Calling all budding models

Not quite a ‘cat walk’ show for fashionista’s, I’d asked a dear friend of mine if she would mind visiting to help me with a mini photo shoot.

Taking decent photos of kittens is not easy at the best of times, they do have a habit of moving just when you’ve framed the perfect shot. Adding to my problems, my home has large oak trees around it and does t get its best light late afternoon and that is weather dependent of course. We had to rely upon artificial light, and entertaining the kittens into a pose that showed them at their best.

Although I have a lovely digital camera, I decided, that my iPhone camera would suffice and so we set to work, taking each kitten in turn into a room where we had set up our ‘studio’ (the kitchen!).

Many shots were deleted, there were several shots where just a belly or back only appeared as a kitten decided suddenly to take off as the camera delayed the shot as it focussed.... some shots have been great if only they were not blurry because at the precise moment of capture their attention had moved elsewhere, and consequently so had they.

Each kitten we took from their play time rough and tumble into our  ‘the studio’ (except the boy, who we wrenched from sleep). Each little kitty behaved so differently as Sarah tried to get them to stay in place & adopt the perfect pose while at the same time she tried to keep the toys she was using to distract them out of shot & not to create shadow. It was a lot to ask. Even with two of us, 4 hands were not really enough. For the final sequence we wanted to have both of the black girls together, these images were the least successful since, as you can imagine,  just when one kitten was perfectly poised the other would suddenly lurch out of the shot or move it’s head. Aaarrgghhhh!

At the end, we had managed a few questionably ‘serviceable’ photos ... some better than others however disappointingly, none are dynamite nor do they thrill me as I’d hoped to have achieved. Poor light in my home is the biggest culprit of all and even clever photo editing cannot correct this.

I will be uploading a couple of pics of each kitten on separate posts (because this silly website keeps moving them from where I am placing them (using iPad))

Anyone for tennis? 🎾 

How things change....

So, my last post was about my pretty scary Monday night into the wee hours of Tuesday morning... but my, how quickly things turn around... on Tuesday, supper time, almost 24 hours since the horror show of the previous night,  as I bottle fed the little lad I was also being mugged by the black girl who was still also wanting milk and had not yet successfully moved onto solid food.

I gave her a half feed of milk so that she was not so boisterously trying to do her little bro out of his meal, then I got back to feeding him while with my other hand (you know, the third one!)  put the sloppy pouched food onto my fingers and she began to suckle it hoovering it in. Finally she had got a taste for it. Again and again I covered my fingers. She began to bite in her haste to eat more of this delicious food, and each time I re-dipped I moved my hand toward the dish leading her forwards until at last she twigged and just went for it - ta-dah!

I then turned my full attention back to little boy blue, and since he had also started biting on the teat (a sure sign that sucking was receding and milk no longer suitable). He was interested but not enough to follow my fingers....so I filled his belly with milk.

Wednesday morning dawned. A busy day for me since I spend the day with my 18month old grandson, Holden. I was up early to feed the kittens and to clean litter trays (and on this particular day, surrounding furnishings and floors) then be off up the road.

Since the kittens were born I set up a security camera at home so I can check in and see what’s going on, and I also come back home periodically bringing Holden with me to see the ‘baby cats’ which he enjoys.

Though pushed for time that morning due to the sheer amount of cleaning required that particular morning I tried boy blue with the pouched food again and suddenly, by jove he got it/ Within a minute he too was eating side by side with his siblings!

The same occurred later on when I returned both times with Holden and they were so stuck in they took no notice at all as he took on the role of dinner lady and began to poke one kitten in the ear, saying “eyes” !

Horrific night

As weaning slowly continues, come yesterday I had two kittens, a black female and the blue female eating pouches meat.

The black girl took to it immediately, the blue girl began by having it from my fingers which I moved closer and closer to the dish until she got the hang of it. She does still ask for milk but isn’t that interested.

Meanwhile, no matter how I offered it to the others two kittens, meat or softened kibble was refused. As I prepared food, they were on my feet yelling “feed me, feed me’ but the teat was all they would accept, even though they had begun to bite it.

Last night, at supper time, I went to do a feed, but one kitten did not come. I walked into the lounge to find am epic ‘kitten mess’ on my chair, and a comatose kitten on the cold floor.

I picked him up. He was floppy but still there. I knew I had to act fast. He was not interested in milk, so I decided fluids were what would keep him alive and so I made boiled, cooled water and offered this. He refused to open his mouth or to swallow. Next I added some Manuka honey to the warmed water, but again, this was refused. There was nothing for it but to put a tube into his tummy before his organs shut down for good.

He did object a little but was weak.  I got the tube in and set about  injecting approx 15ml of milk, water and honey which I’d now mixed half and half. Removing the tube I laid him on my chest and very soon he was purring as he would normally do when with me. We were not out of the woods but I seem to have saved his life.

Prune came over to see us and began licking him. He proceeded to wee - on me- but it’s a small price to pay if he is going to revive & recover.

Setting a timer for two hours, I later tube fed again, this time giving a belly full strength milk to get him through the night as it was now 1am. He again objected to the tube and it was a struggle especially with those sharp teeth and a surprisingly fierce bite force. I removed the tube only to find it had become very short! He had bitten the tube. Quickly, I prized open the jaws and could see an end, so I managed to get hold of this and pull it out, but it was only a short piece. Holding these lengths against a brand new tube there is about 12cm missing. It’s inside of him and I’m waiting for it to come out.

I’m glad I caught him in time. I’m super fond of this little dude. Undoubtedly he would have died without that first tube of fluid and sugars. But I will feel worried until the tube inside has passed through him. It has a smooth surface and blunt front end so with luck he will pass it in the next 12-24 hours. I’m watching him like a hawk for signs of duress (obstruction) or of the tube appearing.

This morning, he did have milk from the teat, but he is not ravenously going for it as he normally would. As we sat slowly feeding, I was mugged by the other black sister still on milk. I fed her and once she was satiated I began to put meat into her mouth, over and over. She liked it. So I worked her slowly toward the dish, putting more food in as she seemed so keen now.

So, as of today, we are 3 kittens moved onto pouched meat, with milk there if it’s wanted, and there’s always water which I saw the little lad drink from on his own today which is a good sign I think. I’ve not seen Pru feeding any of them in days now, not even at night to settle them as she was doing.