Today, 2 of our babies left us, Little Tuk and London. As they both went to the same home, their respective "Leaving Days" are identical. The day started off quite well, Coral and Jill arrived and it was really lovely to see Coral again, even though she was taking 2 of our children from us. It was also great to see Jill as well although I was rather jealous of the lovely tan :) After some cuddles with the babies, Coral and I went through the paperwork and I did show her the kitten pack but then put it back in the kitchen so Ashanti couldn't spray on it! The moment Coral put the carrier down most of our adult cats all wanted to check it out, some, as per usual, thought that perhaps they were going somewhere too so they were rather excited. Despite the fact that both Little Tuk and London are Oriental Blacks, and despite the fact that they are both cousins, you couldn't get 2 more different personalities than these 2 girls. London is an adoring child, such a cuddler and a total sweetheart. Little Tuk is a real little Madame and oh boy is she going to make Coral's life difficult I think. With Little Tuk, unless she is in the mood, you simply do not pick her up for cuddles because she is far too snobby for that. She won't hesitate to give you "that look" should you dare to try and make her do something she doesn't want to do. They really are such a contrast and a very interesting mix indeed. For some new families, it is possible they could be hard work for the first few days, but with Coral, definitely not. Not only is Coral an experienced cat mum and really knows her stuff, she is an amazing lady who will know exactly what to do with her 2 girls. They are such very lucky children to be going to live with Coral. I know full well she will make their settling in period as easy as possible and I also know that Coral has the patience of a Saint which she will need with these two girls :) I really did feel that this "Leaving Day" went so incredibly well, as I'm sure Coral did. Approximately an hour and a half after the babies left us, the phone rang, I had just popped out and Graham answered it. Yep, it was Coral. Turns out that some idiot cat breeder not only gave Coral a kitten pack, but also her own car/house keys! When I had been shopping the day before and bought the stuff for the kitten pack, as per normal, prior to bringing the shopping into the home, I threw my car keys in one of the shopping bags. Not realising it, they were still in the darn bag that had the kitten pack in. So, a trip to Coral's was in order :) It didn't take too long to get there and it was so lovely to see the girls again, both of whom had gone into hiding. London came out when she heard my voice, but not Little Tuk. Oh no, she was having none of it and would not even respond to me. So I quite literally dragged her out from under the chest which did not impress her but she'll get over it :) After a quick chat with Coral, and look at some fantastic patio and window screens, it was time to leave as I had to get back for the next set of 2 hourly feeds. Coral had also asked me to bring a bottle of our own water with us (something we normally always provide but I had forgotten this time around) so she could mix it with her own tap water. Guess where the bottle was when I arrived at Coral's to pick up the keys? Yep, on my kitchen sink! I'd left that at home. Poor Coral must wonder just what sort of insane woman bred her two girls. Whereas Graham, is convinced his wife has definitely lost the plot. But he was very good natured and did not complain once about driving me out to Coral's :) I've already had a lovely update from Coral and I know we will be in touch regularly and we are just so delighted to have found the perfect cat mum for our girls, we could not have asked for a better life than the one Little Tuk and London will have with Coral.

We now only have 2 more Capitals to leave home and that is Port-of-Spain and Washington. They will both be leaving on September 20th, so please check back then for the final update to this kitten diary.

Today, our darling, but incredibly naughty, Canberra left us to go and live with Julie of Lorimnailie Siamese & Orientals. In a way, I am really going to miss Canberra because she is such an "in your face" baby, but I have to say that I most certainly will not miss her Tortie attitude which, at times, really does make me despair. I often think back to when I had to make a choice between Canberra and Dublin, and I know that I made the right choice because with already having 3 Torties of our own, there is no way on earth I could have put up with Canberra. She really is such a wicked child. That isn't to say that she's not loving and cuddly because she certainly is, but she does have quite an attitude problem which Julie will find out soon enough. I sometimes think Julie doesn't believe me when I tell her what a little nightmare she is taking on. Despite all of this, it was very sad to see Canberra leave because I always have such a soft spot for our Tortie babies. I do wonder what Canberra will think when she first enters Julie's home because while Julie's feline numbers are not as many as ours (yet!), there are more than enough furry people there to keep Canberra occupied and I do hope that she doesn't go to Julie's and automatically thinks she is the boss. It will be interesting to see how Canberra does on the show bench, remembering that she is going to be a future breed/show queen for Julie. She certainly is not as "flash" as our Noceno, however, she is a beautifully balanced girl, with gorgeous tortie colouring, and the most wicked Oriental expression. Time will tell. It was great to see Julie again, and to meet Andy for the first time and I know without any shadow of a doubt, that Canberra is going to a superb home. It is so very, very rare that we ever home a baby with a breeder, but we feel that Julie's own breeding ethics are above reproach and her home is just perfect for our gorgeous Canberra.