Kitten's First Real Drink

The Kitten who once was the 'White Kitten' now displays points, albeit far lighter than the two siblings who resemble him in a general way. The other two definitely will be Flamepoints. Although this Kitten has points that are lighter, they still may be golden rather than blue.

In any case, always more mature than his siblings, he lunged towards the little dish I had filled with Cat Milk about half an hour ago. Beauty had demonstrated such a need for food that I decided to give her a tin of Cat Milk to restore her strength. The four Kittens do drain her a little.

When I served the Milk to her, the largest Kitten showed a definite interest in it. I placed the dish in a strategic location and put him next to it. He immediately began to lap the milk!

The little marmalade kitten, on the other hand, simply bit the edge of the dish repeatedly and never really took an interest. I expect all four will be drinking liquids from the dish in a day or two.

Boxing Day Box for the Kittens and their Mum

From my friend Mars-Frog, a wonderful Harvest Moon Christmas Box containing, among other things, a REAL Petting Glove! I didn't know such things existed outside Harvest Moon. A little dish, some special Kitten food and other sundries including a lovely box of fudge for the human guardian of the Pussycats.

Thank you, Mars!

Babies' 1st Christmas and becoming a Kitten Again

With Beauty behaving so respectably and taking her duties as a new Mother so seriously, I forgot how close to being a child still she is... until this morning.

When I took the Cats their Christmas gifts, I knew that the kittens were too young really to play with most of them and that their major interest would remain the little doll's tree. What I failed to anticipate was Beauty's extraordinary response to one of the stuffed mice.

The large and quite long fur mouse has been a favourite with every Cat I have had. Beauty and Ashleigh inherited one of Lionheart's old mice but I gave them a new one for Christmas.

Beauty went for it instantly and removed it from its packaging unaided, then proceeded to transform from devoted Mother to insane feral Cat. I never saw her behave in such a fashion previously. She certainly never exhibits any possessive behaviour with respect to real food, but when Ashleigh came closer to the mouse to investigate it, she actually HISSED at him! She then took the mouse in her mouth and ran off with it, growling like a lioness holding her prey. It was bizarre and rather entertaining, although I wasn't certain if it would lead to even more violent behaviour.

She forgot she was a Mother. Although her kittens began to cry for her, somehow instinctively aware that her attentions were elsewhere, she ignored them completely in favour of keeping the long fur mouse to herself. I finally put my hand in the jaws of the lion as it were to remove the toy, not knowing if she would hiss at me or even bite me. Oddly enough, although her teeth were clenched round it firmly, I was able to wrestle it free from her and she did not respond with any hostility.

The Kittens, meanwhile, actually did become interested in their first little ball. Born on 2 December, they are still almost newborns and yet they have become real Kittens, grooming themselves, tussling with their siblings, responding verbally to their mother's cries and responding to me as well a little. It is very exciting.

Over the Hills and Through the Woods

On Christmas Eve morning, the Kittens have their breakfast while their Mother, Beauty, inspects the 'sleigh' that will take them to 'Grandmother's House'. For those who do not recognise the allusions, it is an old Yuletide song:
'Over the hills and through the Woods
To Grandmother's House we go;
The horse knows the way
To carry the Sleigh
Through the white and drifted snow...'

It is pure fantasy, of course. I am not about to send the Kittens or my darling Beauty and Ash outside, snow or no snow... Father Christmas, however, will leave their Gifts in the red waggon when he visits and they will be able to explore it and them to their heart's content on Christmas Morning.

Returning to the fantasy journey:
Meanwhile, both Beauty and Ashleigh inspected the 'sleigh' in preparation for the trip to Grandmother's House. What fun it would be for the Kittens to have their first glimpse of snow and feel the occasional snowflake kiss their upturned faces! They are filled with the spirit of discovery now, questing ever further each day from the security of their Mother's warmth to gaze, sniff and listen to every aspect of their new world.

Later, when I attach real sleigh bells to the handle of the waggon, I daresay that will interest Beauty and Ash as well as the babies. In the initial moments of inspection, Beauty promptly bit the handle of the waggon while Ashleigh gingerly and carefully prowled over to the other side to sniff at it. The kittens were too busy nursing to notice it, but once they have filled their tummies, they probably will explore the area beneath the waggon as their little legs are too short to allow them to climb into it unaided.

Later I will place all four inside the waggon and try to take a photograph before they have a chance to scatter. The red waggon is a doll-sized reproduction of the classical Radio Flyer waggon known to generations of children. It was sent as a gift a number of years ago by a very dear family friend and has been used each year for the milkshake and shortbread that are left for Father Christmas, aka Santa with a note and a couple of carrots for the Reindeer. He always remarks upon the excellence of the milkshake (a peculiar family tradition, not generally observed in ANY country), which is made from eggnog and vanilla ice cream and often leaves an ornament for the Tree. The ornaments invariably are of himself in one guise or another. I do not know if he will leave another this year as the tree now groans with the collection he has bestowed over the years... The reindeer never finish THEIR offering, but leave a half-bitten carrot in the waggon and often a few grains of snow and pine needles. They are messy creatures but at least it serves as proof that they were here.

There are some wonderful books about Cats at Christmas incidentally. I shall have to take photographs of a few for this site.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

A tree that once belonged to some dolls has been lent to the Kittens to introduce them to some old Christmas traditions. A sleigh, likewise borrowed from the dolls, was given to them briefly, although their exploration of it was tentative. It is not the Dolls' best Tree, so if Beauty destroyed it in a fit of rage, the dolls would not grieve too much.

Beauty quickly became agitated by the two alien objects and I was forced to return them to the dolls... For Beauty's sake more than the Tree, as she bit it rather fiercely and I did not wish her to ingest any of it. I don't dare place real evergreens near them.

All done in some haste as I need to trim a REAL TREE before Christmas!

Little Marmalade Kitten with his Mum

The little Marmalade Kitten is the most retiring of the Kittens and tends to curl up beneath his Mother's neck whenever possible.

Reindeer and Kittens

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On the Eve of the Solstice, I place an old wicker Reindeer near the Kittens to see if any one would display any interest.

Considering they only opened their eyes for the first time a couple of days ago, they showed more interest than I would have expected.