So, um, it turns out Lynx is actually a guy. My bad. The RSPCA didn't write their genders on the sheet this time, and believe it or not it's not real easy to check when there's all this fur and the kitten's squirming. I suppose it's just lucky he got a relatively gender-neutral name. It does make it a little more amusing that he keeps suckling on his sister like he's homesick. Be a man, Lynx! 'Cause in about a week, you'll have lost the chance.

Tags: photos

GENERAL
Litter: Two
Kittens: Two
Previously: Presumably strays
Mother: Unknown
Age: Unknown; would perhaps estimate six weeks?

KITTEN ONE
Name: Sandy
Reason: Has a sandy-coloured back foot.
Sex: Female
Description: Long-haired black/tortoiseshell. Green eyes.
Initial Weight: 1.07kg
Temperament: Skittish, and not particularly comfortable with being handled. Noisy, or at least will be once she can meow properly.

KITTEN TWO
Name: Lynx
Reason: Massive ear-tufts.
Sex: Female
Description: Long-haired black. Green eyes.
Initial Weight: 1.07kg
Temperament: Initially a little more skittish than her sister, in that at one point she was chasing something, abruptly noticed me, and did a flying leap backwards.

Tags: facts

I have not posted for a while, shame on me. In any case, the experience is soon to be over. Batty was given back some time ago, and tomorrow Charlie, former littlest of the lot, is to be returned. I think we all - well, my mother and I in any case - will miss her pretty dearly, as she was a very affectionate kitten, and easy to love. I suppose this is good, though, seeing as no doubt someone else will be sure to love her too.

Having had her the longest, I've picked up on a lot of her quirks. As well as being so eager for attention that she'll come running to you, Charlie is a non-stop purrer. Sometimes all it takes is the sound of a voice to get her going, and she has an oddly musical, humming purr that carries far. She also likes to play fetch, I kid you not. She seems to have an addiction to carrying things around in her mouth, so you can steal the toy off her, throw it away, and watch with intense amusement as she carries it back. I suppose this dog-like attitude is the reason she gets on bizarrely well with our Jack Russell, Jasper - if only she and the household cat were to get on, but no. They spend a lot of time with Charlie attempting to pounce on Sasha's tail, and Sasha letting the world know loudly how much she does not appreciate this.

( And now, for the bit you all care about, the photos: )

Tags: facts, photos

Barker has been returned to the RSPCA, has no doubt been desexed, and is just waiting to recover so he can be adopted out. In commemoration, here's a post full of the seventy million pictures we took trying to get a decent one for his advertisement poster. (They hang these on the cages so people know a bit about the kitten and will be more likely to adopt them.)









And my personal favourite:




"This is Barker! He’s quiet and a little shy, but once he warms up to you he’s quite friendly. He adores a good cuddle, especially if you scratch his neck, and of course he loves to play. And, as you can see, he’s downright pretty!"

Tags: photos

 It looks like the new feeding is bulking them up nice and quickly!

Barker: 1007 -> 1201
Batty: 912 -> 1008
Charlie: 576 -> 650

This (unfortunately?) means that Barker is now plenty big enough to go back to the RSPCA. Charlie's also big enough to make a visit, as she needs to get her vaccination; she was too small for even that back then. Mum thinks we should talk to them about keeping Batty for as long as we have Charlie, as the littlest kitten is fairly social and might get lonely without at least one of her siblings. 

Also I think I'm allergic to something about the kittens. I don't know if it's them or a flea bath or whatever, but I get a little congested and tend to sneeze a lot. Ah well.

...cutting it off here, Batty is attemtping to climb the flyscreen on my window...

Barker: 1000 -> 1007
Batty: 900 -> 912
Charlie: 590 -> 576

As you can see, Charlie's lost weight. Methinks I'll give up on regulated feeding and go back to the 'graze at will' set-up.

Oh look they is moving hur hur.

Charlie mauling my camera cord.


Batty and Barker romping around.

Tags: videos

The first batch of godawful photographs! I swear I'm not engaging in favouratism; Charlie's just the most camera-friendly, apparently.

Barker



Batty



Charlie

Tags: photos

Night-times are a little awkward. They spent the first night sleeping through most of it under my bed - they've taken a strange delight in the mattress down there - and I slept in short bursts, occasionally woken up by crunching or scraping as they ate and...expelled previous eaten things. (They're so small and yet they poo so much!) Once I was woken up by something landing on me, making me lunge up with a startled yelp and poor Barker to basically go "ARGH CRAP RUN". I don't think that helped our relationship much.

Second night was less good. Silly old me woke the kittens up before I went to bed, and of course they then wanted to play, not sleep. I strove to ignore the thumps and skitters for half an hour, before giving up the ghost and crawling downstairs to the guest room to share the bed with Sasha. She didn't mind; I'd even say she was pleased. I've been trying to lavish attention on her when possible, but she's still highly miffed about having her territory overtaken by tiny fluffballs - after all, the last 'kitten' we had grew into a Jack Russell. I'm hoping she'll move past the hissing stage soon. I'm especially hoping this because the next plan is to move the kittens down to the guest room every night, but shut them in the adjoining bathroom and leave Sasha with the main room. I'd rather they didn't traumatise each other all night.

Feeding is taking some re-planning too. For the first while I simply kept their food bowl topped up and let them graze at will. The goal is to have them gain weight, after all. But after flicking through the RSPCA booklet again, I've decided to regulate their food intake a little more, and give them three small meals a day. I want them to gain growth weight, not get fat. The other trick is making sure Charlie gets her fair share, because her siblings like to stick their heads in the bowl and butt her right out.

Hopefully these changes will work out. University is starting soon, and I'd like to get regular nights of sleep.

GENERAL
Litter: One
Kittens: Three
Previously: Strays
Mother: Unknown (whether she's still at the RSPCA or whether the kittens were brought in alone, I don't know.)
Age: Estimated four weeks or so

KITTEN ONE
Name: Barker
Reason: My brother wanted 'Travis Barker Junior'. I...compromised. (Name may be 'officially' changed to Baxter when given back simply because Barker is a damn weird name for a cat.)
Sex: Male
Description: Hint of Siamese in his seal points and blue eyes. Largest of the three.
Initial Weight: 1kg
Temperament: Shy, reclusive, and not fond of being handled, though will subside contentedly enough if picked up. Perfectly happy to bully his siblings when it comes to food and toys.

KITTEN TWO
Name: Batty
Reason: Great big bat-like ears.
Sex: Female
Description: Dark tabby with marbled green-gold eyes. Medium.
Initial Weight: 900g
Temperament: Friendly, and intensely curious. The first to get into new places, and will hiss back if threatened. Loves cuddles, but has an odd habit of rolling on back, and suckling fingers.

KITTEN THREE
Name: Charlie
Reason: The runt of the litter, and prone to twitchiness. This made my brain go "Heh heh, just like the small heroin-addict on Lost." Ergo, Charlie.
Sex: Female
Description: Takes after her brother, but with paler points. Still very blue eyes. Positively miniscule.
Initial Weight: 500g
Temperament: Very, very friendly; will purr the moment she's picked up. Falls asleep in anyone's lap, and likes to sit on shoulders.

Tags: facts