Quite a size!

Nine weeks IS a fast pregnancy - 63-65 days being the average from mating to delivery.....these little beings are formed, a skeleton, all organs, teeth, and all 4 limbs, each paw ending with these amazing claws which are astoundingly long at the time of their birth (Freddie Krueger eat your heart out). It fascinates and fills me with awe. 

Each mother cat who may have just one kitten, or several (8, 10 even!) has carried on living their life completely normally (apart from eating more) while inside her body this all takes place.

It’s a short time, but as I watch each day, it’s easy to forget - what did my cat look like before her tummy got to this size? 

The truth of this is that she is normally slim a trim 3.2 - 3.5kg. Now she weighs over a kilo more. Not much you might think, but it’s a ¼ of her body weight! 

She has a lot of milk ready - you can see a ridge where her breasts are taught. Her second row of nipples are even being drawn inward I have noticed today.

There’s been a LOT of grooming going on today... Noodle has been grooming Pru... I wonder if there are hormonal scent markers that cause this? But Pru has been grooming Noodle loads, her ears are the focus of much of this (why?). I keep trying to catch a snap as it looks like Pru is urgently whispering! Then the face and neck. There are little snaps when one will say “that’s enough, get off me” and I step in verbally to diffuse the tiff brewing. 

Despite her size she can still run and jump up and down -  not to the extent she normally would - they get into crazy chasing games at least once a day. Beware getting in their way! After Prune’s recent injury and the wearing of her splint and being kept inactive for the first almost 7 weeks of her first ever pregnancy I’m doing all I can to ensure that ‘dangerous’ activities are kept to a minimum.  

Is this day 64? Without having had a firm sighting of the first mating it’s hard to know. If she and Oz did mate on April 27th (the day she met him) then it is, but if she kept him at paw’s length for a night at least, it might only be day 63. Watch this space... there must be news soon!

Cat Nip Crazy

Noodle & Pune were treated to a newly handmade snuggly bed this week. It’s absolutely gorgeous, but, I know the lady who made it keeps dogs, since her business advertises beds for small Chihuahua dogs rather than cats, and as they did not dive right in as I expected them too I thought maybe there was a scent there that they were picking up. I decided that I didn’t want to wash it right away so I sprayed some cat nip spray inside.

Noodle was seriously affected by it - I’m fact she is the first cat I’ve had who reacts in any real way to cat nip. Admittedly I had never bought any cat nip sprays before keeping a Sphynx cat, however as seen in this video, her reaction is strong.

I so wish I’d videoed this from the start, but honestly, I didn't expect  quite such a reaction. Before filming started been going really mad for about a minute and a half so it was wearing off a bit by the time I’d got my phone and opened the camera app! 🐾🐾 😂🙃🤪🤣🐾🐾

With about 10 (ish) days to go Prune is making the most of it and sleeping alongside her ‘sister’ Noodle. It’s cute how they spend so much time sharing space and,  even if there is the odd spat, there is a symbiotic relationship of grooming each other.

Pru was so interested and nosey when Noodle’s last litter arrived, not sure at first what these noisy creatures were she would stand tall like a meerkat to see what was happening in the nursing box. She watched on for days gradually getting nearer and nearer until overcoming her fear she was sharing space and ‘helping’ Noodle with her mothering tasks.

By the time the remaining kitten was weaned she was happy to be the big sister and the relationship she had with that kitten was so close; where Nebula went so did Prune (and visa-versa). So, I wonder what will happen after next week when the roles are reversed and Noodle is the one watching on??

Since having kittens, a newborn kitten or even human baby cry will see her on full alert. Something in her is switched on to provide maternal care. It’s incredible to see and in fact those who’ve witnessed this happening,  particularly with a human baby, have been awed by her solicitous need to care.

Will she try to help Pru? Will Pru remember what she learned last year? I’m so excited to find out and see the new relationships develop over coming weeks and how changed Pru will be once she has become a mother. 🐾🐾❤️❤️🐾🐾 .