Homepage Archived Nursery Blog

Click the chapters in the sidebar (may be shown in bottom on small devices) to navigate to old posts in Mitsy’s Nursery Blog.

What was that blog about? Have a look at mother Mitsy and her 6 beautiful kittens… that what’s it all about!

Adopted!!! Thank you, ‘adopters’ – fare thee well, sweet kittens!

Are you one of the adopters? Please email us some pictures of our babies, as they grow up. They will be received in gratitude.

Left to right: Spooky (on window sill), Kabiri, Sipke, Cheetah, Pumba and Stipke.

Nursery Milestones reached in 2021

7 November: Fabulous news: the Twins Sipke and Stipke have found their forever home!

28 October: Mitsy spayed

28 October: The twins move to the Adoption Center at PetSmart Burlington, Brant Hills

11 October: Pumba and Kabiri adopted together!

3 October: Cheetah and Spooky adopted together!

2 October: Stipke turns out to be female and Stipke is exposed as male…

25 September: Mitsy participates actively in play with the toys and with the twins

24 September: Kabiri, Pumba, Cheetah and Spooky moved to the Adoption Centre at Pet Smart, in Oakville Place

18 September: No more nightly crating, the room is open

13 September: Nicky lifts Mitsy up for the first time… it is a big deal!

13 September: All kittens discover the taste of a cat treat today

13 September: Cleaning day with the vacuum! Still ssssscary!

12 September: Sipke sits in Nicky’s lap and purrs for a few minutes

8 September: Cheetah is revealed to be a girl!!

8 September: First vet visit, vaccinations, flea and worm treatment & general health checks

31 August: Mitsy asks for a pet and gives us a head-butt!

30 August: First kitten in distress: Sipke falls in a deep carton box

27 August: Several kittens discover the window bench

26 August: First confrontation with the vacuum cleaner… Ssssscary!

26 August: Cat family out of the crates the entire day

26 August: Mitsy sits in the window to watch the great outdoors

24 August; Mitsy gets a taste of raw food: chicken and salmon mix; she loves it!

22 August: Third time out in the new room for the whole family!

21 August: Mitsy steps out of the crate into the new room for the first time

19 August: we spot Kabiri eating kibble. He must be the first one to do that…

19 August: Pumba steps out of the crate to eat from his own dish – I close the crate door when he does, to prevent mom from stealing his food.

17 August: Cats move upstairs from the basement crate to the new cat room; still crated for a couple of days to adjust

15 August: First poop by Pumba and Sipke – there will be more…

14 August: First kittens seen straining on the litter box. Nothing obvious to show for it yet but poop is coming…

14 August: Pumba starts eating and is closely followed by Sipke

12 August: We weigh some of the kittens; they are all well over 600 grams, even the smaller ones. So the bigger ones are more fluff than substance! Also flea-checked some of them and they seem clean or at least not infested…

12 August: Petted Mitsy on her back-end. She was aware, did not welcome it and also did not react defensively

11 August: Mitsy gets her penthouse shelf, where she can retreat for some alone time (but she never uses is – there goes out DIY project!)

3 August: Mitsy responds to play for the very first time. We play for over 15 minutes and it fills me with joy!

3 August: Four of the kittens explore the Ensuite. That is new! I pick three of them up and even hold one on my chest, outside of the Ensuite until it cries out for mommy.

1 August: The kittens suddenly start exploring their home and are all over the place. They even climb onto the bed I created on top of the Nest. Mitsy has not used it a lot, but the kittens love it. They fall off, climb back on and also discover that they can jump and run; they are getting quick as water!

31 July: I lift 2 kittens and kiss them – they are little fat sausages with legs and do not really protest!

30 July: Mitsy accepts a treat from my hand!

25 July: Mitsy accepts a treat from my extendible spoon!

24 July: One kitten out of the Nest. Lying very still. I open the door and touch it gently. Phew, it is OK! First time to touch a kitten right under Mitsy’s nose. We think the kitten is the bambino of the nest, that we named “Vampy”. Read blog to find out why… We suspect this is a female that will remain smaller than the others. She was born last…

24 July: Second crate added, called ‘The Ensuite’

22 July: All eyes and ears open; second night time visit of the suspected father of the kittens. He is whining loudly. Mitsy is unaware

20 July: Kitten’s eyes and ears are starting to open and we touch them for the first time, through the side of the crate

19 July: Softly singing to Mitsy calms her down… 🙂

18 July: Meeting some of the kittens first ‘hand’: Pumba and Kabiri

  • ‘Pumba’ – the oldest kitten; black / dark brown, and male
  • ‘Kabiri’ – number 2 in line; second oldest kitten, tabby and male

14 July: Night time visit of the suspected father of the kittens. Good thing all windows are closed. He is crying out loudly. Mitsy is unaware

12 July: Part 1 of Mitsy’s first worm treatment for hookworms

8 July: The kitttens are born – 6 healthy kittens, all very different in size (on appr. day 66th of pregnancy)

5 July: Mitsy successfully trapped – the adventure starts

appr. 3 May: Mitsy conceives

21 March: Mitsy’s kittens born somewhere outside in suburbia (but never found)

16 March: First trapping efforts fail

8 March: First time Mitsy comes begging for food in our backyard

Kitten profiles…

Pumba /Male

(Alternate name in early blog posts: Primo and Fadzo)

First born, Very affectionate, confident and social. Very adaptable to new situations. Appreciates a lot of interaction in cuddles and play. Loves to eat! First one to discover solid food and always in for play and adventure. He is a domestic shorthair and although he looks black, he does have dark brown markings. Which makes him a black tabby. And an adorable white spot around his belly button!

Kabiri / Male

(The name means second in Rwandese – and we have always thought that Kabiri was born second.)

Second born, delicate fuzzy kitten with long hair and a gorgeous face. Domestic long hair. Loves attention and cuddles, is very friendly and getting more confident by the day. We can see him grow into a beautiful adult cat that will love spending nap-time with his human family. Affectionately called Biri-Biri.

Cheetah /Female

(Alternate name in the early blog posts: Gray)

Earns the name because of her facial markings. She can be a bit distant and timid, but lately she has been coming into her own and is developing a mind of her own. Loves to play with the stick part of stick toys and follows it like a Formula One driver. As a by the way: she fooled us into believing she was a boy until the vet exposed her real gender! She likes high places and is a champion climber! She is a domestic medium-long hair. Often sleeps away from the sibling group.

Spooky /Female

(Alternate names in early blog posts: Draky, Vampy and Tiny)

Spooky was one of the last to be born and stayed small and timid for the longest time. But that changed as the weeks went by. Not only has she developed an impressive coat of long hair (that looks different every day), but she now also has some attitude and no longer lets her siblings bully her. She looks black, but in fact has dark markings that show up in sunlight. So she is a black tabby, not a black cat. She is the champion of high jumps, has endless energy and loves to sleep in high places

Sipke /Male

(Alternate names in early posts: Kunta, Kinte, Thing1 and Thing2)

Affectionately called Sippy-cup. Sipke is an outgoing guy that is very responsive to humans, interested in everything and tinkles ‘hi’ when you enter the room. He will try and get into the smallest places in the room and he is quick! He loves cuddling and company and can be quite naughty. He used to be so similar to his sister, Stipke (see below), that we thought they were fraternal twins. As they get older we are starting to see clear differences. For one, Sipke is bigger than his sister; his markings are more narrow on his body and more pronounced in his face, than Stipke’s. His eyes seem to be slightly slanted, especially when he is content.

Stipke /Female

(Alternate names in the early blog posts: Stripes, Kunta, Kinte, Thing1 and Thing2)

Affectionately called Stippy-girl. A tiny domestic short hair that does her own thing and is a little timid. Closely bonded with her brother Sipke. She will give you a high tinkling ‘hello’ when she spots you, especially when you bring food. She is the last of the litter to develop balance and good reflexes. Appreciates being hand-fed the kibble that she prefers. Tries to bury her food bowl when done feeding – as if she cleans the table. The colouring in her face is lighter than her brother and the bands of markings on her body are wider.