cost worth paying in order to do away with the need to poop scoop?

Using a reusable tray at £45-50 for a tray at first seems extravagant. However, it can be used over and over again.  Environmentally it is a winner but financially the benefit is that it can be used with a cheaper brand of silica litter so the plastic tray ends up paying for itself. The downside of this though is of course that it reintroduces the need to empty and clean a tray periodically. 

The next consideration after having purchased a reusable tray is in choosing the silica litter. There is much to consider still. It must be of decent quality even if it is cheaper to buy. It needs to function to absorb and hold the urine and to dry out the poop, otherwise, it will need to be changed too often and simply end up costing more and cause more work!

It must be of a suitable crystal size to work well in the unit.  Too large and the crystals won't go through the rake as it sweeps along the unit. By being too large, the rake will be building a wall of crystals which will be pushed along putting strain the motor that it was never intended to cope with. Additionally, those large crystals are pushed into your waste box filling it with clean and dry crystals and leave no room for the poo. Thus filled the lid won't be able to close over it. 

If the crystal size is too small they might possibly get into the rails the rake travels along particularly possible if your cat is one who really likes to dig and kick its litter around.  This could cause the mechanism to become jammed or strain the motor if it blocks it.

I have looked extensively online at reviews and descriptions for various silica litters sold in the UK hoping to find other users comments on using it with their Scoop Free systems. So far the only silica litters I have found that actually state they are made for or are suitable for use with the Scoop Free Litter Box are Pet Safe's own Scoop Free (which is not easy to get in the UK and definitely not favourably priced) and one by Fresh Step that is also available only in the US. 

I think since nothing of my research has been fruitful that there is going to be some trial and error on my part in order to find the best one for use with it. I am hoping very much that the brand I have been using in normal litter tray will work with my scoop free system because it does its job brilliantly well and would save me a lot of effort in finding the perfect one.

I will update here as I carry out trials and tests using the system in the coming weeks.

If you already use one of these systems and have found a litter that is perfect for use with it, I'd love to hear from you so please get in touch - nakedsphynxcathants@icloud.com

Week 7 - 8

Do They Know It's Christmas Time At All?

Possibly not, but they sure as heck want to help with wrapping gifts!

No Chistmas decor this year. My home is already a full on kitty playground and assault course without my adding to it with a tree to climb and fall from or know down... to have it festooned with baubles they will swipe at and knock off before chasing the around the room... or hung with fairy lights where they are sure to become tangled.

It might be a bit bah-humbug but honestly if you could see these girls running and jumping from room to room playing chase or laying in ambush of one another you'd understand.

In this last week, I have been trying to complete some projects destined to be or form part of gifts for people. One of these is a knitted mermaid. I wanted to do some bead work on her... add necklace and bracelets and perhaps a beaded headband. The thread is invisible, and the beads tiny and delicate... not an easy recipe at the best of times so I tried to pick my timing of working at it coordinating this with nap time. Can you tell yet that it was a disaster? Tipping beads into a container, no matter how quietly you try to do it, to a cat or kitten is like a call to action and so come running they did, leaping and bounding, climbing or sitting right in the way.... I needed three pairs of hands at least.... just as beads were strung I'd find that I was on the flight path as a kitten would run into my invisible thread  taking it and the beads with it... or jumping up into my container sending beads flying. Frustration wasnt the word after having recovered beads and begun again time and time again.

In the end I resorted to closing them into the playpen just to get that job done.

Next came gift wrapping which I knew would be manner from heaven for them. The sound of paper being unrolled, cat and folded, or of tape being ripped from the roll was too exciting to ignore and getting involved was a great game!

Time and again I have wished for my eyeballs to be fitted with video camera, as day by day there are moments I would love to have captured. Mum and daughter involved in games or hunt, ambushes with my dear sweet kitten making these cute little sideways jumps trying to appear bigger than she is, or the cutest or funniest moments as she is startled by somthing real or imagined and seems to jump in the air and land in different poses. As always, any portraight type photo shot where both mum and baby are awake has been almost impossible when I want a result that is crystal clear. Instead they are blurred as one of them will move at the last moment!!!!

From Strength to Strength & Preparing for Goodbye

So much progress..... Pot is now approaching the magic 8 week mark when she will meet possible new owner(s) during "viewings'.

It's kind of hard to believe how much has changed since that Friday in October when Noodle needed veterinary help right at the end of her pregnancy with the end result of one small kitten instead of the litter I'd been expecting and hoping for.

Her kitten was so very tiny, she seemed to me so fragile... a tiny warm bag of flesh and bones who was so helpless and yet had all the instincts to find a nipple and to feed.

I was anxious... would this kitten make it? Would Noodle be a natural mum and manage the demands having a kitten now placed upon her?

Terrified hands that needed to hold this kitten and somehow give her milk on day 3 when she was still not suckling well enough and was now growing weaker... and the difference it made when I did! How quickly those few feeds I supplemented day and night combined with hot flannels for mum changed the outcome.

Seeing this little kitten double in size before my eyes was incredible. Then the surprise of seeing her eyes wide opened when I had expected to see her eyes slowly open over a couple of days! Marvelling at the strength in those limbs and watching the first wobbly and teetering steps that are now so confident that running, jumping and climbing are no problem at all.

The anxieties I felt about feeding solids... worrying was  I getting in right and the fear when she refused the pouched food I'd stockpiled during Noodle's pregnancy ready to feed a ravenous litter of kittens. Making up batches of dry food that needed to be soaked for hours before it was soft enough to feed to her which had some success. Then the rapid acceptance and delight in her when I admitted defeat with using commercial food and instead bought a freezer full of raw food. I didnt mind too much because I had planned to introduce to Noodle to BARF after she had finished lactating anyway so this was no hardship really. I will donate the left over food to Cats Protection).

Weaning with Gusto.

(mushed Dry Food)

The amazing success of weaning was of course followed by her needing to use the litter tray rather than for mum to clean her up....and I felt so glad when the first twice she got it right. I couldn't belive my luck. Swiftly followed by disappointment when she decided not to use it after all... and then finding a way to help her to work it all out so that we were both happy.

If my kitten was healthy before, the introduction of the raw food diet was like having put into her a couple of Duracell batteries! Now she was motoring; becoming the precocious and cheeky little lady that will be so hard to say goodbye to in a few weeks time.

Now she was feeding and littering it was time for her to have her first bath.... she is so small still that I could do this in the bathroom sink! She didn't seem to mind it too much either!

Finally, since she no longer needed 24hour assistance, I decided to relocate the cat nursery moving it out of my bedroom and taking it downstairs. I took the cage down (jenga) and set it up along with a large fabric pet play pen so I can contain her.

The downside of this move is two fold. The first is that Noodle is in heat again ( the second time since the birth) and is very, very noisy - And secondly in her now being in a quandary....she has always slept with me since she came.... so  now she is feeling pulled in two directions - her duty as a mother and being with her kitten, against her wish to be with me (and to be given the attention she feels she needs with these hormones going crazy in her).

So a downside (perhaps) is that the move has put an end to the night time hours of mother - daughter snuggles.  It may even have stopped Pot"  from nursing on her at all. This is OK because Pot doesn't need mother's milk any longer but it is kind of sad. This separation from mum now will perhaps ease any separation difficulties they might have suffered when Pot goes in January to start her new life... but I must say, I do miss hearing their dual purring....

But all this has made me think more about the changes that are still to come... and of missing Pot.

Im doing all I can to ensure she goes to a wonderful new family...but during these wonderful weeks she has been MY kitten...(well, Noodle's & mine!). Once she is reserved though and the reservation fee is paid, even though she will still here for another 4 weeks she will no longer be mine.

This has to mark the first part of my letting her go completely physically and emotionally.

I know there will be tears..... The plan is that Prune will have moved in with us a few days before hand. Coming when Pot is still here will I hope ease her acceptance by Noodle since Pot and Prune are about the same age.... I am hoping Noodle may just think she has another kitten she had somehow forgotten about.

Im also hoping that when Pot leave, her disappearance wont be so noticable for Noodle because she now will have Prune.

Of course having Prune will give me my new baby to love and bring her own joy...but I cant help but to think about how much letting Pot go and her departure will hurt . And thinking about what action if any,  I can do to manage it.

Friends have asked me right from the beginning when I told them of my decision to breed from Noodle how I will feel about letting her kittens go.... True, I'd  hoped and anticipated that there would be a litter of kittens (kittens in plural!) which would have meant that the love Pot has had would have been shared..... perhaps her being a lone kitten, and one I have had to hand feed, has served to intensify the bond?

I'd hoped for a solid black kitten in the litter allowing me the solace of keeping one from the first litter born to my cattery....but Pot is not the colour I want for my cattery's future and so there is no viable reason for me to keep her. I am a breeder and my work is to breed beautiful kittens and to sell them. Simple as that. And yet it isnt simple at all.

Of course I love her and would love to keep her. And I do love her. And I will feel sad.

I will though be happy too.  So happy (and proud) that I have produced such a gorgeous and healthy little pure Sphynx girl from two happy and healthy parents. Happy because I know without shadow of doubt that she is going to be a delight her new family.

I think of her future family and Pot being to them everything that Noodle is to me and as I do so and reflect on my adoration of Noodle and my pride in her having been a fantastic mum, my heart squeezes and swells with love. To think that Pot will give this gift to her new family feels fantastic.

This is what I am doing this for.

6 weeks & playing with mum!

So much progress.....

Wow! I can't believe its been so long since I posted an update. So much has been happening.

Mainly what's been happening is under the heading of Weaning - Pot ..

I wanted to use a BARF diet having read the great things said about it and instinctively felt it was the most natural food type. However by the time I'd made that decision it was time to mate Nood

Before Noodle was mated I had left it too late to get her onto raw food which was a shame as it was a plan I had made to use it for her kittens.... the fact that making the change even in the earliest days after mating was considered dangerous to do made me rethink pretty much everything.

Finding out that I needed to keep Noodle on her normal commercial diet throughout her pregnancy and also throughout her entire lactation I chose to use the Hills Science plan diet, just changing it back to the kitten dry that she had had throughout her first year of life and that I knew I could trust.

Since she would not be able to change to raw until after her litter had gone I realised this presented an issue with weaning her coming kittens on to it - how would I stop her eating it, and yet have it available to them.

Added to this I felt a degree of uncertainty of using raw food for delicate babies before I had gained user experience as well as a worry about how or if prospective would relish a new kitten they bought being on a raw food regime.

I decided there and then I needed to rethink my plans regarding their weaning and because buying in larger quantities is more cost efficient, in preparation for the weeks ahead, knowing Noodles food needs would increase as her pregnancy progressed and then to produce plenty of milk for a hungry litter I bought a few kilos of dry food as well as several boxes of pouched kitten food too.

Come weaning time... and as a complete novice I was rather nervous to begin.

From about week 3, alongside the dry food always available to her, I also began introducing pouched food to Noodle in addition to her normal dry food diet. The idea behind it was that wanted her baby to see her eating it, and to become intrigued not only by its 'appetising' aroma but also by watching Mum eating.

However, Pot would not under any circumstances accept, lick or go near the pouched food bowl. Noodle didnt mind and happily kept eating it as it was offered. When we got to the beginning of week 5 when weaning must begin in earnest I knew I needed to step it up a gear...

Since pouches were rejected I tried mushing up the dry food with hot water, allowing it to become soft and wet enough to be slushy. This met with Pot's approval and she would now consider tucking in... as long as it was warmed before being put on the table.

In week 6, we were still only accepting small amounts of the mushed dry food and still refusing point blank to try the pouched. Not great progress if I was to get her to the stage where she would be acquiring all nutrition independant of mum.

Additionally, the mushing of the dry food was not ideal as it  takes some hours to be ready so needed planning and management. Mushing enough to ready when needed and to satisfy  but not so much as to be wasting lots of food. How would I get her to a place if we continued like this where I could confidently hand her over with a simple to manage food plan?

One evening,  thinking I could hear Noodle having a snack from her bowl I looked down and was surprised to see it was Pot who crunching away at the kibble. Who would have thought those tiny, admittedly sharp, teeth and jaws could crunch away at the dry food? OK, I know she recognises the smell as being food for her but if it takes so many hours to get soft imagine how hard it must be for such tiny jaw bones and muscles!

I considered I may have to wean the pouches in... mixing some into each batch of mushed dry until she would accept it....

As all this is going on, at the same time I am talking often to other breeders who have experience  in order to gain guidance and tips and sharing progress and pictures with my most prominent prospective buyer.

As we emailed and I sent updates and photos... I described the foods Pot was eating (and those she wasn't) . I asked my might-be owner how she would be feeding long term i(f she  decides to buy her) and was delighted to learn that she had a mind to use a BARF diet... which got me thinking.....

Prune, the new girl I am purchasing is around the same age as Pot is and she is being weaned on raw food and loves it. Because she will be on raw I will have to buy some in...

I need lots as my plan too is to get Noodle on it finally.

With Christmas and the bank holiday closures come along shortly as well as the Christmas delays, it made sense then to get a supply into my freezer right now... and then I thought, well since Pot is most likely going to be onto it when she is purchased, why not get her on it now?

And this is what we have done - and it has begun so well.

Having had so many refusals of other food I tentatively offered her a dish in which was a spoon of raw food that Id made slacker with some warm previously boiled water. to take the chill off.... I gave her a sniff... and her head popped up... mmmm interesting!

She came closer to sniff in the bowl......

"What is this you are offering me?".. "Do I like it?"

I dip in my finger coating it with the meaty goo....and hold the tip to her nose.... she licked... and kept on licking... lowering my finger her tongue follows me into the dish... ta-dah! She was eating like a Ninja.

She filled up (or so I thought) and walked away.... Mum went to look .....but it was unfamiliar to her. She backed off when Pot came back for second helpings.

Pot took several more mouthfuls, then walked away again. This time mum seemed all set to polish it off herself... but  wait.. no.... what is this? Why, it's Pot back for more!

The same raw food was equally well received for breakfast today too! And, as I write I am listening to the chomping sounds of both Mum and her daughter tucking in to their own bowls of raw food, this time given it without water to loosen or warm it.

Im am overjoyed!

'Pot tries raw food for the first time'

24 hours later......

Gotcha!

MH (my human) was taking photos of my daughter 'Pot' last night - a task which isn't easy. For every image that is passable, around 5 are deleted. Mostly this is because the subject of the photos just doesn't don't keep still for long enough. By the time the camera has come into focus and the image saved... she will have moved. Her body might be there... sharp detail, perfect light, but at the crucial moment she'll have turned her head which in the image is fuzzy and distorted. Sometimes she thinks MH is playing and this square object must be a new toy, and she rushes forward to take a look making the image unrecognisable as the portrait it wanted to be.  Or, concentrating on my motherly duties  I will have walked across in front of the screen obscuring the view.

As subjects for a photo shoot, we are so badly behaved that some days MH is like the paparazzi clicks and flashed one after the other and rather than front page news, every shot ends up in the rubbish bin. However, last night, with no time to adjust the camera for the poor light conditions in the room this one caused a smile.... the person on the TV (watching I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here) seemed to be reaching right out of the screen with both hands in order to take a grab at Pot - Gotcha!

Coming when called! 5 weeks old

Little Pot is 5 weeks old today - and is developing her playful little kitten character which is so delightful to see.

I've been calling her "Pot" for a couple of weeks now as a temporary name and chose it simply because it is a play on her mum's name, Noodle). When calling  "Pot-Pots" she looks up and comes ambling over to see me. Ambling is most certainly what she does since she is still a little shaky on her legs and not sure about different surfaces she comes across under her paws.

When she is out and looking about, Mum stays close trilling sweetly to encourage her. It is sometimes in an open pose seeming to offer her belly or sometimes she is further wat and trilling encouragement. The video below shows the former in action.

I've seen little kitty testing out her larger surroundings, witnessed the beginnings of recognisable kitten behaviours such as mouthing and testing - her teeth with ever more pressure showing her gaining strength and confidence, and also engaging in play by interacting cautiously with the toys I've provided for her. It is a delight to watch her learn.

She is also keen to be held and to interact. If I put my hand down she will climb into it settling down into my cupped palm and is very accepting to touch, or she will bat and paw if a cupped palm is not offered, in her way telling me she wants that kind of attention.

Still no sign of interest in foods other than mums milk, but I've noted too that mum is also withholding food which seems now not offered on tap, Noodle pushing her away and making her wait. Is this reluctance due to pain? It doesn't appear to be since Noodle's teats look fine and not sore.. but I wonder if Pot is testing her teeth and mum is fed up with it, or if this is natures way and hunger drives the baby to try the solid food offered?

Update on coconut oil bath results

Noodle has become very dirty very quickly since having her coconut oil massage pre-bath this week. We won't be using it again.

Coconut Oil Massage & Bath PLUS Moving Day

What a landmark day!

My human (MH) decided to give this coconut oil massage malarky a go today and so she shut herself with me in the warm bathroom and opened a jar of 100% organic coconut oil.

Digging her fingers in it melted almost upon touch and the smell was divine... well she thought so anyway. I am reserving comment.

The massage was really quite nice but I knew a bath was coming so I was finding it hard to relax into it. It didn't feel heavy on my skin as I waited for the bath to begin.

Next, MH pulled on her exfoliating gloves. We don't use them for every bath but I'm guessing this one was to be special somehow.

Gloved and raring to go, now I was rubbed down with Johnson's baby shampoo into a smooth lather and finally, I was dunked back legs first into the water and rubbed all over to make sure every part of me was soapy and cleaned. I must confess, I don't make this easy for MH and am usually trying to find a way to leap out.

I was then lifted out and showered off with warm water and wrapped in my bath towel ready for ear and claw cleaning and lastly clipping any that had become too long.

MH was satisfied... my skin feels fine, much the same was a bath without the oil.

Meanwhile, the birth nest box we've been using has been moved out and in its place, a caged area set up allowing more room for my kitten to wonder about freely and to exercise her legs and grow stronger. The doors are open so we can wander in and out as we please so now Pot won't be confined to the box which she was unable to get out of. It's wonderful as there is space in there too for a few toys as well as my beloved heat mat, and of course a bowl of dry food for snacks. Lastly, for a bit later in her development there's space as well for a small litter tray when weaning begins.

Teeth & Testing Them

'Pot' the kitten is now just past 4 weeks old and is becoming very aware that there is life of some sort going on outside of the nest.

Her eyes capture me as I go by stalling me in my track. I reach in to smooth the flank of her mother who as always is purring and wanting my eyes on her. As my hand goes by, a soft paw, spread as wide as it can be, like a tiny baseball catchers mitt, reaches out. Oh, so you want to play, do you?

I offer my other hand to pet her and she seems to want more, she takes my finger between her two front paws and opens her mouth to explore what it is. She has teeth! They are tiny spikes, but she has not yet learned (or perhaps doesn't have the strength) to bite and hurt me.

Later, I tickle her soft warm belly, and she really engages in kittenish play..I wonder at the kind of life she would have in her nest now had there been siblings in her litter. Her play touch is gentle and sweet, all four limbs, over which she has not quite full control, overextend with the hands and feet open as wide was can be so I can see each little web of skin between each finger and toe.  They try to wrap around the fingers of my hand, their tiny talons touching my skin but there is no power in her at all yet. I become aware of my face stretched into a smile and of my heart filling with love.

Soon, she rolls over and heads off towards one of the toys I've placed in the nest, she mouths it for a few seconds, but loses interest when there is no reaction... then she turns and comes back towards mum for a feed.

Naked Noodle

So, my human (MH) decided I'd had enough respite and that I needed to get into the bathtime routine again! 🛁🛁😖🛁🛁

Before 'Pot' came along (Pot as in Noodle, get it?) the vet had had her bathing me every third day, so I guess I've had quite a reprieve since my cesarean and so really shouldn't mind so much. And, to be fair on MH it was pretty quick - soaped, dipped and (almost) straight back out. Of course,  then I had to have my my ears cleaned, then nails wiped down those that needed it were clipped. I was getting impatient by the end of it but at least I get some treats.

Talking of clipping,  MH also clipped Pot's claws, having bought the teeniest set of clippers she could find. They looked gigantic when clipping such small and dainty looking claw tips! One wring move could have been a disaster.

Dainty those claws might look, but let me tell you, they are also like little needles as she scrabbles about all over my tummy and when she is digging them in during feeds.  Pot was pretty well behaved during it all considering she didn't know the routine....and MH was trying so hard to be gentle and not make any mistakes. I didn't make it easier either as the whole time I was getting in the way trying my best to bring Pot back to the nest. Silly really since MH was doing it for my comfort. I just couldn't seem to help myself.

Anyway, after all that, with Pot finally back in the nest her tummy was topped up and we settled ourselves in to have a little nap.

Suddenly though, all hell broke loose. Guns were going off eft, right and centre. Bombs were dropping KABOOM! And the sky was lit up in all colours. MH didn't seem to batt an eyelid and just continued watching T.V. The only sign she'd noticed was that she picked up her remote to adjusted the volume. Seriously what's with that? Surely she should be taking cover???

After a while though the battle seemed to be done. For the rest of the night there was only the occasional rally of gunfire in the distance.

The war went on for two more nights. MH says it's a tradition and it happens every year. Odd that I didn't noticed it before...... maybe I only did this year because I have to be responsible for my child...

Speaking of responsible...... look how I sheltered us in the war zone 

(my human uncovered my bottom to show how neglectful I was 🙈)

Kitten Fail! Video Clip.

I videoed this short clip last night as I watched her fail completely as she rooted around to feed. I do not know how she can get it so wrong still and still manage to be the little Miss Piggy she has become. She is so very very cute though and I love to see her eyes wide open.

She is very much hearing and seeing well now and beginning to notice and interact with the world. Exciting times!

Purring

Almost no time at all has gone by since I looked over the side of the nest box and saw two round black pearls I wasn't expecting to see and which has me do a double take, yesterday I heard the feint sound of little Noodlet purring.

She was suckling away, with her paws all stretched out, arms straight which seems to be her favourite feeding pose, and though Noodle was also purring loudly and with gusto I felt I could pick up a new sound. I listened harder. I leaned right in stooping down my hair cascading down and engulfing them and yes, it is a purr alright.

It is quieter than her mums of course since she is so tiny. But as a purr it is not the same kind of sounds. Almost another language - or one that is being learned.  Noodle's purr rumbles.. there is a depth to it and it does not stop, as she breaths in and out. It is continuous and yet at the same time the ins are distinct from the outs. PurrrrrrrrrrUrrrrrrrrUrrrrrr

Noodlet's purr is staccato. As if it is only possible yet on the in (or out?) breath. It reminds me of a needle on a well oiled and almost silent running sewing machine purr - purr - purr - purr. I expect it will get louder and louder and I long to video record it to keep it forever!

I've noted too that she is seeing and focussing more now, and her hearing coming on as her ears open up. She is showing some interest in interacting. The playful kitten is emerging I think!

Halloween Noodlet

Purr-fect baby

Well, fancy that, my daughter has learned to purr... as she is feeding she spreads her arms wide, extending and stretching each finger and using them to push either side of the breast she is feeding on and she begins to softly purr.

It's nothing like on the scale of mine, of course; I can definitely out-purr her in terms of decibels and intensity, but she is getting there.

She is doing so well developmentally; her rate of growth is incredible... with significant weight gain and more strength in her legs and arms. Mind you, she is still like a big round hippo with her tummy constantly full so that when she topples over onto her back she looks stranded and she has to rock back over to right herself!

I'm spending more time away from her as she sleeps heavily between meals so coming out fo the nest gives me time to eat and to sun myself in all my favourite spots. I love the sunny bay window even if it isn't as hot as it was now that autumn is here.

Peaceful Sleep

I'm off out to visit the vet today. Apparently, this is for my final wound check. It's well healed actually and though there is a scar, it's not nearly as prominent now and, thankfully, considering all the attention little one has given it suckling there, it's not bothering me at all.  To prove it, I'm back to climbing and jumping about just as I was before. Ha - I've been balancing again on the top of the TV while up there I am still trying to reach the ceiling too. Yes, of course I know that I'm making my human cross in the process 😸 ,  ROFLMAO - she is so nervous to come toward me to tell me off in case I fall which might cause me to use my claws on its screen as I try to save myself or even to use the TV as a springboard surface as I power jump to make an escape  which cause the TP to topple right  over!

I know she doesn't like me doing it and that I will get into trouble for it but just I can't seem to stop myself from exploring and challenging myself walking across that narrow ledge or to finally reach that ceiling.

Another thing I do that really irritates her is to "pretend dig" on the screen. I do keep my claws in so as not to scratch it. I just kind of like the feel of it as I run my paw pads down the smooth screen. - I time it so perfectly too, digging smack-bang in the middle of a TV show she is watching 😺   😹   😺   and getting right in the way!

A few minutes later I will climb up to where she is sitting and purr. All is instantly forgiven. I try not to abuse it too much but what I can I tell ya? I do love this power.

Eyes Open

I've been spending all my time these last few days learning the ropes. In a lot of ways it's come naturally with the learning curve smooth, clean and clear but other parts have been slippery strewn with hazardous boulders so not easy at all.

I have laid and sat on my baby several times. I am driven to lay down immediately I am near her and bare my tummy and chest but what I haven't got right all the time is being aware or too careful of where my baby actually is and how easy I am making it for her. She is after all blind!

I find getting her to keep still an issue too and hold her down with my arms or legs just so I can catch a break in the nest because most of the time she is relentless,  like a machine blindly seeking out food but silly girl has been sucking in all the wrong places and in doing so causing me so much pain. She might me a vampire with all this blood sucking she has done!

How do I manoeuvre it, hold it, carry it, help it or simply encourage it to sleep?

My human has been on hand... has carried out some rescues .... has helped with feeding and also encouraging my daughter to feed .... and she has sometimes needed to take my baby out of the nest which results in me having the strongest urge to put her back, making to hold her any way I can to move her back into her place. I need to react some how every time she squeals and sometimes those squeals are louder than others and I try to work out what they mean.

Today was a little bit different. I looked at my little girl and saw these big round and dark eyes staring right at me.  Goodness, those eyes are huge even, if they cannot see to much just yet. But they are open.

I do love her.... she makes the slightest sound and I am there... and I am trilling musically each time I return to the nest having taken a short break, or when I am in the nest and snuggle her.......she may look like a fat overfed hippo with her tummy stretched to bursting but she is my overfed hippo.

My human took a couple of photos as soon as we saw that her eyes were open today but,  by the time the camera was ready the little piglet was feeding again and by then her eyes were half closed. Still, it is an exciting landmark sort of day 😁


👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

The contented half shut eye of feeding.

Love this milk.

They are open, honest

👀

Pregnancy & Birth.

So, yeah, I've just became a mum. Crikey that whole pregnancy thing...it's one hell of a ride, especially as no one tells you whats happening...

It all began with a car ride with my human... nothing so unusual there. We sometimes go and stay with my humans mum for a few days and I quite enjoy it there because she has some great views from her windows - squirrels I'm told they are. I plan on catching myself one of those! Anyway this day we went to another place we'd not been before. I was in my fancy-schmancy cat carrier and we go in. From out of nowhere come all these other Sphynx ladies. I'm strictly a one cat household right now so natuarally I wasn't keen on all these critical eyes looking at me - and I let them know to back the hell off.

So, after a bit my human gets up and leaves me there.  I get taken to a room by this new human and thankfully away from those ladies (fine looking as they are) and I was let out of my carrier. Into the room struts this really hot and handsome Sphynx chap looking mighty fine -  Ladies, c'mon you know what I'm talking about, right? But, I wasn't gonna let him know it. I might have been hot to trot, but I'm not that kind of girl.

Next day, though he won me over. Sweet, sweet man, he'd kept a careful watch of me all night long meaning I could get my 8 hours of rest while he made sure those ladies didn't come in and disturb me. What a gent. Some girls apparently always to go for the bad boys, but not me! I like a guy with a polished exterior and a bit of swagger for sure, but I like him to have sophistication and a kind and tender heart.

Suffice to say then that we spent a few hot 'n' steamy days together before my human showed up again to take me home.

Almost right away I knew I felt physically different to how I usually do. Was it that I'd been away from home and from my human, or was it the experience of mating? All I know is that something in me had changed and it kept right on changing. I didn't feel my usual self at all and I let my human know all about it.

Over the next weeks I felt a bit sick at times, but I was also really hungry. Seriously hungry. Good job I'd started on a high calorie diet just before I met my fella. I gotta tell ya, for a normally streamlined babe, over the weeks I piled on weight until I was over 3 kilos.

The last few weeks were the hardest of all. I could not get comfy and none of my favourite spots were quite right to get the rest I needed. Worst of all was that I couldn't curl up and suckle my skin as I sometimes do. Yes, I know it's baby-ish, but it feels so nice and besides I don't do it in front of anyone but my human when I am in full on purr mode.

I suddenly got a rash all over me so I took a trip to the vet. Because I could not so late into my pregnancy take tablet treatment there were not many options open to me. But imagine my face when he prescribed more baths - every third day. I was NOT happy with that. I know as a Sphynx that I have to have baths and when it is just one every  8-10 days I can put up with it, but this amount of baths was ridiculous! Everytime I heard water turn on in the bathroom I tried to hide (with this barrel belly!) ... most of the time it wasnt on for me but for my human. But I was on high alert. At least she managed to keep the soaping up with the special shampoo and wash off down to minutes...

To add insult to injury I also had a real bad tummy too.

Frankly,  wanted this whole thing to be over.

As we got to days 63 onward I had started to pace about the house and sometimes I was compelled to try to dig - hard and fast just as if I wanted to bury something. I ripped into a new bed I'd been bought and literally was shredding it with my claws. I knew doing it was making a hell of a mess but I just had to keep doing it. Like I said, no one tells you what to expect.

Next thing I knew was that during the early hours of day 64 I'd woke up feeling a little uncomfortable....there's no other way to put it, I had a feeling like I'd wet myself.  Can you imagine how embarrassed I was??? I did what I could to clear it up and bless her, my human helped and was really accommodating to my quirks over these odd days... but when after a time nothing had changed she called the vet. After describing my symptoms the vet wanted to see me right away. It was blue lights (well it wasn't, but you get what I mean)

I'm a popular girl at the vet and with the calling "Noodle's here" I was whipped in to see Emily. I looked at her with my pleading eyes which I hoped to god said "Do Something" . Thankfully she understood.

10 minutes later, forms signed, I was being given medicine and went right off to sleep. When I woke up I felt woozy and had an almighty cut down my belly, but was told by a veterinary nurse human that it was all over. It was indeed, as I was not pregnant any more.

An now I am a mum.

I'd wanted a natural birth at home with my human. We wanted to do it the old fashioned way. OK, so a water birth was not in my birth plan (not after all those enforced baths recently) but I had places laid out to nest and my human was there to offer her support. It just didn't work out that way (this time.)..

I have one kitten, a daughter. And as a new mum I am learning on the job. No manuals and no one to ask. Just me, my kitten and my human. She is being pretty good actually....I've had hot towels regularly pressed onto my sore belly and chest which really, really helps and eases the pain of milk excess and my operation wound especially since  for some reason my kitten thinks it needs to suckle right there.... I hope it doesn't think it is getting back in there! Sweet girl, she has a permanent blood encrusted nose and muzzle.

There should have been other babies -  the vet says there were signs there had been others and I know that my human would have liked there to be more and is disappointed in this outcome, especially because surgery cost so much... but she looks really happy to have me home fit and well and is always congratulating me on doing a good job.

Natural instincts are driving me....(maybe this is why no manual?).. my daughter mews and I roll onto my back giving her unfettered access to my onboard feeding station. The feeding thing has not come easy... for one thing my daughter is blind and cannot open her eyes yet and two, since I have no hair and all my skin has the same feel all over she struggles it seems to find the teat.

Her suck too has been very weak. Luckily we went to the vet again for a check up after 48 hours and the nurses advised my human to start supplement feeding and this has helped no end... in just a few hours things became so much easier for me, my daughter and my human. My baby soon began to feed from me and fill her tummy without any human help and I seemed to have developed a need to lick her back end like mad to clean her up thus encouraging her to poo and wee so she doesn't need nappies like human babies apparently do. It sounds gross I know but it's what us cats do,  its just how it is - so deal with it!

So my baby is now 5 days old and has grown twice her original size already. Things happen fast in pregnancy and in the after birth development too

You want to see her... ok.... hold on a moment...

Taken at the vet following my op!

Small in my human's hand.

Home on her BIRTH day.

This is me just out from theatre. See how drugged up my eyes look? My kitten was zonked right out and took a lot of encouragement to get going at first.

Look at those sharp little claws. Over the coming days they were not pristine white but like her nose and muzzle became blood covered as she kept suckling into my stitched wound.