Changes!

Hi there everyone. It’s 4 weeks ago today these little lads arrived in the world and they’re continuing to thrive. 

For the last few days Mum has been calling to her offspring while sitting watching down from the corner of my bed. She will also stand and call from the roof of the nest. This beautiful sing-song voice warbling gentle encouragement.   

Answering g her, two of the brothers will now leave the nest all by themselves happy to go explore a bit. So far they’ve remained in my bedroom no interest shown yet in setting foot over the threshold of the planet of carpet to the land of cold hard laminate. They have investigated the dark spaces under the pine chests of drawers - much to the aggravation of Floozy who really would like to follow but is too big. She patiently (enviously) sits & watches, making a big fuss of welcome when they emerge! (This enthusiastic welcome is “do you need the toilet?”  👅 😂) 

I so love seeing these miniature cats running along with their tails raised in joy as they trot across the floor to discover their world. 

On the other hand there is Puds (the affectionate moniker I’ve given to the little black kitten) and his other little blue brother, who have so far not wanted to set off on their own adventures. I’m very happy as always to let them all set their own pace. Mum will continue to sing her encouragement songs 🎵 

Oh but they’re all so cute. I’m getting lots of purrs of excitement & welcome when I sit with them to provide milk or even when I’m just there for cuddles! 

I’ve just been watching this delightful little scene unfold & wanted to share it with you. Apologies for the picture quality. I’d zoomed in a lot so it’s looking a bit grainy. Do watch as mums eyes shine as she opens and closes them as she tries to steal a nap! I became aware as I filmed that one of the blue lads had come from behind her, and was laying over the top of her in an attempt to grab a quickly feed from his unusual vantage position… watch what happens…

The boys have been testing out their skills! One task they seem keen on it trying to climb up the fabric padding insulating their nest. In this video they were doing the climbing as I began to film but they lost interest. I soon noticed “Pud” the little black lad had one of his sharp claws caught. Note to self  to clip the sharp points off tomorrow (they do get caught in the towel I place them on to feed as well so it’s over due having not been done since 1 day after their birth!)

Their little teeth are being tested - on each other and the teats as I feed them. They’re changing how they suckle so a dish is going to need to be introduced very soon now. That’s progress, but I’ll miss my little one on one feedings. They’ll still get milk from me for some weeks yet and will continue to suckle mum as long as she will allow them to. I haven’t seen her push them off or yell as they nip her as yet and she still visits regularly to offer them nursing. It’s always a little comical and ungainly when she decides to get up when they’re suckling and they tumble over, but when she next comes back they’ll soon go to nuzzle in to feed again and she’ll settle down needing to be in some weird positions to accommodate them. 

Still waiting for the extra cot bumpers to arrive for the pen. The first ones were a completely different design than I’d expected so I’ve had to re-buy more! Oops! 

Brothers Romp

 I was sitting knitting & watching TV when I noticed the kittens making a noise that was not the yelling they do when calling me to deliver food. I saw them at play so reached for my camera to record it. I zoomed 2.5 so that I could record without distracting them in any way… this is day 24 & they’re learning how to be hunter/predators - they’re so cute its adorable!