gender issues

The kittens are twelve days old now and have had their eyes open for a few days.    That’s partly my reason for not taking more photos and posting them.  I don’t want to risk damage to brand new eyes with a flash photo.

They’re growing beautifully though and seem just fine.  Flipper is clearly the larger of the two – that’s been apparent and increasingly pronounced since very early days.  Fidget seems big enough and happy enough though.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What’s struck me from quite early on, and I think is becoming increasingly something I’m aware of, is that I don’t know what gender either of them is.

Part of me says that’s utterly irrelevant at this stage  …. but …….

And another part of me is niggled that it matters ….  they’re kittens …… I believe in equality ….  I wouldn’t treat them any differently just because they were male or female ………… or would I?  And if not why does it matter?

One reason I suppose is that its grammatically awkward to talk about them when you don’t know, so can’t call them “he” or “she”, and it doesn’t feel right to call a kitten “it”.    Not unlike the difficulties in a previous lifetime of writing feminist theology and not wanting to attribute a gender to God.

Is it something about how I think about them then?  I don’t want it to be … it feels wrong …. not to mention utterly crazy.   I know the insurance company charge me more to insure my tom cats  – who wander recklessly from sofa, to bed, to kitchen and back.  They insist on going out in all weathers (except when its cold or wet or windy) …… for 5 minutes to have a wee and rush back into the comfort of their beds.  Whilst my sensitive, stay at home low risk girl slams out the flap after breakfast and comes home 12 hours later, filthy, often soaking wet, and stays home all night simply because I lock the cat flap.

Whatever their gender … I worry for these little ones.  They’re not a fortnight old yet and already mum is back on her drug habit ….. snorting the nip like nothing on earth.

one week

Had quite a hectic afternoon / evening so it was later than usual when I went in with the camera to see Fluffy and her little ones.   She’s getting to be a very confident and organised mummy, so she’d already got them into their stripy pyjamas and off to sleep.   They were dreaming away quite happily.  I wonder what you dream of when you’re a week old and have spent your entire life in a Flymo box.   Whatever it was they seemed to be contented sweet furry dreams.

fidget (at the back) with her sister flipper

fluffy with spider

Meanwhile Fluffy was entertaining herself and getting some exercise playing with Spider – one of the favourite toys in the house at the moment.

day seven

Gosh – time flies.  Little ones almost a week old already.   Thankfully all seems to be going well, and Fluffy is such a lovely mum.  In fact she’s simply a lovely cat.   She managed to take a little time out for herself whilst the kits were sleeping and start playing with a toy.  I doubt she’s that much more than a kitten herself really.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I think we’re finally settled on names.    So let me introduce Fidget (white foot)  and Flipper (brown foot).   Thanks to Sooty’s friend Ali for suggesting Fidget as a name.  It suits a kitten who spends a lot of time rolling upside down and then flailing around to get right side up again.  The first thing I noticed about Flipper were the big uncoordinated back feet.  The arms and hands are more organised by today – I’m not sure if it was thumb sucking or the start to learning to wash, but it looked very cute.

 

 

day six

Today has seen more action than before with the little ones.   They’re still spending a lot of time snuggled up with mum and snuggled up to each other when mum goes off to have some “me time”.    However they’ve been moving around quite a lot more today seeking out the farthest limits of their Flymo box, and using mum as a climbing frame.    The inner corners of their eyes seem just a little bit more open than they were, and I swear I heard someone trying to kick start a purr.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Fluffy has had to work harder at catching them to wash them and bring them into line, but she’s making a lovely job of it.  She seems such a happy mummy.   She’s a lovely sweet happy cat anyway – I  think she’s scarcely stopped purring since she arrived here nearly 3 weeks ago.

day five

Is it my imagination or is there really a different feel around the kittens today?  There’s a real sense that they’re starting to be cats!   There was a squabble over a nipple earlier and despite being blind and deaf and very unsteady on their feet the little ones had quite a set to about it.   Then when mum  decided it was bath time there was serious squealing protest and it took her a while to get them settled again.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Their umbilical cords have dropped off in the last 24 hours -perhaps that symbolises the start of independence for them?  It’s getting to be time for deciding on names.   They’re quite clearly distinguishable from each other.  Although both tabby, one has white hands and feet whilst the other has brown.  Brown foot is a bit of a tank – quite a podgy little tummy on her/him already, where White foot has always been the smaller of the two and seems to spend more time on her/his back grumbling about stuff.

Trying to not think too often about little Free -not growing or grumbling but lying under the pergola.

day three

day 3

I’m sure these little ones have already grown a fair bit.    They look less fragile than they did a couple of days ago.  Fluffy still being a lovely attentive mummy.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

day two

The new little family have been putting a lot of effort into eating and growing today.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Fluffy is very proud of them and very fussy over them.   She’s clearly wanting to come out of her box for a cuddle and to eat but the moment they squeal she’s right back in there with them.

day two

the patter of tiny feet

Congratulations Fluffy!

Just as I started to think the little ones would never arrive, or that they would be born by Fluffy just going pop …….. they’re here.

ready to go pop

 I stayed with her while about 2am last night thinking something might be happening but eventually went off to bed – it wasn’t the first night I’d stayed up far later than I’d intended “just in case”.   She usually comes to her bedroom door in a morning as soon as I start to open it, and wedges herself and her bump in the half open door so I can neither fully open it or close it.  This morning seemed no exception – until I realised we didn’t have a bump wedged in the door and her back end was damp.   And instead of directing me towards her food dish, she took me, with a slightly bemused look on her face, to her bed.

She’d had three kittens, two little tabbies squirming around, and one beautiful little one who looked like her but who was sadly stillborn.  She seemed at a bit of a loss to know what to do.  Found it hard to lie down without lying on them, and as she moved to stop squashing one she sat on the other.  The little ones couldn’t seem to find a nipple and were blundering around complaining about having been born.

I came down to anxiously re read the instructions on the kitten milk and panic about how we were going to manage.  Buried Free in a quiet corner of the garden under a tree and hoped I wouldn’t need to open the grave up for his siblings.  

Back upstairs, pretty clear that no more babies on the way so we got some new bedding, cleaned things up a bit, and tried to give them a bit of a hand with finding a nipple amongst all that fur.   For such small people they can make a lot of noise a) squeaking because they’re hungry and b) sucking once they’re latched on.   Loud sucking noises reassuring all round.

Each time I’ve called in to see her today, Fluffy has seemed more confident with what she’s doing.   She seems to have somehow got the hang, more or less, of not lying on them.  And they’re becoming expert at nipple seeking.

day one

already not knowing whether to focus on eating her own supper or responding to her kittens cries

They don’t have names as yet.  I named the little one I buried “Free” because it felt like s/he needed a name to leave with.  I normally give my kittens names that start with the same initial as their mum’s name.  Also with their arrival I’m celebrating having fostered half way to a hundred cats and kittens.   I’ve considered naming them Fifty and Fifty One – but probably won’t 🙂

congratulations fluffy!

TGIF!!

Thank goodness for the weekend!  I’m shattered.   This is a post of updates, the good and the sad … and the suspense.

Lets start with the sad ……..

There’s been no news of   Ted.  Another lovely lady contacted us about a black and white cat on the allotments in the hope that it might be him.  Biff went rushing down there since I was at work.  However it turned out to be a rather sheepish looking Mog that they’d found.   So disappointing, and yet so lovely that people have looked at our posters and taken the time and energy to think about them and look for Ted and call us.

I’m not entirely sure whether the update on Jaws is sad or not.   You may remember he was diagnosed with FIV which isn’t treatable.  I had a message from the lovely young woman who looked after Mac at the RSPCA to say that Jaws had spent the last 10 days of his life on her unit.  I think they have to be held and advertised for 10 days as lost in case an ‘owner’ turns up.  In Jaws’ case it was probably more likely that Jango would do the washing up than an owner would be found.  I’m hoping that in those 10 days he already felt he’d died and gone to heaven – warm, dry and safe -and being spoiled with tuna and sardines and as much affection as his little feral soul could bear to accept.   It’s heart breakingly sad but there are things worse than death – and dying of an infected wound whilst being cold, wet and starving is probably one of them.  Thanks RSPCA for making it less awful for the lad.

mac in the vest he no longer needs

One of the good news stories also involves the RSPCA.  Mac – the little stray I picked up just before Christmas – is now ready to be re-homed.   The sad stray with horrid bloody patches of sore skin who laid his head in my hand and purred when I reached out to him has proved to be an absolute gem – of course!  He now has lovely thick silky healthy fur and is the perfect pet.   Check out his ad here:

http://rspcasheffield.homeip.net/cgi-bin/viewanimaldetails.py?animalid=14730&species=Cat&preferedage=adult&indoorcat=&specialneeds=

and then form an orderly queue 🙂

Another good news story is that Sooty has had his blood test results back and his thyroid is in control.   Amazingly enough, felimazole appears to be more effective when it goes into a Soot tum than when its spat out at the back of the sofa.  I wonder if he’s the only cat who is able to put a tablet in his mouth, eat a handful of dreamies and then spit the tablet back out?

And then there’s the suspense.   When is Fluffy going to produce her kittens?  She’s getting bigger and bigger.  I’m starting to wonder if there really are kittens in there or if she’s stuffed a cushion under her furry jacket just to jump the queue to get a rescue place.

biggerer and biggerer

mainly about sooty

It was Sooty’s appointment with Dr James again today – health check and check for thyroid function.  I’m so proud of him – such a lovely brave boy.   Got in the car, seatbelt on and settled down for a snooze.

 James is very good with him, and Sooty is remarkably good for James.   Tolerated being prodded and poked and heart listened to without a word of a grumble.  He did growl a bit when he had light shone in his eyes – though I’m not sure if it was about the light or the fact that we were discussing the possibility that Biff should limit the amount of cheese she spoils him with.   I am sure however that I could not be half so brave and calm if someone were trying to get a blood sample from a vein in my neck.  What a little star.  Then settled back in the car again.  Who knows what he knows but today and on previous trips to the vet he starts purring loudly as we get closer to home.

purring and home at last

chilling out with jango once settled at home

We won’t have the results of his blood test until the end of the week but James seems pleased with all the other things he’s checked today.  The old fella is a little stiff in his joints – but it doesn’t stop him running around playing, or standing up on his hind legs to look in the fridge when we open it.

 

 

 

playing a little with her scratch post

No further news on Fluffy – she’s getting bigger still but no patter of tiny feet as yet.

We had a phone call whilst having our evening meal today -someone thought they’d seen Ted.  Chilli sin Carne abandoned as we raced off to see – Starsky and Hutch type scene and we screeched to a halt and leapt out the car.  A very lovely and rather bemused black and white cat who sadly wasn’t Ted greeted us, uncertain what all the fuss was about.

a very nice cat who sadly wasn't Ted