Tia Lusso worried us a bit a few days ago because when I woke up and went into the kitten room to let Lusso and Amarula out (remember they have been sleeping in the kitten room so they could have peace and quiet away from the other cats), I noticed that there was some discharge on the floor in the kitten room which concerned me. After a quick examination of both girls, I soon realised that Tia Lusso was the one who was discharging. It wasn't a huge amount, just a few spots here and there, and it wasn't bright red, more a pinkish/brown colour (a bit hard to describe in words really). In herself she was perfectly fine, still running about, well waddling fast as opposed to running, she didn't have a temperature, her coat and eyes were as fine as ever. So rather than stress her out by rushing her to the vets, I monitored her very closely over the next 24 hours. The following day, there was no more discharge at all, and she's since continued to eat, toilet, and play as per normal. I am also positive, but will have to go back through some of my notes, that she isn't the first queen of mine to have had a small discharge in the last week of her pregnancy. Apart from that one incident, everything else is going really well with Lusso. Her babies have been moving around quite a bit still but even that doesn't seem to bother her one iota. She is just so totally unphased by everything that is currently happening to her body. She is even still playing fetch with "Froggie" although admittedly, she can't run as fast after it as she used to. There will not be any more entries in Tia Lusso's pregnancy diary now as she is due in just 3 days time. If all goes well (which we're hoping and praying it does), we should have another new kitten diary on the web site by Sunday/Monday. Her actual due date is Saturday but I have no doubts at all that she will go over by just one day :)

Unlike Amarula, Tia Lusso is absolutely sailing through this pregnancy. She looks fantastic, is absolutely blooming, her hormones have settled down and she is much nicer to the other cats in the home and apart from the obviously physical appearance, she is not acting pregnant at all. She still runs about, plays fetch, and enjoys lots of cuddles with all the humans in the home. It's very difficult to believe that she has just over a week until her due date, 10 days to be precise. As I write this entry, I am having to sit right on very front edge of my chair because the Keg on Legs (as I refer to Lusso) is sprawled out behind me on the chair and she is not prepared to budge for anyone at all! I have now been able to feel one or two kicks from the little ones inside her, not a lot yet, but definitely some movement so that is a relief as always.

Well Lusso is rather pleased because her Aunty Jacqui came through and very kindly gave me a bag full of "Froggie" and "Froggie type" toys so Tia Lusso has been spoilt for choice and they are now scattered around the home. All the other cats are also thrilled with the new "Froggie's" and I don't think there is a single cat in the home who hasn't played with them. Even the babies were given a "Froggie" which they are delighted with. Mind you, I haven't thrown out old "Froggie" because Lusso still continues to play with it. I think that for a few days during the last week one of the babies may have been pressing down uncomfortably because she had a couple of days where she vomiting. It wasn't anything major (unless you count opening the bedroom door and standing in a pile of vomit major!) and she is perfectly fine so we're just keeping an eye on her but she seems to be doing really well. Again this week she is bigger and heavier than this time last week so the babies must be growing quite well. I'm hoping that in a weeks' time, if not before, I will be able to see and feel them move about as I'm never really satisfied until I have felt the babies kicking because again this is an indication that they are doing okay in there. Her hormones are still affecting her though as she is still being a tad cranky with some of the other cats, especially Toussaint in particular, but only of an evening, she is her normal self during the day.

I'm really lacking motivation today to write a pregnancy diary however, I am determined to get it online before 5pm :) Still absolutely no morning sickness whatsoever which is so lovely although I figured if she didn't have any by the 3rd/4th week, then chances are there would be none at all and fortunately I was right. Tia Lusso is even more clingy than ever before, not as much during the day, but definitely of an evening when we have "visiting time" in the bedroom. She is constantly going up to either Graham or myself and touching us and talking to us, much to the annoyance of Cacao who thinks she is just a silly little girl. She has been eating some of the same home cooked meals that our current babies have been eating and she is really enjoying her food. She is also eating tremendous quantities of dry food as well and it is starting to show. I am not sure how apparent it is in the photos below but she has definitely expanded quite a bit between last week and this week. Her hormones are playing up as well I think because she's been rather intolerant of some of the other cats in the home and normally she doesn't have a problem with any of them however, she's been smacking a few of them around the head if they get too close to her. Froggy and Lusso still have their wonderful games together and just to show you all who Froggy is, I have included a photo of him in today's entry. You will no doubt be able to see the sad, pitiful state that the poor guy has been reduced to. Having said that, Lusso has been promised another Froggy by her Aunty Jacqui who shares her home with Kidd. Let's just hope that new Froggy remains intact a bit longer that current Froggy has!

Tia Lusso is absolutely blooming and as you can hopefully tell by the photos in the 2nd row onwards, she is expanding at a rather rapid rate which is not apparent in the first 4 photos. I really can not believe that already she has reached the 5 week mark, meaning we have just over 4 weeks left until her babies will be entering the world. Lusso's appetite is now increasing quite a bit and it's no surprise that I am going through so much cat food at the moment. Even in her current state, she is still the most beautiful cat we have ever seen. This is something that I am sure I keep repeating over and over, but it is so very true, as every visitor that has been to our home can confirm. She really does stand out from the rest of our girls because she has such a regal, elegant expression and it is so very easy for us to just stop everything we are doing and stare at her, trying to take in her grace and beauty. Every evening when the cats come into the bedroom to chill out and watch TV with us, Lusso is one of the first to appear on the bed. She then lies down on my lap, or, if Cacao is on there, Lusso will lie as close to me as possible, just purring away, perfectly content with life. However, the minute "dad" opens a packet of crisps, she is up like a shot getting as close to him as humanly possible on the off chance he will take pity on her and give her some of his crisps which she loves so much. It is very hard to resist her pleas and inevitably, she always gets what she wants. With regards to "Froggy", her weight does not hinder her play time with him at all. She still continues to play fetch with us and Froggy, running at full speed to retrieve him so we can throw him yet again. Even when our own arms tire from throwing Froggy, she is then content with sitting on the bed, throwing him up in the air and off the bed and jumping down to get him and bring him back to the bed to start again. I have a feeling that she will remain extremely active throughout her pregnancy which will hopefully ensure that the labour will not be difficult for her.

Demanding, very, very demanding. That is how I would describe our Tia Lusso at the moment. I don't mean demanding in the way that Orientals are demanding. This is different altogether because she is constantly coming up to both Graham and myself, she touches us, and then talks to us, looking for reassurance that what is happening to her is perfectly normal. She really is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen (barring her mother of course). Unlike Amarula, Tia Lusso has a very slightly rounded abdomen. It is almost imperceptible but I can see it. I love the fact that she is just so content and peaceful still and she is just positively blooming. I really hate that saying "Pregnancy suits her" yet it does seem to apply in Lusso's case. She is still playing fetch and mad games with her much loved Frog and I am sure she thinks that Frog is her baby because she is forever putting him in the food bowls so he can eat, and has now started putting him in the water bowls as well so he can have a drink. Then of course she can't understand why Frog disappears altogether and turns up a few hours later, smelling clean and fresh. I really am happy with the progress of Tia Lusso's pregnancy as everything is going exactly as it should be.

After Tia Lusso's honeymoon, she continued to call for a further 4 days so as you can imagine, our home was quite noisy as she was screaming her head off inside, and the boys outside responded by screaming back at her. I did actually wonder if I should have kept the honeymoon going for another day. On February 16th, I looked at Tia Lusso and even though she wasn't due to pink up for another week, I knew without a doubt that my baby girl was pregnant. Anyone else looking at her would have said I was mad, but I definitely knew. Even at that very early stage she had the exact same look of serenity about her that her mother, my beloved Tia Maria used to have when she was also pregnant. Even if I wanted to, I could not put into words what I mean by "look of serenity" but she definitely had it. By February 18th, she had become even closer to Graham and I than she was already which we did not think was actually possible. She is now forever touching us with her paws, looking into our eyes, and she is just so incredibly peaceful and content which is just how it should be. Obviously, she is still incredibly active and continues to play fetch with her much loved, and over used "frog". On February 20th, when we were in the bedroom, I had a look at her nipples and to see if there was any change and her pregnancy is very evident in that every single nipple is bright pink and protruding. It would appear that we will now be expecting babies in another 6 weeks or thereabouts. Just like Amarula's pregnancy diary, this diary will now be updated on a weekly basis.

This honeymoon was perfect timing for all concerned. Tia Lusso had been showing signs of being more than ready for her honeymoon for a little while now and for those of you who keep updated with our web site, you will be aware that Amarula has also only just had her honeymoon with Sheridans. This now means that provided both honeymoons were successful, Tia Lusso and Amarula, who are best of mates, will be raising their litters together as the babies will be due within 2-3 days of each other, although knowing my luck they will both go into labour at the same time. This is a special mating for us in the respect that Tia Lusso means an awful lot to us all as we lost her beloved mother last year, and the other reason this is an important litter is because for the first time ever, one, possibly two babies from this mating will be registered on the Active register and will be going to close, trusted breeding friends to be used in their own breeding programs. This is providing of course that we get any females in this litter that we feel will be suitable as possible breeding girls. Anyway, the photos below should indicate that both Tia Lusso and Sheridans have both been having a wonderful time on their honeymoon. Unlike Amarula though, Tia Lusso doesn't hesitate to let Sheridans know exactly what she thinks of him once it's all over. She turns quite feisty and she is an extremely, fast, agile cat so it is fortunate that Sheridans has now had plenty of practice and jumps out of the way just in time to avoid a smack across the snout. All in all though, the honeymoon has been going exactly as it should and if all goes well, we can expect babies approximately April 8. The honeymoon will be continued until tomorrow evening when the love struck couple will be separated. Like the rest of the Schimmel Pregnancy Diaries, there will not be a further update now until approximately 3 weeks' time when hopefully Tia Lusso would have pinked up and we can confirm her pregnancy.