Getting Older (and Cuter)!

Zotz

 The candy kittens (Zotz and Zagnut) are seven weeks old today (5/20) while their cookie "siblings" turn six weeks old on Wednesday (5/21).

Zagnut

Stroopy eating in the middle of the plate!

Biscoff the lap cat

The kittens continue to grow and are constantly learning new things. Shortbread and Fudge Stripe are the smallest (Fudgie is a smidge lighter than her sister). They have finally cracked the pound mark. They are behind in weight but that's nothing to worry about. One kitten has to be the smallest. They are both gaining weight every day and as long as that continues, there's no cause for alarm. Zagnut is the largest at 32 ounces, a full week ahead of where he should be. He's a mighty two pounder whose feet are an inch and a half wide. They are unbelievably - and comically - big. Biscoff, Stroopy, and Zotz are pretty much tied around 25 ounces. Biscoff and Stroopy are slightly heavier than target (24 ounces) but considering they're medium hairs, perhaps that extra ounce is all fluff. :-) Zotz is behind. She should be 28 ounces. Again, since she continues to gain weight, there's nothing to worry about. Double Stuff is constantly doing his own thing and his weight is right smack dab in the middle of everyone else's. He's a little underweight at 22 ounces (since he should be 24). Most of the kittens are still trying to play catch-up from all of Nadya's illnesses.

All of the kittens are eating canned food now - and even a few have ventured into eating dry food. They still nurse from time to time. When they'll stop is determined by a combination of desire and accommodation. If they still want to and Nadya still allows them to, they will continue to nurse. Some momma cats shut their kittens off around seven weeks; some momma cats have been known to nurse well into five or six months...

The kittens all use the litter box. Nadya has stopped cleaning the litter box, removing its contents... (thank goodness!)

The kittens have learned how comfortable cat beds are, even when it's a small bed piled high with siblings. They now have several beds in their room.

They also have tons of toys, although the cube and the tunnel seem to be the favorites. Biscoff and Double Stuff have really embraced toys and can often be seen batting them around or carrying them in their mouth. Biscoff was the first to figure out how to play with the ball-in-track toy. He's a very smart boy!

The smallest - Fudge Stripe

Their personalities continue to emerge. Biscoff and Stroopy love lap time. Biscoff is incredibly smart and quickly figures out new toys. Stroopy... is a bit of a scaredy cat. He's often the first  - and sometimes the only one - who runs and hides. His favorite spot is behind the litter box, tucked into the corner. Zotz is the trouble maker - and is quite good an instigating the other kittens into getting into trouble. Nadya is constantly chasing Zotz and yelling at her. (Nadya refuses to believe that she's lost control of her kittens; they don't listen to her constant chatter but she insists on scolding them) Shortbread is turning into a sweetheart. She often wrestles with the big kittens (Zagnut, who is almost twice her weight, is her best buddy... after Fudge Stripe) and then climbs into my lap, looking up at me with her big eyes, asking politely to have her cheeks rubbed as she falls asleep. Double Stuff is the talker. He must get that from his mother. He talks in the litter box; he talks when he's hiding under something to leap out at his siblings; he talks when he's in No-Kitty-Land (the side of the room the kittens aren't supposed to go into but do anyway), which totally tells his mother that he's up to something mischievous. He's a bit zany, too. Fudge Stripe is the ultimate crazy cat. She's tiny but she's got great speed. She's often so fast, her back legs can't keep up (and then she's running on just the front two paws - I kid you not). Zagnut, the giant, is a bit afraid of me. He gets freaked out when I try to pick him up. Once he's on my lap, he loves to be petted. He doesn't seek out affection much. I'm working on that.

Shortbread looking worried.

The kittens play amazingly well together. No one hates another kitten. There isn't sibling drama. In a lot of litters, the same colored kittens gravitate towards each other (the grey kittens cuddle with other grey kittens; orange kittens with orange kittens, etc). In this litter, it seems as though size is the defining factor. There are definite friendships - Biscoff, Stroopy, and Zagnut are buds. Shortbread and Fudge Stripe are friends. Shortbread and Zagnut are friends. Zotz and Double Stuff seem to be the liaisons - neither one of them has developed a tight friendship with anyone yet but they do play well with all the other kittens.

Double Stuff

Nadya has been off antibiotics for three full days now. Her temp is holding steady at 101 (the range of normal is 99.5-102.5). Her appetite has decreased significantly, which is understandable now that she's not solely responsible for feeding her kittens. She is teaching her kittens to be finicky. She'll eat anything... for a couple of days. And then she decides she doesn't like it anymore.

Everyone is doing well.  Everyone continues to grow and thrive. Everyone continues to develop. Everyone is pretty happy (as long as the carpet sweeper isn't being used).

(All photos taken by KrisKreativ)

Four Weeks Old!

Nadya's five kittens are four weeks old today (5/7)! The two orphans (Zotz and Zagnut) turned 5 weeks old on 5/6.

All of the kittens are getting more mobile. Still a little wobbly, particularly when walking slow, but several have really mastered running. Uh-oh! They're getting more accustomed to eating solid food.  Double Stuff and Fudge Stripe are the two remaining hold outs. They both refuse to eat solid food. I think Double Stuff has issues getting dirty. He doesn't want to mess up that white fur! He's the only one of the kittens that never spills a drop and never gets a milk beard while being bottle fed. Fudge Stripe is a bit like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh - very small and very afraid. She doesn't think canned food is for kittens.

They're all developing little personalities, too. Biscoff is going to be a MAJOR lap cat. He (I think he's a he) seems to prefer to fall asleep on my lap after (or while waiting) bottle feeding. Zagnut loves to play. Double Stuff is very clingy. Shortbread always seems to have a worried look on his face. Fudge Stripe is very quiet and a bit reserved... and then unleashes some spontaneous crazies. Stroopy is a sly one, seemingly quiet and reserved but can definitely kick up his heals with his pal Zagnut. Zotz is two dimensional - she is great at instigating the other kittens into a playing frenzy but is also quite capable of playing by herself.

Alliances are forming! The three biggest kittens seem to like to play together - Zagnut, Biscoff, and Stroopy. Zagnut and Biscoff are often curled up sleeping on my legs after bottle time. The two smaller kittens play together - Shortbread and Fudge Stripe. However, Shortbread can handle his own and often plays with the biggest of them all - Zagnut. Zotz is a liason. She can be rough and tumble with her big brother Zagnut but also spends a lot of time wrestling with the smaller kittens (probably because she can win). Double Stuff... Double Stuff seems to prefer bottle time....

Of course, the kittens are young. Alliances certainly haven't been set in stone yet. It will be interesting to see how the kittens pair up in a month.

The kitten room is divided in half - literally. I have wood planks stacked up, separating the room with one side kitten proof (or as kitten proof as something can be) and the other side where all the electrical cords and more breakable supplies are stored. This morning, three kittens followed me over to the wrong side of the planks... (Of course, Zotz has been doing this for a week now). Darn it! I'll be adding extra kitten security tonight to keep them on their side of the room. Well, for at least a few more days.

Three of Nadya's kittens are right on track (or even a little above) for weights. At four weeks old, they should be one pound (16 ounces). Biscoff is 18 ounces, Stroopy and Double Stuff are almost 17 ounces. Unfortunately, all of Nadya's health issues have affected Shortbread and Fudge Stripe. They're a little under 14 ounces. This often happens and is nothing to worry about. They're perfectly healthy and have plenty of time to make up their weight. At five weeks old, Zotz and Zagnut should be 20 ounces (they gain 4 ounces a week). Zagnut is well ahead of the game at 22 ounces; Zotz is surprisingly underweight at 18 ounces. She's just too busy exploring and playing to eat.

Nadya's temperature remains well within the normal range. She's still on antibiotics (which she says tastes horrible and often runs around the room after I've given her some meds). She also gets sub-Q fluids (under the skin) once a day. She seems to be in good spirits. She loves play time. After I've fed her and bottle fed all the kittens, she likes to block the door or sits by her toys as soon as she sees me stand up (the cue that I'm probably leaving the room). To keep her spirits up, I make sure to play with her every night.

The kittens are happy, healthy, and very energetic. Everyone is doing well.

The Kittens Are Growing Up!

Nadya's kittens were born on 4/9. This photo shoot was 5/3, when they were about 3 1/2 weeks old. The orphans were born on 4/1, which means they're almost 5 weeks old in these photos.

Zotz, still the leader, and still the first to do everything! 

Shortbread. Such sad eyes for such a happy cat.... 

Stroopy! 

Fudge Stripe, the smallest of the bunch.

Biscoff gets into posing. 

Double Stuff, the infamous waddler. 

Zagnut...  so unsure of what he's supposed to be doing... 

Nadya Comes Home!

Nadya was released from the vet last night (4/30). She came home with a bunch of medications and a happy heart.

To my surprise, ALL of the kittens could not only walk but were more than happy to practice that newfound mobility. Translation: They're all over the place! First out of the kennel after momma was, of course, Zotz. The rest of them soon followed, wiggling and wobbling all over their room.

First task - feed momma and the kittens. A lot of the kittens have discovered the joys of eating canned food. A few that didn't eat probably don't have their sense of smell fully developed so they're not interested in (nor do they even notice) the slop on the plate in front of them. After the canned food was consumed, I brought out the bottle of formula. A little line of kittens formed at my feet as they waited (not so patiently) for their turn at the bottle. All kittens now get bottle fed. Prior to Nadya's last hospitalization, only those that were not gaining weight or those who had lost weight were getting bottle fed. Now, to take the pressure off Nadya, all kittens get bottle fed three times a day (in addition to canned food, if they'll eat that). I love that the kittens know me as the gal with the bottle. When one walks up to me and cries, I'm pretty sure they're telling me, "I'm hungry!"

Second task - build something to contain the kittens so that they're not walking around, getting into mischief. Of course, this containment arena needs to be easily escapable for momma. I built several different options. None of which were acceptable to Nadya. Instead, she moved the kittens one by one (even took one right out of my hands as I was bottle feeding her) to the cave at the bottom of the cat tower. An itty bitty cave. Very itty bitty. It barely is big enough for one adult cat let alone an adult cat who needs to nurse seven kittens. And it does not contain the kittens at all (as demonstrated by Zotz two seconds after Nadya moved her to the cave). After spending almost two hours building - and tearing down - containment centers, I finally gave in to Nadya. I sectioned off the room with planks, dividing the room. One half is kitten proof. The other half contains the power cords, laptop, heater, and all supplies (extra bowls, medications, cans of food, etc). Zotz, of course, will be the first over on that side... (And then it's back to the drawing board).

Third task - Nadya's medications. Nadya needs to have her temperature monitored... which means I get the joy of taking her temperature twice a day (once a day is bad enough). She's not happy about this and neither am I. Last night's temperature was 103.5 (higher than what is normal but not horrible).

In addition to temperature taking, Nadya needs sub-Q fluids (saline given under the skin, not in the vein). Again, Nadya is not happy about this experience. For the first time since she arrived, she growled at me. I completely understand - the needle is quite big and the feeling of water flooding into your body cannot be pleasant (even though I warmed the fluids before the procedure). Although I am quite experienced giving fluids, most of my patients have been elderly and near death. Having a young, mobile, and busy cat is a different experience. Nadya is strong and strong willed. She had kittens to attend to and didn't want to put up with something holding her back. She had words for me when I tried to confine her.

Nadya also has a few antibiotics and supplements to take. Nadya said very clearly that her antibiotics do NOT taste very good.

All in all, Nadya is enduring her treatment. She's a little more growly and vocal than she's been before but it's understandable. No one likes medications. No one likes needles jabbed in them. She and I will work on our routine. She's a good girl with a good heart so I'm sure she'll come to understand that I'm only trying to help.

Fudge Stripe also got to join in on the medication fun. She had an abscess on her rear that was infected. It was drained and now she's on antibiotics to help it all heal. Most likely the abscess was caused by Nadya accidentally nipping Fudgie. I assume Fudge sat in some formula during one of her bottle feedings and Nadya over zealously cleaned her up.

After medications, Nadya got some treats (which helps take the awful taste of the antibiotics away) and some playtime. She's not fully her happy, purry, dancing self but she did purr and she did humor me with a couple of playful bats at her toys.

Fourth task - feed the kittens again. Canned food for those who would eat the food and bottle feedings for all. I will have to wash my clothes after that. There was a lot of spillage as some of the kittens are new to the bottle experience. I was amazed that some got the hang of this bottle thing after just a few sucks. My kittens are smart. :-)

From this morning (5/1): Nadya's temp was 102.9. It's always a good sign when the temp goes down!

It took about an hour and a half to get everyone bottle fed. Several kittens did not want to get out of bed! Zotz, of course, was the first one up followed by Biscoff. After Biscoff was done with his bottle, he woke up several more kittens who then staggered like zombies out of the cave and over to me. Zagnut preferred to lick his formula off a plate, which was just fine with me. Stroopy was the last one up and would have slept right through breakfast if I didn't go get him. He loved the canned food and camped right in front of the plate.

The kittens are learning how to play. Zagnut was enjoying biting his siblings and they in turn enjoyed whapping him in the face.

Everyone is doing fine. Kittens are happy to be able to roam. I'm not as happy about that but I do love how much they're growing and learning. The kittens lost a bit of weight while at the vet but we'll make that up with bottle feedings and canned food.

BTW, Nadya's kittens turned three weeks old yesterday (4/30).