XXXX is in one of those moods today and has spent the entire day picking on poor Guinness relentlessly. Twice in the space of half an hour I had to get up and rescue Guinness from her sister as Guinness was squealing like you wouldn't believe. I ended up dumping XXXX in the radiator bed with Joe Byrne so that she could battle it out with him. Unbelievable..............I have just heard 2 babies come tearing through the room at full speed, looked around to find Guinness chasing XXXX! I give up. I think I will leave them to it. In reality all the babies are in funny moods today and are even more boisterous than usual. I could do without it today as I'm currently still waiting for Amarula to go into labour after having had an almost sleepless night. I am pleased though that I can sit here in the back room and quickly type up this entry, in between going upstairs to the bedroom to sit with Rula, and in between housework, while the little furry terrors are creating havoc throughout the rest of the home and are letting me getting the entries done in relative peace and quiet. I guess, over the next few days, or at least until Rula/Lusso have both given birth, entries will probably be rushed affairs, but I will endeavour to at least get a small paragraph online each day and some photos because it's so important for our babies' new owners to get to know their new "children" via the diary, although it won't really be that long at all until my monsters are actually sharing your own homes :) Caffreys is looking more and more like his dad every single day. Whenever I look at him, I am sure I am seeing Sheridans and I am positive that he is going to be as large as his dad as well. XXXX on the other hand, started out looking like her dad, however the more she matures, the more I think she will probably be a very large girl, much unlike her mum, yet her facial features are more like Amaretto's than Sheridans. As for Guinness, well she is actually something of a throwback as she doesn't look like either of them :)

A very short entry today sorry but there are more than enough photos to make up for it I hope. Just like the PInts, Ned Kelly and Joe Byrne have had not been affected by their vaccinations at all and life has gone on for them exactly as it always has done. Amarula is due today so my time has been divided between housework, work, the babies, and running up and down the stairs to check on her to make sure she hasn't gone into labour without me. Fortunately, the boys are so much older now and so much more in dependant, although looking back, I wonder really if Joe Byrne ever was a dependant child. Both boys' appetites are still excellent and Ned Kelly is eating much more of the kitten biscuits now as well. Although when it comes to the cooked meals that I prepare, he is generally the first to the plate, and the last to leave, and will quite often go back for another helping 10 minutes later. I do wonder where he puts it sometimes.

Both entries (apart from the photos) are exactly the same today due to the fact that the kids were all vaccinated. I tell you, trips to the vets in this house is like a military operation, especially today due to how many furries I was taking in there. First of all, I currently only have 3 carriers in the home as Sheridans, bless him, broke my favourite top opening carrier which leaves me with just 3. Now today's visit included, 5 babies which is no problem as they all fit into one carrier by themselves. Then Amaretto and Drambuie both had to go, Retto because her booster is due next week, and Drambuie because she's recently had a litter and I wanted Andy to check her over to make sure she is okay. But it doesn't end there! On top of that, (by the way, Retto and Buie had to share a carrier), I also had to take Ice with me to the vets as today was D-Day. My poor man was losing his testicles :( Yes I know he's been on the site as a neuter for a little while now, however, the reason for that was that we decided to stop doing stud work as our other boys are at Closed Stud. So anyway, Ice needed a carrier of his own which was fine. So that, so far is 5 babies, 3 adults and 3 carriers. THEN.........we had a "spare" cat as my good friend was bringing her beautiful boy along as well because we needed to organise a Certificate of Entirety for him, which in layman's terms means, a certificate stating his tackle is all as it should be, which fortunately it is as I'm planning on mating one of my girls with him next month! So that made 5 babies, and 4 adults and 4 carriers. See what I mean by military operation because remember, as I'm trying to stuff babies into carriers, the ones who are already in there are trying to get out as I stuff more in so no doubt you can imagine what my morning has been like. Well the babies were great in the car on the way there (only a 5 minute drive fortunately), and all of the Pints and Bush Rangers have now had their hearts listened to, mouths/throats/ears/eyes checked, abdomens felt etc. etc. I'm delighted to say that they are all fit and healthy and we were able to proceed with their first ever Flu/Enteritis vaccine. The ONLY baby who is a nightmare whilst being handled was Joe Byrne. No surprise there lol!. He is such a stubborn boy and right or wrong, he was not prepared to be examined without putting up a fight. Naturally, I am the human who left the surgery scarred, not Andy. Joe managed to get his claws, which are like talons, into my hand, leaving blood dripping (from me not him!). So when it comes time for 2nd vaccinations on the 26th, Joe Byrne will going first, instead of second last and I will be wearing gauntlets! As for my poor wonderful friend, well she was able to witness firsthand exactly how paranoid I am when it comes to the babies being examined as I watched Andy's face for the slightest change of expression that would indicate something was wrong, to say nothing of constantly asking him if their hearts sounded fine etc. It's a wonder he puts up with me actually. Then if that wasn't enough of a trauma to put my mate through, upon our arrival back here, she'd barely gotten her bum in the chair when Toussaint decided that her hair need some special grooming "Toussaint Style". Actually, upon reflection, I guess it's a surprise that I have any friends at all! Now, how many of you who have read the above are sitting there thinking to yourselves, "well get on with it, are our babies okay now or have there been side effects?". Don't panic, I'm coming to that. Right, upon the return visit home, the babies were all let out of the carrier, they came bolting into the back room, thinking it must be meal time. I went into the kitchen and prepared some chicken for them. Remember, when you take your babies to vets or shows, always feed them as soon as you arrive home so that they associate a trip out, with something nice happening afterwards (just a little tip as I'm very helpful like that). All 5 babies ate their chicken and as you can see by the photos below, the vaccine has not affected them at all. Joe Byrne was the only baby who decided after 10 minutes of playing that he would have a big sleep, which is fair enough after the effort he put in during his examination! On the whole, it's been a very successful first vaccination but we will be monitoring the babies for the next 48 hours for any lethargy, loss of appetite, high temperatures, lumps appearing on the vaccine site etc. Andy and I discussed the FeLV jab which we normally do, but after talking about the problems that we've had with it, as well as problems one of our owners has had with it, we both agreed, why take the risk, particularly as our babies are all from FeLV negative tested parents and they do not mix with any other cats other than our own. On that note, I shall add some photos, and go and have a cup of coffee and thank the Lord that vaccinations only happen twice while our babies are here with us!

As I start to type this entry I have an extremely pregnant Amarula sitting on my lap and I'm having to raise my arms to type over her! Also, at the start of this entry, every single baby is sound asleep which means peace and quiet, although in a few minutes I'll be halting the entry so I can hoover which no doubt will wake them all up. Well, the hoovering is now over, the babies have gone back to sleep and I'm hoping that they will wake up soon so I can actually take some photos of them because I've not taken any yet for today's entry and this is holding me up now. Chances are it will be late afternoon by the time this one gets online (nothing new in that!). We have now gone 2 days without Ned Kelly falling off the fish tank which we're rather pleased about, as I'm sure his new owner, Elaine will be as well. After the babies had their rather late lunch of scrambled eggs (late because they refused to wake up), both Ned and Joe spent a couple of hours tearing around the home like lunatics, wrestling with each other, as well as with the Pints, and tearing about all over the dining table. They really are typical boys and at times they are going to really test the patience of their new families. Graham actually asked me yesterday if Lee and Susie really knew what they would be taking on with Joe Byrne, to which I assured him that yes, they definitely were aware of just how boisterous he can be.

Both entries start off the same today but at least I managed to attach some photos. Mind you, the entries did go online quite late, mainly because I'd forgotten to charge the batteries in the camera and I had to wait half the day before I could take any photos. On Wednesday, all 5 babies are having their first set of vaccinations, for Flu/Enteritis so that is going to be a rather hectic day as I also have to have Amaretto's booster done, and my friend is also taking her cat in with me to have his Certificate of Entirety done so all in all, it's going to be a rather hectic visit to the vets. The one good thing is that now that I have totally stopped the FeLV vaccine (for reasons stated on my Kitten FAQ page), that it means I have one less thing to worry about with regards to vaccination reactions. I do think all the babies will be just fine though, particularly the Pints who will be 11 weeks old when they have their first jabs. I have been tossing up over the last few weeks, having seen the difference in these 2 litters and other litters who we have vaccinated right on 9 weeks of age, whether or not to hold off the first set of vaccinations now until the babies are at least 10 weeks old. This would mean they all went later than the 13 weeks but it's something I am definitely considering. Now onto the babies....................

Now the question is, can we make it through today without Ned Kelly falling off the fish tank? As I write this entry, he is sitting on top of it at the moment, along with Joe Byrne and XXXX. I am getting back to the stage where I do despair of Ned Kelly as he has starting to go back to his mischievous ways again. He is so energetic and he is always on the lookout for trouble. Naturally his one saving grace is that he is just so adorable that no matter how much havoc he creates, he knows full well he will be picked up and cuddled by everyone in the house because he really is irresistible. Even though Joe Byrne loves playing with his brother and the Pints, he has developed a very strong affection towards Cointreau, who in turn, has taken a shine to Joe Byrne. It's not unusual at all to see Joe Byrne tearing throughout the home being pursued by Cointreau, only for Joe to turn around and start chasing Cointreau back up the stairs. They also sleep together quite often in the upstairs hallway as well. Poor Cointreau will be devastated when Joe leaves because while she is happy enough with the other babies, she doesn't really play with any of them at all except for him.

Both diaries are exactly the same today and there is not a great deal to actually write about. I visited my friend Lynny of Tumbili Siamese to see her beautiful babies before they go to their new homes this coming weekend and as they were sired by Ice, they are very special babies indeed. Then we were out for the majority of the afternoon as we drove friends to Heathrow which is quite a long trip through the M25 traffic as we all know. I do think it's safe to say that I am so glad this weekend is over and we don't have to leave the house now to go anywhere at all for absolute ages. This is something that we are really both looking forward to as our last few weeks have been spent in and out constantly. All of the babies have been quite good this weekend, although Ned Kelly fell off the fish tank.............again! Only this time, no one pushed him, he did it all over his own accord. Not satisfied with just falling off, he also took the bed with him, as well as Joe Byrne! The Pints are just little whirlwinds at the moment as their entire waking time is spent tearing about at full speed, or as my friend Lynny calls it "pinging". They are all such bundles of energy and not a day goes by where we humans don't get run into by speeding furring children.

Many apologies for the very late entry (with no photos) however we went to the football today as QPR are playing at home. This is probably my last chance to see them this season as Amarula's babies and Tia Lusso's babies are now due in just 6 and 7 days time respectively. This means I will have 4 litters in the home so I will be totally housebound for a couple of weeks. Of course this means we were only home in the morning as we left at approximately 12 noon to leave and didn't get back until about 6pm. Unlike previous occasions though, the babies were not left with any wet foods i.e. chicken etc. because all 3 Pints now eat lots of the James Wellbeloved biscuits throughout the day and night so I knew the biscuits would suffice until we returned home.

Ned Kelly and Joe Byrne have had a rather active morning prior to us leaving the home. They have been bounding around all over the place, Ned downstairs and Joe sharing his time between downstairs and upstairs. We've not had another incident of Ned growling while he eats his meals which I am rather pleased about because he will be sharing his home with Misty, an older, regal Siamese lady, and Xena, a naughty tortie, as well as Caffreys and I can't have a baby go to a new home with other cats when he is going to be so possessive of food because that would make the introduction and settling in period difficult in his new home and could cause arguments between himself and the established cats in the home. Joe Byrne on the other hand is going to find it so different in his new home because for the first few months he will not really have any playmates until another Schimmel baby is born to join him. I am positive however, that the transition of his moving will go very smoothly because Lee and Susie are going to lavish him with attention and love and I truly doubt that this "soon to be spoilt" little boy will even miss his brothers and sisters because he will be too busy having fun with his new mum and dad.