We are 3 weeks old now!

Day 20 - May 23, 2007

I'm unsure yet as to whether or not the Tails of Hans Christian Anderson like being back in a box (explanation in Liquorice' diary) although I have put bedding there so they can climb in and out if they so desire. So far, I've not seen any of the babies out of the box but I am sure that won't last particularly long. Sambuca definitely seems a bit happier now that she is not having to monitor her children as much because they aren't running around the room so she is getting a big of a break. I managed to take some individual photos today as you can see below and Snow Queen was the only baby who refused to pose for the camera. She is going to be a strong minded little minx. She totally objected to opening her eyes and when she did, the minute I took the photo, she turned her head away. I really am pleased with our Tails of Hans Christian Anderson because they have all turned into beautiful little babies.

Day 19 - May 22, 2007

The Tails of Hans Christian Anderson have discovered a new game. It is called "Kitten Wrestling" and it is so very funny. Ugly Duckling is not a small boy by any means and he doesn't think twice before toddling over to Snow Queen and just plonking himself down on top of her and start to nibble on her ears and roll around the floor with her. She doesn't always come off second best though because she's a very slippery little girl. Little Tuk, is now not so little and isn't really that far behind her brother, so I really must make a point of looking at her to make sure she actually still is a girl!!! She is equally as good at wrestling as her her brother is. Snow Queen, being a big girl, has no problems at all taking on her brother, or even Liquorice for that matter and she can certainly hold her own. Again, I really should look at her sex as well to make sure she is still a girl :) The more the babies mature, the more entertaining they become as they learn new things. Snow Queen had a big interest in mum's plate of food yesterday but I did move her away from it and put her back on the bed because at 19 days of age, she is way too young to even thinking about eating her mum's food. They are all doing so incredibly well though and they are little darlings :)

Day 18 - May 21, 2007

I have to be really careful when I'm in the kitten room now because the Tails of Hans Christian Anderson have a tendency to get under my feet without me knowing it. They still aren't particularly mobile, yet they manage to move around in various places in the room, when they are in the mood and Ugly Duckling has taken to sitting/lying on the base of the scratch post. I was in the kitten room last night and saw him there and actually thought he was Liquorice at first glance! He is quite a big boy, especially when compared to his more petite sisters, Snow Queen, and Little Tuk. The babies do seem much happier now that they are no longer confined in their box and with their comfy bedding on the floor, it does mean that they can just go wherever they please without having to put in the effort of climbing up and down "Everest". To this day though, I still do not know why the mum's no longer wanted their babies in the box, nor do I know why they chose that specific corner of the room, but they are all happy and that's the main thing. I'm hoping tomorrow to get some individual photos again of our Tails of Hans Christian Anderson so you can all see how they are developing now.

Day 17 - May 20, 2007

Both rather short entries start off exactly the same today. As you know, I was not here all day yesterday as I was at a cat show. It was a very long day as I was up at 5am and didn't arrive back home until approximately 7pm so all our babies were in Graham's capable hands, and all was fine. By the time evening came around, I was totally shattered and was planning on having an early night. Unfortunately, Drambuie had other ideas as she went into labour so I was up with her until 5am today. It is for this reason that there are no photos in today's entries, and also why the entries are so very short as I have mountains of washing and a brand new kitten diary to start.

None of our babies live in the posh box any more which might not be such a bad thing because when Drambuie and her babies move into the kitten room they will go into the posh box, the front of it will be closed up so that the younger babies don't go in there. At 17 days of age, all 4 of our Tails of Hans Christian Anderson are now exploring the room. It really is quite funny to watch them because as you can imagine, they still do not walk particularly well as they are so young. I do wonder if Liquorice wasn't in there with them, whether they would actually be out and about exploring just yet as I know they do follow whatever Liquorice does.

Day 16 - May 19, 2007

There is no entry for today as I was showing Cacao and Ashanti.

Day 15 - May 18, 2007

Both entries start off exactly the same this morning. I got up, came downstairs, stared in horror at the destruction in the back room, guessed that our adults had a party overnight or something and hadn't invited me, made a coffee, and took a plate of food upstairs for the mums. I entered the kitten room, all was well, Liquorice was running about, the Tails of Hans Christian Anderson were all sound asleep, so that was fine. I came back downstairs, answered a few emails, did all the chores, went back upstairs to feed the mum's again and take some photos for today's diaries, I opened the kitten room door and the first thing I saw was a very empty posh box! Not a baby in sight. Now it isn't unusual for Liquorice not to be in the box, but there is no way on earth that the Tails of Hans Christian Anderson could be out of the box. They are not strong enough yet. I then turned around and on the floor, inbetween the scratch post and the ottoman, was a pile of babies, not on any bedding, just on the floor <sigh>. I changed the bedding in the box, scooped the babies up, put them back in the box, much to the disgust of both mums. Sambuca went into the box, picked up Snow Queen, took her straight out and back to the same spot on the floor. I then went and picked Snow Queen straight back up and put her back in the box. I then took the photos, left the room and I am not going to be impressed if, when I go back upstairs, they are all on the floor again. But what I will do if that is the case, is simply move the scratch post, put the box where they have moved the babies too, and put them all back in the box :) If that doesn't confuse the mums, nothing will.

Despite being moved out of their posh box, the Tails of Hans Christian Anderson still made weight gains so I am quite pleased to see that so far, disruption to their normal routine isn't causing them any problems. I had a good look at our babies this morning and I know that I am their mum so I'm bias, but I do think that all 4 of them are incredibly pretty babies and I'm going to be watching them with interest as they develop to see just how nice they will end up. In an ideal world, I would be keeping one baby from each litter, without a doubt, and if that were the case, at the moment I would be hard pushed to decide which baby it would be from this litter as I do adore all of them. However, we do not live in an ideal world so in case, when they all eventually leave me, I will have to hope that their new families will send me lots of photos of them as they mature.

Day 14 - May 17, 2007

It's hard to believe that already our Tails of Hans Christian Anderson are 2 weeks of age, although as I watch them attempt to climb down the ramp, I then realise that yep, they are 2 weeks old now and they are doing everything that they should. Ugly Duckling has become a little more independent of his siblings because whereas the rest of the Tails of Hans Christian Anderson like to curl up together and sleep, Ugly Duckling is happy to sleep away from the rest of the "pack". Mind you, as soon as he sees his sisters at the milk bar, it doesn't take him long at all to crawl over to join them. His weights are certainly indicative that he is a rather greedy little young man. Speaking of weights, I have put the babies' current weights below. I haven't put how much their weekly gain was because I've still not transferred the figures from paper to the computer yet.

Baby	Colour	Sex	Day 14 Weight
Little Tuk	Oriental Black	Female	276 grams
Ugly Duckling	Oriental Black	Male	317 grams
Ice Maiden	Chocolate Point Siamese	Female	278 grams
Snow Queen	Chocolate Point Siamese	Female	220 grams

These are weights that I am definitely satisfied with and so far, progress is extremely good for our Tails of Hans Christian Anderson.