I know it’s hard to see exactly what’s going on here, so let me tell you: Myrtle’s in the back, sound asleep. Nick’s right next to her, about to drop off as well. In the middle, poor Zelda is being poked right in the eye by Jay’s foot, and he’s also chomping on one of her back legs at the same time. These kittens are ROUGH on each other (I would feel more sympathy for Zelda if I didn’t know that just a few minutes earlier, she was biting Jay’s tail and making him cry.)
But then we have sweet moments like this: Zelda giving Jay a bath.
Kittens in the pie plate while I brushed litter off of the bedding, and Jay was sitting tall and trying to see what was going on over THERE.
Jay and Zelda keep an eye on the goings-on outside the crate.
It doesn’t show so well in pictures, but their eyes are already starting to lighten up. Whyyyy can’t they stay that dark gorgeous blue?
I expect that they’ll all end up with green eyes.
Myrtle’s all “What’s up, lady?”
Nick’s having deep, deep, deep thoughts. (Or perhaps no thoughts at all. Hard to say!)
Zelda was biting Jay on the butt and he was trying to bite her back, but it wasn’t a great angle for that.
Myrtle keeps an eye on her Mama.
As does Jay. (Daisy’s all “Yeah, yeah, I know he’s back there.”)
In case you missed it on social media, we had our first escapees from the crate on Sunday (see the social media section, below). First Zelda came stomping right out, over to me, and then sat there until I picked her up for a cuddle. Not long after, Jay came stomping out of the crate and did a little exploring. I think Myrtle will come on out at some point today – but to be honest, I don’t know that Nick has any desire to explore the post-crate world.
They’re not coming out all the time, and as far as I can tell, they haven’t come out of the crate when I’m not in there. I’m sure at some point they’ll decide they’re done with that crate nonsense, but we’re not there just yet.
Also, they’re 3 weeks old now. They’ve got teeth, sharp little canines and nibbly little incisors (I have been unable to get pictures of the teeth, but rest assured that they are very cute, and very sharp). The next big milestone will be figuring out the litter box (so I guess they better start coming out of that crate more often!) Around mid-week (possibly sooner), I’ll set up the small litter boxes and the tiny steps, and we’ll see how that goes!
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After a rainy week, Jake enjoyed a little sunshine yesterday.
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Posted on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr) this weekend.
I can always depend on Jay to look at me, even if his siblings are being difficult and would rather stare at the wall of the crate.
I said “Myrtle, it’s just one small step. Come on out of the crate!” and she said “I don’t think so, lady.”
YouTube link
I didn’t catch the first part on video, but Daisy walked into the crate, gave each of the kittens a vigorous licking, and then left. The kittens woke up, weren’t sure what had happened, and started yawning and stretching and just generally being CUTE. As they do.
Zelda is quite the little handful.
YouTube link
Everyone’s getting a bath at the milk bar.
Nick said “I just don’t think we can do it, bro. That’s one heck of a drop.”
And Jay said “You’re darn right. We’d never survive that much of a fall. I guess we live in the crate forever.”
In the background, Zelda said “Get away from there! It’s not safe!”
Good night innernets. (Nick and Myrtle)
Myrtle’s all “Nick! Nick! ::slap::slap::slap:: Wake up, it’s time to play!”
Whole lotta judgement from the crate today, y’all. (From left: Myrtle, Zelda (back), Nick, and Jay)
YouTube link
If you’ve ever wondered what the zoomies look like in a 3 week old kitten, Jay is happy to show you. (Also, he gets popped in the eye for his troubles. I’m amazed kittens ever make it to adulthood with intact vision, as much time as they spend smacking each other right in the eye.)
A mother-daughter (Daisy-Myrtle) moment. Awwww. ❤
YouTube link
Zelda has the zoomies and is pickin’ fights. I thought she was going to escape the crate while she was with it, but NOPE, not yet!
Myrtle the Crate Catsy spokeskitten is all “We ain’t comin’ out there, lady, and you can stop suggesting it. We’ve got everything we need here in this crate!”
Good night innernets, from this pile o’ cute. (From left: Zelda, Nick, Jay and Myrtle)
These gorgeous little muffins are 3 weeks old! Their current weights are below. This is the first time we’ve had the majority of the litter cross the 1 pound (453.59 g) threshold at 3 weeks old (and I don’t think it’ll be long before Zelda gets there too.)
Myrtle: 17.1 oz/ 484.78 g (birth weight: 4.76 oz/ 134.94 g)
Nick: 17.6 oz/ 498.95 g (birth: 5.01 oz/ 142.03 g)
Zelda: 15.5 oz/ 439.42 g (birth: 4.87 oz/ 138.06 g)
Jay: 17.3 oz/ 490.45 g (birth: 5.08 oz/ 144.02 g)
We finally have an escapee from the crate! Was Zelda your guess to be the first to escape? I thought she might be the first, but I’m rarely right with my predictions. She came out of the crate, walked over to me, and looked at me until I picked her up and snuggled her. She stayed for a few minutes, and then I put her back in the crate with her brothers and sister. (I thought she might come back out, but she opted to settle down for a nap.)
YouTube link
If you missed it earlier, Zelda was the first kitten to escape the crate. And now? Jay! (I put him back in the crate after a few minutes, half expecting him to come back out, but he stayed put. I’m sure there’ll be more escapes in the near future!)
Daisy is doing great – she spends a LOT of time letting the kittens nurse, but also takes plenty of time to chill out by herself when the kittens are sleeping. (When the kittens decide to leave the crate, there are plenty of up-high places she can go to get away from them when she so desires.) She is losing weight because that’s what mamas do at this point in the mothering process (she’s down to 9 1/4 pounds/ 4.20 KG, which is a bit thin for her.) She’s probably got another couple of weeks ’til the kittens start being interested in eating solid food, so I expect her to lose more weight. I feed her as much canned food as she’ll eat (which is 4 – 5 small cans of Fancy Feast most days), and she has kibble available at all times, too. She’s always very happy to see me come into the room, LOVES to be petted, enjoys hearing about how cute her kittens are, and enjoys being brushed, too. She’s a sweetheart!
YouTube link
Zelda’s going zoom-zoom-ZOOM all over that crate. That girl has got the moves!
4-kitten pie? My favorite!
Good night innernets. (Zelda and Nick using Myrtle as a pillow.)
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Previously
2022: No entry.
2021: No entry.
2020: Alejandro’s got the zoomies.
2019: Caroline in the middle of a pile of kittens, looking like she’s not any bigger than they are.
2018: What would Brian Boitano do if he were here right now? He’d “HEY GUYS LOOK I HAVE AN EXTRA THUMB, CHECK IT OUT!” that’s what Brian Boitano’d do.
2017: Meet the Cajuns!
2016: Oops, I booped him again.
2015: Seriously. I can’t even, with these kittens. How dare they?
2014: Of course, this brings me to my favorite two duck pictures.
2013: In cuter and fuzzier news…
2012: And Razzie’s all “Hey, I’m tiny TOO! Tell her!”
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: Wild thang!
2008: No entry.
2007: It was, and it squawked and flapped when the light from the flashlight hit it, and again I screamed and levitated across the room, followed by an amazing number of cats.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.