The babies are not overly happy with me today because I washed their favourite blanket that Aunty Kim gave them. It was an hour before any of them would go and sleep on their blue vet bed. Joe Byrne almost missed his 2nd meal of the day again today which is his favourite scrambled eggs. I made the eggs, opened the kitchen door, all the babies (and mum's) were milling around my feet as I put the plate down, all except for Joe Byrne that is. After a brief search downstairs, I then went upstairs and sure enough, there he was, having a snooze with his Aunty Sambuca. It was really lovely to see them both together, however I did still wake him up and bring him downstairs so that he wouldn't miss out on his meal. Mind you, as he is currently weighing in at 896 grams I don't think missing a meal would have done him much harm anyway. Ever since last night, Ned Kelly has been in one of those moods, inviting fights from anyone who happens to be in the vicinity. He has instigated wrestling matches all over the home with absolutely everybody. He has been pouncing on his mothers which does not impress them that much. Even when I try to calm him down by sitting him on my lap for strokes, he then fights with my fingers. Today is a good day to stay out of his way I think :)

Joe Byrne definitely thinks he was one of the "big cats" now because every morning, straight after breakfast he doesn't hang around to play downstairs with the other babies. Instead, he legs it upstairs where he knows the adult cats will be snoozing and waiting for me to go up and sweep/mop the floor and bleach the litter tray (they all know my daily routine extremely well!). This morning, when I went up there to do the usual chores, Joe was playing in the bathroom with his grandma, Cacao, however after I bleached the tray and put new litter in there etc. I placed it on the floor. Now normally when I do this, the adult cats all head straight for the tray to so they can go it and mark their territory (which means of course the litter has to be emptied out and replaced all over again) however this morning, none of the adults climbed into the tray, they just went and had a look and then walked away. I could not understand this at all so I had a look in the tray and sure enough Joe Byrne was in there, not doing anything at all, but he was settling down to go to sleep on the clean litter!!! So none of the adults could go in there and go to the toilet. I had to laugh at him as I lifted him out of the tray to carry him back downstairs where the rest of the babies were. I suppose it could have been worse, the tray might not have been clean. Ned Kelly is just getting more and more adorable every single day, as you will be able to tell by the few photos that are in today's entry. He just has the most delightful, appealing little face which is so typical of Red babies. At the moment he has a fascination for Graham's trainers and he spend a lot of time playing with the laces on them, as well as diving in and out of the shoes which naturally are large enough for him to fit comfortably in. I dread the day when Graham goes to put his shoes on only to find either Ned Kelly is in there, or he has left a little "present" behind :)

Both diaries are really the same today, extremely short and with few photos. With the best of intentions I've still not managed to find the time to write a proper entry today which is why it is so very late going online. I mentioned earlier (I think?) that is was going to be a hectic week and already we've had to pop out at least once throughout each day so far. In actual fact I will be pleased when the weekend arrives so I can have a bit of a rest.

Poor Joe Byrne has been the victim of "abuse" today but it's his own fault as I told him at the time. I had been in the kitchen making a coffee, came back out and sat down on my chair, only to get up in a tremendous hurry because I had sat on something. That "something" turned out to be Joe Byrne who was sound asleep underneath the throw on my chair! It's just as well he is large and I weigh very little or it could have been rather horrific for the poor guy. We keep throws on both office chairs because the mothers will use the chairs as a scratch post otherwise and the babies think it is great fun to get underneath the throws and then play tag with the babies who are sitting on the throws. This normally would not be a problem but I wasn't expecting Joe to be on my chair under the throw when everyone else was playing on the other chair. The rather interesting fact about this incident is that when I lifted the throw to see what on earth was under there, Joe Byrne was still sound asleep! Elaine will be pleased to know that Ned is still continuing to grow and he is eating all of his meals. It's a good thing he's eating so much because he is such an energetic boy when he is awake and playing his pouncing games on which unsuspecting victim happens to be closest. Now there's a thought, if I stopped feeding him would he then not be so energetic and therefore not be so naughty? (I am only kidding really, don't panic Elaine, I will keep feeding your boy).

Joe Byrne has decided that he no longer wishes to be called Joe Byrne, instead he would like to be called Superman and he thinks he can fly!!! I was sitting at the desk trying to get some work done and I happened to noticed that Joe was at the very top of the back of the other office chair. This in itself is not unusual as the babies do play on the tops of the back of the chair, however Joe Byrne was about to do something that horrified me. He had crouched down, into leaping position and was preparing to take a flying dive off the back of the chair straight onto the kitten bedding where a couple of the other babies were playing. Now Joe Byrne might be a big boy, with a long body, however a leap of that magnitude was definitely beyond him. Joe did not see it that way though. I leapt up out of my chair, scooped him up just as his back legs were about to leave the back of the chair and quite firmly informed him that he is a Bush Ranger and he is NOT a Super Hero. I just hope that what I said sunk in but knowing Joe, I doubt it very much. He also has a new "snuggle mate" (by which I mean someone else to sleep with) because when he wants a nap, quite often he goes upstairs, finds Cointreau, and curls up to have a snooze with her. The surprising thing is that she lets him! As for Ned Kelly, well he is just a ray of sunshine and I've yet to meet a person who will come to the home and can not resist picking him up. It really amazes me that he can actually walk at all when I think of the amount of times he is picked up and carried around. He is still incredibly naughty and being a Red, he is always in a playful mood. The other kittens only have to look at him and he believes that is an invitation to go and pounce on their heads. I still believe he is going to be a handful in his new home but fortunately, he will have the company of Caffreys who will hopefully ensure that Ned stays on the straight and narrow.

Drambuie is still in full call and driving us around the bend with her constant singing. The only time we get some peace is when we go upstairs of an evening. Fortunately though, she hasn't turned into an evil cow and is still being wonderful with all the children which is quite a relief. I'm really pleased with Ned Kelly's progress at the moment, remembering that I was a tad concerned quite some time back about his size, however the new feeding regime has just made such a difference to him. He is definitely filling out, he is growing taller and his weights are very good so I am really pleased about this. He still has moments where he is a little terror and he is equally as active as his brother, Joe Byrne. Joe really does make me laugh because when they babies are playing and wide awake (which is quite a lot these days), I never really know where I am going to find him. He is such a brave boy and is not phased by anything new at all. Going up the stairs to see the bathroom and coming face to face with the adult cats makes no difference to him whatsoever. If he has is on a mission, nothing and no one will prevent him from accomplishing it. Both my Bush Rangers are just remarkable babies, absolutely beautiful and so very full of energy. Ned and Joe were the first babies to try out (and fall in love with) their brand new kitten blanket which was a present to them from Kim. It is the most beautiful blanket and the babies totally love it as you can see by the photos below.

The entry today is rather short as I now have so much to do because I wasn't home all day yesterday which means I am very behind. I have told Joe Byrne how truly spoilt he is going to be because yesterday at the show, I had the pleasure of his new owners, Lee and Susie's company. It was (I think?) the first cat show they had attended and Susie definitely went a bit mad with the shopping, while Lee was so very patiently trailing along with her. It was so great to see them again and to show off some other members of the family to them. They were able to see Joe's Aunty Kyla, as well as Joe's half brother, Kidd. My only regret was not having enough time to spend with them but show days are often frantic. Anyway, Joe Byrne is going to have a home fit for a king I am sure with all the lovely things that Susie and Lee bought for him. I am seriously considering going to live with them myself :) I have a feeling that this show may not have been Lee and Susie's last show either ;) Ned Kelly is doing very well and I'm still really pleased with his weight and his progress although he will never be as big as his brother. Ned is becoming more demanding of attention from any humans who happen to be in the home and you just can't help but pick him up when he looks up at you and starts talking.

There isn't really a diary entry, nor any photos for today because yesterday I left the home at 7:41am and did not return unil approximately 6:20pm. I was at the Surrey and Sussex Cat Show in Woking all day. This meant that I fed the babies before I left, Graham then fed them later on before he left to go to football, then they had food left out for them until we all got back when they were then fed again. The babies, so it would appear, were extremely good during our absence as the back room was still in one piece upon our return. They were rather pleased to be let out though when we arrived home so they could all create havoc in the rest of the home. I had a wonderful day at the show and will be updating the web site with the results a bit later on today, however, to give you a sneak preview, Cacao who is the Bush Rangers grandmother, gained her 1st PC, her daughter Kyla, won Best of Breed, and Kidd, her grandson won his Open kitten class and also won Best of Breed. I am thoroughly over the moon with these results.