Time Flies... the Tiny Babies Explore their World

Born on 24 April, the weeks have flown by so quickly that I did not realise the new Kittens actually were annoyed by the restraints under which they lived. My greatest concern had been Beauty, who appeared weakened by the constant demands that her children made upon her. I therefore plied her with Cat Milk and KMR... and fed it to the smallest of the kittens as well.

When all the Kittens howled angrily at me whenever I entered their universe, I thought it was hunger that motivated them. Little did I realise that they ALL were ready for big changes.

I removed the box that had been their nest a few days ago, after a struggle with Beauty... she kept taking ONE kitten out of the box and stashing it in the tiny cat carrier that had been her second nest for them. It is interesting to realise now that the kitten she chose was the largest one, not the smallest. In fact, she was trying to acknowledge his need for independence rather than attempting to find another nest.

At the point when I removed the box, I was feeding the smallest kittens a couple of times each day with a feeding syringe. After all the kittens showed signs of interest in the Cat Milk, I began to try to teach them to drink from a bowl. Some were quicker to grasp the system than others. A couple of them continued to try to bite the edge of the bowl, vainly attempting to find a nipple where none existed and becoming quite cross when none materialised.

I had placed another large box behind the scratching post some time ago. Ash liked it and tended to crawl into it when the antics of the Puttikins proved too much for him. I did not realise that the tiny kittens were using it as a secret lavatory until yesterday. I cleaned it out and placed fresh cardboard on the bottom of it last night. This morning, however, Mish-Mish, one of the Puttikins, SAT in it. Utterly insane and quite disgusting. I immediately demolished THAT box and seeing that the tiny kittens had some notion of the purpose of a litter box, filled the small litter box and placed it there instead.

As all the Cat Milk was gone, I had to make an emergency run for supplies. I decided to buy Kitten Chow as well. About half of the kittens immediately began to eat it. No grace nor elegance, but what a fabulous accomplishment! Unfortunately, as I had predicted, the Puttikins went for it as well. It reminds me of older children who decide that THEY want a bottle when a younger sibling arrives on the scene. Actually, I have found Adoro more than once ensconced between two of his tiny siblings, happily nursing... I had to scold him firmly as Beauty certainly does not have milk nor strength to spare for a five month old kitten!