I had some lovely quality time with the girls this morning when I went up to the Kitten Room. They were all awake so I was able to sit on the floor with them while they climbed all over me and played with each other. One problem we now have is that when I try to get out the door, they come running over and try to get out with me so we have to be really careful whenever we are opening or closing the door. I didn't actually bring them downstairs until a bit later today as after I had been in with them, they were settling down to feed so I had to wait until they were next awake before disturbing them. Tia is starting to drive us mad with her calling as she has been calling for 5 days straight so far and I'm desperately hoping she will soon finish.

Our babies came downstairs this morning at 9am and spent the whole day down here which was wonderful. It's so great now that when they are awake, as soon as I go into the kitten room they look up at me to say hello and then they walk/waddle/run to greet me which is absolutely fantastic. They are playing so much more now and I could sit and watch them for ages. They still aren't keen on weaning yet, however they still aren't even 4 weeks old so it's not a major concern. The biggest problem at the moment is that they wee anywhere and everywhere!!! I am now washing all their bedding, both from the pen, as well as in their room, on a daily basis! It doesn't help that Tia stimulates their toilet activities whilst they are in the bed, as opposed to taking them to the litter tray. I was fortunate enough to catch Piper in the middle of a wee today and I was so proud of her because she sat right next to the litter tray to go, it obviously didn't occur to her to climb in the tray :) Still, the fact that she had headed in the right direction is a really good sign. Whenever I see them now if they look like they are thinking of going to the toilet, I pick them up and put them straight in the tray so that they will get the idea. I did think Tia would be assisting in litter training but she hasn't been so far. Our babies are at a remarkable stage in their life and we are very blessed to have the opportunity to watch them grow and to help raise them. Their colours are very confusing at the moment. We definitely have 3 Tortie Points and 1 Tortie Tabby Point (Phoebe) but I am not sure on colours. It is looking quite possible that Phoebe is in fact a Caramel! I am hoping that a breeder friend, Lesley, will come by for a visit and give me her opinion on their colours.

I am sick of washing! All I have done since these babies were born is wash bedding. It is a never ending job. We made loads of progress yesterday with having the Charmed Ones downstairs. Tia settled with them after the first hour and then spent the whole afternoon feeding them in the pen, watching them play, and even spent quite some time out of the pen walking round the house and playing with our other cats. So we were really pleased that she settled down so well yesterday. We've had the babes out today since 12.30pm and they enjoyed some fun play time and then it was time to feed. I thought I'd introduce them to a saucer of Cimicat, which Tia proceeded to lap up in front of them (obviously showing them what to do). Unfortunately the girls were not interested in it one bit. So after they stood in the saucer, fell over the saucer, spilt the Cimicat all over the new bedding I had put in the pen, I decided that they either just aren't hungry or don't like the Cimicat. I guess that a smart breeder would have had the sense to put newspaper under the saucer! Later on this evening I will be trying a different liquid food. As soon as I removed the Cimicat, Tia got out of the pen, extremely agitated and proceeded to be sick all over the floor in the back room. Obviously the Cimicat didn't agree with her! So I spent the next half hour cleaning up cat sick and changing the pen bedding yet again! As I write this, the bedding has joined the rest of the pile of upstairs bedding, that is still waiting to be washed! No playtime photos today I'm afraid. Instead we have taken individual photos of our girls so that you all know exactly who is who.

I'm happy to say that I finally managed to get some photos of the Charmed Ones when they are awake and playing. I am also fairly sure that no one will enjoy these photos more than a really lovely lady named Jacqueline, who is going to be one of these babies new owners. So I hope she will appreciate the fact that I had to lie down on the floor for over 1/2 hour to get these pics :) The babies are doing really well, as you can see by the photos below. Tia however, is a different story. She is driving me mad at the moment. I actually had to shut her out of the back room (where the pen is) just to get some peace for both myself and her babies. Tia absolutely does not want them downstairs at all. I brought them down this morning, stayed in the room for quite some time, then I had to go up and change Cacao's litter and check on her babies. As soon as my back was turned, Tia came up the stairs with one of the girls in her mouth! After replacing that baby, I finished with Cacao's lot, came out the door to be greeted by Tia with yet another baby. It really is very trying for us as we want the babies downstairs for part of the day to get them used to us and a "normal household" (not that we are normal here!) I spoke with a friend/breeder yesterday and it was she who suggested that I might be better off putting Tia out of their room for a little while just so the babies get used to moving around, being awake and playing. It's such a big help to me to be able to pick up the phone and get advice when it's desperately needed so thanks Donna. I do hope Tia will settle down with them soon and realise that coming downstairs is now going to be part of her daily routine. The odd thing is that she is happy for people to come and look at them (we've had friends drop by to see them) and she is happy for me to pick them up and show them to people, she lets Graham and I do anything with them we like but as soon as the babies walk about on their own, that is when she suddenly turns into a sheepdog and herds them all into a little corner to prevent them from moving about. Our main concerns are that we don't want her stressed out in case it turns the milk sour and we certainly don't want her dragging the babies around the place in case she accidentally harms them.

One step forward and another step backwards. When I was upstairs last night, I decided to introduce them to Liquivite for the first time just to see what their reaction would be. All girls had an interest in the smell and ventured closer. They weren't sure about licking it off my finger, however Pru was lapping it of my finger like she hadn't eaten in months! I was thrilled that she figured out what to do so quickly. I thought I would try again this morning but found there was absolutely no interest at all. The babes were also brought downstairs and put in the pen yesterday and all went really well. However, I brought them down again this morning and while the girls thought it was very exciting, Tia was most distressed!! Every time the babes came out of the bed to walk round the pen, she pounced on them and carried/dragged them straight back into bed! This went on for over an hour! As I write this, I'm relieved to say that Tia has been feeding them in the hooded bed for the last hour and they are all sleeping, including Tia. This means that I can actually get a bit of a break and finish off the diaries and get on with some overdue housework. Whilst having the babes brings so much joy, I will say that raising them, loving them, and keeping them safe and happy is very stressful and very worrying for us humans.

When I went upstairs after dinner last night to bathe eyes, I was amazed to see 2 of our girls running (or what they perceive as running). It was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time and I could have sat there for hours just watching them. They now walk across their little sofa and climb into the box and then when they've had enough, they climb back out and go back to the sofa. They are getting very daring now and have no fears about exploring or going anywhere at all. Phoebe appears to be the most laid back out of the 4 whereas the others are extremely boisterous. They now seem to be enjoying strokes behind the ears and along their backs and will even roll over so you can stroke them tummies as well. We weighed them yesterday evening and was pleased to see that they are still gaining between 10 and 15 grams per day except for Pru yesterday who only gained 6 grams so naturally we'll be keeping an eye on her weight. It's hard to believe they are now 3 weeks old as the time has really flown by and soon it will be weaning time. Just been back upstairs now at lunch time and my mind is made up. Those babes need to come downstairs now during the day as they now roam all over their room and I think they will be much better off down here where I can put them in their pen and at least keep an eye on them. Another new development today as well. Whenever I go into their room now, if they are awake, instead of looking for mum to go to for safety, they now look up at me as I greet them and if I get down on the floor with them, they walk over to me to see "what and who I am". It's really lovely to see and I think it helps that whenever I go in the room, Tia is all over me for pats and cuddles and I imagine they take their cue from mum. If mum thinks I'm okay then obviously the Charmed Ones do as well. Poor Tia is no longer able to carry her babies around. When one of the girls went for a hike today, Tia went after her to try and bring her back. She picked her up but had to put her straight back down after a few steps as they are just getting to heavy for her now. So instead of carrying her, she showed the baby that she wanted her to follow her back to the blanket. Needless to say the baby had other ideas!!