With about 10 (ish) days to go Prune is making the most of it and sleeping alongside her ‘sister’ Noodle. It’s cute how they spend so much time sharing space and,  even if there is the odd spat, there is a symbiotic relationship of grooming each other.

Pru was so interested and nosey when Noodle’s last litter arrived, not sure at first what these noisy creatures were she would stand tall like a meerkat to see what was happening in the nursing box. She watched on for days gradually getting nearer and nearer until overcoming her fear she was sharing space and ‘helping’ Noodle with her mothering tasks.

By the time the remaining kitten was weaned she was happy to be the big sister and the relationship she had with that kitten was so close; where Nebula went so did Prune (and visa-versa). So, I wonder what will happen after next week when the roles are reversed and Noodle is the one watching on??

Since having kittens, a newborn kitten or even human baby cry will see her on full alert. Something in her is switched on to provide maternal care. It’s incredible to see and in fact those who’ve witnessed this happening,  particularly with a human baby, have been awed by her solicitous need to care.

Will she try to help Pru? Will Pru remember what she learned last year? I’m so excited to find out and see the new relationships develop over coming weeks and how changed Pru will be once she has become a mother. 🐾🐾❤️❤️🐾🐾 .

Look at the size of this tummy!

Prunella has just a little over two weeks left of her pregnancy.

This image proved rather difficult to take since she insisted on being right up in my face head butting and purring her love for me, and so I could not get her all in, but as you can see it clearly shows her expanding tummy which was the point of the image!

She is eating and drinking much more now as her developing babies make their demands on her and her body is preparing ahead for their births. It’s truly beautiful & an honour to be able to see this all happening at first hand. I am excited for the birthing - hoping fervently that she will do this without intervention - and to see her babies born and grow over the coming weeks 😁🐾🐾❤️❤️🐾🐾

Is she or isn’t she?

So, Prune is still spending all her hours caged up... by day 4 she had stopped trying to get out as soon as a door was opened (to scoop her litter, heat up her snuggle pet or to feed her)... each night I would get her out for a cuddle, wrapped in her blanket. She would purr away glad of the contact and company, content for ages just to head butt me and gaze at me. But, after an hour or so she would think to herself that she might like to explore or go to her favoured spots and at this point she had to be returned to her cage.

I’m sure she must be thinking what the hell had she done to deserve this? Everything was fine until that day in April when I took her for her heart scan then abandoned her for several days in a strange place where she was ravaged by a keen boy and was somehow injured and hurt. Yes. I feel guilty but, this dislocation was a freak accident. We just do not know how it has occurred. One possibility is that her claw may have got caught and stuck in a rope wrapped cat post as she jumped down... there was nothing else in the “mating” room that could account for it.

On day 20 of her bed-rest Pru’s nipples gave me the first sign of her mating being a success.

YES! SHE IS!!!!!

Now all I had to worry about with regard to them was that the x-ray and anaesthetic had not damaged them.

We did of course consider her “possible” kittens when I first took her to the vet for help. However, my decision was to treat Pru as the priority since not only was she in great pain but at such an early stage I could not know for a fact if she had had success with the matings.

Bless her, she suffered from a bit of morning sickness too but otherwise, her nipples extended and became more prominent and her tummy began to grow week by week still caged up and re-splinted every Friday.  Pru also began in the last couple of weeks to increase her food needs significantly! She is after all eating for.... how many?

The treatment plan for her toe injury was to have the splint re-dressed every week until she had a new x-ray done 4-6 weeks from having it put back into place. It was booked ahead for June 7th, however, one week before this while at the re-dressing appointment we noted that a nasty open sore had developed on her hock. The vet decided then that the splint must now not be put back advising that another week with it on may lead to serious complications as a sore on such a bony area could get ugly very quickly with any infection quickly reaching and affecting the bone itself. Again that word amputation was used.

So it was that for the final week before her planned re-x-ray & still caged, Pru now was without her splint. The toe was looking really straight so I was more and more hopeful that the surgery and toe amputation may not be needed - despite the warning on each visit that this could still be the case. At the very least, even if she has no more dislocations she will suffer from arthritis in this spot early now.

The 7th June arrived and, duly starved, we arrived at the clinic. The vet then surprised me by telling me that they thought it best with the growing kittens now half way to gestation, not to X-ray. Pru was doing so very well and this I was informed was largely due to my compliance with the vets instructions - most failures I’m told are down to non compliance by pet owners!

At last she could come out of her cage and enjoy freedom for her last few weeks before motherhood claims her. The one proviso of this freedom was that I was to “hide” the exercise wheel she loves so much to ensure that she did not re-injure herself.

She will have another x-ray but not until her kittens have weaned..... some weeks from now.