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Finola's Kitten Diary Summer 2010 |
| This reads from the bottom up. New entries are added at the top so its easy to follow as they grow. |
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| The music used on this page is Let Them Be Little by Billy Dean |
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These
kittens are the progeny of our sire Balor and dam Finola. Look for follow up photo's of the kitten's in this litter as they grow up on our Where Are They Now? page. |
| With the end of summer we say good bye to our lovely Finola and her three kittens and close this kitten diary. Each of these kittens has a unique personality and we will look back fondly on the time we had with them. We hope to have many updates from their families as they mature. | |
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Closing Stats #1 Avatar – is now Finnegan and lives in West Newton, MA with his momma Finola. #2 Nerissa – is now Pearl and lives in Sterling, MA with her older brother Sapphire. (Finola's 2008 litter) #3 Koko – is now Niles and lives in Manhattan, New York with his older sister Nisa (Keva;s 2009 litter) |
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| September 3rd -12 weeks old - We were able to send off all three kittens today before the rains from Hurricane Earl arrived. Here are their final photos. | |
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Avatar - 12 weeks of age |
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Oh Grandma's tail is moving. |
I've got to get it! |
| PEARL - 12 weeks of age | |
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| Koko - 12 weeks of age | |
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| August 31th - Niles is doing very well. He was a little bit wound up last night and wanted to play rough but today he is much quieter and is resting. I can't make the bed because he is using it, lol. Momma is sitting with him. |
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| August 30th - This past weekend Avi
and Finola's family stopped by for a visit and to drop off their
carrier. We are taking extra steps to help Finola with her transition
from our home to theirs. It will be harder for her as an adult and as a
momma worried about her baby. Allow them to become familiar with their
carrier and bedding will help. Everyone wanted a turn in the carrier,
lol. Even Finola who has been afraid of her carrier since her surgery
went right in and laid down. Early this morning Koko went in to the
Animal Hospital to have his cbc blood test rechecked. The results were
normal so he stayed to have his neuter surgery. Everything went well and
I picked him up at 3:30pm. He is now home resting quietly. Nobbody
thought he smelled bad....like hospital, its a good thing.
" I be restin'" Koko |
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Good Morning babies -Nerissa left and Koko right, with Avi behind. |
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Koko |
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Koko in the sun before going off to the Animal Hospital |
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Hi Mags, I don't need to get up... |
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I like the sun on the floor. |
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Koko giving kisses and..... |
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..... blowing some kisses out to his family and fans. |
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"Do I really have to go to the Vet now?", Koko |
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| Avatar " Finnegan" | |
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| Nerissa | |
" Hey Ania, can you hear me? Siamese have healing powers and I'm sending all mine to you. Get better soon so we can play!" |
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Nerissa |
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Momma Finola & Koko |
Grandma Maeve inside & Avatar on top his travel coach. |
Momma Finola watching over the kits |
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Nerissa's night moves |
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| August 26 - eleven weeks old - Today we feature mostly Avi photos to make up for my lack of his photos yesterday. The follow up virus tests we had run on Koko came back negative. We knew he hadn't been exposed but we had to eliminate the possibility that his cbc results were because his body was fighting a virus. Now that we know he is not sick I have scheduled him to have his blood work run again on Monday. If his cbc results show he is back to normal he will have his surgery on Monday too. Nerissa's tummy is looking great and Avi's incision looks great too. Everybody was on the bed last night. |
Avatar 11 weeks of age |
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Nerisssa with her gear, lol |
Finola, Koko, & Avatar |
Koko, Avatar, & Finola |
left to right - Koko, Avatar, & Finola |
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| "I'll get you the television remote
Koko. "
Koko on the floor & Avatar trying to jump up on the desk. He didn't make it. On the desk right, back to front, is Fen, Keva, and Magi. In front of me is Maeve. |
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| August 25 - I think these kittens are the best behaved after surgery kittens I have ever had. Well except this morning when I was awaken by the thundercats before 7 am.. It sounded like a derby race. Thundering paws around the center of the house then they shot up the hall and thundered across the bed and me, lol. I called them all to me and tried to settle them down. They were pretty good. Nerissa snuggled up against me and was purring. Avatar crawled into his nest and started attacking the bolster edge, lol. He found the tag and decided it was a great toy. Koko was popping in and out from under the bed. I think he was trying to tease Fen into playing with him. When I got up Koko was trying to get me to run with him so we played a bit of peek-a boo tag around the center of the house. He is much better at it them I am, lol. He decide to spend the day upstairs with Tasa and my daughter...thus the billow of pink in his photos. | |
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I'm resting right now (Avatar) I didn't realize I had no other photos of him for today. I'll make sure I get some tomorrow. |
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Koko |
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Koko |
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Koko |
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My nose is fine SEE. (Koko) (the camera angle just makes it look big) |
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Can we watch a movie now? Koko |
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Nerissa |
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Tummy looks great! |
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That's enough photos lets go play! |
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| August 24th - Nerissa tummy is looking great, no swelling or bruising. She is being a very good girl. We're trying to teach her not to bite and pull at the covers when a foot moves under it, lol. She can't resist attacking it. She was starting to teach Koko to do it too, lol. Avatar looks great also. I was sitting in my room watching my tivo-ed shows and Avi came in and curled up in the nest on the bed. He was hamming it up for some attention. He also came to me at my desk after his nap and asked me to pick him up for some lovin. He is such a sweetie. I have been watching Koko like a hawk. I have made him show me his gums and tongue several times today. I think I may be a little bit over worried, lol. I hear him sneeze a few times too. I checked him over thoroughly and there is no discharge. He really looks and behaves completely healthy. During nap time he is always on the top of the cat tree in my office. His lab cbc came back. His red count in in the normal range on the low end and the white count is low. We are doing some follow up and will re do his cbc in a week. If it is back to normal he will be good to move ahead with his surgery. | |
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Nerissa napping on the arm of the sofa |
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Handsome boys |
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| August 23rd - Today is alter surgery day. We were up
early and at the Animal Hospital by 8 am. The kittens were pretty quiet on the way
there. Each has a pre-surgery blood panel done before they have surgery.
The results for Avatar and Nerissa were normal and their surgeries went
well. Koko's blood work threw us a curve. It didn't make sense. Dr. Schaefer said when she
opened the carrier Koko was the first kitten to pop up and he wanted to
come out to visit with everyone, lol. She said his blood tests did not
reflect his obvious healthiness. She re-ran the cbc and it was still off
so she drew new blood and ran it again. It was showing his red and white
count as low. Looking at Koko she could clearly see he was not anemic.
His membranes (skin) were nice and pink and healthy. He was full of
energy. He has no symptoms of being ill. So she sent the blood off to
another lab to be tested. She thought maybe it was her equipment that was throwing
the numbers off. Its calibrated for adult cats and sometimes does give a
low or high number that is an anomaly and not an indicator of something
wrong with a kitten. We decided to hold off on doing his surgery
as a precaution.
Her guess was that perhaps he was having a reaction to his vaccination. We will know more when the blood test results come back. We picked all three kittens up around 4 pm. You would have though Koko did have surgery the way he wailed on the ride home, lol. He sounds like a little emergency siren. Some kittens come home as hyperactive crazy lil monsters until the drugs get out of their systems. After seeing how active Avatar was when he was born I had wondered if he was reacting to the anesthesia momma had? I fully expected to open the carrier and have a full on assault of hyperactivity. I was so wrong. The carrier had wonderful little angels in it. I could not see any evidence of anesthesia in their behavior at all. They were calm and sweet and happy to be home. Other then the funny smell they kept trying to lick off I don't think they even knew that had anything done...well except for Nerissa's shaved tummy, lol. She immediately set to work grooming herself. She licked all along the edge of the new "shirt hem line". I'm sure it felt funny to her tongue to have her fur abruptly stop. She licked up and down each leg very thoroughly. I only had to tell her twice not to lick her incision and she left it alone. She has a tiny incision that has no stitches for her to pull at. The skin is glued together. |
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Below her shirt edge, lol, her tummy shows four spots that are her nipples and the red line in the center is her incision. |
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To keep them from running around I placed a nest under the coffee table and we played with the feather wands. |
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She looks like she is sitting a bit funny but she is has pain medicine on board so she is not feeling a lot of pain. It may be the nakedness of her tummy that feels funny. |
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Nerissa |
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Resting with momma. Nerissa is licking her lips. She just finished a yawn and she sat up. |
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Avi and Nerissa resting together. They have been so good resting and not playing rough or running about, just like the doctor ordered! |
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Meowmy stop looking at me like that. (Koko) |
| I am watching Koko carefully and he is behaving normally and being so good not to rile up Avi and Nerissa. He ran and jumped with the bird while they watched. I checked their incisions before bed and they look great. I brought their nests on the bed to see if they would settle down with me for the night. They lounged a bit but ended up going back with their momma for the night. |
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| August 22nd -The kittens have gotten so big. They no longer look like babies. Nerissa and Avatar followed me into the master bathroom suite this morning. I have a full length mirror on the back of the door and Nerissa saw her self in the mirror. She shrank back bad puffed up. Poor baby was sure is was a strange cat she didn't recognize....and it puffed at her! lol. I scooped her up and told her it was okay and set her outside the door next to grandma Maeve. She very slowly and gingerly moved forward fearful that kitten was out there waiting for her, poor little girl. |
Avatar and Finola |
Avatar on the ottoman and Nerissa in the toy basket |
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Koko on his favorite resting place. |
Sharing his space with Avi |
Koko and Avatar |
Nerissa |
Avi and Momma Finola |
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| August 18-20th -ten weeks old - On Wednesday some
member of Koko's family drove up from Manhattan to visit with him. All
the kittens had fun playing. Koko has decided his favorite place to
sleep is on top the cat tree in my office. On Friday we had some of
Nerissa's family visit too. We've been having fun!
Click the logo to watch our short video on youtube or go to our youtube channel www.youtube.com/BlackandTanSiamese After watching the video click your back button on your tool bar to return to this page.
Aunty Keva is calling to the kittens and mothering them a bit. Poor Koko has had a few of his whiskers nibbled off, lol. For new readers both Maeve and Keva are mommas who give a kitten's face a through cleaning including removing their whiskers by biting each whisker off. |
Avatar 10 weeks old |
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Avi & Pearl |
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Nerissa 10 weeks old |
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Nerissa & Koko |
Koko 10 weeks old |
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Koko joins Grandma for a scratch |
Fen & Koko |
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Koko - Nighty night |
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| August 17th - Today was Visit the Vet day. I
noticed yesterday that Finola had a little bit of brown wax in her ear
so I cleaned them both with a q-tips. They weren't really dirty
but brown wax is something that shouldn't be in there, lol.
Unfortunately for her she got to ride along with the kittens to see the
doctor. We packed up the kittens together in the family carrier and
momma Finny in a single adult carrier. The kittens were very good. No
noise on the drive to the animal hospital...except from momma crying a
little. Finny was hiding under her bed in the carrier. This was her
first visit to the vet since her difficult delivery experience. When we
arrived she had pee'd all over herself. Our poor girl was scared to be
back at the vet. I always bring hand towels for the cats to sit on so we
dried her up as much as we could and cleaned out her carrier. Her bed
was dry since it was on top of her so she had her bed to ride home in.
Robin swabbed her ears and made slides of the wax so they could look at
it under a microscope. Dr. Schaefer checked them too and when she
cleaned them they were not very dirty at all. The cytology showed yeast.
She has a minor yeast infection so she is getting some ear drops once a
day for the next 7 to 10 days. She has never had a yeast infection
before. We caught it early and this will clear it up for her. She has
shown no symptoms of an ear problem. I just happened to notice a small
fleck of wax in her ear. I checked all the cats ears when I got home and
none of the other girls have it.
The kittens were perfect during their exams and getting their shots, nobody cried. We had all three kittens out at the same time holding them. Even Nerissa was an angel. After she felt we had been there long enough without playing she did speak up and had a few things to say, lol, but she was very well behaved. They were all very composed and had calm exteriors....but Dr. Schaefer said Koko's heart was beating a little faster. This showed he was a little unsure about his visit. All their hearts were strong and normal. They each passed their inspection. On the ride home Koko did give a few rather piercing meows before settling down. I think he was telling us he wanted to go home please. The rest of today has been spent resting while their immune systems do their job with the vaccinations. Avatar and Nerissa are in the corner nest behind the sofa and Koko is sleeping with momma on the ottoman. |
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Momma got up before I could get a photo of them together. |
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| August 16th - Avatar has started doing
the wiggle rub. He will walk up to me and start to rub my leg with his
nose then run that rub all along the length of his body as he wiggles
between my feet. And his tail does a little wiggle dance of happiness,
lol. He's going to be a lover boy. They are all enjoying running and tackling
each other. They are masters of spreading their toys all over, lol. I
picked up all the toys including all the ones under the furniture and
walked out of the room for less then five minuets. When I returned the
toy basket was empty and it looked like I had never picked them
up....the little goobers are fast, lol.
The kittens enjoyed playing with a visiting family this weekend too. |
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| Avatar, "I want that
ball!"
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*muffled by the ball in the mouth* _ " It's my ball" |
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"Thats o-kay I got a mouse"...a well loved mouse with no fur left, lol. |
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Stalking the marabou. I don't think it shows but she has a piece of it on her whiskers. See Avi under her paw? |
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Avi's hiding but I think he's going to pop.... |
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POP |
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Koko |
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Nerissa ran off with the marabou wand. |
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Koko, "Shh I'm hiding and watching Nerissa" |
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"I'll get you bird"- Avatar |
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"Ahhh its attacking me. Down bird, down!" |
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Avatar & Koko |
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I needed to have my hands free so I handed Avi off to my daughter. He promptly fell asleep in her hands in this position, lol. He will sleep anywhere. I think he likes being on his back. I'm holding the camera above him looking down so you can see him. |
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| August 12th - nine weeks old - | |
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Avatar |
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9 weeks of age |
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This posing for pictures is boring |
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
| Nerissa | |
9 weeks of age |
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Can I go now? I hear a toy calling to me. |
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| Koko | |
9 weeks of age |
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| August 11th - We be busy playin. Nerissa is so
funny when she takes on her brothers. She reminds me of a matador. She
pulls herself up tall, brave and proud. She turns to the side and with
style she hops twice giving her challenge. Way too cute. Avatar is
quite calm and self assured now. He awoke from his nap today and was
calling out. I called back to him as I walked into the living room. He
came running to me from across the room. He was so happy to see me his
tail did a little dance, lol. When he is relaxed and happy he shows his
joy in his body language. I think he will be a leg rubbing cat as an
adult. Koko is well perfect, lol.. He knows everybody will fall in love
with him. He is a leading man like Rock Hudson or Cary Grant characters.
He is always right with me when he wakes up. He discovered today he
loves the smell of maple.
This video may seem a bit chopped in places. I needed to fit the time limit at youtube. |
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Click the logo to watch our short video on youtube or go to our youtube channel www.youtube.com/BlackandTanSiamese After watching the video click your back button on your tool bar to return to this page. |
The sun tells me its time to nap in it. |
Dinner time |
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| August 8th - Koko is so funny the way he loves to watch television. I was sitting on the bed with the tv on last night and all three kittens came running in after their nap. Koko came up on the bed and sat tall at the end of the bed and started watching NCIS. Nerissa was running back and forth with a ball. I tried to see if I could get her to run after it and bring it back up on the bed to me but she was off playing soccer with it, lol. I am happy with how comfortable Avatar is becoming. He still likes to think things through and observe but he is right with his sister and brother running to greet me when I come in. He will sit and fall asleep just about anywhere ...even in the middle of the rug, lol. They are losing their big headed toddler look and are growing into handsome kittens. | |
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I'm all tucked under... gonna sit awhile. |
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Nerissa got the mouse again |
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and again |
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Nerissa sitting pretty |
Avatar going up for the bird |
He got the bird again |
and again |
and he got Koko, lol. |
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Nerissa getting Fen in a non threatening posture (belly open) |
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Koko launching himself from the scratcher |
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Koko gets the bird while Avi watches |
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Nerissa and Avatar watching the bird |
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I have alot of these headless shots, lol. Guessing how high and timing when they will jump is a challenge. |
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| August 5th - eight weeks old - tonight we had a visit from a lady who lost her rescue Siamese 3 weeks ago. She is just starting to visit breeders. They arrived just as the kittens were going to sleep but they rallied for some playtime. She brought her Vet, Dr. Maija Mikkola Curtis - Harbor Vets Boston, with her. Dr. Mik as she is know on her website said she was pleased with how we manage our cats. She listened to all the kittens hearts and said they sounded great. The doctor also asked if we had ever had FIP in any of our cats/kittens. I have had several people contact me after losing a kitten from other breeders in the area so I understand the concern. Its a good question to ask. We have never experienced FIP in our cats or kittens. In fact we have never had the feline corona virus that causes enteritis (diarrhea) in our cattery ever. When I looked into the nest behind the sofa they were curled up in the family nest with a big pile of toys, lol. The kitten's have happy purrs when I pet them when they are napping. I think Avatar's is the loudest. | |
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You may need to turn up your volume when you watch this short but sweet clip.
Click the logo to watch our short video on youtube or go to our youtube channel www.youtube.com/BlackandTanSiamese After watching the video click your back button on your tool bar to return to this page. |
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| Avatar 8
weeks of age
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| Koko 8
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I surprised him |
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Now he is annoyed with me, lol |
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What a great photo this would have been if I had better focus on his eyes |
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| Nerissa 8
weeks of age
Getting Nerissa to pose and look at the camera is a challenge. I use toys to get their attention and she loves her toys so much she wants to get them, lol. |
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That is Koko jumping into the field of view trying to get the toy. |
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What's up? |
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Meowmy I'm trying to go to sleep! |
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Avatar, Koko and Nerissa with the bird. |
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L-R - Nerissa, Koko, & Avatar |
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| August 3rd - The kittens found their way into the bedroom and Avi found his way up on the bed first. He looked very comfortable with himself then Koko came up too. Keva was on the bed and gave them both a sniff test then a little lick. I think she is coming out of a false pregnancy. She was less growly toward them and more motherly. We'll see if she decides to adopt one as her own? I got some nice photos in the morning light. Avi and Koko were cooperative but Nerissa was too busy to sit and knit with grandma. So I added a few of her from other times. |
Time to wake up kitties! |
Can you see us around grandma's bony butt? |
Yes, Koko we can. |
Koko, You should be nice to Grandma because..... |
She could eat you in one bite! |
Avatar |
Koko |
Koko and Grandma Maeve |
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Nerissa slipping away going down backwards, lol |
Koko & Avi |
Nerissa running off again |
Nerissa with Momma |
Nerissa after a yawn....looking a bit like an evil Disney Siamese. |
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| August 2nd - |
Naptime with Momma and Fen.....and I thought yesterdays naptime was full. |
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August 1st - |
KC loves chocolates |
Full bed - naptime with Momma |
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| July 30th - Last night I walked into the living
room with Koko and my husband had a concert on the television. Koko started
watching. He was facinated. I set him down on the cat tree and he sat up
attentive to the singer. He likes rock n roll, lol. I held Avatar to see
if he would watch and as long and I held him he did but if I set him
down there were other things he wanted to play with. I also tried to see
if Nerissa would watch too but she was too busy. She wanted to play with
Avi, lol.
This morning Avi had gotten a dog out of the toy basket and was attacking him. By the time I got my camera Nerissa had taken the dog from him. Here are some photo's of them playing. Nerissa also got the boa wand and was running around with it growling. I made a video that I will try to add later today. Not to be outdone Avi picked it up and ran growling with it when Nerissa was done with it, lol. |
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Click the logo to watch our short video on youtube or go to our youtube channel www.youtube.com/BlackandTanSiamese After watching the video click your back button on your tool bar to return to this page. |
Avi, Hey she took my dog toy! |
LOL revenge |
Nerissa |
This might be Koko, I'm not sure. |
Avi found happiness with Grandma Maeve's favorite string toy. |
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| July 29th - seven weeks old - Nerissa didn't quite make it to 2 pounds for our last weigh in but she will be there soon. I think all the running around the kittens are doing used up alot of their calories...if only I were a kitten, lol. I tried to get some photos with good eye color. I didn't do a great job of it, sorry. I'll try to get some better ones this weekend, if I can get them to pose for me in the front dining room. The light from that window is better. | |
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bi-weekly weigh in...... Avatar is 2 lb. 3.75 ounces = 1018 grams - up 35.5 grams Nerissa is 1 lb. 14 ounce = 854 grams - up 14.3 grams Koko is 2 lb. 2.5 ounces = 982 grams - up 43 grams |
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| Avatar - 7
weeks old "Avi"
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| Nerissa - 7
weeks old "Pearl"
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| Koko - 7 weeks old "Niles" | |
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| July26- 27th - The boys have both reached 2 pounds and I bet Nerissa will be there at the next weigh in. On Monday Nerissa's family came to visit her. All the kittens were sweet little angels and didn't squirm or fight being held. They were so good. Of course today they are squirming whenever I try to hold one, lol. They love their new freedom and quickly found the fresh family nest behind the corner of the sofa. They don't want to be in my office now but I still have to have then come in to use the litter box...so far so good. Momma really wants them in the nest behind the sofa too. I have had to stop her from hauling them by their scruffs back in there when I want them taking potty breaks. I have them sleep in my office at night just to be safe. As soon as I opened the door this morning they all took off running to the living room, lol. Avi is getting much bolder. He is so funny. He will stop in the front hall then run full speed across the hall and living room to the sofa. Then he runs back into the center of the room to play. Nerissa is climbing her way up the living room cat tree. Checking out each level. She also found her way up the stairs. They have all tried to jump up on the sofa like Momma and Fen but their not quite up to it yet. It won't be long before they can. Right now they can disappear under the sofa but Fen is too big so they tease her when they play tag. |
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bi-weekly weigh in...... Avatar is 2 lb. 2.5 ounces = 982 grams - up 92.5 grams Nerissa is 1 lb. 13.5 ounce = 840 grams - up 89 grams Koko is 2 lb. 1 ounces = 940 grams - up 121 grams |
Avatar |
Nerissa |
Koko |
Koko and Avi |
Avi |
Nerissa found the stairs |
Nerissa |
Nerissa |
Avi in his favorite place...king of the wave. |
Nerissa looking out from the second level |
Behind the sofa corner with Momma. |
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| July23- 25th - The kittens have had a fun weekend
exploring and playing and meeting more of our cat family. Aunty Keva was
a bit grumpy to see three new furballs flying about, lol We hope she is
pregnant so we will forgive her. Its always funny to watch a kitten
react to a grumbling adult. They stop in their tracks and look at them
as if they were from another planet, lol. The kittens are not phased one
bit. The grumpy cat wanders off and the kittens go on as if nothing
happened. Grandma Maeve found her inner kitten and frolicked and played
with her rattle mouse in the front entry hall.
Friday I removed the run and opened the office doors. Koko was the first to run out and explore. He was very excited. He has been wanting to sneak out every time I come in or leave the room. He made the circuit of the main level checking each room out quickly, lol I went into the living room and tossed out some toys I know are favorites to get their attention. Nerissa came through the hall and pounced on a ball then a mouse as she moved her way closer to the living room. I introduced Da Bird for the first time. It caught their attention but they weren't quite sure at first what to think of this new animal....would it attack or flee? Koko gave it a tentative smack with his paw and waited. It didn't smack back so he pawed it a few times more then I made it flee and the chase was on, lol. He loves chasing the bird. Back and forth and round and round he went while Nerissa watched. Every time it came near her muscles quivered and she started to engage but Koko was right on it and she let him go by. She watched intently but I could tell she wanted a turn so I tossed out an unconnected bird for Koko to go attack while Nerissa had her turn chasing the fleeing bird. She had great fun with it too. Then Koko noticed his bird was not the moving bird and off he went in tandem with Nerissa chasing the bird, I allowed them to occasionally catch it so they didn't get discouraged. Where was Avi? I left the chocolate twins attacking their prey and went in search. Avi was sitting at the edge of the run in the hall, sniffing the rug. He was not really certain if he should go so far away from the safety of his room. Sometimes the biggest ones are babies. I'm not sure why but they take a little longer to mature. Avi is momma's big baby. I picked him up and snuggled him and brought him into the living room. He watched as the chocolates chased the bird round and round back and forth. When the bird came near and touched Avi he hissed at it, lol. He was very intent on watching every movement. Every time it neared him I could sense his instinct telling him to get it but he just wasn't sure. He was more interested in the string and wand then the bird. I brought the bird over to him and distracted his siblings with another toy so he could see that the bird would not hurt him. He pawed it a bit then hissed at it, lol. On his own I got him to start chasing the bird. Back and forth he went but every time it touched him he hissed at it, lol. Still he could not resist chasing it and catching it. Usually a kitten who hisses will hiss once or twice then realize the toy is fun and not a threat. Avi is the first kitten I have had that continued to hiss. He must have hissed at least a dozen times while playing. A good time was had by all and then a nap was in order. I'm also keeping them in my office during the night until I am certain they know to come back to the litter box in the office when they need it. |
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Mom and Nerissa after play time. |
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| Saturday morning I opened the office doors and let them run about again. They played and explored on their own for about an hour. When I checked on them Avi was sitting with an old bird (no string) playing with it. I think his concern about them is gone. When I started playing with the DaBird he was ready to run with his brother and sister and chase it....no hissing at all, lol. He just needs a little more time to warm up to new things. At the end of play time I had them all follow the bird back to the office and I sat on the floor with them. Nerissa and Koko were wrestling about with each other and Avi was sitting on the rug in front of me. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open and his head up, lol. I picked him up and put him on my lap and he fell asleep on my lap. What a sweetie. Then I realized I couldn't sit on the floor for his whole nap, lol. I inch-wormed my way over to the big nest. He stayed asleep the whole time. I placed him in the nest and he curled up to finish his nap. Not to long after he went to sleep Nerissa crawled into the small nest under the cat tree and Koko climbed up on the little condo under the window for their naps. | |
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All tuckered out! Above is Fen and Koko under my desk. In the left photo is Nerissa and Koko |
| Saturday night they were all happy to play in the living room. Big sister Fen is a bit of a behemoth at playtime. She doesn't yet realize how imposing she is to a little baby. When she charges into the room the kittens all puff and scatter for safety, lol. She also doesn't know yet that she should defer to the little ones who want to play too. I closed her in the office for this play session. Avi's confidence level was way up tonight. His inner lion came out and he played with no reserve. I really think with more life experience he will mature out of his reserve. He doesn't hide or feel the need to choose "safe" places to sleep. He often will fall asleep in the middle of the floor, lol. He was the first kitten to trap the bird and pick it up in his mouth and try to run off with it. I missed getting a photo but he was very proud. He held his head high and tail erect as her trotted off with the bird, lol. | |
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I admit I'm not sure if this is Nerissa or Koko. The profile looks like Nerissa's but the ears don't show the lighter hair. It could be the angle but the coat looks more like Koko. |
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Back row left to right Koko & Nerissa. Up front is Avi |
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Koko |
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| Sunday morning playtime was fast paced. Everyone wanted the moving toy. I needed three hands to keep them all engaged, lol. I allowed Fen to play with us this time. The kittens and Fen did well sharing. The kittens were amazed at Fen's leaps after the bird and they started leaping too. Nerissa has always been a hopper so it was an easy transition to leap. Koko started with standing tall and reaching and naturally started leaping. Avi was slower to warm up but he was right in the fray chasing and attacking. Today was Nerissa's turn to bite the bird and haul it off, lol. We played until Momma started fussing at us and calling the kittens to come back to the office for a nap. The chocolates are asleep together on the cat tree perch and Avi is asleep on the condo under the window. It was nice an sunny when he chose the spot. | |
Koko |
Avi and Koko
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Nerissa has the bird and tries to run off with it as her prize. |
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Koko I think we need more toys. What's in here? |
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You're right Koko. Lets get some more out. How about this weasel? Does it bite? |
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Time for a nap in the sun, ahhhh zzzzz |
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We can hide from the sun with our paws over our eyes. zzzzzzzzzzzzz |
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| July 22st - six weeks old - The kittens had some visitors. I was very proud of them. They were so relaxed and didn't squirm at all when held. Everyone enjoyed visiting. |
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bi-weekly weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 15 ounces = 890 grams - up 85 grams Nerissa is 1 lb. 10 ounce = 751 grams - up 75 grams Koko is 1 lb. 13 ounces = 819 grams - up 71 grams |
Avatar 6 weeks of age |
Nerissa six weeks of age |
Koko six weeks of age |
Avatar, lol.... a basket case |
Breakfast for Koko and Nerissa |
left to right - Nerissa, Koko, & Avatar |
Koko & Avatar |
Nerissa |
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Nerissa sleeping with Momma, lol. Over on the left is Koko sleeping with his head on the bolster of the nest that Avi is sleeping in. |
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| July 21st - All the kittens are showing great
improvement in their social skills. They no longer squirm when I hold
them and they accept all the kisses I shower all over their faces, lol.
They even allow me to rub and kiss their bellies. Putting your face into
a kittens belly can be a bit risky with their tiny little sharp claws
ready to hook on to your face like velcro, lol. Even clipped they
are sharp because they are so small. Nerissa is no longer the only
kitten to run and greet me. Koko now calls out and runs to
me....at least I think it is me he is excited about. It could be he is
yelling to the others to run quick and break out of the run while the
gate is open, lol. He does so want to run about the house. He managed to
slip out one evening so I allowed Koko and Avi to look about. Nerissa
was sleeping or I'm sure she would have joined them. Koko didn't
hesitate a bit. He looked about the front hall then into the dining
room, passed through the butlers pantry and into the kitchen. I stopped
him in the kitchen and brought him back to the hall where Avi was. Avi
is more cautious and was sniffing about to see if it was safe before
moving on. I've noticed that I rarely hear any cries when they play
fight. They all know to be gentle when they bite or mouth each other.
Even when I allow then to mouth my finger they use a gentle amount of pressure.
As often as I see them sleeping together I also find them sleeping alone. They seem very comfortable with either |
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Left to right - Avi, Nerissa, & Koko |
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Koko front and Nerissa in the nest.
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Avi peeking from behind the tree. He likes to play peek-a-boo, well reallly just the peek with no boo, lol. |
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In the sunny window. L-R - Avi, Nerissa, & Koko |
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Koko with Momma in the front hall |
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Avi coming into the front hall. |
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| July 19th - We have retired the training litter pan and the shallow baby bowls. They all continue to do really well with their skills. Avatar and Koko both at different times had a back foot wash. They did very well with the running water. |
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bi-weekly weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 12 ounces = 804 grams - up 103 grams Nerissa is 1 lb. 7.75 ounce = 676 grams - up 60.5 grams Koko is 1 lb. 10 ounces = 747 grams - up 96 grams |
Avatar |
Avi playing ball |
Avi - the white blaze you see between his eyes will fill in with dark mask. Its his white baby fur. |
Avi drinking |
Koko playing soccer |
Nerissa |
Sleeping in the morning sunshine. |
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| July 17th - This morning everyone got a pedicure. I allowed their nails to get long while they were learning to climb. Now that they are secure with technique it was time to trim. |
No garbage in here. Nerissa inside and Koko looking in. |
Play fighting under my desk. |
Avi |
Momma and the chocolates...with a black rattle mouse by the tip of Finola's tail, lol |
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| July 16th - Last night I took each kitten one at a time to sit with me for a short time while we watched television. Avi went first. He was a little unsure of his new surroundings and sat quietly on my lap. He kept tilting his head up and staring into my eyes with his eyes big and round....looking for reassurance :). He was tugging at my heart. He vibrated a little bit but I kept reassuring him that he was fine. Grandma Maeve came over and sniffed him up and down, lol. She accepted him and settled back in her spot. He was very sweet. I think he was grateful to return home to momma. Then it was Koko's turn. Koko seems to be the most mature right now. He was happy to sit and watch some tv. He was checked over and accepted by grandma too. I returned him home and picked up Nerissa. Koko wanted to come out and follow us. He didn't understand why he wasn't allowed. We've had a few deposits left in the litter and no accidents. They need to eat a little less of momma's milk (laxative effect). I've noticed she is now pushing them away sometimes. I think in about a week we will be able to allow them to start exploring and get rid of the run. I've expanded the run to allow them full access to the whole room. On Nerissa's visit last night she did not want to sit still and watch tv.. She did like looking at the tv screen and seeing things move. She likes the games on facebook, lol. She is a girl of action right now. I think she is showing that she is going to be petite in structure. She looks like a little princess but she has a swashbuckler hidden inside that little package, lol. She reminds me of an old 1940's movie heroine swooping in to assist Errol Flynn in a sword fight, lol. | |
| This morning when I said good morning Koko
was first awake. He said a chipper hello mew, turned on his big purrr,
and hopped out of the nest full of happiness. He does this every time
he wakes up now. Fen heard him and came over and started washing
Nerissa's face. She returned the favor and cleaned Fen's ear, lol. Avi
was last awake but first to the breakfast bowl, lol. After breakfast
they had a rousing practice of soccer....then momma decided she would
play too. They all ran for cover and hid under my chair. Momma was
prancing with the ball and calling to them. They stayed put until she
quit, lol. Could it be children embarrassed by their mother? Nhaw, can't
be. Children don't get embarrassed by momma when she acts crazy (in
their opinion), lol. Poor momma Finola.
If you are having trouble telling Nerissa and Koko apart in their photos look at the hair on the inside of their ears. Nerissa has a little bit more along the inside edge that hasn't turned dark yet. It gives her the appearance of a white tuft at the tip. |
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Avi sleeping soundly |
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Nerissa getting a morning wash up..... |
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...and returning the favor. |
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| I didn't catch a photo of Koko before he was up and going. Here are a couple of him playing soccer. | |
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| July 15th - five weeks old - |
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bi-weekly weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 8.6 ounces = 701 grams - up 81.9 grams Nerissa is 1 lb. 3.1 ounce = 544.5 grams - up 60.5 grams Koko is 1 lb. 6.9 ounces = 551 grams - up 85 grams |
Avatar |
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Nerissa |
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This is boring...zzzz |
Koko |
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| July 14th - In the video Nerissa is the princess on top of the tower. Koko is swatting out a battle to save the tower from Avi's take over. lol | |
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If you like it then you better put a ring on it. (Princess Nerissa) |
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Click the logo to watch our short video on youtube or go to our youtube channel www.youtube.com/BlackandTanSiamese After watching the video click your back button on your tool bar to return to this page.
It's really just a tower...lol |
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Avatar - Come on up Koko...... |
Dude your embarrassing yourself trying to pull up from underneath. |
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Nerissa, Movin' on up |
Seriously Koko, This was my photo op. (Koko and Avi) |
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Nerissa and Fen |
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| July 12th - The kittens are enjoying interacting
with each other and love when we come visit. They all run to the gate. I
pretend they want to see me but I think they really want to go
exploring, lol. They haven't had any accidents with the litter box use
...yet. We have yet to see and solid deposits. This should be starting
soon. The more they eat food and nurse less the more likely we will see
deposits. Momma's don't like to deal with solid deposits.
They have learned to climb up to the first perch of the cat tree. Nerissa and Koko went up the easy way climbing up the rope scratcher trunk. Avi went the hard way by jumping up to the perch with his front paws and hauling himself up. This afternoon they are all going up the hard way. Last night I finally saw Avi drinking water. I don't see any of them at the water very much. Drinks must be coming from momma. |
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bi-weekly weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 5.75 ounces = 619 grams - up 60.5 grams Nerissa is 1lb. 1 ounce = 484 grams - up 43 grams Koko is 1 lb. 3.9 ounces = 566 grams - up 60.5 grams |
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Avi |
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Avi and Koko wrestling |
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Momma watching Avi bite Nerissa's tail Nerissa giving it back to Avi |
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You can make it buddy. |
Going up the Avi way |
Another way for Avi to pull himself up. |
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Going down |
Going up |
"I gots you Fen" |
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Avi |
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Momma saying its bath time |
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lol, Who is getting the bath? |
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| Last night
Dinner -12 o'clock is Avi, 6 o'clock is Nerissa, 9 o'clock is Koko |
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I tried for a photo of Avi drinking and got a head shake, lol |
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Avi |
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Avi sleeping with his chin propped on the edge of the nest. |
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| July 10th - Now that the
kittens are one pound and starting to eat baby cat food we will only be
weighing twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays.
When Nerissa is awake she is a busy kitten. She knows she has nine lives and she wants to live them all and not miss out. Koko is an awestruck cutie. When I hold him and talk to him he stops everything and stares into my eyes as if he understands and is listening, lol. Avatar is still a cautious baby. He does not intend to lose any of his nine lives. He's taking no chances yet. They like to run about and play soccer with the sparkle poms. Both Avi and Nerissa spent time in both the training and adult litter boxes yesterday digging about. I didn't witness use but they have the idea. |
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I really think the morning sun creates too much back lighting but.... |
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...I'll pose for you. - Avi |
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Koko & Avi |
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Koko & Avi |
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Koko - ruggedly handsome |
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Wait I can do cute.... |
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You can't get cutier then this! - Koko |
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Hi Fen, We're working down here, posing for photos. |
What about me? - Fen |
| Where is Nerissa?
She's sleepin' |
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| And Momma Finola?
I feel great but I'm hiding from the camera because I look awful...darn fever masks take too long to grow out. |
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| July 8th - four weeks old - We have had sun and heat all week and it is supposed to continue...of course today when I want good light to get nice eye color photos the sky is overcast, lol. With some red eye here are the cutie pies 4 weeks of age photos. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 3.6 ounces = 559 grams - up 3.6 grams Nerissa is 15.5 ounces = 441 grams - up 14.2 grams Koko is 1 lb. 1.75 ounces = 505 grams - up 25 grams |
Avatar 4 weeks old |
Avatar |
Nerissa 4 weeks |
Nerissa & Momma Finola |
Koko 4 weeks |
Koko with Fenya |
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| July 7th - Koko had a busy day proving he is better then his sister (anything you can do I can do better) LOL. Both Koko and Avi ate baby cat tonight. Koko also used the training litter box. :) |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 3.5 ounces = 555 grams - up 35.6 grams Nerissa is 15 ounces = 427 grams - up 14.2 grams Koko is 1 lb. .875 ounces = 480.4 grams - up 10.7 grams |
I got in my boat and was waiting for Owl when I saw the other kitten..... ....it was staring back at me from the black abyss. |
Koko eats solid food |
Avatar eats solid food too |
Koko is the first to use the training litter box. |
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| July 6th - I messed up today's numbers for Koko so I have corrected them. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 2.25 ounces = 520 grams - up 14.2 grams Nerissa is 14.5 ounces = 413 grams - up 14.2 grams Koko is 1 lb. .5 ounces = 470 grams - up 7.1 grams |
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Umm Lunch - Koko is under Finola's paw, next is Avatar with the blue spot, and next to him is Nerissa. |
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left to right - Nerissa "see my back toes", Koko, & Avatar. |
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| July 5th - The kittens are comfortable with the run area so today we expanded it and added their training litter box and food and water bowls. When I showed Nerissa the baby cat kibble she started right in eating. She also liked biting the edge of the bowl. It feels good on those teeth that are still coming in, lol. Koko and Avatar smelled a bit but did not want to eat it yet. Koko tried to cover it up, lol. I placed Nerissa into the litter box after she was done eating but she wasn't too sure she was ready for it yet. I was totally wrong about her being the first to climb up....Koko went up the side of the condo...then down, then up, then down, lol He is really just falling down but he is determined to learn how to go down properly. Avatar is still not sure he is ready to give up on being momma's baby. I think he needs a few more days to mature. | |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 1.75 ounces = 505 grams - up 14.2 grams Nerissa is 14 ounces = 399 grams - up 14.2 grams Koko is 1 lb. .25 ounces = 463 grams - up 32 grams |
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Not today - Koko & Avatar |
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Nerissa om nom nom |
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Nerissa eating with momma |
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Koko on top |
Uh, I think I'm coming down |
I'm going up |
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| July 4th - Happy Independence Day America! - The kittens have been celebrating their new found independence today. They are all now brave little zoomers. When they hear us they all come tumbling out of the nest and want to visit. Fen spent the night and a lot of her day in the run. She loves her little siblings. She looks like she will be a good momma. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 1.25 ounces = 491 grams - up 14.2 grams Nerissa is 13.5 ounces = 384.4 grams - up 21.4 grams Koko is 15.1 ounces = 430.6 grams - up 10.7 grams |
Avatar |
Nerissa |
Koko |
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| All the kittens were picking up the
sparkle pom in their mouth and dropping it but I wasn't able to get a photo
of it.
Here they are with their ball.
Avatar was the first to do it. |
Koko |
Nerissa |
Nanny Fen in the nest with the kittens |
Avatar, I think I should be a Nautica Model! |
This is Nerissa and the cute thing about this photo is if you rotate it 120 degrees she looks like she is sitting on the molding, lol. |
What's up Doc? (Fen's tail left and Koko's arm right) |
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| July 3rd - This morning after weigh in I
found Nerissa was out and about. She was sitting in the middle of the
floor, lol. In came the run. We use a portable pen to create a run area
for the kittens to keep them safe while they are learning. They stay in
the run a couple of weeks. Once they master eating baby cat kibble and
use of the litter box we will let them explore and run about the
house.
After the kittens spent the day learning the new layout we removed the kitten box. |
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You can see Finola's mask color is lightly speckled from her surgery and fever. Siamese color is temperature sensitive. The warmest areas of the body are light and the cooler parts are dark. The heat of the fever caused her dark mask to grow in light colored hairs. Over time her mask will go back to its normal seal color. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. .75 ounces = 477 grams - up 21.4 grams Nerissa is 12.75 ounces = 363 grams - up 0 grams Koko is 14.75 ounces = 420 grams - up 14.2 grams |
| I'm not surprised that Nerissa's gain is zero. She has
been zooming around like crazy. I think she may have been spending some
supervised time out of the box, lol. She loves her new freedom.
She has no fear. I bet she is the first kitten to climb upward when she
figures it out. She will make up the weight.
Click the logo to watch our short video on youtube or go to our youtube channel www.youtube.com/BlackandTanSiamese After watching the video click your back button on your tool bar to return to this page.
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Too full at the inn, lol. Can you see all three kittens? Nerissa is in the back corner. Avatar is in front on the rug. Koko is hidden by Momma's head. |
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While Nerissa is out zooming about the boys liked to stay in the nest and wrestle. |
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Nap time |
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| July 2nd - Looks like they are making up for the day of eating. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 1 lb. 0 ounces = 455.5 grams - up 14.2 grams Nerissa is 12.75 ounces = 363 grams - up 7.1 grams Koko is 14.25 ounces = 406 grams - up 14.2 grams |
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Left back is Momma Finola, stacked bottom is Koko, top is Nerissa, Avatar out front, and Fen licking. |
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| July 1st - three weeks old - Yesterday was a day to rest and eat, lol. The kittens have begun to lick and mouth each other. They have their baby teeth in. Koko still has a few just under his gums. It won't be long before we start hearing complaints that they are biting too hard. This is when kittens learn limits and how to play gentle. | |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 15.5 ounces = 441 grams - up 25 grams Nerissa is 12.5 ounces = 356 grams - up 25 grams Koko is 14 ounces = 391.5 grams - up 25 grams |
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Avatar 3 weeks old |
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Koko 3 weeks old |
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Nerissa 3 weeks old |
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Koko |
Nerissa |
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| June 30th - Fen came to visit her mother and new siblings. If she were a super hero or villain she would have to be called "The Tongue". She is a BIG licker. The kittens may be licked clean of all their fur by the end of the week, lol. They are surely the cleanest kittens in the state. | |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 14.6 ounces = 416 grams - up 10.7 grams Nerissa is 11.6 ounces = 331 grams - up 10.7 grams Koko is 12.9 ounces = 366.5 grams - up 10.7 grams |
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left to right - Koko, Avatar, and Nerissa with Fen. |
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Nerissa and Koko look so much a like I need to see their color spot to be sure who is who. |
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It's Ze Tongue ! |
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Avatar, "I must escape!" |
Going down and under cover. |
Oh No, Ze Tongue is back! |
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I must escape again....Avatar |
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dig, dig, dig.... |
Drat, my plan has failed. Can you remove this cloth please? |
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| June 29th - |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 14.25 ounces = 405.7 grams - up 25 grams Nerissa is 11.25 ounces = 320.2 grams - up 17.7 grams Koko is 12.5 ounces = 355.9 grams - up 28.5 grams |
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| June 28th - The kittens are alert and aware of our presence. They have strong legs and get about well in the nest. I removed the extra panel so that they can leave the box if they want to explore a little. The nesting box is set facing the protected corner so they can explore but not feel too exposed. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 13.4 ounces = 380.8 grams - up 10.7 grams Nerissa is 10.6 ounces = 302.5 grams - up 7.1 grams Koko is 11.5 ounces = 327.4 grams - up 10.7 grams |
Avatar |
Nerissa |
Koko |
Koko in front, Nerissa center, and Avatar in back. |
Finola leaving the kitten corner. |
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| June 27th - |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 13 ounces = 370 grams - up 21.4 grams Nerissa is 10.4 ounces = 295.4 grams - up 10.7 grams Koko is 11.1 ounces = 316.8 grams - up 10.7 grams |
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| June 26th - The boys weights are gaining strongly. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 12.25 ounces = 348.8 grams - up 21.4 grams Nerissa is 10 ounces = 284.7 grams - up 10.7 grams Koko is 10.75 ounces = 306 grams - up 21.4 grams |
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This photo was taken by Betty my cat sitter. She came to help me out when we had a busy weekend. Betty You're the best, Thank you! If you need a pet sitter, in home pet daycare, or a personal assistant I highly recommend her...www.bettyboire.com |
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| June 25th - |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 11.5 ounces = 327.4 grams - up 21.4 grams Nerissa is 9.6 ounces = 274 grams - up 17.8 grams Koko is 10 ounces = 284.7 grams - up 21.4 grams |
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| June 24th - Two weeks old - They were a bit sleepy for their photos. They also had their first nail trim today....after the photos. They all behaved very well. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 10.75 ounces = 306 grams - up 17.8 grams Nerissa is 9 ounces = 256 grams - up 10. 7 grams Koko is 9.25 ounces = 263 grams - up 14.2 grams |
Avatar - two weeks old |
Nerissa - two weeks old |
Koko - two weeks old |
This photo of Avatar shows how his color is coming in. His tail and feet look like he has been playing in soot, lol. Just a fine little dusting of black. |
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| June 23rd - |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 10 ounces = 288 grams - up 14.2 grams Nerissa is 8.6 ounces = 246 grams - up 17.8 grams Koko is 8.75 ounces = 249 grams - up 14.2 grams |
Momma I don't want a bath. |
Must escape |
Argh cannot escape |
Must have bath |
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| June 22nd - The babies are starting to show recognition. They look at us and study us. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 9.6 ounces = 274 grams - up 10.7grams Nerissa is 8 ounces = 228 grams - up 10.7 grams Koko is 8.25 ounces = 235 grams - up 17.8 grams |
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| June 21st - As their eyes develop we are starting to see a bit of color and the definition of their pupils. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 9.25 ounces = 263 grams - up 17.8 grams Nerissa is 7.6 ounces = 217 grams - up 14.2 grams Koko is 7.6 ounces = 217 grams - up 17.8 grams |
Avatar |
Avatar on the left and Nerissa on the right with Koko behind snoozing. |
Koko |
Koko looks like he just realized he's at the wrong end of the nest. That Avatar's back end. |
Nerissa |
Nerissa in front with Koko who is completely asleep. He rolled over and put his paw across her tummy while I was watching, lol. |
Nerissa |
You thought I was asleep didn't you, ha ha ha |
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| June 20th - Koko is no longer yelling all the time now that he has his eyes open and his tummy full of Momma's milk. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 8.6 ounces = 245.6 grams - up 14.2 grams Nerissa is 7.1 ounces = 202.8 grams - up 10.7 grams Koko is 7 ounces = 199.3 grams - up 14.2 grams
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Yo yo I be chillin in my crib wid my crew. We be waitin for da mutha to stock some juice. Ma's juice is Da Bomb. Pha-Shiz! |
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| June 19th - | |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 8.1 ounces = 231 grams - up 17.8 grams Nerissa is 6.75 ounces = 192 grams - up 14.2 grams Koko is 6.5 ounces = 185 grams - up 10.7 grams |
Nerissa with Momma Finola |
Avatar |
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Nerissa |
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Koko |
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| June 18th - The kitten's are maintaining a steady weigh gain. For all his yelling Koko sure got his share this time, lol. I wonder if he will catch up and out weigh Nerissa soon. They socialized today with a friend. They continue to do everything babies do...eat and sleep, eat and sleep, and an occasional walk around the nest and over momma to strengthen their developing leg muscles. | |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 7.5 ounces = 213.5 grams - up 10.7 grams Nerissa is 6.25 ounces = 178 grams - up 14.2 grams Koko is 6.1 ounces = 174 grams - up 21 grams |
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| June 17th - one week old - The kittens continue to gain weight and their noses continue to darken. I'll add more photos later today. Avatars eyes are opening the most followed by Koko's (more then his photo shows), and Nerissa's have just started to peep. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 7.1 ounces = 203 grams - up 10.7 grams Nerissa is 5.75 ounces = 164 grams - up 10.7 grams Koko is 5.4 ounces = 153 grams - up 7.1 grams |
Avatar one week of age |
Nerissa one week of age |
Koko one week of age |
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| June 16th - six days old - The kittens are doing well. They are content most of the time with not a lot of yelling. The times they are loudest is when they know I am near the box. This really disturbs Finola so I am allowing her the peace and time to do her bonding now that she is feeling better. There will be plenty of time for me to socialize them when they become more mobile. This morning I chose not to feed them. I want to see how their weight gains are in the next few days. With only three kittens Finola should be able to increase her production of milk fairly quickly. She is coming out when they are sleeping to get frequent drinks of water and snacks of Baby Cat food. I did not give her any sub-q fluid this morning. They all gained weight in spite of my not giving them my milk for breakfast. I was doing the weigh in after their morning meal. Their eyes are starting to peep open the tiniest amount on the inner corners. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 6.75 ounces = 192 grams - up 7.1 grams Nerissa is 5.4 ounces = 153 grams - up 3.6 grams Koko is 5.1 ounces = 146 grams - up 7.1 grams |
Avatar |
Nerissa |
Koko |
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| June 15th - five days old - I did not do a bedtime feeding last night. They were all very peacefully sleeping so I figured I wasn't needed. I also didn't give Finola her evening sub-q fluids. She seemed good to me so I allowed her to rest. This morning I did give her fluids. Her scruff seemed o-kay but I wanted to see better then o-kay. The fluids only help her there is no over watering her this way. With me fussing around the box the babies became fussy too. Poor momma Finny, they were not happy with just suckling so I mixed up some milk and fed them. Avatar continues to be a pudgy content baby. He was happy to eat himself full. Koko took an average amount. He would fall asleep with the dropper in his mouth but when I tried to return him to momma he would wake and yell and run about. Nerissa ate the least amount but her tummy seemed full so I think she may have just been nursing. Weights are good considering I cut back two of my three meals. I think Koko gets stimulated by my presence. When I moved away from the box he was able to settle down. |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 6.5 ounces = 185 grams - up 21.4 grams Nerissa is 5.25 ounces = 149.5 grams - up 14.2 grams Koko is 4.9 ounces = 139 grams - up 14.2 grams |
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I think I am seeing a pattern of Nerissa using the nipple on Finola's right side and the boys using the two on her left. That is Koko by Momma head, Nerissa nursing, and Avatar sleeping on her tail. |
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The nesting box with the extra front panel to keep Koko in the box. |
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Inside the box left to right - Avatar, Koko on the blue, and Nerissa with her newly refreshed green mark. |
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| June 14th - four days old - Ah
what a difference a little sub-q fluid can make. Finola is more alert
this morning. The babies were sleeping soundly so I waited to feed them
and did her 100cc of sub-q first. We did pretty well but when the alarm
went off (Koko) she became very unsettled. I was just about at 100cc
when I had to pull the needle quick because she moved to grab Koko and
tried to run off with him. I blocked her from leaving the box and
settled her down so I could go fetch the kitten milk. Kittens got filled
up and Momma licked each face clean (Yeah) Then she licked the
contents of two extra droppers of milk I had left. I fed Koko first and
by the time I was finished he was running around yelling again. Momma
grabbed him by the scruff and jumped box heading toward my desk. I did
put a nest under there just in case she felt the need to move during the
night. I told her NO, asked where was she going and bring him
back. She realized she had no plan in place and returned to the box, lol.
She settled down again so I decided against the morning weigh in.
I've pretty much stayed away from the box today except to peer in very quietly to make sure everyone is breathing. Yes, I was one of those mothers who checked her sleeping babies to be sure they were breathing *sigh* I'm still that mother, lol. We skipped the 2:00 pm feeding since no one was fussing for food, 3:00 no fussing, 4,5,6...well I can't believe how peaceful the little guys are sleeping after so many days of fussing. Its true there is no substitute for momma. Finola slips out to walk about. I went with her and opened a can of Royal Canin baby cat. She is eating like a normal cat, yes!...so all the girls get a little of it as a treat. While she is eating would be a good time for me to get weights and photos. *Sneaks to grab the pudgy babies* As you can see in the full photos the kits have all lost their cords. Nerissa's looks a little irritated it must have just come off. The boys were where you see that little dark spot. |
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Not a morning... weigh in......about 6:00pm Avatar is 5.75 ounces = 164 grams - up 21.4 grams Nerissa is 4.75 ounces = 135.2 grams - up 14.2 grams Koko is 4.4 ounces = 124.6 grams - up 14.2 grams |
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Avatar 4 days old |
Is that seal or blue nose? |
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Nerissa 4 days old |
Such a sweet lil princess |
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Koko 4 days old "Stop, stop, listen up people I have something important to say" |
Early on I thought he was going to be in the seal family but his nose sure is looking chocolatey in these photos. |
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| June 13th - three days old -Finola has still not eaten anything. She come out and walked about and had a few licks of water. She still looks vacant. She is operating in slow motion. She will take a few licks of water then stare off into space like she has blanked out. Then she comes back a little and takes a few more licks of water. | |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 5 ounces = 142 grams - up 14.2 grams Nerissa is 4.25 ounces = 121 grams - up 10.7 grams Koko is 3.875 ounces = 110.3 grams - up 7.1 grams |
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| Right at 2:00pm Finola called to me like she
did yesterday. The kittens were fussing. I think she really is asking me
to feed them.
I forced two droppers of kitten milk into her mouth after the 2:00 pm feeding. I'm getting seriously worried that she is dehydrated. I was hoping she would drink enough water to get us to Monday morning when the hospital is open. Her scruff is tenting. In a normal cat if you lift up the skin of the scruff it will snap back into place. In a dehydrated cat the skin will stay pulled up like a tent. I know what she needs is subcutaneous fluids and an appetite stimulant but I know my doctor was away this weekend. Should we pack up and head to Tufts? I really feel bad about bothering her but I sent an email to my Vet asking for her opinion on if Finola needs emergency treatment now. After its sent I'm feeling even worse about intruding on her weekend off. We decide to just go to Tufts. Not knowing how long a wait we will have I put the nest warmer in the carrier under a layer of towels. We can plug it in there to help keep momma and babies warm while we wait. We only get four blocks from home when Dr. Schaefer calls. She was heading to the office to care for the hospital boarded pets and we could meet her instead of going to Tufts. She is the kindest, most accommodating, and best Vet we have ever used! Finola had a temperature of a little over 103. This could be stress and the dehydration but to protect the babies from septic milk it was decided to give her a baby safe antibiotic. She received 100cc Sub-Q fluids with vitamins added. This is done in the scruff where their are very few nerve endings. It doesn't really hurt them. She also received a quarter tablet of an appetite stimulant. We brought home the sub-q set up so we can give her 100cc more tonight and two times tomorrow. Because of the added vitamins the fluid has to be kept in the dark and refrigerated. As an added bonus giving her cold fluid will also help bring down her fever. Her weight at the hospital was just over 9 pounds. This is light for a Finola as a new mom. |
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Sunday 6:00pm at the animal hospital |
Finola doing her best to shrink and hide |
| Back home Finola hid under my desk so I left the sleeping kittens in the carrier until they woke up. While the nesting box was empty I changed out all the linens for freshly laundered ones. The babies were added and their cries brought Momma back to nest with them. I left her in peace until the night feeding. With the kittens tummies full I gave Finola her 100cc sub-q fluids. She was really good. After I removed the needle the hole it left leaked the fluid and she could smell the vitamins in it. She kept sniffing around like something was wrong. I placed a terry cloth along her back to help catch any dribbles. The kittens were very fussy after eating and kept trying to crawl out of the box. I believe when they hear me they react because I am the milk faerie, lol. I added a piece of foam board to the front of the box so they can no longer climb or fall out. Finola can still hop out. | |
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Sleeping in the carrier. Going to the hospital is exhausting |
Avatar with a full tummy contentedly sleeping on his back and Nerissa suckling. |
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| June 11th - I am happy to see Peanut is doing okay. I had to clean up her poo butt. Finola didn't clean her but she did stay in with them all night and the stronger kittens are doing their part demanding their momma's milk to come in. I washed everyone's behind and then fed Peanut a little kitten milk and gave the left over to the other kittens. Peanut seems lethargic this morning so I raised the room temp to 85 and she perked up. I'm continuing to feed her and allowing the big kittens to nurse. When they get so mad with hunger that they can't settle down I give them some kitten milk too. I want them stimulating Finola's milk but I don't want them to lose weight in the process. There are bits of poo in the nest by afternoon so Finola is not cleaning the babies at all. I am now cleaning everyone every few hours. Koko has his voice and it set on maximum volume. Nerissa has a medium voice and our big guy has the softest voice, like his papa Balor. We will see if this stays true as they mature. | |
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Morning weigh in...... Avatar is 4.25 ounces = 121 grams - up 0 grams Nerissa is 3.25 ounces = 92.5 grams - down 7.1 grams Koko is 3.375 ounces = 96 grams - up 0 grams Peanut is 1.875 ounces = 53.4 grams - down 10. 7 grams (I've never had a kitten weigh this little and it scares me)
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Avatar |
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Peanut nursing |
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3:00pm - Peanut has had a complication. The doctor says all we can do is offer her support and see how she does. She continues to be a good eater. |
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| Finola has still not had anything to eat at all. She did drink some water. I have tried every trick I know to stimulate her to eat. The other cats are all getting lots of special food that Finola won't eat....they don't mind helping out one bit, lol. | |
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Everybody gets their tummies filled before I go to bed. Peanut eats and sucks well but is she looking a little off? I go to bed at midnight thinking Peanut will be gone in the morning. |
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Avatar reminds me of my husband... head back, mouth open snoring. |
Nerissa |
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| June 10th - Their is a detailed
supplemental page for the next few days. It is meant for breeders or
those seriously considering breeding to give them a view of what we
experienced. It is not a "happy ending" page. If you follow
the diaries because you love the kittens and enjoy their happy lives
stay here.
If you want the nitty gritty Click here to go to the Diary Supplement June 10th - BIRTH DAY - Finola passes amniotic fluid. I expect a kitten soon. A large bubble presents but no tail or foot is seen. Usually we see part of a kitten at this point. The bubble breaks and Finola continues with her contractions and pushing. Nothing more comes. With a sterile latex glove and KY I digitally check to see if a kitten is near. I feel no kitten.....1:15 am I call my hubby in California. He's away on business. I need a sanity check. Before Finola's contractions started I had this feeling that we were going to lose her. I need to touch base with some sane reasoning. He says I should wait another hour then call the Vet for help. During the next hour Finola's contractions continue. She has the portion of sack out but noting more expels. I don't want to pull the sack if it has a kitten whose placenta hasn't detached. Pulling off a placenta before it releases can cause hemorrhaging in the mom. Now every time she contracts I can see tissue that looks like placenta. I check again and no kitten can be felt. Now I am really worried. 2:10 I call Dr. Schaefer at home and wake her. She calls for an assistant and I get Finola settled in the carrier. We all meet at the animal hospital. It's a half hour drive for me. First up is an x-ray to see who is where. There is a almost horse shoe shaped spine near her back end. Little arm bones up...does it have it's head tucked away.... We have already decided this is Finola's last litter and if she needs surgery she will be spayed at the same time but....I really don't want kittens delivered by c-section we always lose a kitten with surgery. Kittens come out groggy and have to be handled roughly to revive them from the anesthesia. I know the first kitten it is already lost. My hope is that we can clear that kitten and allow the remaining litter to be born normally. I ask if we can give Finola some oxytocin to stimulate contractions so we can get the first kitten delivered. Dr Schaefer checks Finola and agrees she can't feel a kitten. Finola gets an injection of oxytocin and we wait and the doctor checks her. She can feel a kitten up at her pelvis. It doesn't move any further down. It's just beyond where she can get a hold of it. Too much time has passed. The kitten is removed with the use of forceps. It looks to be a 3 to 4 ounce baby. It is not viable. Finola is exhausted and not having any more contractions. It's been over an hour since she was given the first oxytocin shot. She is given another and we wait. Strong contractions start again but no kittens move down. Sometime after 4 am it is decided she will have the surgery. I want another assistant called in to help revive kittens. Finola is prep'ed for surgery and she puts up no resistance. Five kittens are brought out of the operating room for us to revive. Three normal sized and two smaller. The three larger kittens come around just fine. The biggest one earns the nick name Avatar from the tech because he is fast and strong, and has the nose. As I look at my little peanut she reminds me of a newborn preemie. Translucent skin, no layer of fat between the skin and bones. She is breathing but dusky looking. I keep working to stimulate her rubbing her chest and shaking her by the scruff while also trying to keep her warm. The other little kitten does not revive. Finola is brought out to the warming table and we put the kittens to her nipples. Peanut latches on and sucks. The other kittens are too busy yelling and crawling about. Finola is coming around. After sucking Peanut is turning purple again. Dr. Schaefer gives her some oxygen and she pinks right up. She looks so wonderful when she is not purple, lol. We pack Finola and the babies into her carrier add two hot water bottles under the towel for the kittens. I warm up my car and at 6 am we are on our way home. I worry about Peanut all the way. We talked about the sex of the kittens when they were on the warming table. We all agreed that Avatar is a male. The Tech thought the rest were females but when the doctor looked she thought we had two boys. When I looked with the tech I agreed with her but when I looked with the doctor I could see that the two could be males, lol. We will see when they get bigger. I would bet the farm that Avatar is a male seal point. He looks to be a nice sturdy apple headed boy. The doctor also mentions to watch Finola for signs of infection as there was some milk in her incision. From this point on I do not look at a clock. With no sleep at all I
am concentrating on doing everything I need to do for the kittens. |
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The
Stats at birth Sometime after 5:00 am. I have ordered them by size since we don't really have a birth order. #1 blue – Avatar – 121 grams (4.25 ounces) #2 green – Nerissa – 99.7 grams (3.5 ounces) #3 orange – Koko – 96 grams (3.375 ounces) #4 white – Peanut – 64 grams (2.25 ounces) #5 deceased at birth #6 deceased at birth Siamese kittens are born all white. We mark each kitten with a non-toxic color so we can tell them apart and monitor their progress. Names used are for the diary. Kitten owners chose real names when they go home. Avatar & Peanut for the ladies at the Animal Hospital and Nerissa &Koko for Piper. |
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| Koko is yelling his head off. My what a
big voice. That will drive momma crazy when she is back to normal,
lol. They are all getting so frenzied I mix up some Kitten Milk
Replacer. Warm full tummies should help settle them down until momma
feels better. Two kittens look like seal and two look like chocolate
family, time will tell. Peanut is a good sucker and she drinks a dropper
and a half of milk. I place her on the warm area of the nest and allow
the other kittens turns at drinking as much kitten milk as they want.
Our day goes on like this. Momma under my desk. Babies in the nesting
box. I try to encourage Finola to respond to the kitten and when a
kitten cries for her I try to let it latch on under the desk...none of
this goes well. I am feeding the kittens on demand which is usually
every 2 to 3 hours. Sometimes sooner if somebody refuses to eat then
decides they really do want some, lol. I also wipe their bottoms to stimulate them to
pee. They can't go on their own and Momma is the one who normally licks
them. I use a warm wet terry cloth to simulate a rough kitty tongue.
After the room reached 83 degrees Peanut stopped turning purple. I think
being chilled was causing her to become lethargic with her breathing. I
now have a little hope that we may be able to save her if we continue to
give her special support.
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Avatar (seal or blue male?) |
Nerissa (chocolate female?) |
Koko ( male?) his coat color is in between Avatar's and Nerissa's so I'm not sure what color he could be. When his nose starts coloring may help clue me in. |
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Peanut (seal female) |
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My daughter comes home from school and I feed and wipe the kittens then ask her
to watch over them while I get a couple hours sleep. While I am napping
she is able to get Finola to go into the box. The kittens are snuggling
and trying to nurse. She said Peanut got a good suckle in before the big
kittens realized they could root for nipples.
When I got up my #2 son was in watching over them. Finola has accepted the kittens as hers. |
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That is Peanut nursing |
Peanut on Finola's legs |
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| I'm allowing the stronger kittens to nurse so they can make Finola's milk come in but I am still feeding Peanut at least every two hours. I try to let Peanut nurse but the big kittens just crawl all over her. She is not strong enough to fight for her own. After I feed her I place her by Finola's front legs so she can see her and try to protect her a bit. Finola came out and stood at the food and water bowl. She was there but nobody was home. She ended up taking about 8 laps of water before she walked away and then back to the kitten room. | |||
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Left to right - Nerissa, Avatar, & Koko |
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| Finola seems to be doing well with the babies. They root and nurse and she is staying in the box with them and repositioning when they yell too much. I fed all the kittens so they had full bellies before I went to bed at midnight. I go to bed worried for Peanut. | |||
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| June 9th - Finola has been meowing at me all day and keeps going into her birthing box in my bedroom. She wants me to sit with her all the time. At 10:10 pm She begins to have occasional contractions. I sit on the floor in front of the box and stroke her. Emma visits, Fen visits and gives momma some licks. Finola has been mothering Fen for the past couple of weeks as if she were a little kitten. Emma visits again. Time passes slowly and contractions cluster into groups of three. with rests between. |
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| June 6th -Finola is really big. We can feel the kittens when they move about. She seems more then ready. Going down the stairs is a challenge for her with the weight of all the kittens. She spends all her time resting or eating. | |
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Finola and Keva check the comfort level of the birthing box. |
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| May 25th - The kitten count is...4, 5, 6, or maybe 7. A larger litter but the way they are laid out makes it difficult to count. We can count skulls but when all the heads line up how many are there? We can count spines but they seem to be all over the place, lol. So here are the images. Heads are round-ish, spines are like zippers, and the little matchstick like pieces are legs. How many kittens do you think are in this litter? |
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In the x-ray viewer the contrast and size of the image can be manipulated which can help to show less contrasting bones. <----Head This view doesn't make things clear at all. The skulls are not standing out. I can pick out a couple. The spines (zipper like) are easier to see. I think I see five. |
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This image is better but the kittens from both sides are all layered together. The circular light sort of rings are skulls. I think I see five in is view. No heads are down toward delivery yet. |
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Full xray from the side Five or Six seemed to be the consensus but the range of 4 to 7 was also given. |
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Finola has filled out very round. When I handed her carrier to Robin at the Apple Country Animal Hospital she was surprised how heavy it was. After we got home I tried to get a walking photo of Finola to show just how wide she is. She was so indignant with me for having taken her to the Vet that she wouldn't let me get close enough to get a good photo. So I snuck up on her while she was resting. She just doesn't look that big in this photo, lol. I'll keep trying in the next few days. |
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May 15th - Finola is bulging and acting content. I followed her around with my camera trying to get some photos that show her wide load, lol Most of them didn't turn out well but here are two that you can see the rounding of her sides in. Finola's body is usually a nice even thickness ...a straight line from her shoulders to her hips. She has passengers on board. We have her scheduled for her kitten count on May 25th. |
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| April 2010 - Finola was bred to Balor during the first week of April 2010. | |
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