Farewell to King Louis

Oh my days. Isn’t there some sort of golden rule for a breeder not to become attached to their kittens?

Are we even allowed to have ‘favourites’?

Ah, well, I’ve never been one to follow aimlessly - especially where I feel at odds with a common path.

I make no apology; when it comes to my cats & kittens I do not hold back. I’m 100% invested.
I would be doing my cats (& their kittens) an awful injustice if I were to hold anything back in resources or in emotion. To my mind a breeder should always be giving wholeheartedly & care deeply for their kittens in order that they grow up to be utterly ready to be well-mannered and adjusted pets for their families?

If you know me, you’ll know my cats are my world, you may even know me well enough to know something of the personal journey I’ve been on and the part the Sphynx cat has played in this.

You won’t know how difficult it’s been for me to breed, how many obstacles nor the enormous cost (in every sense).

If you’ve been reading this blog over recent weeks you’ll know the progress of this litter from their births to now when they begin to set of on their own new paths....

Louis is the second or this litter to leave and, undoubtedly he has presented some challenges.

I hand-reared this little guy, my first ever viable male kitten, I’ve had extended contact with this kitten witnessing up close his keen determination to fill his tummy with the milk I delivered from day 4. Soon, he would gratefully burst into endless staccato sewing-machine purring, the incredible, addictive sound only neonates make which he would launch into with just my touch or nearness. This generous purring though now more recognisable as a cat’s purr has continued unabated by the fact that he had progressed to solid feeding and no longer needed me in the same way.

That purring turned out to be a huge feature of the terrible night I found dear Louis comatose on the floor, unable even to lift a paw, or to meow,  nor to suck let alone or swallow milk in order to save himself. With the sound of my heart literally thundering in my ears, I emergency tube fed him. My unbelievable & joyous relief of hearing him 10 minutes or so later purr as he still lay weak and floppy across my chest. I loved hearing it, but wanted him to put his energy into feeling well again. He decided instead to let me know he was happy to be with me. It was music I will never forget.

Of course, everyone responds well to affection and here I can safely say that Louis’ has been abundant, unstinting & given with utter loyalty. Having delivered my heart beating wildly into his almost lifeless paws that night, I found myself not only unable, but unwilling to lift it back out.

Louis has departed today. He has taken his first steps into his new, charmed and well-blessed life where he will, when settled, begin to gift his new family all of his very generous affection. Meanwhile Maurice, his wife, daughter Ella & son Tim will be his willing subjects when he demands play, love food.

It’s not a goodbye, but is a beginning & I wish Louis & his family a wonderful time.

So long Elvira

The first departure happened today. We said a tearful (for me) farewell to Elvira as her happy new mum Ley, accompanied by her human big bro Zebb waved as they took her to her on her way to her new home in Plymouth.

The traffic was a little unkind and so the arrival time was stretched just a little, but we were soon able to reacquaint ourselves, sit and chat, as well as perform the necessary official hand-over elements: contracts, hand over of vaccination card, microchip details and it’s transfer code, 5 weeks of inclusive insurance and the gifting of the bag of kitten pack goodies before finally, it was time to kiss little Elvira and wish her bon voyage as she headed off to what is certain to be a wonderful new life.

She has a big brother Sphynx by the name of Ash & a black and white furry brother named Shady to meet & settle down with, all of which will I’m sure be smoothed in minimal time by having soothing help from new mum Ley and her 2 human big brothers Zebb & Kallum.

We miss you already Elvi xxx

Side suckling Louis

Louis is now 12 weeks old. But such a big baby!

He is VERY affectionate, purring before I’ve even touched him. In the evening though he tells me that NOW is when he wants me to fuss him and then will lay on his back right against me so that I can rub on his tummy and his back toes will be curled up in his blissful pleasure. After a short time he will then begin to self-suckle and this is what’s shown in the above video. He will use his side, his rump or even his forearm.

This suckling resembles the suckling that a kitten would do when feeding from their mother and is often accompanied by the front paws “kneading” as they would to encourage the milk flow during a feed. With this side suckling though not seen in the video, Louis will knead the air, his claws going in and out. It’s really similar to how human babies love to suck on a dummy or thumb.

I had a female Sphynx cat do this same self- comforting - however, she stopped completely after having had her first litter.

I’ve also had moggy cat’s do this too, one used to like a nylon bedspread and would make it wet with her saliva, which would dry hard. She would move to new areas each day. Another cat liked a particular jumper.

Second vaccinations ☑️

Just back from a final visit to see Mark, our trusted vet. All kittens have now been pronounced fit and well, have received their second vaccination & were given a worming tablet. He makes it look so easy, only Elvira put up any kind of a struggle!

As of tomorrow, their 12 week birthday, they are all fit & healthy which means that they are ready to go!

Full of sass Elvira’s (1.44kg) is being collected by her new mum, Ley, on Saturday morning. She will be travelling back to her new home in Plymouth where she will be welcomed home by her new adult ‘siblings’; Sphynx cat Ash & moggie cat Shady and her adult human bro’s Zebb & Kallum.

On Sunday, dear sweet purring Louis (1.2kg) will be collected by his new dad Maurice from nearby Basingstoke. He will be part of a family of 4 and will be given so much love & endless cuddles & playtime.

Due to a change in personal circumstances, I will now be holding Karma (1.49kg) & Lux (1.1kg) for 2 extra weeks before they will go off with their new parents Louis & Charlotte in Bristol.

Prune has come into heat today, not that anything is going to happen there! Her next ‘honeymoon’ when she will be reunited with Oz, will not be until the spring of 2020 after she has had plenty of time to replenish her body. She looks great though, her skin is in superb condition & even during the weeks of lactation she didn’t look weakened & skinny as some cats can do. Her food regime of whole prey Orijen (cat & kitten) obviously completely suits her needs. Even so, I do see her helping herself from the kittens bowls too, or, if I’m standing guard as each kitten walks away from the dish she will block their path in order to pay great attention to cleaning their faces, not at all mindful that their greatest need at that very moment is to visit the litter box!

Im so grateful to Prune (& Aunty Noodle). Seeing Pru give birth was an extraordinary privilege. The 5 beautiful kittens all beauties. While we lost one little lad very early on, the four kittens, which both cats have raised under my watchful eye, are exquisite.

I’m thankful, in awe & so proud of Prune; firstly when she came back from mating with an injury, which meant she was under anaesthetic & having her toe relocated and splinted within a matter of days. After than she was kept immobilised for 7 of her 9 weeks of pregnancy. That was hard for us both to endure. She looked so resigned to it, a forlorn look on her face as she had to be kept in a cage to keep her off her feet. I detested using it, however at the end Mark (our vet) a\congratulated ME on her successful recovery explaining that failure to heal is most often caused by the owner not complying to their instructions!  I did take Pru out of the cage every evening for a cuddle, but after about an hour she would get restless and need to be put back. She is normally such an active cat, loving nothing more than to be running full pelt on the exercise wheel, or jumping up and down from the top of the kitchen units.

Having been through all that,  she deserved to have a good ending to her pregnancy. I’d put the wheel away - it was way too soon for her to risk any form of running, but particularly with her increased weight and bulk.

For Pru is been 5 months in which she has healed, grown kittens, birthed & fed them, cared for and  toileted them, & as they grew, taught them how to be well-groomed & sensational cats. Thank you Prunella Prudence. You are a ⭐️

We have quite the hunter in our midst

I’ve noticed over the last few days that Mummy Prune has been bringing her ‘kills’ calling with her mouth stuffed with (toy) mouse to let her children know that it’s time to learn to get their own meals.

She obviously thinks that (a) she does, and (b) catching a toy mouse is sufficient. Last night on my bed were no less 6 different toy mice some that have ‘realistic’ sounds while others have stuffings impregnated with cat nip...

I’m guessing with them almost 12 weeks old mummy is keen for them to be independent... I’ve noted that there is a lot of comfort suckling that she does allow for a short time before either getting up (reluctantly) to move away or positioning herself on her front, then because they keep insisting with their burrowing little noses, she gets up and moves away.

Of the group, Karma seems the most impressed with killing mice, with Louis occasionally joining in. Lux and Elvi seem happiest chasing tails - anyone’s, even their own.

Has Karma got worms?

Today was a playful day & I try not to involve kittens in oak whereby fingers and hands are t they stalk/hunt/attack. It’s natural for kittens to want to bite, but not your fingers, even if they think it’s a good idea.

I have a kitten teether which has different textures along its length. It’s the perfect as a finger-sized play-thing. Here’s Karma earlier today showing that she is developing all those natural & instinctive hunt, capture, bite behaviours and all without risk to my digits!

The best bed view & what a treat!

We had a very laid back Monday, with no real desperate need to do any chores or bother with anything very much... which was rather a luxury one way or another.

I say ‘we’ because this is how a certain clowder very dear to me, chose to spend their afternoon....I love,the images but (i) apologies to Prune for cutting her head off  (photographically speaking) & (ii) I’m sorry the image is a bit dark but, I had turned off flash because I wanted them all to remain peaceful like this!

I was having a WhatsApp conversation at the time with Ley, Elvera’s new Mummy to be, and she said that she wished she had a bed full like this and it was the absolute best bed view she had ever seen. Can’t say I disagree either. The grey part seen in the centre is one of our PetNap heat pads, & is where they were at first centred, but as each was warmed, they rolled over in sleep to regulate their temperature so that it ended up as an island in a sea of cats. The Kindle (group of kittens) remain toasty in a bundle, sometimes even now, they look tangled like kitten spaghetti so that it takes my brain a second or two to work out which limbs go with which wrinkled face!

This evening, I decided to see what’s the youngsters made of a cat treat, though Elvira did miss qout by being elsewhere..... Noodle & Prune, as ever their ears like antenna had heard the giveaway sound of the treat tin (I can never open it quietly enough to surprise them with this little bit of love), however, the babies were none the wiser. I had selected two moist treat sticks - pack of 5 chicken liver - they have a high meat content - from supermarket brand Tesco* (*other makes are available). 

My girls are trained to kiss me for a treat & Immediately I was showered in their cupboard love & affection. And as I broke tiny morsels I’d offer it to the kittens.... Lux was first, she sniffed... what is that new aroma... a tentative lick, yep, I like it, her delicate mouth took this delicacy & she returned eager for more. Meanwhile patient Louis, never one to be hurried has remained curled up. I pulled a tiny micro-chunk and bypassing Noodle eager for more,  I offered it to Louis. He sniffed, looked interested sniffed some more. Noodle was in his face anticipating, hopeful of getting her tongue to the prize. But I was ready for her, and Louis took his piece. Breaking off more for the adults, Lux was eager for more, and Karma had arrived, perhaps picking up an enticing aroma, she was now front and centre, paws on my get, eyes on the prize, nose up to the treat stick wrapper. She evidently needed no cautious sniff or taste. She was to ready to receive!

Prune who until she had given birth had point blank refused this treat preferring the crunch of dreamiest now absolutely loves it, though I’ve never given treats daily. 

It’s worth mentioning a few cautions about treats:

Human food is in general not a suitable treat. Prune loves cheese I know, Noodle loves to beg a flake of cod. She would also want crackers, crisps and biscuits. Don’t make the mistake of feeding tit-bits from your plate, once learned, the smell of that particular meal is in the memory bank, but also, now any plate is worthy of investigation. 

Be cruel to be kind - say no to tit-bits & avoid your cat begging.

My vets have a poster in each treatment room which show colourful images of what the meal equivalents are for the kind of human food tit-bits we feel so compelled to offer our dogs and cats...... a biscuit here, a sausage there.... a cube of cheese,  a burger,...etc... those treats can represent the calorific equivalent of a whole meal of pet food. It’s staggering. The end result of this affection we willingly bestow will be an overweight animal whose health is at risk. Tough love means no improprieties feeding & even when you give proper pet treats the amount you give must be carefully monitored.

Noodle put on loads of weight when she was spayed at the end of her second and very last pregnancy. I’d been feeding high calorie Kitten food through pregnancy to support her & her kittens, I continued with this while she fed her kitten. That was absolutely the right thing to do, however now she was spayed her body worked differently. Previously she had sprung back into shape almost immediately, but this time she remained large & soon she became quite the “wide load”, so much so, my never very keen to groom herself girl was so overweight she no longer could reach to see to her nether regions! 

In the early spring of 2019  as we presented for her & Prune’s booster jabs, she weighed in at almost 4.5kg. It doesn’t sound a lot but, her weight pre-pregnancy throughout her adult life was over a kilo lighter, so she was now carrying a QUARTER of her body weight over again. That’s huge. And it’s dangerous.

I changed her food regime immediately. At first I weighed her food - now rather than continuing to free feed I began giving her the recommended daily amount split equally over 3 feed times. She would always finish it and then I would make her wait for the next daily portion... but, on a timed feeding schedule, just as she did with timed raw food, she would vomit after every meal, her tummy no matter how slow I dispensed she quite obviously is more suited to grazing. 

So I needed to find a new way to help her lose this excess weight. The next step was to change her food to a much lower calorie one. First we used Royal Canin’s Satiety. Now I had to buy 2 microchip feeders if I was to manage my girls eating different foods. It’s never a good time for me to need to buy such expensive gizmos, however as always my ladies needs come before my own. I then needed 4 x D  sized batteries for each (begging the question why these were not made to be plugged in or at least have an internal rechargeable lithium battery.

Even if I had not got these now i would have needed to in future as Pru got to an age to breed when she would require months of high calorie food to sustain a pregnancy & feed her kittens.

Satiety did a grand job. Noodle wasn’t keen on it at first, and she knew she was missing out on tastier food Pru was having. Cruel to be kind, I stuck with it. 

She lost weight, my friend Sarah who visited often and knew what I was doing noticed the difference in her mass.

I continued researching.  In an ideal world I would feed raw. I do think highly value it as a sound feeding regime for a kitten or cat. So when  I discovered Orijen & their Trim & Fit & Cat & Kitten, variety kibbles which are both based on Whole Prey feeding of raw meat I transitioned both girls to this.

Noodle has lost weight and is much less wide in her beam. She runs on her wheel as much as she did prior to her diet,food though it’s true to say she runs a good deal less than she did when she was an active cat & in heat. Then she would run for hours as the mating hormones ravaged her body. The running wheel definitely helped her cope with her mating frustrations.

I have digressed. The point was:

• don’t start offering tit-bits of food from your plate - you’ll soon have a relentless beggar who will not forget.
• don’t put your dishes on the floor for your cat to finish as a treat - you’ll have a cat who watches & waits for you to finish then hoover up the milk and sugary remains of your cereal
• don’t use human food as a treat - not even as a way to disguise medication. Yes you may get the tablet swallowed but at the cost of both points above.
• DO use cat treats made for cats - and if BARF raw fed use raw treats only. Don’t mix!
• DO check labels & stick to the recommended maximum treats and
• DO reduce the size of a meal appropriate to the treats consumed.
• Treats are useful as training aid rewards & can be used to disguise medications. Beware the wise cat who eats the treat but spits out the medication!

Bath day

It’s a lovely day & I have Sarah, a close friend coming over to see me... or rather, she is coming to visit the kittens for her final time before they leave in 2 weekends time.😦🥺😁.

We text messaged yesterday to firm up timings, so I had asked if she would like to help with kitten baths - she said yes - so I delayed my plan to do their baths on Saturday for a further 24 hours.

This will be the final group bath time for the kittens since Karma & Lux’s new ‘parents’ asked to do a second supervised bath session just as they had done on their viewing day, wanting to gain a little more experience & feel confident in handling these slippery wrigglers! They did a super job at their viewings so it will be fun!

Elvira & Louis on the other hand, will have their final bath here on the evenings before their new families collect them. Not only does this mean that they will be presented with smart, clean kittens who will be looking their absolute best with pristine ears & clean & clipped claws, the kittens will not then require their new families tackle baths again a further two weeks.

All clean, though Prune seems to think we’ve missed a bit!

Sound asleep.....

Here’s Louis. Last night it was after midnight as I was typing away... all was quiet in my home, both adults & 3 little kitten sisters were elsewhere but little Louis was sleeping beside me.....

I’m incredible ‘fond’ of this affectionate little guy who seeks me out and who purrs like an engine at the drop of a hat.

We were just us two on my bed. I was almost ready to settle down with my Kindle.  However, unable to resist the cuteness of this scene I reached over for my phone to silently snap a couple of photos for my memory box & if they were good enough, to share with his future family.

Just a few minutes later, onto my bed jumped Prune. I thought that she would nuzzle under a blanket as she usually does, eager to stretch out to sleep in peace having left Aunty Noodle to watch over her daughters......

Evidently Prune had other ideas since she began washing her son with vigor. He doesn’t look too thrilled by this attention does he? ❤️🐾🐾❤️

Unusual drinking habits. Advice for new owners

I adore this image by talented artist Svetlana Novikova who has created several striking paintings of the Sphynx cat. While it might seem kind of whimsical & amusing, at least I imagine it does to the uninitiated, I can attest to this absolutely being something the Sphynx cat will repeatedly do - given opportunity. 

My adult female Noodle will choose to drink from the toilet bowl, exactly like this - or rather she would if the lid wasn’t kept down. At first when I found her beige footprints in the bowl, on the seat and on the floor around the toilet I thought it was just curiosity on her part. But it turned out not, and,  even though she has two bowls & a water fountain, each of which is cleaned and refilled with fresh water at least once a day, she seemed to want to drink from the toilet!

The only reason I can think of she would do this is that, since it is flushed regularly, she must be able to smell that the water inside ot is that much ‘fresher’ than that which is inside her drinking bowl? 

Noodle is obviously not alone in her disgusting ha it. Obviously Svetlana Novikova has observed this often enough to have decided to immortalise this in her amazing artwork. But what has reminded me of it again is that it had also been experienced by another Sphynx owner, who had come to visit me recently in order to view a kitten (which she then reserved).

As we talked together about our lives with our Sphynx’s, Ley mentioned having a house-rule which any house guest was made clearly aware of when asking to use her bathroom - they must ensure that the toilet’s lid was put back down - this because her Sphynx’s too had been choosing to drink out of the toilet!

Now. I’ve had cats almost all of my life, but hand on heart, it’s only ever the Sphynx that has shown even the slightest interest in the toilet, or of the water lurking inside it, but, while I had been most concerned about the whole hygiene side of drinking it, Ley told me what she most dreaded about this phenomenon was her cat disappearing into the pipework and being drowned.

With four kittens who will very soon be off to three different new homes, I always try to provide applicants and new owners with as much knowledge as I can do. As well as producing/preparing kitten packs, I’ve also spent many hours writing a handbook of Sphynx cat care. I provide this book electronically as part of the application, invitation to a viewing. Inside it there are chapters dedicated to this breed’s uniqueness, it’s curiosity, cat toys, play, being indoor cats, neutering, bedding, bathing & grooming as well as general care, plus the different diet types and transitioning from one to another safely. I’ve even written about water... but, what I’ve not included, but think I may well need do in my next update is mention the breed’s apparent preference for drinking from the toilet & passing on advice about putting the lid down!

Pile up

I am making the most of every second with these beauties, being very conscious that my personal clock of time with them is fast ticking away. They are such fun, galloping around my home, chasing one another up & down the hallway into and out of the rooms.

They will all seek to be with me & or with their mum & siblings & often I have a 5 or 6 cat pile up on my bed or where I’m sitting. I wake from a snooze to hear kittens purring away (so different a sound to adult purring) or I hear Pru’s Mummy call, or else I hear her kittens suckling madly upon her nipples. Yes, those cheeky kittens will still nuzzle their way in to suckle even though there is no milk, it’s really just like having a dummy in, they do it for comfort.  Pru will generally allow them to do this for a short time, particularly if she is dozing as she is in this image. Here it is daughters Karma (head buried) who is under sister Lux & each is attached. Prune will allow this just as long as they do not bite her or until she feels sore. She will either push them away with a back leg or more often as that continually fails, she will get up & move away.

Comatose Bookends!

Kittens old & new

A family group moment for Louis & Lux with Aunty Noodle and Mummy Prune. Karma was there just out of shot, while Elvira was notably absent! Can you see the green foam golf ball? These are Noodle’s favourite fetch toys. Most often I’m presented with the green or blue ones which appear to be her favourites, though sometimes she puts them away for safe keeping but seems to forget where they are!

A lovely photo was sent to me today by Kirsty who purchased kittens from Noodle’s 2 litters. These are two females are Gamora (Mora for short) and Nebula (Nebby for short) born to the same parents, the father is a solid black male called Charlie. The litters were approximately 1 year apart & both ended with Caesarean sections, which is why Noodle is now spayed.  I did not wish to put her through that again, though she was an exceptional mother who has helped Prune so much with her first motherhood experience most recently.

Mora (facing) has developed Noodle’s colouring, she looks so like her, albeit she has a black flash on her nose which Noo doesn’t and both have Dad’s green eyes. Nebby has developed much darker patternation and has a white nose flash, though it’s unseen in this image.

Tag teaming sisters 🔺 & a chilled out bro below 🔻

Just videos while I’m resting!

Little Boy Blue becomes......

Today, I received a lovely email from the Eilec family who have reserved our dear little lad to let me know a name had been chosen & I must say, I think it really suits him.

He is now Louis. He will be the king of all he surveys no doubt about it.

So, the four babies now have their future names as chosen by their families - all extraordinary choices that work well for each of the personalities. For me, it’s lovely thinking about them as named individuals, rather than referring to each by its colour and sex (& a number) as we have been doing now for 8 weeks.

We’ve just completed the last feed of the day with the doting mum on hand to clean up sticky faces... well,  that’s what she would have you believe she is doing when really it’s her sneaky way of getting a taster of the kitten’s food which both Noodle and Prune would eat ahead of the kittens if I left them to it. They look so well mannered, bitter wouldn’t melt, as they wait patiently so see if there is anything left in a dish when the last kitten walks away, so they can nip in & clean up. Again, I’m not fooled, if I wasn’t there in the room to say a stern no, or to put out a foot as a physical barrier or even push an over eager mum away I think there would be hungry little bellies!


Gerrofff me mum!

Elvira Mistress of the Dark

The final viewing appointment was today, and we were delighted at midday to welcome Ley with her sons Zebb & Kallum to our little home and to meet and greet  my cats & most importantly Prune’s kittens.

From the outset, Ley (pronounced Lay) had wanted to have one of the black females & had even chosen her name, Elvira ( or Elvi for short) so it was really just a case of which girl appealed most when she finally got to meet them.

Over the last couple of weeks Ley & I have exchanged many emails, photos & videos as we quickly became firm friends finding we have so much in common. Photos of the two black girls together hoping to help her in her choice during this time were hard to achieve since, just as one was in the right position, the other was looking down or had exited stage left! Each photo or video I know was poured over down in Plymouth as Ley & her young men began to form a preference for one girl over the other. However, though I knew which one was looking more like THE ONE for them, you can never know until you meet the kittens & so having offered Ley first choice on the black girls, I did not say which black girl yesterday’s couple had preferred, because I did not wish to influence choices.

Coffee made, biscuits offered, toys were found & everyone was more than happy to engage in play as we chatted. Ley already has an adult male Sphynx named Ash & a moggy named Shady, but recently had had to say a devastating farewell to her shadow & constant companion, a Sphynx lady named Floozy. The whole family, cats included, are missing her big personality & felt like now would be a good time to adopt a new family member, particularly as Ash was pining for Floozy, missing the grooming tasks he was so diligent at performing for her.

The decision of which kitten they liked best was solidified & so Elvira will be joining her new family on the last weekend of September.

All kittens will be leaving us on the same weekend, as each new family wants to collect over that weekend, it will be an exodus. I currently have 6 lovely Sphynx running a-mock here, but that weekend 4 of them will depart - I imagine tumble weed & the sound of wind!

I will cry when I wave them away & close the door, but they will be happy tears knowing they are all going on to have really good lives full of love & that each one of them will change the lives of their new families as the Sphynx cat just does. I’m not losing them, instead I gain new connections, each family now a valued part of our Naked Sphynx Cat clan.

So we have Elvira, black female, Karma, blue female, Lux, black female & the blue boy has yet to be named!