Naming day

This group was hard because I didn't get to see them. All that much. 

It was interesting because Millie started out loving me.  I spent quite a bit of time scratching her ears and loving on her. She would get so into it that she would forget about the kittens and roll around causing them to get upset. I believe she started to blame me for that. 

I do often joke that I have grabby hands but I'm very respectful when a mother cat shows me that this is unacceptable.  Millie, however, didn't care.  It got to the point where if she saw my hands she would violently lash out. I even tried offering her food and treats through the small opening on the side of the box, where there was no chance of my touching her or the kittens and she still was not welcoming. 

It made it more and more difficult to care for the kittens.  So when she started spitting at me,  I reached out to the shelter about separating her.  Since she has a home who is waiting for her,  it seemed best. 

So, now the kittens are on their own.  Right now, because of the example their mother set,  they are afraid of me. I'm guessing a few days after some regular feeding and play time they'll get over that. 

So, the names... someone on fb suggested Squish, and I liked it.  I had a friend who wanted the orange kittens when I thought they were boys.  When I was able to verify genders that all changed. The shelter got things all mixed up, they told me the tabby was a girl and the orange ones were boys.. nope. 

My friend doesn't want two more girl kittens,  but the second greatest kitten pusher I know,  Kathleen, has made all the right connections and the kittens are spoken for. 

So, without further ado..

Squish, 

Squirt,

 Goldbug.

Names were taken from the Richard Scarry books. Squirt is short haired while Goldbug is quite fluffy.. 

Hey look.. kittens on this kitten blog

So, this was going to be a naming day post,  but revelations were made and new names need to be picked.  Hopefully sooner than later..

Millie is missing!!

I know,  I know,  I've been absolutely horrible about sharing this set of kittens.  The reason being is that Millie has been increasingly reluctant to share them with me so I've been doing my best to give her space. I provided a nice covered space for her to hide out. 

Now that the kittens are getting older it is becoming more important that I handle them, so I opened up the sheets covering the cage.  Millie was not amused

These were her two spots to protect the kittens.  Where did she go??

After a moment of looking (the room isn't that big)...

Tada!!

I am still not allowed to touch, but a tribute was given and accepted (Temptations for the win)

I'm not really a fan of this so I'll cover the cage back up a bit and try again in a few days when they are a bit more mobile. 

Changing the bedding with a feisty mom cat

 Well,  this was "fun"..

Millie has been having a hard time with my wanting to check on her kittens.  The smaller boy was dramatically smaller than his brothers so I wanted to give him some supplement milk and weigh him.  The first two days weren't bad,  but she became more and more anxious.. so I've decided to be as hands off as I could. 

Only problem is the bedding was getting dirty.   

Millie was none too pleased at my idea of changing it.. but I was able to pull the bedding to the front of the cage.  She moved to the back again,  leaving her babies,  so I pulled it the rest of the way out and then quickly placed them in my nesting box.  

She was mad,  and wanted to get to them but was fearful.  I was able to coax her in by telling her she was safe

Then I quickly changed out the bedding in the cage.  Last I checked she still in there.  It will be interesting to see if she moves them back. 

Three boys and a girl

 

Millie has told me in no uncertain terms that she doesn't need or want my help raising her kittens thankyouverymuch..

I started her out in the cage because she seemed to want as little space as possible to be better able to protect her kittens... but I am never a real fan of cats laying right next to their litter box and her bedding was being covered with litter, which just irritated me because, photos.  With just the small door opening, I am sure I was hovering (in her opinion), but I just wanted to make sure everyone was okay. She has been reacting "less than stellar" and I have had less and less time being able to "help" so I am going to give her what she wants and attempt to be hands-off for a couple of days..

Anyway, I decided to put the litter box right outside the cage. This allows me to leave the door open on the random off chance she wants to get up and wander around a bit.. I put the box I bought for nesting moms in there too, just in case she wanted a different place to put them. It isn't the prettiest, but hopefully, it will give Millie a little more room and a bit more confidence.. 

I was able to gender the kittens. We have three boys. There is no way I am going to get to know their personalities before I name them because Millie has put her paw down.. I need to stop weighing them and stop making sure they are okay, she has this.

I wonder if I have ever named kittens Frick and Frack.. 

Meet Millie

 Meet Millie 

She was given to the shelter to help raise her kittens.  She has a loving home that she will go back to when her job is done.  As a reward she'll be neutered so she doesn't have to do this again. 

She's had a hard time so far,  having given birth to more kittens than the three she currently has and one of the nuggets has a bit of a scab on his lip. 

She's not a huge fan of my "helping" (she says I'm interfering)  with the kids,  but one was a bit smaller than the others so I wanted to make sure he was gaining weight.  He is so I'll be more hands off for a couple of days until she knows me better and she starts eating better..