The Gumnuts are really getting used to their new room now which is great although they do keep trying to knock down the barrier leading into the cat run. I may give it another few days and then allow them access into the run I think. The are equally as active as the Potters, even at this age. No one can get into the kitchen without having to turn around, pick up the Gumnuts and put them back on the other side of the door. For some reason, the minute they see a door open, they think it's been opened for them and they move so darn fast that it's impossible to try and contain them. Amaretto has been very good though, because today when Snugglepot was running towards the kitchen to get in, she went straight over to her and "nosed" her back towards the middle of the room. When Mo was cleaning out the Chinchilla cages today, all I could hear from her was "No babies" or "Amaretto, keep them under control" and what should normally take Mo, no more than half an hour, took over an hour today due to the interference of the Gumnuts!

There was almost no diary entries for today as it's been a really busy day with way too much to do. One of which included bringing the Gumnuts downstairs to live which involved quite a lot of work and moving about. It also meant kicking the Potters out of the back room permanently now. Neither Amaretto, nor the Gumnuts were phased at all by their house moving which surprised me as I thought perhaps that Amaretto might make a bit of a fuss but she was perfectly content to move downstairs. The Gumnuts have had a lovely time exploring everything in their new room. For the time being, I have barricaded both doors so none of our other cats/kittens can get into the back room (not that it has stopped Sambuca who merely jumps straight over the barrier!!), nor can the Gumnuts get into the cat run. I don't know how long this will last though as our cats and the Potters are extremely determined to come in here and see who the newbies are.

Our little Gumnuts are absolutely delightful as usual. They had some visitors today for cuddles, friends of ours, while Amaretto watched on very carefully. Their weight gains are quite good and I'm still happy with the way they are progressing. I have come to the firm decision that one day next week they will be brought downstairs to the back room permanently. I remember with the Potters, they were quite a bit older before they managed to come downstairs as the back room had the R's in there and I don't want to make that same mistake again. I think the Gumnuts will love it down here as they will have so much more freedom. They are now learning their "hunting" skills which is really cute and when they are awake and playing, you will quite often see them under the sofa or under the chair being stalked by one or both of their brothers. I still haven't seen them attempt to eat any dry food yet but that is something that I will be able to monitor much more closely when they are down here with me. They do all drink water from the water bowl now so it's really only the dry food that they are a bit slow with.

Our Gumnuts are so very sweet (I know I keep repeating myself and saying that) and they are such a delight to watch as they explore and play. They all now have become accomplished hairdressers and spend a lot of quality time grooming themselves and each other. They are also getting more agile as I've spotted Banksia Man climbing the little pyramid and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie climbing the little scratching house. They had some more freedom again today when their door was opened and as usual, they just went all over the place. I am actually considering moving them downstairs to the back room next week as they move about so much and don't seem to be phased by anything at all. I am sure that Amaretto will appreciate the change of scenery too.

Well weaning is still going very well and all 3 babies are eating from the saucer which is wonderful. They are eating a mixture of Denes cat food and a kitten mix that I make up. This diet will not change at all now unless none of the babies are eating the dry kitten biscuits in which case I will add those into the kitten mixture. So far, so good though. As they are now 4 weeks old, the time had come to introduce them to more of "life" so to speak. So today they have had their kitten room door open on and off and they have been venturing throughout the hallway. Banksia Man is the bravest of the three and he set out straight away, up the other end and into the bathroom, and then came back down, talking to himself the entire time. I thought that the Potters were actually the noisiest litter that we've ever had but I can now confirm that the Gumnuts are! Even my husband picked up on the fact that they talk quite a lot and are extremely loud and if he noticed it, then they are definitely loud babies! All three of them had some fun exploring the hallway and bathroom and I was really amused as I watched them because they are so tiny, yet so very brave. They went absolutely everywhere and weren't really phased at all. Amaretto was very good too in the respect that she allowed them to go wherever they wanted but she would sit down and just watch them to make sure they didn't get into any trouble which was really lovely. It's so nice to have a queen who will actually allow her little ones some independence of their own.