Day 90 - December 16, 2006

Our Gamblers had lots of extra attention today by Claire, who is having one of our older fur children, and by Alison and Trevor who came to visit. It was really lovely to see Claire again and it was wonderful to meet Alison and Trevor for the first time. Just for a change, the fur kids were all on their best behaviour and no one saw fit to throw up, do a massive stench in the litter tray, or have an argument, so overall, this makes for a very good visit :) The Gamblers must have known I was going to have a very busy morning with regards to paperwork and cleaning and they have been as good as gold. Normally when my own stress levels are running high due to overwork, that is the time that the Gamblers are incredibly mischievous, but today, after breakfast, they had a bit of a play and then all snuggled up to go to sleep. Of course this could be because it is slightly chilly as I have the front door wide open, as well as the window into the cat run so they are all currently snuggled up with each other for warmth. Poker was most upset with me this morning because as I started the hoovering, I noticed that some charming creature had taken the opportunity overnight to throw up on one of the radiator beds, which mean it had to come off and the cover had to go in the wash. The problem was that Poker was sleeping on there and was most put out by being removed from the bed and once I had dismantled it, he then went to the radiator where it had been hanging, looked up, looked at me, and turned his back on me and then sulked. Of course it's impossible to explain to a young kitten that vomit covered radiator beds have to be washed. After about 20 minutes of waiting to see if I would put it back, he turned tail, stomped off into my room and went to bed with the rest of the gang. I tell you, there is nothing in the world like the temper of a red haired feline! Unfortunately, not one of the photos I took of the Gamblers turned out today. After I took pics of the Trotters I must have knocked one of the buttons on the camera because when I downloaded the Gamblers photos, they were all so "grainy" and out of focus, that they were totally beyond repair. Sure enough when I looked at the camera, the settings were totally different so goodness only knows what I did!

Day 89 - December 15, 2006

I don't know what the weekend situation will be with regards to photos in the kitten diaries as we have a full weekend of kitten families visiting because this is the last weekend we will be having anyone here until after Christmas as we are going to have a bit of a break ourselves.

I'm still trying very hard to get photos of the babies while they are awake and playing but as you can tell, I am still not having a great deal of success. Our Gamblers will be having their first set of vaccinations on Monday afternoon and I have to say at the moment, I can't see any reason why Blackjack also will not be vaccinated as he appears to be growing now and is taller than Baccarat. This only leaves little Two Up who still is not growing so we shall see what the next few weeks bring. This morning, the Gamblers have been absolute terrors, not that you would know it by the photos below, but they have been tearing throughout the room, the hallway, all over my desk, and Ashanti keeps going out into the cat run to bring leaves into the home (after I hoover and mop) so that the Gamblers have something new to play with. He's very thoughtful like that! At the moment, it's now 1235 and everyone is sound asleep, adults and kittens, all except for Amarula who is sitting on the step screaming her head off. So it must be time for another cup of coffee and to sort out yet another load of washing while everyone is asleep.

Day 88 - December 14, 2006

They are not particularly long entries today as the majority adult cats have been in insane moods and have spent the last 2 hours tearing through the darn home, at full speed, and it is like a Grand Prix race track here at the moment. I don't know what it is but even the babies are not sure what to make of their insane relatives. Two Up, Blackjack, and Baccarat all have a new trick now and that is to scale the wire frame door between the hallway and Graham's room, all the way to the top and back down again. They do it over and over again, usually, when they feel it is time for a meal. It does look funny when Two Up goes all the way to the top because she is so tiny, yet she has the climbing skills of a monkey bless her. Roulette has a new best friend in Ashanti and they have actually been spending an awful lot of time together during the past few days, I think because they have similar temperament and are both as mischievous as each other. Poker on the other hand, is perfectly content to spend time with anyone who wants him. So far this morning, he has been found sleeping in 3 different places..........on top of the fish tank with Baccarat and Drambuie, in the cat bed with Cacao, his grand mother, as well as in the big cat bed with Sambuca, his aunty), and Parsley.

Day 87 - December 13, 2006

So much for taking photos of the babies playing today! As I mentioned in the Trotters' diary, by the time I finished the morning chores and went to take photos, everyone was asleep. The photos below were actually taken last night during one of the evening meals. I have to say that as they are so peaceful at the moment, and snug in their beds, there is no way on earth I am going to wake them up to take photos, so bear with me, I will try really hard to get "play" photos as soon as I can. After breakfast this morning, the babies were little buggers. Each time I opened the door to go upstairs to do bits and pieces, they all ran past me, up the stairs, where they are not allowed to be as the Trotters are roaming free up there and I don't want the 2 litters mixing just yet. I must have gone up and down the stairs a total of 8 times within the space of 10 minutes. Is it any wonder I can't put weight on! I'm sure the reason they do it though as because to them, it's a game, they run up the stairs, mummy chases after them, scoops them, cuddles them, deposits them on the other side of the stair door, and then the whole thing starts all over again. How long now until our babies leave us and cause problems for their new families instead of me?????????

Day 86 - December 12, 2006

Many apologies to Lynda and her family as there is not a single photo of Baccarat in today's diary entry. I took quite a few of her (she and Two Up were both sleeping during the photo session), however, every single one that I took ended up blurry so I will make up for this in tomorrow's entry and get some decent photos of her. As you can see, our babies are having the time of their lives with the new present that we bought for all the cats while we were at the National Cat Club show. It's been years since we have actually had a large activity post in the home, and when we saw this one at the show we couldn't resist. I'm actually so impressed with it that at our next show we will purchase a slightly smaller one for the kitten room. I've still not booked the Gamblers in for their vaccinations yet but will make sure it is done this week and at least then, once the first set of jabs are done, I will have a much better idea of exactly when it is our babies will be leaving me to live with their new families. I am quite pleased with our Gamblers' progress and whilst they are obviously smaller than our Siamese litters (our Orientals are much more fine boned and elegant than our Siamese), they are all doing very well. Blackjack definitely appears to have grown and is starting to get a better hair covering than he previously had and he is doing very, very well. I am surprised actually at just how much he seems to have picked up during these past couple of weeks. Two Up on the other hand, is still incredibly small, but she is holding her own and apart from her size, she is normal in every other possible way, so perhaps, during the next few months, she may also have a growth spurt. I can say though that at the moment, I'm not particularly worried about either of them as they are doing just fine.

Day 85 - December 11, 2006

I would like to start both kitten diary entries off by saying a huge congratulations to our darlings, Sage, and Ashanti, for showing themselves off beautifully at the National Cat Club show on Saturday. I would also like to confirm that we will definitely be expecting more beautiful Schimmel Siamese kittens in January 2007. I am definitely on the mend now and the diaries shall continue in their normal fashion. But before I start, I'd like to say a big thank you to our kind kitten families and our mates for the emails and phone calls wishing me well, and all of our friends on Siamese Cat Chat for their thoughts and prayers during my illness.

I really don't know where to begin with the entry as we seem to have missed so many entries but I have included photos so you can all see how your children have grown. They are now 12 weeks of age, and the plan is to take them to the vets this week for their first set of kitten vaccinations. I do not expect that either Two Up or Blackjack will be vaccinated as they are still incredibly tiny, but both of them are holding their own and are doing extremely well. All 5 of our Gamblers are total and utter hooligans now and there are actually days when I do despair of them I'm afraid. I just hope that their new families are fully aware of what they are letting themselves in for because I promise you that these are definitely not "good" babies. They are however, lovely, snuggly babies when they are in the mood :) Our 3 Black fur children still seem to have identical personalities in the respect that they are forever zooming about the home, playing chase, and generally getting into whatever mischief they can. It doesn't matter whether they are playing with a pipe cleaner spider, a beanie toy, a cardboard box, so long as it amuses them, they are perfectly content with the world. These 3 have grown out of the "wrestling" matches for the most part and they really are happy babies. Rodney, well, being a Red he is one of a kind, he is trouble, he causes trouble, he instigates fights, he has an excellent appetite, and at the moment, his favourite game is playing inside the cat tunnel and trying to push the other babies out. Roulette, like Rodney, is one of a kind! She is a minx that girl and heaven help poor Teen & Tone's cats when she moves in there. She is also a liar, and she starts trouble and then pretends that someone else was to blame. Fortunately, Teen has seen her in action on these occasions and knows I am not lying :) Not only that, she is incredibly possessive about her toys sometimes and when she has one of her favourite toys, she growls with such ferociousness that even a lion would run a mile! She is a very wicked girl, exactly like her mother. You may be wondering if I have anything good to say about Roulette, but what you have to remember is that Torties have a personality unlike any other colour, you need the patience of a Saint to share your home with them (makes me wonder why I have 3 Torties really lol) , but I personally find they are also more loving than any other colour. Today's photos are not particularly good so tomorrow I will try to get some photos while the Gamblers are actually up and about playing.