Happy birthday to me… lots of pictures!

Day 32

It is my birthday and Mitsy is not in a good mood since breakfast. When I go downstairs later ‘to say hi’, I first give Mitsy a treat with the extendible spoon. She is resting on the clean litter box and something in her eyes makes me think she wants to be left alone. When I give her another treat and am behind her head, half trying to touch her head, she freaks and hisses at me. We are not there yet. Obviously.

I decide to not meddle with her too much today. We cannot have that kind of behaviour. So she did not see much of me. We were out and about anyway for my birthday and by the time we got back home, I was going to take it easy, but ended up working on the protective measures in the new cat room.

The kittens played on their own enthusiastically and Mitsy had plenty of food and looked busy enough without adding me to the picture. At night I was on the phone with a friend and realised that the windows were still open in the basement, so I went downstairs, where all the lights were already switched off. Mitsy was on the outer litter box and I could tell she did not like me there. So we need to be mindful to check where she is on the video before we go downstairs and take our clues from her. Coming down singing is still the best option….

I do give her another treat to put her at ease before I leave. I open the side door and say hi to 2 of the kittens and she seems OK with that, but then I leave without further interaction.

Not long after she poops…. When Wim did the litterboxes earlier, there was nothing but there is now. He goes in to change it and also has the impression that Mitsy does not want interaction today. He says she is in Basecamp with the kittens, they are feeding, but she instantly turns towards him when he goes for the dirty litter box.  He just does the exchange, tops up food and then leaves.

My guess is that we were pretty busy with her and the kittens yesterday and having a visitor on Saturday and she might need some personal time. Hard enough to do with the kittens around. So no interference until tonight seems like a good idea.

It puts me off though, the hissing and the look on her face. She is probably hormonal. She was friendly enough earlier, Wim says, so I try not to take it personally…. If I was locked in a crate with 6 of my young children I would probably have moments like this as well! Acceptance of who she is and trust in her future are key…. Good thing we are going out today!

Recognising the kittens

They are now playing several times per day and really using the scratch pole and the toys. They also play with each other. We see them run up and down the crates, climb the Nest, fall off, and in general being very lively. After which the activity dies down and they all sleep. Sometimes together, sometimes in bundles of two, sometimes alone, sometimes with mom. And we keep trying to identify all of them. Four kittens are easy to distinguish from each other.

The two black ones, for instance.

Pumba

The big one is Pumba, who we currently believe to be male. Pumba used to be nicknamed Archie a.k.a. Fatzo. But Pumba suits him better. He looks like quite the little man and he is the heaviest of the lot. However, he looked bigger at birth than he does right now! His is a semi shorthair that looks black at first glance, but actually has some markings on his coat. He is very friendly and curious, loves to be touched and is always in for a spot of play. He can also be quite talkative!

Femke / Vampy / Spooky

Then there is Femke or, in English: Vampy, that we believe to be female. She is black as well, with some dark markings. But she is definitely not a shorthair. Her coat is getting fluffier and fluffier. We believe she was born at the end of the delivery process. The Dutch version of her name means ‘little girl’. She earned the English version, Vampy, because, when she was little, her little claws were on Mitsy’s belly and she looked like a little vampire holding on for dear life. Post script: Recently we have renamed her to Spooky. See the blog for the reason…

Kabiri

Then there is Kabiri. Number 2 to be born. A beautiful long haired tabby that we believe to be male with a gorgeous face and a chubby body. He might be a big Tomcat as an adult, but we cannot be sure right now because he is all fluff. He truly has so much neckhair, that it looks like mane! We recognise him as well because his forehead markings come down in a point on his forehead. He is a kind and curious cat and when we have him on our chest and in our lap he kind of relaxes into it. He might be a lapcat, has a sweet disposition and loves to cuddle!

Cheetah

Then there is Cheetah, who could be either male or female. We think this is a male. His markings are stunning and remind me of those you see in wild cheetah’s, hence the name. We are not sure when exactly he was born but we do know he is a momma’s boy. He is timid and wild at the same time. Loves to climb and race around the room, but tends to scare easily. We might have to keep him a bit longer than the other kittens, because it seems he needs some extra time. He is completely socialised, but he lacks a bit of confidence. He has a long-haired coat, like Kabiri, and will probably grow into a cat of normal size, a bit bigger than his mother.

Then there are the 2 UFO’s: Unidentified Feline Objects 🙂

They look very much like twins, but there are some differences… Can you find them?

‘Thing 1’ / Sipke

We think this is Sipke, a.k.a. Thing 1. She is the spitting image of her mother and she looks like a female to us. She is a bit timid and often sleeps by herself. She is also a bit clumsy, bumps into stuff and sometimes falls over because she looses her balance. She is a sweet little thing that likes to be cuddled and loves to play. And she is quick! She was one of the first kittens, together with Pumba, who started eating solid foods. She has a shorthair coat and we do not expect her to grow into a big cat.

‘Thing 2’ / Stipke

We think that this is Stipke, Stip being the Dutch name for spots. He has a belly full of them, much like his suspected twin ‘Thing 1’ or Sipke. He seems to be a bit heavier than his sister. We think this kitten is male and his has a shorthair coat. He will grow into a small to medium size cat, definitely smaller than the other kittens in this litter.

And if you think it is easy to tell them apart, have a look at these two shots. They are often too quick to capture in complete focus, but you will get the idea…. 🙂

We think: Sipke to the right, Stipke to the left…

Stipke to the right, Sipke to the left…