A day of play

I’ve noticed over the last couple of weeks Prune increasing her provision of (toy) mice as she calls softly to her sons. I delight in the instinct that somehow informed her that, while she has NEVER seen a rodent in her life, she somehow recognises these toys (of various material & size) as mice and that this is the natural prey species to start her kittens on. There are other creature toys (fish & birds) but always it’s mice she delivers to them. Having watched outdoor going mothers who must regularly hunt, bring indoors a live shrew or mouse and holding it down with a paw while her kittens learn to become little predators, that Prune is doing this for her litters is fascinating to me

Over the last 2/3 days when as asked for suckling time (i.e every time she stops and her tummy is visible) she is now beginning to refuse it or allowing for seconds before stopping them, she has obviously decided that it’s time they stopped milk feeding. She will get up to walk away or, fed up with the barrage of greedy muzzles has taken to lying tummy down rather than being able to relax into sleep on her side. To give her a break, and help form a barrier for her I’ve popped on a long t-shirt. She wasn’t keen to be dressed (she dislikes any form of restraint hold (as it needed to dress her) as she is a very timid girl and sees danger in being caught (such as to be put in her carrier to go out to vet or heart scanning, get a bath, be giving worming meds etc), but I hope that she realises now that I was attempting to help her. It doesn’t stop them totally as you’ll see in the images below, but makes it harder and hopefully starts to encourage them to take the next step to independence. Well, that’s the plan. 

In one image you’ll see Prune’s posture looks decidedly uncomfortable, as if she is biting her lip and counting to 10 before walking away - which she did! And yes in another she does look oddly headless! I know they will still suckle a bit until they leave, I’m just trying to give mum a break!

The adults and kittens were all worked at the weekend (the kittens are currently wormed at specified intervals whereas the adults are on a 3 monthly treatment) and, I’m not sure if it’s this, the effect of the jabs having hit them or if they are stealing & filling up on the adults Orijen dry food, there is a lot less Natures Menu being eaten than before. The litter trays are fine but I did find a little puddle of vomit last night suggesting that one of them (& so probably all of them) are feeling a bit off (or had gorged on the unfamiliar dry food). I’ll give it a day or two more and see if I can catch them eating the dry food as an alternative (when the adults get their timed/auto dispensed portions). If things don’t alter back to their previous levels of gluttony I will visit the vet. I’m keeping a close eye on tummies, fluid intake and general appearance, and if their appetites are still as poor tomorrow I’ll need to weigh them too. Another source of change to them will be that mum was wormed & had her vaccination the same day they did and so something may be crossing the milk barrier that they are not used to. 

As you’ll see in the video taken today for their new families to see their new pets daily lives, despite being off their food a bit, they are still engaged and active, either in play together or up to something else alone. Play involves engrossed life skills (such as you’ll see in the film, learning patience in stalking their prey, or in their laying in wait (inside the box) for a passing brother/aunt they can hook. When playing as a pair or group it’s either dashing around chasing each other - climbing, jumping and building strength, agility & ability or they wrestle. 

A warning!

Today, I was blissfully aware of some energetic play going on in the lounge. I took 5 minutes to scroll on my phone (as you do!) when the clattering noise was coming down the hall. 

What is that? 

I got up, and around the doorway came Humphrey, completely trapped inside his favourite toy!

The bottom section containing the batteries, vibrating gizmo and tweety noise was missing. Humphrey was essentially caged, like a cute Hanibal Lector! 

His head was all the way through to the other side. While his chest, shoulders, arms and tummy were inside the cage. Tweety-pie itself was poked out squashed in the top against the roof. Poor Humphrey had push limped with what of his front legs could reach the floor and his back legs to find help. Bless his poor heart. God though, he’s so laid back. Not a whimper to tell me he was in distress. Maybe he wasn’t and thought it was a bit of a lark but I thought not and quickly picked him up. I took him to the kitchen and on the draining board I tried to ease his elbows in to the same part his chest and tummy were in, thinking maybe that would release him, but I had only one set of hands and as his head was also stuck that would have required another person to try to force open a wider space so he could come out backwards. There was no way either that he could go forward. Thinking fast, how do I fix this? I contemplated washing up liquid and water but did he need the stress of a bath while trapped? Should I call my son to come? No I didn’t want Humpty to wait the 5-10 minutes more that would take. My jewellery making tools were on the kitchen table with wire snips inside. Would they cut through the plastic bars of tweety-pie’s cage?

Turns out (thank goodness) they do. 

Snip. Snip. Snip. I went around until tweety-pie and his would-be captor were freed. Lifting away the cut open cage I was then able to extract Humphrey, who no longer has a favourite toy. 

Just a warning about this toy, in case you have one! 

Coincidental Day!

Piles of cats (yes Pru is being mugged for milk!)

Another viewing day dawned on Saturday at the Naked Sphynx Cat Hampshire cattery however, due to Covid concerns with a possible Covid contact in the household of this new family, despite negative tests we agreed that it was sensible to call off doing an in person viewing and so we resorted to getting by a video call viewing instead. 

Even that looked a bit wonky at first but a few internet tweaks and with a cup of coffee in hand we eventually managed to see & hear each other well. The kittens did us proud running around & displaying all of their developing talents for hide n seek, ball dribbling, mouse wrangling, using the lounge as an assault course & of course wrestling. One attempted a long jump at height but didn’t make it, splatting onto the floor. I suspect he had jumped from that chair arm to that table previously successfully but doesn’t realise the table is on wheels and gets moved. Either that or he was testing himself for power to make said jump . He will soon be doing that - and more - with ease. Plus he was fine after the splat! What was amusing was one particular sassy kitten clearly took ownership of the favoured cardboard box having sussed out that he who is up top gets to control who goes in & who comes out of the doors! Having showed his dominance he soon laid in classic Simba in Lion king pose, lord of his domain. What made me smile a bit later was that 2 kittens later fell asleep inside the box, it’s sellotaped roof is beginning to sag (probably as a result of adult cats also joining in play, and using the aforementioned siege position atop the box to their own advantage). As the kittens slumbered inside Prune came from another room obviously having decided she wanting a nap but first she needed to account for the safety of all of her kittens & had noticed they were not all there in the usual snoozing place (at heat mat central) . She was looking for them around the edges of the room as if to find them and round them up while warbling softly as she searched. I like to think that she was grumbling about them being missing when she has far better things to be doing with her time but was cleverly disguising her annoyance with her sing song tone! 

Finally, the question had to be posed “ well Clair, which is it to be Red Collar kitty or Purple Collar Kitty?”. 

Panic struck for a second then Clair says “It has to be the king of the cardboard box” and at that very moment Red Collar Kitty became Basil! 

Now…here’s a little add on detail…  last weekend Clair’s daughter had voiced a liking, having watched videos, for the green collared kitty but, not wanting to sway any decisions knowing viewings were up coming I had not revealed which colour collar he had become after having his bath on Wednesday afternoon. Turns out that Rose was right as Red Collar kitty had indeed previously been Green! Ta-dah! 

After more chat, Clair said farewell for now & having ended our call, I quickly contacted my 4th & final new family to let them know who was the kitten that I could now offer to them. 

What if I told you then that the response I soon received was “Yippee, we’d picked him out from the videos as being our preference”? D’you know, I absolutely love it when things like this happen. Sometimes these things really are written in the stars.

And so ladies & gentlemen of internet land I give you our final line up who now all have their names … drum roll please ….

Black kitten is Humphrey & he belongs to Sarah & will remain on active in her cattery to sure future generations in a couple of years time. 

No Collar kitty is named Grogu (I learned this is of Star Wars fame) and he now belongs to Danni & her family

Red Collar kitty is Basil & he belongs to Clair & her family.

Purple Collar kitty is Vincent Poe and he will become brother to a 6 -8 month old Sphynx already in place who is called Gilbert . Now let me tell you about Gilbert because It turns out that he was named Gilbert after ………………waaaaiiit for it…..…………… ……………………..Gilbert Grogu!                      Vincent belongs to Andrea & her family.

Sci-Fi movie buffs though one or two amount them may be, I am thrilled that this fabulous cohort of new families found us & that they have been so open with me as we’ve got to know each other over a few weeks.  It’s so important that our babies go to the best families & these lads simply couldn’t have asked for lovelier new families to be placed with. Thank you all for choosing Naked Sphynx Cat Hampshire !