We had a productive weekend wherein I spent a lot of time staring at the kittens… and they’ve been named! You can scroll down to the social media section to see who’s who. I am fairly certain that we have sexed the kittens correctly, but none of us should be surprised if, in a few weeks, we realized someone (or even more than one someone) has been mis-sexed. We’ll see!
Brown tabby and white Bramble and light brown tabby Clover have a snuggle.
Dark brown tabby Mondo apparently finds Clover to be a comfy bed.
Bramble concurs, Clover is comfy.
Gray tabby and white Kudzu! (You knew there’d be a Kudzu.)
Calico Hollyhock finds Mimosa’s foot a comfy place to rest.
Mondo agrees, Mama’s feet are super comfy.
From all angles! (Please note to the left that Kudzu confirms Clover is comfy.)
Bramble, up close.
Mama keeps an eye on Clover.
Hollyhock is belly-up. And if you’re wondering if that little pink belly is just as soft as it looks, let me assure you that it is.
Mondo next to Mama’s paw.
Mimosa likes it when I open the cabinet door and scratch her head.
The milk bar is keeping busy these days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Khal’s all “Can’t a mancat have some private time in the catnip pot?”
Blep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr) over the weekend.
Oh, that sweet little face! (Regarding names: I expect to have them named by Sunday.)
Babies’ first pie plate. (I took them out briefly to weigh them – all have gained weight – and couldn’t resist the photo opportunity.)
YouTube link
Mama’s little hissers. Neonatal kittens hiss as a defense mechanism when they smell something unfamiliar. It is completely normal and unbearably cute. They usually start at a couple of days old, though the calico hissed at me the day they were born (she’s a prodigy!) and the hissing generally stops between the time their eyes open (7 – 10 days) and their ears are completely open (about 2 1/2 weeks). I imagine that the intent is to scare off predators with the scary hissing noise, but I think in reality predators see a tiny hissing kitten and pass out from the cute.
Big foot, little foot. Light Brown Tabby’s foot is so teeny tiny in comparison to Mimosa’s!
YouTube link
The milk bar is the happenin’ place to be!
I could sit and watch them nurse all day long.
Good night innernets. (Mimosa & the Sprouts)
Whereupon little brown tabby and white makes an excellent (though somewhat squirmy) pillow.
YouTube link
The milk bar is active (the milk bar is always active) and mama Mimosa gets some love.
Another day, another pie plate, another weigh-in. (Everyone is gaining weight!)
Mama’s little hisser.
Good night innernets. (Mimosa and the Sprouts.)
Happy Naming Day! The kittens are 4 days old, and here are their names:
Gray tabby and white is a BOY and his name is KUDZU.
Dark brown tabby is a BOY and his name is MONDO.
Light brown tabby is a BOY and his name is CLOVER.
Brown tabby and white is a BOY and his name is BRAMBLE.
Calico is a GIRL and her name is HOLLYHOCK.
They have all gained a substantial amount of weight in the past 4 days, and all are doing well, as is mama Mimosa. ❤️ (I will post individual pictures of each of them in the next few hours.)
::Jazz paws::
Hollyhock is named after the perennial flower Hollyhock, which is really pretty and can be invasive because they reseed themselves quickly and easily. Hollyhock weighed 3.7 ounces (104.8 g) at birth, and weighed in last night at 5 oz (141.7 g).
Dark brown tabby boy is now MONDO, named after Mondo grass (alternately known as monkey grass). In much of the south, Mondo grass is considered invasive, grows through turf lawns and gardens, and is hard to get rid of. Mondo is the largest of his litter (but not by much – the other boys aren’t far behind) – he weighed 4.7 oz/133.2 g at birth and last night weighed in at 6.4 oz/ 181.4 g.
Gray tabby and white is a boy and I named him KUDZU because he is the wanderer of the litter. That boy gets AROUND, just like the vine he’s named after. Kudzu is known as “the vine that ate the South” and I’ve been fascinated by its glossy green leaves since I moved to Alabama in 1996 (I’ll always slow down to stare at hills and trees covered in Kudzu. And no, I would never plant it in my back yard because that stuff will take over in the blink of an eye.) Kudzu weighed 4.5 oz/127.5g at birth, and last night weighed in at 6.1 oz/172.9.
Brown tabby and white boy is now BRAMBLE. (From Wikipedia: “A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries.” Our property at Crooked Acres was surrounded by brambles and I loved them. I apparently have a love for invasive plants/shrubs.) Bramble weighed 4.3 oz/121.9 g at birth and last night weighed in at 6 oz/170 g.
Light brown tabby boy is now known as CLOVER. Some varieties of clover are invasive here in the south, even though it’s pretty (and the pollinators love it!) Clover weighed 4.1 oz/116.2 g at birth, and last night weighed in at 6.3 oz/178.6 g.
YouTube link
Apparently I’m fostering a nest of snakes. Did you know that neonatal kittens hiss as a defense mechanism when they smell something unfamiliar? It is completely normal and unbearably cute. They usually start at a couple of days old, and the hissing generally stops between the time their eyes open (7 – 10 days) and their ears are completely open (about 2 1/2 weeks).
YouTube link
Mama Mimosa takes a break… and the kittens get hissy.
YouTube link
All lined up at the milk bar! From left: Bramble, Kudzu, Hollyhock, Clover & Mondo.
Good night innernets. (Mimosa and the Sprouts. The Sprouts are 4 days old!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously
2021: There are hissing kittens in this post!
2020: No entry.
2019: She is one smart cookie.
2018: Katarina’s all pawsed-up, y’all.
2017: Ready, set, toes!
2016: THERE ARE KITTENS.
2015: WHAT IS THIS INSANITY.
2014: Do you SEE the size of that back foot?
2013: “Look, taking pictures of a pregnant lady looking wide is extremely RUDE and I would recommend you STOP.”
2012: But in an instant, without warning, it all goes TERRIBLY WRONG.
2011: Spanky and the nanner.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: Questions & answers about the pigs.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Adorable! They are probably the most loved invasives in the world today. 😉
I think you’ve got the sexes right, because we know Hollyhock is (beyond reasonable doubt) a girl, and the only way any of the others could be female is if they have a different father to her.
(Since Mimosa has no orange on her, Hollyhock’s father must have been ginger, which means all his daughters will have orange on them!)
Of course it is possible for litters to have more than one father, but four boys was what I was expecting.
Oh give me all the calicos!!!
So sweet! I am besotted from afar… those wee little paws and baby faces!!
I may have missed this – but Wisteria is listed as adoption pending. I remember she was sick – how is she doing?
*melts* Hi, newly-named newbies! <3
I'm still holding out hope for the rarest of the rare male calicos here, though I admit it's super doubtful. Hollyhock could keep the name regardless. 🙂 Even if she's definitely a she, squeeeee! Heck, squeeee applies to the whole bunch, purrful momkitty Mimosa included.