A steady Sunday

Loving & tender feeding of kittens by Prune & myself continues. I love to watch them peacefully sleeping, their tummies like beach balls over-inflated.

Pru is spending time outside of the nest box - but right next to it, getting in and out trilling her presence before tending to them which she does at regular intervals.

Day 10

Gosh... the days are passing quickly and the kittens grow more sturdy. In the first days with just seemingly skin & bone they remind me of just hatched birds, their bones clearly outlined & visible under their translucent skin, but now there is meat on those bones, they grow heavy, strong & robust. Two kittens (the black ladies) have now passed the 200g mark!

Each one has learned to purr, the staccato sewing machine sound which is so unlike the purring of an older kitten or cat. Ears are beginning to open now. When they are born the triangle of ear is bent forward held close to the skull, but within days the ear begins to unfold. Inside, it is tightly pulled together, I’m sure this is in order to keep any amniotic fluid from entering during their development. I watch when hand-feeding how the suck & swallow action makes their ears appear to waggle. Soon the inside will relax and their hearing will become more acute. I notice now how Pru has begun to trill when she is nearby, talking to them... I can only imagine her saying that she will lay down for them, but please to keep their claws in!

Yes, her poor tummy is clearly well scabbed from their battle for position, the need to scrabble around as they seek out the fluid that gives them life.

‘Auntie’ Noodle though not actually related by blood, is just as keen to help out and is always sleeping right next to the nest box, and when Pru has dozed off or gone for her ablutions she will take an opportunity to care actively by either getting in to lick the kittens to toilet them or leaning in to do the same. Prune is content to allow her... just as she is to allow me also to do my bit; we are like three clucking hens around our 🐣 🐥 🐥 🐣 (that one is for you Katrina!)

In the first photo below, you can clearly see the scab marks around the sleeping kittens head and mouth, clear signs of the battle that is waged at their dinner table. The second photo is one of the black sisters. She is looking ‘milk-drunk’ having enjoyed a welcomed feed.

We are into week 2...

And things are going really well....

Well I say that, but I think that perhaps Prune may say otherwise just now because her underside is rather scratched up and sore despite my having snipped the tips from those sharp little talons.

They are born with fully-grown, sharply pointed claws and are terrifying to snip. The kitten is wriggling and squealing... an anxious mum is therefore wanting nothing more than to rescue her baby from what must surely be a terrible fate. And me, I’m using the smallest pet clippers I could find, squinting to focus and praying at the moment I commit that don’t wriggle out of my control.

So, while Pru is spending less time feeding due to the free for all going on in the food scrum, some siblings I’ve noticed are also getting scratched heads too.

It’s noticeable in the photo below when it’s zoomed into...

The little lad that I’m feeding formula milk to is gaining weight nicely and today, has caught up with his Blue coloured sister as they both weighed in this evening at 144g. Meanwhile the two dark girls are 187g and a whopping 203g, so they have both more than doubled their birth weights.