miss one day!

Wow. Sorry guys. I missed Friday, so I am posting tonight, Saturday. I was rather shocked when I first walked into kitty central this morning. Why? No kittens in their usual corner, and none to be seen at first glance.


Humm...Something is missing.

Upon further inspection, I saw a little furry tail sticking out of a very small cardboard box in the opposite corner.


The new "home."

Well, that didn't contain them for long, and as you can see, Kelsey and Halicy made a break for it. I closed the door, except for a crack, and saw Sierra immediately go get them and bring them back. She is on top of them, for sure!


Kelsey and Halicy try to escape.

I just noticed when I zoomed in on Kelsey that I see some teeth poking through!


Yay! That means they will be trying out Sierra's food soon. She should be happy about that. Speaking of Sierra, she is so starved for attention that she falls all over me when I got in to weigh, and check on everyone. She is really gonna make someone a great lap cat.


This was a random shot of pure cuteness




In the mean time, I added a couple of "walls" to help mama contain the little travelers.



It's bedtime now, everyone found a tap, and all is right with the world.

rampin' up

These little guys are really starting to move around. All of them now try to climb in my lap on their little wobbly legs. I have a feeling I am going to be crawling with itty bitties in a few weeks. Literally! They are awfully cute though.

Kelsey is the one who hears me and immediately starts howling and trying to get to me. This morning, she was squawking, and trying to get to me, and Sierra promptly came over, picket her up and put her back in the far corner! I wish I had the camera with me then.

They are all growing, so I am not too worried about supplementing them. We range from 7 1/2 oz, to 8 3/4 oz. They really do grow up fast...


Kelsey is the first one to the bottle...



And now takes a look around



Is it just me, or does Dot look like ET hiding in the stuffed animals?

big new world

Wow these guys are growing up fast! The gestation period for cats is only about 60-65 days, so considering that, I guess eyes open in less than a week, and moving around in less than 2 is about right. They are really starting to look around and explore. I am going to have to make some changes soon!

I have started to split a bottle 5 ways a couple of times a day, and Kelsey and Hogan took to it the fastest. Halicy cracks me up. She is a little more difficult to take the bottle, but once she latches on, she sort of goes limp, and almost balls up while she has at it. Kelsey has now started to come looking for me to feed her when she hears me come in the room.


Kelsey looking for the giant food machine

Everyone gained weight, and seem to be doing well. Hogan had his eye lids stuck together this morning, but after a warm water wipe down, he has been fine the rest of the day. Hopefully that will be a non issue, and no more glued eyes!


Hogan takes a big step down while Halicy gives a shove


Hogan and "Dot" take a look around




Kelsey and Dot


Everyone belly up to the bar. Always room for jello

supplement

Well, It's Tuesday, and I decided the itty bitties might need a little more nourishment than mama can give them at this point, so I decided to supplement their diet with a bottle of formula a couple of times a day. 3 of them latched on great, and 2 didn't. I figure any help I can give Sierra will help out even the ones that don't take to the bottle.

I did a quick check last night, and sure enough, 4 girls and one boy. So, I need two more names for this litter. Any suggestions?


Kelsey was one that latched on, and got her belly full.


Sierra is still being a good mama, and here's a shot of her post kitten bath. Didn't quite get that tongue back in.


This picture is a little creepy to me...What was that horror movie where the scary dude had all the tortured children in/on his body? Freddy Kruger? Well, whatever, this sorta reminds me of that!


This is what a puddle of full kittens looks like.


They are starting to get a little feisty now, and bite at each other.

time to see the world

We have some eyes opening! 5 various stages of eyes going on now. They are all growing like weeds, all over 6 1/2 oz, and one at 7 1/2!

Sierra is a very good mother, very attentive. She is a sweet cat, and I am sure she will be adopted right away once she goes on view.



I have given a few of the babies names! They are posted below their photos. I have named 3 of them after former teammates of mine from the Divas. The skinny, scrappy one who doesn't look too tough, but doesn't take any business from her siblings is Kelsey, named after Emerine Kelsey, former Defensive End. The one with the orange blaze oh her head is Halicy, after Melissa Hailcy, best friend of Emerine, and former linebacker. The darkest kitten, and I think the only boy, well, his name is Hogan, after Claudia Hogan. If you know any of these guys, you get it. If not, just know that these little guys are named appropriately.





Kelsey


Hogan


We have been calling this one "Dot" because of the little dot of black on her nose.


Halicy

we have urine!

Yes, there was urine in the litter box this morning! Yay! Also, a totally empty water bowl. Then, around lunch time, there was poop! This girl just spaces her business further apart than most. She is fine.

We seemed to have come to a truce on where the babies are better off. I moved the bed next to where she keeps moving them, but on occasion, she will still move one or two of them, and then it seems like she gets tired, and just forgets. I came home this evening and one of them, the mostly black one, was all by herself asleep in the back of the shelf. I picked her up, and she was wailing! She seemed to be pretty hungry, but was having a hard time finding a "tap" to hook on to. Almost like she was too excited. I tried to help, and after many times trying, she got one, and wow, she was going at it. All 4 little legs were pumping! She is small, but scrappy, and she was not going to let any of her siblings dislodge her! And oh, they tried! She would tire, and seem to start to fall asleep, but I would stroke her back, and she was at it again, all 4 little legs pumping.

Everyone gained weight today, Most are around 5 1/2 oz. One is about 6 1/4. We have a LONG way to go to get to 2lbs, 9 oz. Should be a fun ride, and we all get to see them grow up.

I was having trouble figuring out who was who, so I took the following photos.
I still need a good face photo of the first little girl. This is the one who was off by herself.















I am fairly sure they are all girls, except for number 2 there. Still a little hard to tell when they are this small. Gotta get some names working. Post 'em if you have any suggestions.

something brewing?

Today seems to have gone OK for the newest members of kitty central, but I am a bit concerned about Mama cat, (who we renamed Sierra). She has not used the litter box since Tuesday night, Wednesday morning. Nothing. No urine, no poop. I took her temp, which was normal. She has been eating crunchies, but has not eaten any canned food since Tuesday. She has been drinking OK, two bowls in 3 days. I am going to see if there is anything in there tomorrow morning, and if not, call the vet. Could be she is peeing somewhere else, but I have a pretty sensitive nose for that, and I haven't smelled anything.

The babies all gained weight today, so I am happy about that. I am having a hard time telling 2 of them apart, because the pictures the shelter supplied me with doesn't show one of the two's face! I am almost convinced it's the same kitten, and they took his picture twice, and missed one. I am going to use the ones I took tonight to really be able to tell. It's only day 3, so even if I got the weights wrong one night, it won't be a big deal.

We are having friends over this weekend for dinner, and I think I know where they will spend a lot of their time!
There is an awful lot of cute going on here.