Weighing in there!

I was back in the saddle today providing a bit of childcare because last week my daughter in law’s maternity leave ended.I’ve not done any proper child care since before lock down #1 began, though did do a couple of afternoons during subsequent lockdowns when childminders/nursery was closed,  after my ankle break had healed enough & while she was pregnant and trying her best to work from home all with a demanding toddler vying for attention. Being immune suppressed, the only way I could provide the care was if they close the usually welcoming door on all other family members. Anyhoo, lots of time has passed and I’m hoping my 4 (soon to be 5) jabs and careful life will be enough to protect me going forward. They’re my greatest joy (other than the cats!!) but my biggest kryptonite. So, it being half term as I took the reigns this morning I had both children to entertain/care for - nothing like being in at the deep end! Actually they were wonderful as always! ❤️

I began by waking extra early to make sure the kittens were “full of tummy” before I left & since I forgot to weigh them last night I also did this this morning too. They weigh in results are: 

Black Girl 178g

Blue Girl  174g 

Blue boys : 188g & 177g.

All kittens have fully open eyes now, and as I pick them up I can definitely feel how solid they are becoming as they “flesh out”. At 9 days today they still sleep most of the time between each feeding & will cuddle up with mum searching out a teat then dozing off. Either then or if mum decides she will take a little “me time” they’ll bundle up in a heap all together or else in pairs. It’s rare to see a kitten sleeping on its own. If they wake and are alone they yell out, and seek their litter mates or mum will respond and go to them. I love watching my beautiful Prune as she mothers them. And I love that Noodle is happy to assist. She’s even I see taken in her favourite toy to lend them. You’ll see it in the photo back right corner. 

As each day goes by these kittens so fragile just a week ago just skin , vital organs & bone, are gaining weight and building up muscle. Once they leave their crawling behind and find their feet though their energy levels will start to increase & they’ll be awake for longer periods. Eventually Prune will begin to entice them to step out of the nest, a sign she is ready to begin to litter train & wean them. Once they lose the early natural cautiousness they’ll be hard to contain, all part of kitten rearing fun. I love it 🥰! 

Feeding is going so well that each time I make up the supplement feeds I find all four kittens with filled tummies. Rather than over feed them I’m going to dial my efforts back for 12-24 hours to see how they all cope (mum & babies). It might well be that even if now she can keep them fed & happy, as their demand continues to grow, her milk supplies may not be able to keep pace, in which case if I do stop having formula right now I’ll be able to restart them at any time. I’d just like to give her the opportunity. Their weights and their appearance will soon let me know if I need to start feeding again tomorrow. 

Have I mentioned that  I’m keeping the blue female from this litter for myself? Keeping a kitten from one of my litters is something I have always planned to do & now that there is a blue girl seems the perfect opportunity. I’ve been thinking about possible names. Momentarily I considered “Jubilee” this being the Platinum Jubilee year & the event itself so almost upon us. However, I dismissed it quickly - I’d imagine though that there will be a fair number of new cats and dogs this year bearing that name though! I do have a name idea list … on it is Cossette/Chossette (little thing)  as well as Rayzin, Elodie (one I really like though it’s meaning , foreign riches is a bit obscure), there’s also Thema (meaning Queen). But as I thought more & more I think I may have thought of one that sits really well for us.

Look, I’m not food nuts I promise despite the seemingly food oriented names of all of my cats contradicting this! I have Noodle - but she gained her name not from food but just from being, well,  Nood. A sweet tongue in cheek play on the characteristic nakedness of the breed. Then I have Prune - or to be precise her full name is Prunella Prudence ( The Prudence was giving echo to my pinky past & the punk song “Dear Prudence” by Siouxie & The Banshees. Prunella was put in preceding it because I thought they sounded so good together. So what is the name I think I may have for the new girl? What food is she likely to be? Well, I’ve grown fond of calling her Plum. Not because I’ve a great love of fruit. I very much don’t.  In fact dislike Prunes too (or indeed any dried fruit) but I think Plum because she is Prune’s daughter. And whereas a Prune comes from a Plum being dried and so would mean Plum then Prune for us it would be in reverse, the Prune creating the Plum. I like it because it connects them mother & daughter even if it’s topsey-turvy! I’ve a while to decide so I’ll not decide 100% yet

I still very much love the name Floozy. And I was desperate to name my 3rd cat this. Indeed when I purchased a blue female kitten in 2020 (the year Prune was not mated) I gave her this name. Unfortunately though she had to go back to her breeder toward the end of last year due to her permanent digestive health issues & the need for her to have daily steroids. This medication made it impossible for her to become the breeding queen I had hoped she would have become for the first time this year (aged 2). I still very much love the name & I very much love & miss the cat. The association of the name to the cat I love & lost feels to recent and too raw & I just don’t feel ready for reusing it. Yet. 

Here before I go is the proudly purring mumma - image taken this evening with her kittens suckling away…(with Aunty Noodle’s toy in the corner!) 

 

Weight watchers!

 I’ve just completed the last feed of the day - it’s getting on for midnight (it will be by the time I’ve written this post) and I’ve just weighed the kittens again. This time I took photos to add to this page showing you ! 

Mum was keen to know too so came to oversee procedures…

1st up was the Black girl who was 136g on day 4.

Next up was the blue girl who was 121g just 2 nights ago. 

And then came the two blue chaps who last weighed 120g & 128g.

These are tremendous gains showing how well fed they are - mums milk is keeping them full & I’m simply backing this up at this point. It might be that her milk supply though evidently plentiful now will bottom out leaving a bigger gap for me to plug but for now she is doing enormously well. 

She settled into the new digs pretty well. She did bring one kitten onto the bed during the night but I put it right back and she settled back down with them. She does take regular breaks but spends only short bursts on the bed because instinct to check on her charges wins out, particularly if they are moving about snd whimpering. 

I was proved so wrong today as it’s still just the two kittens with their eyes opening. It’s very difficult to show this however as their eyes will shy away from the brightness of the camera light source. It might be visible in video I took earlier which I haven’t yet uploaded but will after I’ve finished writing and will add on later. I took two lovely bits of film today minutes apart. 

Sunday tomorrow- a day of rest - NOT. I’ve got to get my finger out around my home as been very lazy this week enjoying the babies! I return to grandma’s babysitting duty next week and it’s half term! Have a lovely Sunday! 

Eyes open but not wide (awake)

This morning the first born (blue girl) looked a bit different. Yay! Both of her eyes were unsealed nearly all the way across, with thin slits revealing the first sighting of the shiny dark matter behind those delicate eyelids. By this evening her eyes were almost fully opened showing the large glassy black orbs of her eyes. Like human babies, the eyes are dark at birth gaining their permanent colouring over the next few weeks. Also like a human baby, she will not have 20/20 vision at first, just very very blurred short distance, but can see light and discern varying shades of grey. 

It’s now 11:30pm, and I’ve just given them all feeds & noted as I did that one of the boys too now has both of his eyes partially unsealed so he’s not far behind.  I’ve little doubt that by close of play tomorrow all 4 will have opened eyes. 

Meanwhile their ears all appear to still be sealed but the small flaps are all not loose. Soon, as they feed the muscles will be stronger & working so hard that they’ll appear to be “flapping “ the ears back and forth. Over the weeks to come those tiny downward pointing ears will stand to attention & will grow to be so much larger which is one of the most visual traits of the breed (other than being hairless obviously!). That’s an enormous change & yet  it’s so gradual it’s hard to say when the change actually comes about. 

Today, I decided to re-house them. While Prunella was very happy with the cat bed dome, there is risk that a kitten can be laid down upon. They do squeak like crazy to tell her they are in trouble but I’m too concerned that something terrible might happen to one, particularly if I am out to risk leaving things as they were. To begin the move I got out & set up our smaller pet crate. In its base Ive set her adored heated mat, which has several layers of protective covering preventing any risk of their delicate skin becoming damaged. There is vet bedding on the remaining floor area and I’ve “wallpapered” the crate out inside using padded cot bumpers (the kind that used to be used on babies cots - but that are now not recommended !) . Over the top and three sides is a heavy throw blanket making a dim cosy and draft free environment for them. Prune is not happy about the removal of the cat den and is not as settled again however, she has raised her previous 2 litters in this crate so hopefully she’ll hopefully remember & in that familiarity will relax. 

The largest door is open so that mum can come & go and for now a rolled up blanket is enough to keep a crawling kitten from inadvertently tumbling out & escaping (which had happened with the cat den and was another reason for the relocation!). I’ll get some cardboard and create a higher barrier over the weekend to be extra safe. Here they are in their new digs: 

As you can see, they’re zonked in sleep. Small neonatal kittens do a lot this making photos all a bit samey in these early weeks, but they will make up for this in the weeks to come after they’ve found their feet, ventured out of their nest & learned the layout of their birth home.  The kittens look very dark in this image. It is very dark where they are housed and so this was a fill in flash & then I edited the light balance further to provide a clearer image. 

Video Treat & Day 4

Made this video earlier today! Sweet Dreaming

Really this is day 3 being as the birth day is medically day zero but it seems descriptive that day 4 after a Monday birth is Thursday- which this is.

It’s been a chilled & quiet day here, something that in these early days means that things are going really well… contented & well fed kittens are quiet, they sleep, they wake, they snuffle for a teat, drink & they squeak mainly quietly only yelling loudly when objecting - such as being held down by the mother during toileting when they are hungry, or if a re-settling mum returning to the nest has accidentally laid on them in some way. The quickness to yell is enough to alert mum that there is distress & she will move (or I will leap up and unearth the stricken kitten). 

Still dual feeding, I’ve re-weighed the kittens this evening and am really delighted with the gains they are making - which are as follows:

Blue Female day 2 100g - day 4 121g

Black female day 2 112g - day 4 136g (yes seriously!)

Blue male 1 day 2 103g - day 4 120g

Blue make 2 day 2 - 109g - day 4 128g

I have finally got around to uploading video to the you tube so I’m providing them here for you to enjoy.

There are videos from the births themselves & footage taken since. 

Birth of kitten #3 - a blue male 

Birth of kitten #4 Black Female 

Day 2

A pretty chilled day - mum & her kittens are well settled together now, providing the enclosed feeling of the dome obviously has aided Prune to relax - I’ve had to go to the aid of a squealing baby once or twice as she repositioned and one rolled into a difficult position, a quick helping hand puts everyone to rights against. Mostly it’s the “conversational” squeaks I hear now as they wriggle to settle themselves just before contented sleep rather than increasingly desperate hunger or failure to latch on that was making Prune feel so agitated on day 0. I don’t know if to Prune each squeak is individual or sounds different to another - nature tells us how sensitive a parents ears when you know that in the vast colonies of penguins a single chick can be picked out. 

Everything is then much the same, I’m feeding intermittently in supporting Prune to healthily produce milk for her brood. They are delighted & very eager to take the formula milk, guzzling until their tummies are full barrels. They don’t get as full during maternal feeding, & they also must work much harder to acquire it too. As they knead & suckle this stimulates Prune tolet down milk & the more this occurs the more she should produce. I’ve always noted that the smaller uppermost teats are less used while the larger lower ones are favoured & fought for - pushing & shoving for survival, in their blindness, instinct to get & retain position of those pole positions is key. I believe those lower teats give more milk more easily and for longer, hence their popularity however, if a sibling has been asleep and wakes to push his way in, he or she will be im for a shock to find the larder is bare!!

Noodle is continuing to provide security detail & baby minding duties which is great since I was debilitated today. 

Photos of early life is mostly bundles of kittens - with or without mum… this pose is a favourite Superman-like taking possession of that spot. I love the “hands” making an Impression  into mums belly!  

Day 1 in the little kitten house…

Oh boy Prune is so unsettled. During the night she kept bringing a single kitten up & onto my bed and I kept waking to it’s squeaks. I put it back, resettled her and sometime later she was back! 

It’s normal for a cat to move their babies soon after birthing so maybe this is what she was up to (though never done it before) but I’m inclined to think that really she just wanted to be in her usual spot in a heat mat! There is a heat pad in the kittening box but it’s under thick vet-bed fabric so that kittens are not able to get too hot (and be unable to move away). 

I’ve done a lot of feeding. Yesterday evening they each guzzled 2.5 (& even in one case an entire 3ml emptying the syringe) on the first manual feed. And overnight during subsequent feeds they were each taking the full 3ml. Today I’ve upped the offering and they’ve been taking 4-5ml each time. Gannets! Great weights though. The heaviest tonight was 112g and the smallest 100! What’s a relief (no pun intended) is that when Ive toileted them since beginning to feed them the urine output is now more yellow than amber which was alarming.

I’ve brought a cat den into the kittening box this afternoon hoping that Pru will be more inclined to remain with her kittens (which she seems to have taken to,  but I’m also a bit afraid she could squash one when having got out wanting to settle back down. Not sure I’ll leave it in overnight 

What’s so very sweet is Noodle sitting beside the den as if waiting her turn with the babies. She’s desperate to help. She really is a fabulous Aunty (and was a great mum). 

Alleluia !

Oh thank goodness - after another awake night, I dosed off sometime around 5am… then was awoken by a rather familiar squeak. Opening my eyes,,-t my left elbow was a little newly born kitten, mum “seeing to” the “cutting of the cord”. Okay, so she’d given birth on my bed (yikes) but luckily it was on top of her own blankets & not mine! No problem. I murmured clever girls as I watched her work then fully expected her to settle down with her new born to rest a whole before pushing again. 

Now I’d placed a dry puppy training pad under her so no wet cold area to chill her kitten, but this turned out not to be to her-ladyships liking at all. She jumped off the bed, leaving her newly born and got into the kittening box. Ok.. that’s where I’d want her to be - but she didn’t want puppy pads - at all. I compromised by placing it only under her rear and since things were now coming on a pace she didn’t object. Out came kitten 2 nose first & while she dealt with kitten licking duties I exchanged the pad. But now Prune stood up - her kitten swinging like Tarzan from a rope. Oh goodness. She turned a few times and lay down, got up again, then sat awkwardly.  The placenta delivered and she began to work. Despite her odd position she dealt with this while  I did my best to replace the pad again she began to do some very jerky movements. Really fierce contractions and then as I videoed, kitten 3 arrived still completely in his bag. I’d not realise how fine, strong & stretchy they are until I watched his arms stretching forward as instinct drove him to pull it away from his face. Should I help? Or not? I was about to do so when it split and his desperation to breath air for the first time were resolved. Again, the placenta followed & Prune was her own midwife just as nature designed. Now she decided the box was not good - she needed to be away from puppy pads, and she ran to the cat condo tower snuggling into a sleeping pouch - you can not birth in there Prunella. I had to get her out. I did and returned her to her 3 blue kittens.and a short time later, out came kitten 4 - absolutely coal black. I thought I could see and feel the round head of another but after an hour there was no further baby. I examined her abdomen but the lumpy shape was gone and I could feel nothing there. Must have imagined it. I’m the end, just like last year she has birthed 3 blue followed by one black kitten. The difference hee is that there are 2 boys (both blue) and 2 girls (black & blue). 

All day I’ve been listening to them snuffling & squeaking as they try to learn how to feed. Prune is fretting and keeps mewing at me (only ever mews when in pain or anxious) while her kittens mostly cried their displeasure. This evening I made a small feed offering each a 3ml syringe of milk. The blues each guzzled 2.5 while the black emptied all 3ml. I’ll top them up again later and hope to get some kind of rest. Prune and Noodle are both unsettled tonight so it might be another long one!

So, Noodle had no chance to show interest in the kittens last year given that Floozy was here then and had decided that she was the centre of everything. How would she behave this time?

Well this next few images will give evidence to that… 

Will they notice me ? Hmmm I’ll just wait here..

Still waiting… Orunr is behind me eating 

Yes, I am patient. I am counting to …. 55, 56, 57…

….. 99

Right, those kittens are being soooo neglected! 

Oh, ok. Well, I was just checking for you Prune. Can I just sit here. I won’t say a word… 

 

Anxiously waiting

 Yikes. If Pru got down to mating on the day I dropped her off (& if that the first mating had succeeded) today is day 65. If the first mating was the next day (this was reportedly heard) then day 65 is Monday 23rd. 

There have been clear signs that labour is ready to go… or begun…. but Prune has yet to begin any kind of physical effort. There was some digging behaviour today and lots of cleaning of her lady bits, some small mews (she’s usually silent, not given to speaking a great deal) which tells me she is feeling something. She’s laid for a while allowing me to softly rub her tummy which is unusual too.  

I’ve been on an absolute knife edge since Friday and am exhausted with it but can’t sleep for fear that she will need me & I won’t know. The trouble is that there was no visual on her matings. She is right to dates and so I’m holding my nerve that everything is ok… but I won’t lie, I’m very tense & uneasy. I love my beautiful girl so very much and want everything to go smoothly. There’s no reason for it not to. Her previous 2 labours/Kittenings were textbook… but I can’t help but be afraid for her and her babies especially after what Noodle experienced with her 2 pregnancies (resulting in loss of kittens and a decision to spay) I feel so haunted by the trauma. 

Breeding is such hard graft. It’s hellishly expensive. Heart and health testing, stud fees, breeder insurance, cattery & kitten registration, etc. etc, but it’s emotionally testing too because it is placing your cat  at risk she would otherwise not be experiencing. While birthing is of course a natural thing - I also know that it’s very easy to lose neonatal kittens and it can happen that you could even lose a cat too. I haven’t lost a cat in these circumstances but know other breeders who have. These thoughts haunt me so much in the days where Labour is due. Please let kittens appear safely tonight Prune . 

From Labour 2 Snoozing

 

How cute are these two? 

Prune was showing all signs of being in early labour first thing this morning however after me taking her out of my curtains (again!) and opening them to shed light on things she decided NO and halted all progress. 

 

She has stuck close by me all day though (see below) so I believe she’s might just waiting for the silence of the dead of night - when instinct tells her that predators are less likely to discover her & her progeny (evolution built in) to begin the process again - I hope I’m right 😊

For now Noodle & she are curled up together

 (above image just taken) 

zzzzZZZZZZ

WATCH THIS SPACE 

A look toward the future

 

With just days Togo before I will get to welcome Prunella Prudence’s newest litter into our lives, I thought it just awesome to receive this image today. It’s  Basil, a rather dashing almost adult boy, born to her last July (2021) using the same male. Isn’t he a gorgeous boy? He has his dads solid blue colouring & green eyes, but has his mums lighter frame & more pointed face shape. He is currently no longer the baby in his home as a “sibling” dog named Meg where he lives has recently birthed her first (& only!) litter of 6 pups. Basil is keen to engage with them though as you can see here

: 

Prune is eating like there’s no tomorrow: she is usually a delicate little eater but with babies imminent who are piling on the last few grams ready to make their appearance & Pru’s milk reserves getting ready to be called upon she is hoovering up much much more than usual, about 4 x more than she would usually get through! 

Here’s a sweet picture I got last night taken in extreme close up with her perched upon my chest as she craftily stops me from knitting!  I’m very happy to set it aside a while to give her the comfort she is plainly after. 

There’s movement being felt from both sides when my hands cup her belly while she rests. Clearly there’s lots of stretching of limbs going on. Her breast tissue has become more pronounced and the markedly dark black pigmentation I’ve seen arrive again around her genitals snd anus in the latter stages of pregnancy is now also very evident on the backs of her legs. Obviously it’s a hormonally driven occurrence as it’s occurred in each pregnancy she has had, however I don’t really know if historically this darkened skin would serve and kind of evolutionary purpose ??? While I’ve mentioned it here several times I’m not going to bother her to try to get her to “pose” for photographs so unless I get any during Labour & birth that show it it’s unlikely I can show this. 

Hopefully the best time I update the website will be news of kittens, so do check back for news, and, as always, if you are considering adding a Sphynx kitten to your life now or in the future lease do get in touch. We are always very happy to chat & answer any questions you might have about caring for & living with the breed. See you soon x  

I like the way you moooooove!

 YES! Today, mid purr session I finally felt and saw little movements inside of Pru’s tummy, and once that happened once, later, it happened again! 

This is the bit where I start to get breathless with anxiety & excitement. To share the birth experience with my beautiful pet is a wonderful thing. I’m totally trusted as part of the process & it’s magical. At the same time, I’m terrified… full of dreaded what if scenarios playing at breakneck speed in the cinema of my mind. I try not to look, choosing those moments to take my eyes from the screen as if reaching for the popcorn bucket held two chairs along! Of course, cats (animals) have been birthing babies quietly very successfully, however, since my introduction to breeding began with two cesarean sections before I’d ever witnessed a labour and birth, I’m all to aware aware of what can go wrong. Prunes previous two litters have been born without a hitch - even breach births are handled with consummate ease - and without so much as a whimper - having birthed two babies myself, I know that we humans do not (often) do it silently - so the multiple births in one litter without a complaint leaves me in complete awe & wonder. 

Of course the silence & preference for a night birth is evolutionary in order to help safeguard her new generation of progeny against predation. The mother cat will clear up any evidence (placenta) of the birth & will move her kittens to a different area soon after birth. Even though safe, domestic cats will still do all of this today…. They spend a days prior to labour checking out birthing spots… an outdoor cat may well have found the most hidden little nooks & crannies to hide in.  As a teen my moggie Ziggy gave birth in the wall cavity of a store room only leading is to them days later when she wanted to move them. We made a hole in the thick panel board so as to reach inside to bring them inside. As a breeder of the indoor Sphynx cat though I am able to influence her choice of nestIng site. 

Many breeders have what they refer to as a kitten room. They install the mother to be inside this room with bedding and den, away from the rest of the household which may consist of other cats, and dogs as well as human family. I choose not to do this. For me it’s way too clinical & since I have only my pet cats & me  there are no issues with clashing personalities I simply provide a high sided, well padded out & comfortable  kittening bed (box) where she can birth & raise her litter. At first she stays with them 24/7 - except to use the litter box. I bring food & water into the room so that she need only leave the box a few moments. As they grow bigger to get peace she will often choose to leave them for short periods to sleep in her usual spot returning to them frequently to feed them. Once the little critters are mobile, and can climb, I do end up in the final weeks they are with me, co-sleeping as the entire crew made up of my adult cats and the kittens in residence all piled on top of the two heat mats on one side of my bed! It’s not for everyone I know, but as I live alone I am very happy for my cats to be on my bed. They like t be wherever I am. If I’m in the lounge they have a heat mat there in their cat tree, or have a tower condo of 4 units in which I’ve put cuddle pouches that they can snuggle into or most likely will seek out my lap. When I go to bed, they follow me and their 2 further heated mats are their very favourite place, they ask to be tented under a blanket & so they have no need to heat seek by getting into my covers. My kittens truly are raised underfoot, playing with my family including small grandchildren living with me fully which I hope helps make them into the best social, unfazed pets for their new families. Breeders with kitten rooms on the other hand do have hygienic rooms where only those kittens & their mother tread. And as time passes eventually the mother cat will come away completely from her kittens (once they’re fully weaned), but the kittens will continue to live completely within that one room - enriched though it will be with toys and scratch posts etc, and with siblings for company - I just feel that they are missing the element of socialising in the home environment with other pets and people. They’ll be meeting their human (breeder) mostly only at food and litter clean up times. This means they have so much less opportunity to take part in ordinary household life, to run about & play to gain courage. This of course is just my own take on it. And others will have their own strongly held views. I realise too that those who breed on a larger scale than I may need to segregate cats - particularly if there are jealousies and litters come at the same time (2 kitten rooms?), but for me it is just too remote, too disconnected from them being pets - it fails to allow these kittens who after all are bred to be valued pets to be learning how to be pets from the get go. 

It’s unlikely I’ll manage to get video of Prunes babies wriggling in her tummy. She doesn’t lay still all splayed out long enough, however some years ago I got a fairly good short video of Noodle’s babies wriggling away inside as she slept soundly… this is on my Sphynx Cat Cam You Tube channel. Enjoy 

https://youtube.com/shorts/Q1oPmkOMjO8?feature=share

Tick - Tock count down time!

 

Look at the swell of this tummy as a heavily pregnant Prune takes a peek out of the window! Her natural svelte shape is still very evident despite the tight balloon of her tummy. In this image she is stood on top of the kittening box I’ve set up for her on top of which I’ve placed the storage box that the kittening box folds down into. Over it I’ve draped a throw to make the kittening box into a cosy little cubby den. While it is all standing ready for her & her new brood, for now it’s providing a great staging area from which Prune has become a “peeper”! Yes, she Peeps! 

Meanwhile, when not engaged in Peeping I’ve noticed that at the same time as the skin of her ladybits & anal area have again become dark black (as happened in previous pregnancy) she’s also spending an inordinate amount of time grooming said areas.

I’m guessing that the colour & shape change she experiences in her private areas might also come with a change in sensation too which might be at least partly responsible for driving her to want to groom those areas more, or perhaps the attention she is paying to cleansing is simply due to an influx of a maternal brain chemicals at this late stage to ensure that when Labour begins the areas are hygienic. She is very sweetly comical in a way though as clearly she is finding positioning herself & reaching around her belly to undertake her work more & more challenging. In the picture below, she had crept under a blanket I’d covered myself with feeling a little chilly. She is using my lower legs and ankles as props! 

The clock is ticking…..We have around 10 - days to go so I’m expecting to be able to see & feel little arms, legs, heads below her skin at any moment. I do try to place my hands at her abdomen during her cuddles to see if I feel a kick or a repositioning baby. No luck yet though. Space inside will be at a premium as the kittens begin to reach the peak of their pre-birth size (around 65-90g each). I’ll see a change in her tummy at some point soon as things get ready for Labour. She’s not overly huge & historically as she’s had litters of 5 & of 4, I don’t expect a huge litter, but am getting excited to be meeting them very soon. It’s like that Christmas is coming feeling you have inside as a child. The difference here being that I don’t know the exact day this particular‘Christmas’ will be! 

Cuddles-a-plenty

Dear Prune… she has wanted nothing more than to be a lap cat during this pregnancy… luckily - other than when I knitting  - I’m not adverse to this. 

Since my last post, the kittening box came… and forced a change of routine/plan.. because it was advertised in inches I didn’t fully appreciate its size and honesty 30x30 inches is much larger than I had pictured it - I won’t make the joke about all women being told all of their lives about 6 inches! Anyway, it arrived and I immediately assembled it, screwing the wooden rails into position. The change of plan is in the usual placing of the birthing box into pet crate. I have two, and the box won’t go in the large one not by some margin. Hey ho. It’s a great box with nice deep sides. In its bottom I’ve laid down both of my lengths of vet bed, though I’ll take one away when she births so that I have one in use & the other one being washed/drying. After the births I’ll place Pru’s food & water into the extra space. Because it’s so roomy, and high sided it will happily contain the kittens. I’ve even lined it with the cot bumpers, attaching them with cloths pegs since I’ve now got no bars to tie up to. I’ve put a he y throw over the top (just as I would have done with the crate) to form a den so it will still be very cozy. 

I have the bag of 10 Miracle Nipples & unearthed all of my kittening & neonatal kitten rearing supplies. A good job I checked now as the Hartmanns veterinary fluid was found to have an expiry date as May ‘22, so I’ll get that replaced asap. Hopefully, as I said the other day, I won’t need to resort to using it but I’d rather not ( if it were needed) use this one with its expiry date being right now. Better a newer one. 

That was the only item that had expired, The only other item  leith a date coming up soon Kitty Stim (a colostrum & vitamin paste useful for boosting a fading kitten) . Thar was unused last time and if it’s not needed this time round I’ll chuck it out as it expires in July. It’s not cheap to buy (at around £18-20) but it’s a handy go-to item, as is No 15+ Manuka Honey with its antibacterial & energy boosting properties - and I am happy to go ahead and use that myself it if that’s not needed so no change of expiry there!  

All I need to do now is freshly wash and sterilise the birthing bits (just in case I need to use them during births) & the feeding equipment to make up formula. 

So, I was happily knitting (just begun another dress for my littlest granddaughter for the Autumn/winter) when this little lady came & took up residence….. look how she has her soppy half closed eyes & head turned in so that I am somehow fooled into thinking she is immediately asleep having dropped in my lap (actually on my chest) … then a few seconds later, seeing I’m putting my knitting aside she’s all wide eyed ! I do love how she curls her toes in too. Sweet girl. Night night 

Count down & nesting

As Prune’s belly grows, along with her appetite, the changes in her body show that she is readying fr the big day. Her teats which usually are pale and tiny are now large, extended and flushed a deep red. Just before the birthing day milk will come & drops able to be expressed. 

Just as happened in her previous 2 pregnancies her vaginal area is both enlarged & the skin around the entire area changed to be dark almost deep grey/black. 

Her auto feeder which is usually topped up only every 4-6 days is now replenished every other day with nutrition & hydration of key importance. 

Throughout this pregnancy I’ve noticed that she is more “needy” particularly, oddly after dark falls, with it appears a frequent need for affection. Sometimes she wonders around giving little mews (she’s not a vocal cat - unlike resident diva Noodle!) & I interpret her calls as she goes from bedroom to lounge and kitchen as being driven by her need to ensure that her environment is secure. With so few days left now (approx 18-20) she will begin to seek a nest site so in the next days one of my jobs is to provide that suitable place for her. I’m expecting delivery of a new birthing box which will be lined with soft super warm vet-bed. This will be nestled inside a pet crate which I line out first tying fabric cot bumpers around the inside & draping it with blanketing making it into a cozy darkened cave. I don’t need the crate in order to close any doors but simply to provide her with a cosy, snug area, made completely free of draft that she will find favourable in which to den up & nest with her babies. As always one of the beloved PetNap heat mats will be in there too.

Also on my list of jobs is to sterilise feeding & birthing equipment & to make sure that supplies are ready & to hand for urgent use. I have a hamper of birth supplies at the ready plus I have supplies for the days and weeks afterwards. Thankfully I’ve never needed to physically help with a birth, only be there to soothe & encourage my fabulous cats in their labour. The only interventions I made were with Noodle, as both of her pregnancies resulted in her having emergency caesarean operations. This ended her breeding “career” sadly. Prunella has so far had straight forward natural births so this 3rd time hopefully will be the same.. 

Breach babies are very common, though it’s helpful for the first born to present head first. This is because the wedge shaped nose-first presentation easing along the birth canal as she contracts helps open the way out gently whereas a bottom first delivery is far harder work for the cat.  

The sack is usually already burst lubricating the final part of the delivery, so she immediately licks the kitten clean, getting the breathing started. She by now has delivered the placenta too which she bites to fuse seal the disconnect of the kitten. She then deals with the placenta (if she chooses to) by eating it. Natural instinct driving her to leave no evidence that might draw in a predator, but it’s also a great source of nutrition when her body going into milk production requires big reserves. It sounds gory I know. If she doesn’t eat it, once she has disconnected the kitten I will remove it by easing the birthing pad out from under her and wrapping it up. I replace the pad the bed then ready to go again. Mum now positions herself so that the kitten can head to the teat to feed while she rests and her labour continues. 

The poor Sphynx kitten -the mother has no fur upon which the infant can cling, it does not have benefit either of a clearly identifiable pathway to follow with its nose. A furred mother cat would have cleared away the fur around the teat in preparation but the Sphynx has none of this body mapping to aid it. The kitten shuffles into place and will find its way to suckle as the mother cat’s labour continues. My experience has been that a delay of around 30-45 minutes is between each delivery though it can be shorter or indeed longer. The kittens look so odd as they arc and bob around blindly seeking out the teat. Mum’s belly (and the siblings heads) can soon become very scratched up from the efforts of all siblings as they’re driven to secure their very existence - There’s no time for pleasantries here! 

The kitten are born with these pristine clean white & sharp claws. One of the fiddliest jobs I must do in the first day after the birthday is to clip the shap tip away l to protect mother and litter as much as possible from the scratching. If mum is left to end up in pain from constant scratch wounds she will try to protect herself by denying them access to her tests and therefore their all important feeds This is dangerous in these early days. As the kittens begin to open their eyes and gain skills, the clawing becomes less of an issue though they have no hesitation at all in using them to unceremoniously pull a feeding littermate away. Survival of the fittest in brutal action. 

My wonderful girls have always produced good milk supplies.  I’ve only ever needed to hand rear one kitten completely. That kitten had almost died (it’s brother having died the previous day). In a last ditch attempt not to lose this one I mixed a dilute feed, laced it with manuka honey then intubated for the first time ever. I was terrified. This tiny 4 day old kitten in my hands. I layed him on my chest and kept him warmed. Within an hour he had perked up . I syringe dripped more feed in. He regained strength but I decided to continue feeding him for peace of mind. Anyway he appeared to decide I was mother and to prefer to have formula (though he could, and did, still suckle from mum along with his siblings). Here’s a picture of that once tiny boy kitten of Prune’s that on day five I intubated & willed back to life - he grew up handsome 

Taking ormula is an easy meal. The kitten doesn’t need to expend much energy in order to gain it, the delivery coming faster with less effort. It tastes great too apparently, what’s not to like? 

Having saved him but lost his brother I wish so much that I’d known then to step in sooner but I have learned a valuable lesson as a breeder. Now I begin supplementing as soon as I see a possible issue, to remove doubt and I’d much much rather that than to end up with an emergency, or worse, a kitten loss. I now have two emergency interventions that I keep at hand. One is to intubate and feed directly into the tummy as I did before,  delivering food direct when the kitten is too weak to suckle. The, other intervention I’ve not ever needed to use but have available. This is  to administer fluids to a dehydrated, perhaps comatose kitten. It involves a special veterinary fluid being injected subcutaneously beneath the skin. The sterile fluid is first pre-warmed to blood temperature then injected at the kittens “scruff” making a bubble of fluid that the body can utilise to revive the failing body. I hope never to need use either intervention by being alert and prepared to begin supplementing early. 

Thankfully my queens have both been attentive mothers. Dear Noodle with her c-section wounds and confused kittens who would mistake it’s buckled edge for a teat & attempt suckling from it. Repeatedly. Still she lay there proudly, legs akimbo. I remember she was so engorged with too much milk and not enough kittens and then having to lay hot flannels on her underside as if I was providing a spa treatment. She was such a good mum. It was so sad that labour was such a problem for her. She is a super Aunty though and becoming a mother forever changed her. I never fail but to be in awe as, if a baby (human!) is visiting, and particularly if it whimpers she comes to aid. When Prune has kittens, the first sound of the new and she planted herself beside the birthing box & helped with all kitten tasks. Luckily there’s no jealousy with my cats who are happy to share! 

Never more proud of Noodle than here shown after her first C-Section. Even a cut like this & no pain meds & she’s purring away and giving her kitten free access! 

Plentiful high quality nutrition for mum ensures decent milk supplies however despite this, supplementary feeding does allows mum & all her kittens, particularly those who need it, a bit of a helping hand. This might be instigated because a kitten is weaker, maybe being repeatedly pushed off the nipple by it’s siblings,  or it might be one who I think looks on the brink of beginning to “fade” or it might even a kitten who is noticeably hungrier whose requirements seem to exceed what is currently available. I’m very happy to help,  though the first couple of weeks are rather gruelling. 

I use Royal Canin Itten Milk Replacer & rather than their supplied bottles I use the brilliant Miracle Nipple teat. They’re expensive, hard to get hold of in the UK but are far far superior to any other I’ve found. I sterilise all equipment in a baby sterilising unit & I attach the nipple to a syringe. Believe me, kittens very quickly learn what’s coming & are most eager to get onto them when I appear. With a good quality syringe, the kitten does all the work, no need to depress the plunger at all - unless course Im feeding a weak kitten. The Miracle Nipple allows gentle introduction of the teatv& milk gently into the delicate mouth. At first I use a 1 or 3 ml syringe with feeding given every 1 1/2 to 2 hours (both night and day) but pretty quickly the volume capacity of a kitten tummy increases and this then becomes a 5ml, then 10 and moves on to 20ml syringe full taken at each feed, by now they are every 4 hours. Even so, with tummy full & as looking tight as a drum still they’d guzzle more if it was able to fit in! All the while I supplement feed they will continue to feed from their mums supply & I continue supplementary feeds until weaning is established, then I will leave mum to it. Kittens by now have teeth and are none to careful so she will start denying them access to her teats which she does by lying with her underside firmly to the floor! By now suckling is not to much a necessity to life since their food comes in a dish, but rather it is for love & comfort, a real choir of purrs! 

So, yes, as I was saying before going off on a tangent, I have a lot to be getting myself & Prune ready for. She’s already been exploring my bedroom curtains (they’re overlong and the ends puddled on the floor)… she is winding herself up in them at night testing each side out as a suitable birthing spot nest. I think NOT Pru! Well, I’d prefer not. So, the kittening box will be here in a day or two so I’ll get the “vet bed” fitted in and the cave set up. 

I’ll endeavour to take a photo or two when it’s ready.

I’ve not yet witnessed or felt any kitten limbs in Pru’s growing tummy, but imagine that I will very soon and I’ll hopefully get some decent video of this to share too. I wonder how many kittens she has, what sex and colours each will be. I can’t wait to meet & get to know them, AND to sharing them with you. 

Are you thinking about sharing life with a Sphynx? If you’d like the opportunity to reserve one of our gorgeous high quality kittens,  do please get in touch. Have a great few days…