Eyes open but not wide (awake)

This morning the first born (blue girl) looked a bit different. Yay! Both of her eyes were unsealed nearly all the way across, with thin slits revealing the first sighting of the shiny dark matter behind those delicate eyelids. By this evening her eyes were almost fully opened showing the large glassy black orbs of her eyes. Like human babies, the eyes are dark at birth gaining their permanent colouring over the next few weeks. Also like a human baby, she will not have 20/20 vision at first, just very very blurred short distance, but can see light and discern varying shades of grey. 

It’s now 11:30pm, and I’ve just given them all feeds & noted as I did that one of the boys too now has both of his eyes partially unsealed so he’s not far behind.  I’ve little doubt that by close of play tomorrow all 4 will have opened eyes. 

Meanwhile their ears all appear to still be sealed but the small flaps are all not loose. Soon, as they feed the muscles will be stronger & working so hard that they’ll appear to be “flapping “ the ears back and forth. Over the weeks to come those tiny downward pointing ears will stand to attention & will grow to be so much larger which is one of the most visual traits of the breed (other than being hairless obviously!). That’s an enormous change & yet  it’s so gradual it’s hard to say when the change actually comes about. 

Today, I decided to re-house them. While Prunella was very happy with the cat bed dome, there is risk that a kitten can be laid down upon. They do squeak like crazy to tell her they are in trouble but I’m too concerned that something terrible might happen to one, particularly if I am out to risk leaving things as they were. To begin the move I got out & set up our smaller pet crate. In its base Ive set her adored heated mat, which has several layers of protective covering preventing any risk of their delicate skin becoming damaged. There is vet bedding on the remaining floor area and I’ve “wallpapered” the crate out inside using padded cot bumpers (the kind that used to be used on babies cots - but that are now not recommended !) . Over the top and three sides is a heavy throw blanket making a dim cosy and draft free environment for them. Prune is not happy about the removal of the cat den and is not as settled again however, she has raised her previous 2 litters in this crate so hopefully she’ll hopefully remember & in that familiarity will relax. 

The largest door is open so that mum can come & go and for now a rolled up blanket is enough to keep a crawling kitten from inadvertently tumbling out & escaping (which had happened with the cat den and was another reason for the relocation!). I’ll get some cardboard and create a higher barrier over the weekend to be extra safe. Here they are in their new digs: 

As you can see, they’re zonked in sleep. Small neonatal kittens do a lot this making photos all a bit samey in these early weeks, but they will make up for this in the weeks to come after they’ve found their feet, ventured out of their nest & learned the layout of their birth home.  The kittens look very dark in this image. It is very dark where they are housed and so this was a fill in flash & then I edited the light balance further to provide a clearer image. 

Video Treat & Day 4

Made this video earlier today! Sweet Dreaming

Really this is day 3 being as the birth day is medically day zero but it seems descriptive that day 4 after a Monday birth is Thursday- which this is.

It’s been a chilled & quiet day here, something that in these early days means that things are going really well… contented & well fed kittens are quiet, they sleep, they wake, they snuffle for a teat, drink & they squeak mainly quietly only yelling loudly when objecting - such as being held down by the mother during toileting when they are hungry, or if a re-settling mum returning to the nest has accidentally laid on them in some way. The quickness to yell is enough to alert mum that there is distress & she will move (or I will leap up and unearth the stricken kitten). 

Still dual feeding, I’ve re-weighed the kittens this evening and am really delighted with the gains they are making - which are as follows:

Blue Female day 2 100g - day 4 121g

Black female day 2 112g - day 4 136g (yes seriously!)

Blue male 1 day 2 103g - day 4 120g

Blue make 2 day 2 - 109g - day 4 128g

I have finally got around to uploading video to the you tube so I’m providing them here for you to enjoy.

There are videos from the births themselves & footage taken since. 

Birth of kitten #3 - a blue male 

Birth of kitten #4 Black Female 

Day 2

A pretty chilled day - mum & her kittens are well settled together now, providing the enclosed feeling of the dome obviously has aided Prune to relax - I’ve had to go to the aid of a squealing baby once or twice as she repositioned and one rolled into a difficult position, a quick helping hand puts everyone to rights against. Mostly it’s the “conversational” squeaks I hear now as they wriggle to settle themselves just before contented sleep rather than increasingly desperate hunger or failure to latch on that was making Prune feel so agitated on day 0. I don’t know if to Prune each squeak is individual or sounds different to another - nature tells us how sensitive a parents ears when you know that in the vast colonies of penguins a single chick can be picked out. 

Everything is then much the same, I’m feeding intermittently in supporting Prune to healthily produce milk for her brood. They are delighted & very eager to take the formula milk, guzzling until their tummies are full barrels. They don’t get as full during maternal feeding, & they also must work much harder to acquire it too. As they knead & suckle this stimulates Prune tolet down milk & the more this occurs the more she should produce. I’ve always noted that the smaller uppermost teats are less used while the larger lower ones are favoured & fought for - pushing & shoving for survival, in their blindness, instinct to get & retain position of those pole positions is key. I believe those lower teats give more milk more easily and for longer, hence their popularity however, if a sibling has been asleep and wakes to push his way in, he or she will be im for a shock to find the larder is bare!!

Noodle is continuing to provide security detail & baby minding duties which is great since I was debilitated today. 

Photos of early life is mostly bundles of kittens - with or without mum… this pose is a favourite Superman-like taking possession of that spot. I love the “hands” making an Impression  into mums belly!