Day 20 - February 6, 2005

Last night saw Thyme's first tiny weight gain which was 5 grams. He went from 160g to 165g and even though it's an incredibly small amount, it's better than nothing. He's still very lively and he has been feeding from Amaretto more in the last few hours than he has for a little while. I'm still continuing with 2 hour feeds during the day as well. I would be much happier to see him at the same weight as his brothers and sisters but that could be a long way off. The Herbs are getting much more lively now and I have noticed recently that they are all showing much more interest in getting out of the box. Particularly Sage, who up until now, would only get half way out, suddenly become very unsure and go running back in. I think within another few days I can expect to see them all out and about. Thyme still continues to go running around the room at top speeds, much to the amusement of the other cats. We're all being incredibly careful now in the room because all of a sudden, Thyme appears right at your feet when 2 seconds earlier he was in the box.

Day 19 - February 5, 2005

I almost dreaded coming downstairs this morning in case Thyme had gone downhill but fortunately, he is definitely still hanging in there. Despite the endless feedings from me though, as well as the syringed supplements etc., the weight gains are simply not there. He is so much smaller than the other Herbs and it's incredibly worrying. He's still very lively though and very alert and while ever that is the case, we are going to battle on and hopefully soon, he will start to make some weight gains. I've been very fortunate in that I've had a number of breeder friends to turn to for advice, all of whom have been very supportive and helpful. All I can do now is continue what I've been doing and hope to see a change with Thyme. Everyone else is doing rather well and they're making very good progress. When they are awake now, apart from eating, they do spend quite a bit of time, "playing" with each other, which really means, pinning their litter mates down and trying to nibble at their ears and front paws. They seem to become more aware of us and their surroundings every day now and some of them are still making the effort to climb out of the box and explore which is great.

Day 18 - February 4, 2005

It's not a wonderful day with good news I'm afraid as I have a problem at the moment with Thyme. I weighed him last night and was horrified to find that he had lost 20 grams! So last night I fed him twice and also topped him up with Nutri Drops. I weighed him again first thing this morning and there was no change, but at least he hadn't lost any more. If he wasn't such a lively baby I would be inclined to think that there was in fact something wrong however he is too loud and too active. As I've been weaning him for the last 24 hours, it's very possible that his digestive system is taking a while to adjust to something other than his mum's milk. The other problem is that he's also spent the last 24 hours out of the box more than in the box and he's certainly not feeding from mum as much as the others because he's forever running around the room. Every time he climbs out, we put him back in but as soon as we turn our backs, he's out again like a shot. Anything that he may be getting from mum, or from me, is not benefiting him at the moment because he's overly energetic and isn't resting as much as he should. All this combined could possibly contribute to the weight loss and I'll be spending all day today feeding him and hopefully, he'll have gained a little by tonight. The other Herbs are all doing rather well and we have no problems with them at all thank goodness.

Day 17 - February 3, 2005

I really don't know where to start with this diary entry as our babies are now all over the place! Thyme was so very funny last night. Never in all my life have I seen a 17 day old baby move with the speed he does. Our daughter and I were in the kitchen washing up last night and I had the door open so I could keep an eye on the babies, heard some squeaking and went out only to find Thyme had walked from the box, through the kitten room, and was heading off under the table in the dining room. The other cats were just sitting back, watching him with curiosity. I have absolutely no idea where he thought he was going, but boy could he move! Every time we put him back in the box, he was out again in seconds. Naturally, once the other Herbs caught sight of what he was doing, they all they would join in, so next thing you know, there's a Siamese out of the box, followed by another Siamese, followed by Sage trying, rather unsuccessfully still. As a result, I've now put a small barrier up so that the other cats and Amaretto can come in and out, but the babies can now go wherever they want in the room but can't actually leave the room so they are perfectly safe. Of course it means I have to be slightly careful now because more often than not, a baby suddenly appears under my feet. I do think that Thyme is starting to give Amaretto a bit of a headache though as he is very full on. Very much like a hyperactive child in fact. It is lovely though to watch them all clambering about and walking/running around the room exploring everything, even if they are a little young to be doing this already. I made my first attempt at weaning the babies last night and that is actually going to be my priority over the next few weeks. Thyme, as usual, amazed me though! I got him out of the box, dipped my finger in the mixture, he ate the mixture off my finger and then straight away started drinking it from the saucer as if he had been doing it all his life. I was very impressed that he automatically knew what to do. As he's still the smallest in the litter, it's him that I wanted to concentrate on the most. One of the Siamese (not sure which one) was also very keen on trying the mixture from the saucer, the others weren't really that interested but it's still very early days so I'm not overly concerned. Sambuca and Drambuie are totally fascinated with the babies and spend a lot of time either sitting on the work top above them, or sitting in front of the box peering in.

Day 16 - February 2, 2005

Well, my Herbs and Amaretto are now downstairs and in the back room here with me and already it's making a big difference. I moved them down yesterday at lunch time and am so pleased that I did. Normally, Schimmel babies remain in the kitten room until they are 3 weeks old and this is the earliest that we've ever had them downstairs. It's really lovely, sitting here at the computer, and hearing the most adorable little squeaks. At first I was going to keep the glass door closed to the room so that the other cats couldn't get in and disturb them however after weighing up the pros and cons, I made the choice to simply put a barrier up so that the cats can still come in and out, check out the Herbs, and still access the cat run if they choose to. I thought Amaretto may have been a bit stressed by having her babies moved however, as usual, she has taken it all in her stride. She really has done us, and her breeder proud, as she is such an amazing, laid back mum. Having the Herbs down here does also make our lives a lot easier, particularly mine in the respect that I'm not running up the stairs constantly to be with them. I guess it means also that our daughter will sleep better of an evening because she'll no longer hear the Herbs chatting away in their rather loud voices. Amaretto also seems to prefer it because now she can go anywhere she likes in the house, or go into the cat run, as opposed to being shut in the kitten room. Of an evening, the glass doors will be closed so that the dogs and cats can't visit the Herbs unsupervised, particularly the dogs! As I've said in previous diary entries, even though our dogs are very gentle creatures (with us and the cats), I don't believe in leaving babies and dogs unsupervised as there are never any guarantees that something won't happen. Unfortunately, today's photos turned out dreadfully so I'm going to try and take some during the day today and include them with tomorrow's entry. Last night during dinner the Herbs amused us as they decided it was as good a time as any to climb out of the box, first Parsley came out, followed by Chives, followed by Amaretto. So Amaretto lay down for a while in front of the box while Parsley and Chives had a feed, and then went exploring. Poor Sage just wasn't feeling that brave as she stuck her head through the opening, that was followed by her 2 front legs, then she turned herself around and quite literally fell back into the box. Since then, the furthest she has got is sticking her head out.

Day 15 - February 1, 2005

This is yet another short entry as I've decided that the time has come for the Herbs to move downstairs. I was having a chat (and lots of cuddles) with them last night, and I do feel that are now mature enough to cope with a "house move" and they really do need to be made aware of all the normal household comings and goings. This means of course that I first need to scrub the back room and re-arrange a few things in order to make room for the babies box so this is what I'll be doing for most of the morning etc. The Herbs are still gaining weight every night and Amaretto's appetite has picked up tremendously thank goodness. She still needs to put on much more weight but at least she is now eating properly again.

Day 14 - January 31, 2005 (2 weeks old today!)