We are 6 weeks old now!

Day 41 - October 7, 2006

Minimal photos today sorry, and not much of an entry because we have had a lovely, relaxing afternoon with our friends, Lee and Susie who visited us today. It was really nice to chill out for a little while and just chat about anything and everything :)

All of our Burps are doing very well and I actually think that even if I had not have been around, The Burps would have just raised themselves as that is what it feels like most of the time. Cointreau has done a fantastic job with them so far and has taught them absolutely everything they need to know. It's very unusual for us to have a litter who, by 6 weeks of age, is already fully litter trained and weaned and I can not take any of the credit for it at all because our clever, special little children just knew instinctively what to do which is really lovely. As they will be 6 weeks old tomorrow, I really will need to look at which steps to take next with them. As you know they have access to the upstairs part of the home and can come down the stairs, however, they choose not to. I am going to give them just a little longer before bringing them downstairs into Graham's room because at the moment, not only are our older babies in there, but also, I would like to see the Burps exploring a bit more and at least venturing down the stairs of their own accord.

Day 40 - October 6, 2006

I was delighted to see that there had been no parties overnight in the kitten room. When I opened the door this morning, it wasn't actually too bad, although there had obviously been a food fight going on at some point as there were little bits of food flung in all corners of the room, so goodness only knows what they were doing. Now that they are becoming older, they are also becoming more independent of each other because they used to all sleep in the same place, however now, it's not unusual to find them a couple of the Burps curled up together, and then another Burp somewhere else, and then someone else will be even further away so it is nice to know that they are comfortable and secure enough to realise that they can now be more independent. Their weights are still incredibly good and even now they still eat virtually anything I place in front of them. Cointreau is still feeding them though and it is always so lovely to see her lying down in the bed with all 4 babies feeding from her. Unfortunately though, she is still not prepared to let them grow up yet and she was most put out by Pepsi much earlier this morning because he was exploring the bathroom and ran behind the toilet where his mother couldn't reach him. He was having fun and she was standing there, trying to grab him with her paws whilst swearing at him the entire time :)

Day 39 - October 5, 2006

I do not know what the Burps were doing last night, but obviously it involved some sort of party! I entered the kitten room this morning and could not believe the mess. They had pulled linen and kitten bedding out of the unit again. Their small litter tray was halfway across the room. There was litter and kitten biscuits scattered everywhere. The water bowl was half empty, at least 6 of my books were out of the book case, one of which was lying dangerously close to the water bowl. Of course, the little cherubs, were all sound asleep on their bed, looking like angels, and as if butter wouldn't melt. I must admit to groaning the minute I opened the door, but then had to smile at the sight of such peaceful, content children. As you know, the kitten room door is now left open all day long and the babies can come and go as they please, at least they can go upstairs, and can come down the stairs to where the barrier is, separating the stairs from the rest of the home. When they are about 6 1/2 weeks of age, they will be moving into Graham's room during the day, where they can get even more used to household noises, like the television, and also become used to our 2 dogs. I am happy with their social skills at the moment, but we still have a lot of work to put in to ensure they are bombproof, confident babies by the time they leave here.

Day 38 - October 4, 2006

The Burps didn't hesitate to give me their opinion on their new bed.......................................by weeing on the cushion! When I went into the kitten room this morning, the cushion from inside the bed was wet, and the Burps were all asleep on the radiator bed bless them. So I removed the cushion, put some vet bed on the new bed, and ever since then the babies have been sleeping in there. It obviously wasn't the bed itself that they objected to, but the cushion inside it. We're really pleased with their weaning progress at the moment because no matter what we put down in front of the babies on the plate, they are more than happy to eat it regardless. This is probably why they are continuing to look like little porkers :) It's a case now of waiting for the limbs to grow a bit to catch up with their bodies.

Day 37 - October 3, 2006

Our Burps have had a couple of changes today (and you will notice I managed to take individual photos as well) and the first change was their box. I have now totally removed their kitten box as they rarely use it, other than to climb on top of, and they certainly don't sleep in it. Instead, they have been given a lovely soft bed which I'm hoping they will use. When I went into the kitten room this morning, the little horrors had pulled all the kitten bedding and linen out of the unit and it was all over the floor and they had made their own nests in it. I wasn't a particularly happy bunny because this meant that everything had to be washed all over again. Still, the main thing is that they had the time of their lives with it all so that's okay :) Now as for the other change in their lives, today they have had the door to their kitten room open and they now also have access to the landing, bathroom, and the stairs. I had to smile, because all I have heard, ever since opening the door, is Cointreau swearing at her children like you wouldn't believe. There is no way she is happy with them having added freedom and being babies, they are taking not a blind bit of notice of her. So they are tearing around from room to room, with Cointreau running behind them all, screaming at them, and trying to herd them back into the kitten room :) Now she knows how I feel when the babies reach the 8 weeks of age mark onwards! I didn't know if perhaps the kids would be a bit nervous at having more of the world opened up to them, but they were totally unphased and all they wanted to do was play and run about. Sprite and Pepsi were the first 2 kids to tackle the stairs and didn't seem to have any problems getting up or down the first few steps. Neither Fanta, nor Coco Pops was particularly thrilled with photo sessions today and it was a massive battle to get them to look at the camera, particularly Fanta, who was not going to put up with a short model shoot bless him. all he wanted to do was get down and play games.

Day 36 - October 2, 2006

Incredibly short entries, again with no photos as we had a kitten family visiting today and then I was at the vets this afternoon for a vaccination (no, not mine personally). So my entire day has been all mixed up and about all I have had time to do is clean the house, do the washing, and feed babies, mum's and syringe feed our little Boule. Our Burps are all doing incredibly well and although I had planned to open their door today to give them more freedom, with everything else that was going on, I just didn't get the chance because when I let them out for the first time, I want to be right here with them to monitor their progress and to ensure they are all safe. As it stands at the moment, tomorrow should be a "normal" day and I will be able to take the individual photos that I have been promising.

Day 35 - October 1, 2006

Our Burps have now reached 5 weeks of age and are continuing to thrive. They are still eating from the plate along with their mum and so far, it makes no difference what food it is, they are prepared to give it a try which is fantastic. It's been a manic day today, not only with the usual chores such as litter trays and cleaning the floors etc. our older babies have now joined the rest of our adult, feline family in their parts of the home which meant a lot of rearranging and monitoring has had to take place. This does now mean though, that starting from tomorrow, the kitten room door will be open during the day and our Burps will be able to choose to leave their room, explore the landing and the bathroom, and venture down the stairs if they choose to. I have no doubts at all that they will love having the extra freedom and then hopefully, when they reach 6 weeks of age, they will be moved into Graham's room for a few weeks during the day where they can spend time with our dogs, and can see all the comings and goings of the rest of the feline family. The aim is, that when our children leave here at 13-14 weeks of age, they are fully integrated with all aspects of our family life, so that when they join their new families, they are happy, confident, social children. Unfortunately, due to time restrictions today there are no photos but I am planning on taking individual photos of our Burps tomorrow.