We are 4 weeks old now!

Day 27 - November 13, 2007

All 3 kitten diaries for today are "photo only" diaries sorry as one of our ladies went into labour this morning. As such, it's been a tremendously hectic day so far.

Day 26 - November 12, 2007

I appear to have gone slightly overboard with photos of our Indians today and I think that is because they are getting so darn difficult to photograph now. Mainly because there are a couple of our babies who no longer sit still on the bed because as soon as I enter the kitten room, Ryan, Rafael, and Casey coming running towards me so I had to keep picking them up and putting them back on the bed. I am dreading it when the babies are a little older because I'll never been able to keep track of them and I just know they will be little terrors. Drambuie is more than happy for them to run around wherever they want and so long as she can still see them she is happy for them to explore the whole room.

Day 25 - November 11, 2007

Apologies for skipping 2 kitten diary entries however it's been very manic and the last few days have not gone as planned for one reason or another and today is the first time I've had the chance to sit down and get an entry online. We are also currently waiting for one of our ladies to go into labour and she was showing possible signs yesterday morning, however we are still waiting.

Sometimes when we have litters in the home, or litters due, we get kitten inquiries from other breeders, all of whom are given a "No" as we do not home our babies for breeding other than to 4 people. Sometimes, it's flattering to be asked, but most times, it's downright infuriating, however when Sharon of Withajay Siamese (soon to be known as Withajay Siamese & Orientals) showed an interest in one of our Indians I was totally stunned. The fact that we would have anything deemed good enough for the Withajay home is a huge compliment. Sharon has been breeding fantastic Siamese Cats with lovely type, balance, health and temperaments for approximately 10 years now and Sharon is a highly ethical breeder and one that I have a great deal of respect for, so to have a Schimmel join her cat family and breeding program is truly a great honour. Sharon is also one of those 4 breeders I wouldn't hesitate to home any male or female kitten with for breeding. We had met Sharon and Steve a while ago as they popped in for a visit but very recently we had another visit from them so that Sharon could choose her new fur child. It wasn't an easy choice between Rafael and CC as both ladies have good points but in the end, it was Rafael's stripey little legs that won Sharon's heart. It was great to see Sharon and Steve again, both of whom we adore as the are amazing people. Of course my biggest worry now will be whether or not Rafael will live up to Sharon's high expectations of her but at least one thing I do know is that regardless of anything else, Rafael will have a very special, very loving home for the rest of her life in the Withajay household.

Day 22 - November 8, 2007

I am so very proud of our 3 smaller babies, Ryan, Casey & Rafael because they are already eating from a little kitten bowl! Last night at around 10:30pm I decided to see if I could tempt them to trying some baby rice mixed in with the evaporated milk mixture and I was not expecting the reaction that I got from the 3 kids. Casey nearly took my fingers off! At 3 weeks of age that little girl has some rather sharp fangs :) Within 30 seconds of eating from my fingers, I was able to entice her head down towards the bowl where she ate as if there were no tomorrow. Whilst Casey was eating, I repeated this same procedure with both Ryan and Rafael and to my delight, they reacted the same way Casey did and within minutes they were also eating from the plate. I did offer some to Kenny (don't know why as he is a porker anyway) and he pretended that I was trying to poison him and couldn't get away from me quick enough. Then today, I have given the babies the exact same mixture on 3 occasions, and again, Rafael, Ryan and Casey ate from the plate with very little encouragement. I am just so thrilled with how well they have taken to the mixture. At the moment because they are so very young, I don't want to push the issue at all so I am only giving the babies this meal approximately 5 times per day. Once their little tummies become accustomed to food that isn't "mum's milk", I shall then start to add some mashed up James Wellbeloved kitten biscuits into the mixture and see what they think of those. In case you're wondering why I am not really concentrating on weaning Kenny, CC or Victor, let me explain. Those 3 babies are the biggest 3 in the litter, they make very good gains and are doing incredibly well so at 22 days of age, I don't feel the same need to get them weaned quickly that I do with the smaller babies in the litter.

Day 21 - November 7, 2007

Our Cleveland Indians are 3 weeks old today and I think I am reasonably happy with their progress for this age of their lives. I must say though that the older the get, the more funny looking they become bless them. I look at them now and think that those are faces only a mother (or breeder) could love :) They are all so very easy to photograph though and still continue to sit still (well most of them anyway) during their photo sessions. I am fully expecting that this week will be the start of proper exploring of their kitten room and now is the time I will have to be very careful when opening up the door in case there is a baby behind it. The "posh box" is still in the kitten room but I will be moving that out tomorrow as Drambuie has shown no interest at all in moving her babies back into it.