| 2022 : R'Maïnie's and Pépite's litters (dad = Demis Silvaliya) | |
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R'Maïnie's litter : birth (May 22nd) eyes open 3 weeks old
one month old
(almost) 6 weeks old official naming 2 months old 2.5 months old 12 weeks old weight curves
Pépite's litter : birth (June 20th) eyes (almost) open one month old 5 weeks old
7 weeks old, naming 8 weeks old 11 weeks old weigh curves
Demis Silvaliya is a young ruddy somali male, he was 4.5 months old when he arrived in our home,
overflowing with purrs, cuddles and energy !
With spring in the air, he changed almost overnight from a kitten playing with his "aunts" to a passionate lover
for the two girls of the house (Pépite born in 2019 and R'Maïnie born in 2020) who hadn't had any litter yet.
So here we are... May 21st in the morning, R'Maïnie decide to move to her "birth-box" and purr, purr, purr...
The next day around 7 p.m., she gave birth to her very first daughter, a ruddy 85 grams female,
who instantly started searching for mom's tits.
Then... nothing happened... until about 1 a.m. where contractions resumed for a 94 grams ruddy boy.
Less than half an hour later, a 86 grams ruddy female followed (rear end first).
Now R'Maïnie could rest a little, very proud of her three babies :
The next morning, dad Demis was allowed to visit her and see his babies too.
To say the truth, he didn't stay very long, but officially "recognized" his own kitties by attempting to spray on the birth box !
The first two days were a bit cahotic, the male and his younger sister constantly fighting for the same tit
(why was the third tit right so special ???), while other tits were also full of milk...
After a few days, they managed to reach a compromise and they all started to grow more regularly.
Here you can see their first portraits : the first born (F1), the male (M2), and the youngest (F3) face to face with mom R'Maïnie.
(until their names are definite, they will bear the code names F1, M2 and F3.
Each of them wears a little felt collar to help me identify them at a glance : red for F1, white for M2 and green for F3.
F1 had already opened her right eye yesterday evening, this morning she has both eyes open to the world.
Her sister F3 (third picture) starts to open hers tonight, and their brother prefers to wait (and see...)
The three of them have wide open eye and start to take interest in something else than just mom,
starting with their littermates which are fun to climb!
F1 licked by mom, M2 and F3 cuddling with mom R'Maïnie
15 days is time to move the nest in an enclosure at ground level, so that the kitties can explore safely their environment.
(for practical reasons, the birth nest was beside my bed at the same level)
Here is the family settled in her new environment, and a close-up on the male.
The "enclosure" from above (it's only "enclosed" for the kittens, mom may jump in and out as she wishes).
Three focused little faces (F1, M2, F3) :
15th June : now we visit the room !
They don't walk like babies any more (belly on the ground), but straight on their four paws.
F1 explores (notice the upright tail, like any good little somali),
M2 closeley watched by mom in the basket with the blue paper, and finally the sweet face of F3 wandering what happens.
Mom is busy checking on them all, but they eventually all come back in the "enclosure" to rest safely (left: M2, middle: F1)
They look with envy on mom or dad jumping soooo high, soooo quick, trying to find out their secret to do the same.
For the time being, they continue exploring at ground level and coming back to mom's milk bar.
Below in the usual order : F1, M2 and F3.
The three kittens now eat by themselves babycat food and croquettes. They also go to the litter by themselves..
Their main food is still their mom's milk, but the places to be with mom vary a lot.
Here is a "heaven's view" picture of R'Maïnie with her three kitties, and another of the kitties alone (from left to right, F1, F3, M2)
Close-up on M2, then on F3:
F1 and her mom R'Maïnie, and a close-up on F1
This is breakfast time with dad !
Devinette : que regardent R'Maïnie, Demis et F1 (qui gonfle son poil pour paraitre plus grosse, car elle n'est pas si rassurée que ça...) ?
The answer is here
The first picture shows the different reaction of the two females (from left to right, F3 and F1)
when I make a strange noise they hadn't heard before.
The male is conscienciously licking his paws on the second picture,
and F3 is lost in her dreams on the third picture.
They now jump everywhere on the cat trees, the mesh on top of the park has been changed into a trampoline (picture above),
and even the large basket hanging from the ceiling can be reached using a big rope hanging below the basket.
19 July : The naming of the cats !
Today is a special day for the kitties, because it is their very first visit to the vet:
check-up, microchipping, first jab, buccal swab for official genetic parentage certification...
The male (ex-M2) now bears his true name Ti'Floki and his sisters are my little « spice girls » :
Timut (ex-F1, red collar) and Temzou (ex-F3, green collar). Why « spice girls » ?
You probably know the famous Timut "pepper" originated from Nepal,
but unless you speak breton, you may not be aware that Temzou is "spice" in breton.
Portraits
Ti'Floki, the male, enjoys (as do his sisters) to masticate on small carboard boxes (this one is for cheese packaging),
and then you can see him preparing for a siesta on the cat tree:
Timut, always on the move, proudly shows her ear tufts (all three kitties have some, but it rarely lasts into adulthood).
Temzou dreams she has become a Brittany sylvan elf (1st pic, taken on 14th July) then well waken up (20th July)
All three eat with appetite fresh/raw food or paté three times a day, as well as kitty croquettes when they please,
while coming to mom for the milk bar, an important thing.
They've become friends with my grand children who are spending July with us :
a tender eye to eye communication with Timut and a play of hide and seek with Temzou.
Timut alone, then with Temzou, then Temzou with Ti'Floki
Ti'Floki
Already eleven weeks old! Time is flying like an arrow (one they can't catch)...
Individual portraits (left to right: Timut, Ti'Floki and Temzou)
And all together now: in the firs picture, Ti'Floki is at left, Timut in the middle and Temzou at right
in the hanging basket, Timut is still in the middle, but Temzou is at left and Ti'Floki on the right.
The three kittens got their second jab today.
Here are their portraits, as they are nearing their three months...
It seems on these pictures that they are quiet ones, but well... they jump and move a lot more in real life !
Timut (spoken for)
Ti'Floki (spoken for)
Temzou (spoken for) - with "great-great-great auntie" Edelweiss in the background of the second picture.
And mom is still important !
23 August
Three months old yesterday ! Timut, now known as Shelby, has now gone to her new family,
where she enjoys playing and cuddling with her new (human) mom and dad.
Ti'Floki (in the basket) and Temzou (resting on the chair) are staying with me two more weeks before going to their new home... together!
27 August
Ti'Floki and Temzou play a lot together.
Ti'Floki is the more energetic of the two: to get a "still" picture, I first need to "tire" him with a lot of playing, jumping, running...
Here you can see him caught jumping trying to reach the feathery teaser high above him.
Temzou is (a little bit) quieter, and she loves to survey the environment from the top of the chair (first pic below)
4 September
Time for Floki and Temzou (alias Inari) to move to their new home where they have the opportunity to live together !
Here they are just after their arrival, settling after having toured all corners of the room (Floki, then Inari)
Here are their weight curves (first 8 weeks)
The first two weeks
.
Weeks 3 and 4
Weeks 5 to 8 (2nd month)
20th June : Pépite (3 years old) is mom too!
Pépite told our reporter: "Look at me when I met Demis, svelt and elegant...
And now, I feel like a rugby ball, I can't find a good position to rest ! It's about time they got out...
But I decided to wait till Monday morning to start labor, because I know that Babette feels safer
if my children are born while her favorite vet clinic is opened, just in case, she says."
The first kitty was hard to get out, the others less so.
Though, after the fourth one (all ruddy males like their daddy), Pépite seemed spent out and had a little pause.
During this time, daddy Demis was biding his time gnawing at my bookmark...
When labor resumed, a fifth ruddy male emerged, and last a ruddy... female !
Looking at their weights, no wonder they were a bit squeezed inside Pépite's belly :
93, 91, 101, 93, 101, 101 grams (males), 85 grams (female)
Here is mom Pépite contemplating her offspring. They all have their coloured felt collars,
except the girl who was still wet at the time of the picture.
During their first day, they all lost weight.
I do hope that with a little help (baby cat milk they suck quite greedily), the curve will soon raise...
Here they are after day one :
They now gain weight after the first hectic few days (see their weight curve) !
Now is time to present them one by one, by birth order (M for males, F for the female)
M1 (dark blue collar), M2 (light blue collar), M3 (green collar),
M4 (grey collar), M5 (brown collar) and F6 (pink collar).
Their little elvish ears are very flexible, when they just were sleeping on one side,
it happens the ear is still heading backwards (see pics of M4 and F6 for an example).
Group picture with mom
They have all started to open their eyes, each at his own rythm. By order of birth :
6th July: Pépite's family moves location!
Now Pépite's kitty-box has moved to the ground level so that the babies can strengthen their little paws by moving freely
inside the enclosure, and start pushing their bellies up to walk instead of crawling...
Of course, they still sleep a lot. Here are a few pics, with PM5 (brown collara) dreaming he's suckling...
They are now exploring the room, though their park is still the focal point of their return for a good siesta.
Mom is a bit overwhelmed now when they all would like to drink at the same time
(no way, because they only activated 4 tits, so some have to take turns...)
Here is their individual portraits (pics taken 21 July), by birth order (M1, M2, M3, then M4, M5, F6)
Exploration of the whole room has begun, as well as playing with children and starting to climb anything...
M1 (dark blue collar),with mom Pépite on the 3rd picture
M2 (light blue collar)
M3 (purple collar)
M4 (grey collar)
M5 (brown collar)
F6 (yellow collar)
7 August : 7 weeks old... and they have proper names!
Now they all got their true names and I'm happy to introduce (always in the same birth order)
Tilki (means "fox" in turkish) - dark blue collar, M1
Tigibus (the little boy from "la guerre des boutons") - light blue collar, M2
Toraja (like the ethnic group living in south Sulawesi) - purple collar, M3
After having thought of Tifinagh (like the alphabet used by berbers to transcribe their language called tamazight),
the grey collared kitten, M4, will be named Tolkien
Tymour (in memory of Ty Cœur des Fauve & Or) - brown, then orange collar, M5
Tian'mi (transcription of chinese 
evoking something sweet as honey), the only female, F6, with pink then yellow collar
You will find easy to recognize them below thanks to their collars: left, Toraja, Tianmi and Tigibus ; right, Tolkien, Tilki and Tymour
Now you may see the whole litter either in the cat tree niche or figuring a flower when they all eat with mom!
Tilki, Tigibus and Tolkien are spoken for.
My six little "fur balls" still have their baby's look, but climb ever so quicker to visit the room in a 3D fashion.
Look at their individual portraits (pictures taken on August 16)
Tilki
Tigibus
Toraja
Tolkien
Tymour
Tianmi (the only female), on the second picture Tigibus fell asleep behind her.
23 August
The kittens are now two months old and their energy overflows !
Pictures are hard to take except moments just before siesta or when they wake up...
Tilki plays hide and seek behind the cat tree trunk,
Tigibus, who choose to rest on a world map, seems serious and full of attention, his hands folded.
Toraja has found a cardboard box exactly his size, perfect for siesta and also to bite his teeth into..
Tolkien dreams of Middle Earth,
Tymour shows he hasn't eaten any of the box "purrfect choccolates"
and Tianmi reminds us loud and clear not to forget her, she's the only girl of the lot!
27 August
Pépite is proud of her litter, whether presented on a cat tree or as a bunch of flowers :
Now let's come a little closer to each of them :
Tilki, then Tigibus and Tilki, then Tigibus (both spoken for)
Toraja, then Tolkien and Toraja, then Tolkien (both spoken for)
Tymour, then Tianmi and Tymour, then Tianmi chatting (both optioned)
All six kittens are now able to climb or jump on any spot, almost like the adults,
so I could take the traditional pictures even in the baskets hanging from the ceiling.
Individual poses (all kittens are now spoken for)
Tilki, Tigibus and Toraja
Tolkien, Tymour and Tianmi
23 september 2022
Last pictures of the six kittens together before the first departures :
Tianmi is always the one "speaking" on the pictures (right picture), surrounded by her five brothers.
Weight curves for Pépite's litter
First two weeks
Weeks 3 and 4
Weeks 5 to 8
| © Marie-Bernadette Pautet, 2005-2022 | |
Last page update : 30.09.2022 |
