We are 4 weeks old now!

Day 27 - August 19, 2007

I didn't get any diary entries online yesterday as I had a bit of a "lazy" day and then today I didn't get a chance to do any photos because by the time I'd finished all the floors, it was time to do the tropical aquarium. We set aside 2 days every month for the fish tank and it's on these days that the water is removed, replaced, the filters replaced, the pump pulled apart and cleaned out etc. etc. and as you can probably imagine, this is quite a large job so by the time that was finished, there was barely enough time to get entries online, let alone photos. I'm hoping to make up for this tomorrow with individual photos of our babies.

I do wish that our Thames had been a girl, because out of the 2 babies, he is definitely the biggest charmer and the most adorable child in the world. He reminds me so much of his dad at that age and he really makes me laugh. Thames has this need for lots of human interaction and when I am in the kitten room, I am not allowed to ignore him at all. His most favourite thing in all the world is lying on his back while I tickle his tummy, and he tries to catch my fingers with his paws. He just loves to play and really is such a darling. His sister, Ock, is slightly different, but then she is a Tortie and already, even at this very early age, she is showing all the classic Tortie personality signs which for me, is just absolutely perfect. She can be independent, she can be very stubborn, and she is incredibly intelligent. Ock knows she is special and this is so very obvious in her attitude towards life.

Day 26 - August 18, 2007

There is no entry for today.

Day 25 - August 17, 2007

I think it is fairly safe to say that both Thames and Ock are part of the "gang" now. No longer do I find them still together and staying close to their mum, instead, they are usually found right in the middle of the little kitten battles that are ongoing in the kitten room while the babies play and practice their kitten skills. It's so lovely to see both our Water Babies mixing in with everyone else so well. Neither of them are phased when they are pounced on by the older babies and rather than run away or scream, they both get stuck right in and let me tell you, they are mastering the hang of the "Limb Biting Game" incredibly quickly. Neither of them have shown any interest in the trays/plates of food yet, not even when all the other babies stop in mid play to come running for their meal, but it is such very early days and I'm not in any hurry for either baby to start eating just yet.

Day 24 - August 16, 2007

Thames and Ock have both coped extremely well with suddenly having a load of new playmates and they do their best to join in the games bless them, and normally I would say that it's difficult for them as they are the youngest and by rights, should be the smallest. But as it stands, Ock is over 100 grams heavier than Sherlock and Morse, and Thames is about 40 grams behind Ock, so they are very good size babies and more than capable of holding their own in any kitten battles. The one thing they are lacking is the same skill that the older babies have developed when it comes to pouncing and wrestling, but this will come in time. They aren't sure though whether or not they are supposed to be in their posh box now or under it, so when I have been in and out of the kitten room today, it hasn't been unusual to discover both babies, and Toussaint, lying underneath their box.

Day 23 - August 15, 2007

Our Water Babies are delighted with their newfound freedom. I knew that today was definitely the day to "open them up" because when I took breakfast into the kitten room this morning, a Siamese head popped up out of the Water Babies' posh box.............it was Macadamia. Ock couldn't wait to go down the ramp and naturally the first thing she did was go straight under the box whereas Thames was a little confused by the sudden appearance of all these new playmates in "his" kitten box. He wasn't quite sure what to make of them so he sat up staring at them all and then decided well he may as well explore too. I'm quite pleased with how well the box opening has gone and Toussaint is more than happy to nurse the older babies as well as her own. It will be interesting to see whether or not having the other babies in the box will affect Thames and Ock's own daily weight gains and this is something I will be closely monitoring.

Day 22 - August 14, 2007

All entries are the same today...........

Actually, there aren't really any entries at all today. Last night, I had said to my mate Teen on the phone, that ever since the Nuts were born, I have spent so much time just trying to keep these babies alive, that I had gotten very little pleasure out of the babies at all. All my energy and time had been consumed with syringe feeding and 24 hour monitoring, and I think I had forgotten how to actually just enjoy the babies. So today, I spent some time doing exactly that. I was in the kitten room, sitting on the floor with the kids, just chatting with them and playing, and it was then that it hit me that THIS is what breeding is about and this is what I had missed with these babies because these litters have been bloody hard work, they have been exhausting, so I am now making up for lost time and am simply just going to have fun with our babies :)

Our darling Water Babies are now 3 weeks old and the time has totally flown. I had been considering letting their door/ramp down today, but I've had too much to do so it will be done tomorrow when I have a little more time. When the ramp comes down, I need to be in the kitten room, to see what happens, and to see how Lucy reacts. As they are at this stage of their lives now, I thought I would share their weights with you:

Baby	Colour	current Weight	Weekly Weight gain
Thames	Brown Oriental Spotted Tabby	386g	139g
Ock	Oriental Black Tortie	445g	134g

You can no doubt tell by the above weights that both Thames and Ock are doing extremely well and Toussaint's milk is of excellent quality. As their weights are so good, I am not going to wean them at the moment. Instead, I will wait it out because chances are, within the next week or two, as they will be wandering around the room it is more than likely that they will just join in with everyone else around the plate when they feel that they are ready to eat.