Day 2 Saturday July 10th

 Help, my eyes are throbbing. I’m so tired! 

It’s my 55th birthday today & I spent the night supporting Prune. She wants to keep her babies for herself, & whilst she is being kind to Floozy, Floozy is such a determined little so&so & will not stop trying to be centre stage.

I’m continuing to supplement feed, and the kittens are certainly very happy to receive milk from the Miracle Nipple (the best but ohh-so expensive!). It’s just soooo cute when they are sucking the treat so eagerly and their muscles are moving their still turned down ears back & forth. With some syringes the plunger will glide down by itself moved by the force of the vacuum. 

I’m making 20mls of milk replacer & then, pulling the entire 20mls into a syringe, then divide this evenly between each kitten. 5 ml each already is awesome l, they’re going to grow big & strong with appetites like this. 

In fact, they would happily take more but I’m not filling them right up, gently removing the teat so that they will continue to seek sustenance from their mum thus encouraging her milk flow. 

I’ve managed a couple of short videos today. Not great camera work but given that Im one handed while trying to keep Floozy from muscling in. She is absolutely relentless & determined.

Interestingly Prune grumbled at one of them earlier. I’m thinking likely in response to overzealous feeding or claw scrambling. 

I’m laying here just listening to the dolphin sounding chatter that kittens often make - honestly if you heard it you’d totally get the dolphins sound reference! It seems to be a contended conversation and I wonder if they found this pitch perfect for communicating and I wonder if they conversed this way while in the womb? It’s always before they settle.… 

I last topped them up at about 4:40pm & do I’ll give them a feed a bit later on to give them milk in their tummies so that hopefully I can get a few hours of sleep in. That’s if Prune will stay settled with them tonight rather than wanting to go in and out constantly. 

Day 1 so far so good

Well I’d say that it’s been eventful rather than restful today but the kittens look all contented sleeping soundly & cosy now they’ve been relocated AGAIN. I’ll tell you all about this in just a second, but first to confirm that they are all four most definitely boys! Ok … the nesting box saga… 

The lovely sturdy deep box that I’d readied for them with a half covered closed in roof has been a flipping nightmare! At first Prune was happy to remain with her litter, purring away and blissed out but then later she got the fidgets - which meant if she wanted to change position or even get out & go back in, the kittens started moving & snuffling which meant that Prune now had to try to insert herself around them somehow. I was up & down every time making sure that all kittens were at her tummy, not behind or underneath her. 

Then, Floozy could resist it no more & decided she too must be in the box to lick these new comers. I’m delighted that she is so keen to learn the art of mothering but less happy at the thought that a kitten would get squashed. I had that occur with another cat & kitten & it’s so very sad to find & lose one that way. Next, because I kept yanking Floozy out she would grasp the vet bedding on the bottom and as it lifted with her the kittens would tumble. Also then in her hurry to get back in the box was being toppled over. Poor kittens, it must feel like an earthquake! Evidently, the box idea needed to be shelved and kittens moved. 

I had already set up the smaller of my pet crates as a snug with cot bumpers around the sides for insulation and softness, and a heavy throw on top to keep it warm and draught free, so this was put into action.

First though I needed to insert one of the heat mats with its triple double layer covers, then over this I have placed the vet bed bedding they’ve been on already. There is room for them to move away from the area where the heat at is if they need to but with so many layers the heat will be very gentle. Next, in went the kittens followed by mum! Now there is more room. Floozy is in there now with them licking them away and Prune is happy to let her. Noodle has shown less interest in kittens this time, I wonder if she is maybe giving way to Floozy? She is still delivering mice! (Toy ones!) I still can’t get over this instinct to provide and to know that a mouse is what is needed. Some of these toy mice are pink with yellow tails- but recognised even so! 

Though they seem reasonably content, I’m concerned about them being well fed and established so earlier on I mixed a small amount of formula & gave each kitten about 1ml each. One of the blue boys took to it with ease but the others are less sure. I want them to keep feeding from mum, which at this stage is about every two hours day & night. 

The next job I need to do today I dislike doing but it is necessary as they are born with these long pristine white sharp needlelike claws… very soon they’ll be blackened with dried blood and poor Prune is already unhappy with the pain. I need to try to shorten & blunt them so that she & the litter mates don’t get quite so scratched up. Their instinct in their blindness is to snuffle their nose instinctively seeking & recognising the teat, but the searching and scrabbling is relentless- and why they get so scratched up. This is a big downside for the breed not having fur protection! They are so very tiny, and delicate and very very wriggly, plus they yell like hell which  activates mummy to worry. I really wish she knew I was helping!  

As I write, having licked for a good 30 minutes, Floozy is asleep with Prune & the kittens! Anyway, here’s the new location with Aunty Floozy (constantly) helping out & lastly with wonderful Mum!

Kittens are here! Yippee!

What a night (yes the Euros, well done England) but I’m talking kittens here people!

Prune told me with a series of short mews last night that things were finally going to get going. She has been so restless & the mews so unlike her usual chat that I knew we were on. 

She got up & down all night, then at around 8:20am the “first” kitten arrived, breach. A boy. The placenta took a while, she got up and the kitten was dangling precariously. After resettling her delft the placenta came  & for the first time, I needed to help to cut the cord which I then anointed with iodine & removed the placenta from the birthing box. I congratulated Prune on being so clever even if it had taken ages to get started.  

At 9:54 another breach blue kitten arrived, and I waited eagerly to see the placenta follow… but still several minutes later it hadn’t delivered. She pushed again a couple of times & there came a third breach kitten this tone black… she then stood up, this time with 2 kittens swinging away, then she squatted and perched to the side again to deliver the placentas. 

Things were then quiet and after a couple of hours I thought I’d have a sleep… then from the side of the room I heard a kitten yell out. That was odd since she & her kittens were right next to me & I could clearly see all 3! 

Going over to the furry black coloured radiator bed where I’d seen Prune earlier, and which I marvelled at at the time as while she looked so cosy & settled she never usually goes on it. I left her there not thinking she’d stay long… but she obviously got going kittening before I knew anything about it - as there l, found nestled amongst the folds of soft fabric I discovered a little blue kitten! It’s & it’s umbilical cord was dry & the little stump already shrivelled, a clear indication this was a kitten had been there a little while. I’d had the heating on as soon as the kittening began so it definitely stayed warm even while mum was busy giving birth elsewhere. This secret kitten would have actually been the first then & I think she must have had it when I went to the loo…. every time I have left the room since yesterday she has mewed and a couple of times today she got up from the box to berate me for leaving at such a critical time. 

I think that this kitten probably arrived at about 7am & having followed me to the bathroom, because it was then that I noted a discharge and so had resettled her in the birthing box, thinking no more of it than that her mucous plug had come away! 

Thank goodness that the little critter yelled.  It seemed to be quite ok despite the time it had spent alone. Warm & dry the dear little kitten had obviously been sound asleep then woken up very hungry & lonely 😩 

All 4 siblings, are now settled with mum in a nice deep cosy box lined with vet bed & a blanket.  On first appearance they look to be all boys but I will check that again later on as I must admit, I’m quite bleary eyed right now & I might easily have made a mistake. I’ll confirm on the next update! 

Well done my Dear Prunella Prudence you’ve done a fine job of delivering your litter… now comes the hard work of establishing them all to ensure they grow big & strong. 

Please keep checking back to keep up to date with them. I endeavour to post regularly when there are kittens here, daily in the early days if I can! Don’t forget to message me if you have any questions or interest in Prune’s sweet kittens. 

Bye for now Sphynx lovers, 

Dee & the Naked Sphynx Cat Hampshire Ladies & miniature Gentlemen