Noodle's kittens

Noodle delivered her babies on the evening of 16th April, 2010.  She's had five beautiful babies.  There are two Usual girls, one Blue  boy, one Blue Silver girl and one Black Silver girl.  This litter was sired by Billy - see his page on this site, and it was his  first litter.  Well done Billy!  These kittens are all booked.

 *Jasmine has had her kittens and Rosie's are due mid August, so see the Index page for news.

Just born and dried off:-)

Merrydancer LaffyTaffyLucy - Usual girl

lLaffytaffylucy, now called Lucy, one week old.  We have given her one blue ear to tell the  difference between her and Lambchop.

Lucy, two weeks old.

Lucy, three weeks old.

Lucy, four weeks old.

Lucy, five weeks old. We've got a new camera lens today and are having to readjust the camera settings because everything is coming out over exposed, but we'll get there by next week, hopefully.

Lucy, six weeks old.

Lucy, seven weeks old.

Lucy, eight weeks old.

Lucy, nine weeks old.

 

Lucy, ten weeks old.

Lucy, eleven weeks old.

Lucy, twelve weeks old.
Merrydancer Lollipop - Blue Silver girl

Lollipop, one week old.

Lollipop, two weeks old.

Lollipop, three weeks old.

Lollipop, four weeks old.  The colour that you see in the pictures of the blues is very different to what you see with the eye.  They do look quite blue to the eye, but somehow the camera changes it to look much warmer.  I've spent some time playing with the photos to try and get the colour more accurate, but neither are really right!

Lollipop, five weeks old.

Lollipop, six weeks old.

Lollipop, seven weeks old.

Lollipop, eight weeks old.

Lollipop, nine weeks old.  If it wasn't for the change of background you'd think she hadn't moved since last week LOL!

 

Lollipop, ten weeks old.

Lollipop, eleven weeks old.

Lollipop, twelve weeks old.
Merrydancer Lambchop - Usual girl

Lambchop, one week old.

Lambchop, two weeks old.

Lambchop, three weeks old.

Lambchop, four weeks old.

Lambchop, five weeks old.

Lambchop, six weeks old.

Lambchop, seven weeks old.

Lambchop, eight weeks old.

Lambchop, nine weeks old.

Lambchop, ten weeks old.

Lambchop, eleven weeks old.

Lambchop, twelve weeks old.
Merrydancer Lokshen Kugel - Blue boy

Lokshen Kugel (means 'Noodle Pudding'), Loki for short, one week old.

Loki, two weeks old.

Loki, three weeks old.

Loki, four weeks old.  I've tried to adjust the colour to get it more accurate, but although it's closer, it's still not  showing the true blue colour of the  coat of the kitten.  He looks much darker blue than this.

Loki, five weeks old.

Loki, six weeks old.

Loki, seven weeks old.  He is looking SO like his Daddy, Billy:-)

Loki, eight weeks old.  He has a wide eyed innocence about him - don't believe a word of it LOL!

Loki, nine weeks old.

 

Loki, ten weeks old.  I wasn't happy with the original black background picture of some of them so took another...

Loki, eleven weeks old.

Loki, twelve weeks old.

Merrydancer Lebkuchen - Black Silver girl

Lebkuchen, one week old.  We'll call her Kuchi, for short.  Her ear is coloured blue to help us tell the difference between her and Lollipop.

Kuchi, two weeks old.

Kuchi, three weeks old.

Kuchi, four weeks old.  Again, like the blue's, the camera is picking up more warmth in the coat than is actually there.  It's very frustrating!

Kuchi, five weeks old.

Kuchi, six weeks old.

Kuchi, seven weeks old.

Kuchi, eight weeks old.

Kuchi, nine weeks old.

Kuchi, ten weeks old.

Kuchi, eleven weeks old.

Kuchi, twelve weeks old.

Diary

17.4.10 - All the kittens are doing well and mum is very pleased with them:-)  She's purring non-stop.

20.4.10 - These kittens are such a noisy bunch LOL!  We often find that a litter of four is much quieter than fives or sixes.  I think this is because four find it much easier to find a nipple to suckle from, whereas with larger numbers they squabble.  At three am yesterday morning, and again this  morning, we were woken by one of the usual girls yelling her head off because she couldn't find a nipple quickly.  They box each other out of the way to dislodge litter mates, and then, of course, the  dislodged one starts yelling and goes along the  row of the happily suckling kittens, underneath all of them, knocking each one off as they pass.  So then they are ALL yelling LOL!  As they get a bit older they don't panic so much when they can't find a nipple, and just take a little time to find a spare one.  Noodle is still purring non stop and we go to sleep to a sound that reminds us of crickets in the Mediterranean:-)

21.4.10 - Just a few quick photos today:

You can see that two of them still have the umbilical cord attached, even though it's dried up.  It will fall off soon.  You can also see the difference in colour of the sides on the usuals (they tend to look sort of sunburned on their sides compared to the silvers, who look much paler on their sides).  The  blue boy looks brownish at this age - this is normal:-)  The true colour develops very gradually.

24.4.10 - The week old pictures are now up.  The kittens are looking really lovely!  They don't do a lot yet, but spend their  time feeding and sleeping:-)

25.4.10 - The kittens are starting to open their eyes.  Lebkuchen (Kuchi) has got one and a half eyes open now:-)

27.4.10 - I got some lovely pictures of the kittens when  Noodle went out for a quick litter tray break, but there's either something dodgy with the camera, or the downloader programme and they wouldn't download, but this was the second attempt (she was back with them by then, obviously):

29.4.10 - When we talk to the kittens they look up at us now and come to the  front of the  kitten pen:-)

 I can't tell which is which of the usuals from these photos, because I'd need to see the ears of the one where we've marked her ear with a blue marker, but the blue boy is the second from the right in the last picture,  the blue silver girl is on the left of the second from last picture and the black silver girl is in the  middle of that picture.  The kittens are moving around much more now, and you can see that one of the usual girls is now able to push herself up on her front legs.  By the time they are three weeks old they'll be able to sit like proper little kittens, and their ears will have 'migrated' towards the  tops of their heads where they should be.  On Saturday we'll take individual pictures of the  kittens again so owners can see their kitten much more clearly:-)

1.5.10 - The two week old pictures have just been done.  We're taken the kittens out of the pen for periods now, to sit on our laps.  Noodle won't tolerate them being out for too long, but she's happy for short periods.  She's very proud of them and purrs such a lot!

It's so nice to sit down  by the pen, take the front off, and watch the kittens toddle over to us for a fuss now:-)    They are getting sturdier on their little legs, but still lurching from side to  side as they walk.

5.5.10 - I crept into the bedroom quietly just now to sit and watch the kittens.  Noodle was purring as she was stretched out besides them, with them all  asleep.  Little Loki woke up and saw me and quickly clambered over all the others to rush to the front of the pen to be picked up for a cuddle.  Of course, this woke them all up and they ALL came to the front of the pen for a cuddle:-)  They are so incredibly sweet!

7.5.10 - We've just done the three week old photos:-)  Over the weekend I'll try to get some more of them sitting up in the kitten pen, too.  They are all coming on so nicely, and have developed so much socially over the last few days

8.5.10 - The kittens are suddenly so much more mobile and curious about their environment that it's time to move them into the kitten room today, which is central in our home, with a wire mesh door, so they can see everything that is going on and hear all the general noises of a home and they don't have the limitations of a kitten pen.  They are ready to start to use litter trays now, as well, since they've started eating chicken breast this morning.  It was so lovely to see them tucking in to it:-).  Today they'll also have their claws clipped for the first time.

9.5.10 - The kittens are doing well with the chicken.  At the moment we offer it once a day but as they begin to eat more seriously we increase the meals until we reach about 7 or more, so as soon as they want food they have it put in front of them.  Noodle is quite a big dry food eater as well, so it will be interesting to see if the kittens favour dry food or wet once they are weaned.  KITTEN OWNERS - if you'd like to start making appointments to come and visit, you are very welcome from 21st May (Friday).

11.5.10 - One of the usual girls was the first to climb on top of the little box that forms the base of the kitten climber.  The kittens can all climb easily on to our laps now when we sit on the floor with them.  They love their cuddles and kisses and as soon as we go into the room, rush up to us meowing for fuss.  They're all eating their chicken well now, so soon we'll go onto two meals a day.  They are starting to show interest in the toys we leave on the floor for them, as well, now.

 Here is a quick photo of them.  It's very difficult to get the colours showing right on the blues.  That's something that we've always had problems with, but they look lovely to the eye.  I'm hoping tomorrow to get some individual ones of them all to put  on the site.   The orange on the black silver girl, front left, has started to get covered by darker fur as it comes in.  You can see the difference between the  blue boy at the back left and the blue silver girl, middle back, by looking at the area just above the nose.  It shows much more on the legs though.

12.5.10 - Some individual pictures:

15.5.10 - The kittens are developing so much more now.  They are beginning to sit in litter trays to try and wee and poo themselves, without the stimulation from their mum.  They're eating two meals a day now.  They are starting to play with each other and the toys.   I've really struggled to get the colour accurate on the weekly photos, but I'm just not really getting there.  Blue is always a difficult colour to get accurate in cats, because it tends to show up much warmer - a more mushroomy colour than it  actually is.  The kittens are still at the stage of walking in a straight line when they want to get from A to B, so that means walking straight through food, biscuits and over each other:-)

16.5.10 - The kittens can RUN about now:-)  As their co-ordination has improved they can run and pounce and they are enjoying every minute of it:-)  They are quite a vocal little bunch, squealing with delight when we go in to the kitten room.  Today we're taking them in the lounge for a short period and this will gradually be extended as Noodle is happy with it, and then they'll gradually be introduced to the rest of the household until they are integrated with our other cats and have the run of our home.

  

 They do enjoy their food!

The kittens enjoyed their first time in the lounge:-)

18.5.10 - I had to laugh this morning - little Kuchi ran out of the kitten house so fast to rush up to see me that she skidded along the floor and fell face first into the food dish LOL!  They are all just so sweet!  When we vacuum in there there's nearly always two trying to hitch a ride on the vacuum cleaner, or have a look down the nozzle!  We are very careful!

19.5.10 - A week ago the kitten room kept comparatively tidy.  We still vacuumed it every day, but that was pretty well as much as it  needed.  Now the kittens are into 'pool parties' - they jump in the water dishes (we use shallow ones so they can't fall in head first and drown!  But this means they can walk into them and paddle happily) and they trail through the dried food, knocking it everywhere, and walk through the wet food, leaving a trail of that behind them too.  They really have fun!:-)  Half an hour after it's all cleaned up it can look like a bomb has dropped again.  They are into climbing up our legs to be picked up now - fine if we've got trousers on, but a bit painful for bare legs.  They can move so much faster now so when we open the door, even when it's not time for them to come out, we get an escapee trotting down the hall:-)  Or two, or three....  We don't let them share other cats' litter trays for quite a few weeks yet, so they can't have the general run of the place just yet but are coming in the lounge for a few hours every day, as well as us spending time with them in the kitten room.  They look like miniature cats now:-)  They are really sociable, affectionate, fun loving babies, already.  They are trying very hard to use the litter trays now, squatting in them frequently, but not quite having the hang of working their bladder and bowel muscles just yet.  Nearly there though:-)  It always amazes us how their instinct is to use the litter trays.  We don't have to teach kittens to use them - they are trying long before they are able.  Suddenly there is so much to write about the kittens!:-)  This morning, when they were eating their chicken, Lollipop tended to wander to the piles of chicken of her litter mates either side of her, and started to eat from them.  Loki was next to her on one side and he stamped his little paw down on his pile, telling her to stick to her own pile of chicken:-)

21.5.10 - Today was difficult with the pictures because we got a new lens for the camera which threw all the settings and ended up giving us over-exposed pictures, but at least the blue's look a bit closer to the actual colour!  We'll read up and experiment to get it right by next week's pictures.  The kittens have changed so much since last week!  Their ears are now much closer to the final position and shape etc.  They are all getting competent at using the litter trays for their wee's.   They are eating three meals a day now and maybe tomorrow I'll try them on four meals a day.  They are so sweet when they rush up to be picked up - whoever doesn't get picked up first will sit on our slippers to queue up to be picked up.  The kittens are starting to use the tray for their poo's now, but not all of them can manage the muscles necessary to do it when they want to, so they're still reliant on Noodle for that for a lot of the time.

23.5.10 - The kittens are enjoying four meals a day now and today they had some roast pork, which they seriously tucked into!  Kittens are always allowed to eat before their mums, and the look on poor Noodle's face as the pile of roast pork disappeared in front of her eyes.  But I did get her some more, so she had plenty:-)  Fairly soon we'll go onto five meals a day.

27.5.10 - We have started giving the kittens five meals a day and they are enjoying their food.  They also get some roast chicken every day which they love.  They don't seem to be tucking into the dried food as yet.  As I sat with them just now they were piled up on my lap and all sleepy apart from Kuchi, who was annoying the others by nibbling their ears or tails, or anything at all, to try and get them to play, but they just opened an eye, moved round and went back to sleep.  It was all very frustrating for her LOL!

28.5.10 - The kittens are six weeks old today!  Time is passing so quickly.  They've just filled their tummies with chicken - this is their favourite and they eat until there is no room left, and give a big stretch and then flake out for a good sleep:-)  And Noodle then finishes whatever they've left.  She purrs as soon as I put the chicken down, and she has a crafty stretch sometimes to drag a bit of chicken off the dish to eat as the kittens are still eating it, even though she knows it's 'kittens first'.  She'd eat it all  day if she could:-).  She is a lovely mum though:-)  The six week old pictures are now done - the kittens are looking beautiful!  The kittens have had their worming treatment this week, so that's done now.  It will soon be time to book their first vaccinations!

31.5.10 - Today the kittens went in the kitchen and conservatory and had a great time:

 

I didn't get good pictures of them all, but will try again tomorrow:-)  I experimented using the flash and not using the flash here.

3.6.10 - The kittens are growing up now, and we've replaced one of the three 'young kitten' trays in the kitten room with a 'grown up' open litter tray, and the very shallow bowls of water with a deeper one.  Registrations with the GCCF were applied for last week, so the slips that we pass on to owners to register the kittens in their names should be here in plenty of time before the kittens leave us.  Lucy will have her own page on this site  - she's staying:-)

A few more pictures taken in the conservatory when the kittens were playing outside in the lovely weather today.

4.6.10 - the 7 week old pictures have just been done and put on the site.  The kittens change so quickly - grow up so fast!  Each week we can see an enormous change in them.  We're getting to grips with the new lens on the camera now, so are getting a better representation of the kittens' colours.  The kittens are having 7 meals a day now - really enjoying their food, but like the  last litter, not showing a great deal of interest in the dried food.  They like their Hilife pouches and their chicken!:-)  Thank you to our upholsterer who gave us the 2 metres of brown lining fabric for free - it makes a great backdrop!

5.6.10 - The kittens are all developing their own sweet characters now.  They are very funny.  Lollipop has for some time now stuffed herself as fast as she can with the pile of chicken in front of her and then when she's made headway into that, gone on to her neighbour's pile, so we have to keep putting her back in front of her own pile LOL!  There's always more than enough for them - enough for Noodle to finish off and enjoy. Lucy very frequently falls asleep over her food:-)  This morning I saw Lollipop trying to climb on to the balcony of the kitten house from the outside and she's already figured out to get up there from the inside, which is slightly easier, but I guess she likes a challenge:-)

6.6.10 - Lambchop and Lucy can climb on to the balcony of the kitten house now, as well as Lollipop.   Today they all had some roast pork for their tea:-)  That went down well!:-)  It ended up with big stretches and them flaking out for a good nap:-)  The kittens are enjoying playing with the bigger toys now, such as the large plastic ring that has a ball that goes round and round, and the Ikea mesh pop up laundry basket that Vonnie and Jem, one of our  kitten owners, kindly got for us, and the 'playtent' :

This is made by 'Animate' and they're only about £6 or £7.  All our kittens seem to have good fun with them.  They are also enjoying the tote bags that my friend kindly brought over from the States.  We cut the handles in half and tie them  off so they can't get caught round kittens necks, and they have a great time rolling in them, over them, etc.  We'll get some pictures this week of the cats playing with these:-)

10.6.10 - The kittens have just had their claws clipped again.  They really are very well behaved, having them done.  I've just put a few table tennis balls in the kitten room for them to play with when they're in there and they're having great fun with them.  They are spending increasing times out of the kitten room now.  I ordered them a new toy yesterday:

This looks safe to leave in the kitten room for them to play with as well.  The crazy circle toy we always use under supervision, just in case one managed to get their head stuck in it, although the gaps for the paws to push the ball around do look too small to do that, but we feel it's best to be on the safe side.  We needed a new climber for the stud house and found a very good one on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390204971821&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

At the time of writing this, they still have another left, and at £17.99 it's a very good price!  It's carpeted rather than covered in a plush material, so should last longer.  So if any of our kitten owners are looking for climbers for their kittens/cats, it's worth a look.

11.6.10 - The 8 week old pictures have just been done.  Next week they are booked in for their first vaccinations and health checks.

12.6.10 - At last!  I've just seen the first of the kittens eat some dried food, and it was Loki, tucking into Royal Canin Babycat:-)

18.6.10 - The kittens are pretty much integrated with the other cats in the household now, and are enjoying the run of the place.  They are going for their first health check and vaccinations this evening.  They LOVE playing in the cats' garden, around the pots and plants, but Lambchop is so naughty when it's time to come in, and dodges around to avoid being picked up and brought inside.  She's perfectly happy being picked up at any other time, so it's just that she wants to keep playing out there!   We're still not seeing much in the way of the dried food being eaten.  They are still enjoying Hilife (Poultry Collection) but owners, please make sure they haven't gone off this before buying loads in before you collect them at 13 weeks, because that can happen.  They never seem to go off their fresh chicken though:-)

Just got back from the vets - their first health check and jabs went very well and they were so good!  They were pronounced fit, healthy and beautiful:-)

22.6.10 - The kittens very much enjoy having the run of our home, and often split up to go to different areas, with some choosing to play on the climbers in the computer room and some in the cats' garden and conservatory.  Generally though, they tear around between one area and another.  We put them back in the kitten room for their food and a nap, and then when they wake, they're very keen to come out and play again:-)  They still go in the kitten room at night.

I got some pictures of them playing in the cats' garden today:

 

 22.6.10 - The ten week old pictures have just gone up.  We had considerable trouble using the new lens, finding the right settings, and we need to play about with it over the weekend.  Any experts on photography settings for the D70 and Nikon 50mm 1.4G lens please feel free to contact us and help!  The kittens have been so good, having picture after picture taken of them! 

28.6.10 - I got this nice picture of Loki today, while the kittens were playing in the computer room:

2.7.10 - Well, it was bound to happen.  Having stocked up with well over £100 of Hilife, the kittens seem to have gone off it.  So I've put them on Tesco Luxury Chicken at the moment, which they are gobbling up.  We will try to get them back on the Hilife next week though.  They're all doing very well, enjoying the nice weather in the cats' garden as well as everywhere else.  It's lovely when it's time for their next meal because they all start to wander back to the kitten room, ready for it:-)  They've got into a good routine now.  They're still very much enjoying their cooked chicken first thing every morning and last thing at night.  When we cook a roast of other meat they enjoy that too.  Noodle is already having her second call, and since the kittens stopped feeding from her a while back now, we can pill her after this one.

We've just done the kittens 11 week old photos amidst lots of laughter.  Kuchi decided she wanted to be in every picture, and was bouncing up and down in front of the other kittens.  When we took the others off the 'background' cloth, she would go and sit on it and pose, waiting for another picture to be taken of her.  When it was time for Loki's picture, he bounced up and down on the spot, so most of the pictures turned out like this:

Then when Kuchi decided she wasn't getting enough attention by bouncing up and down in front of the others, she tried a different tactic:

 

We were just laughing so much!

7.7.10 - I went into the computer room just now and grabbed the camera quickly when I saw this:-)

8.7.10 - Loki is so pleased with himself!  He can jump from the floor onto the worktop in the kitten room now.  When we woke up this morning he was playing on the worktop in there:-)  Since then he's been on the kitchen table,  the shelf in the run, and all sorts of places:-)  I think he's going around humming to himself  'I'm a BIG clever boy':-)

 

It's been a really warm afternoon here, but Lollipop found somewhere comfy to sleep in a plant pot:

The kittens all found a comfy place to go to sleep for a few hours.

9.7.10 - The kittens have been for their second vaccinations and health checks today - all fine.  They are quite sleepy at the moment - maybe the heat or it maybe the vaccinations.  But we've done their twelve week pictures.  They are being collected from next Saturday onwards, and the new owners will be able to do their own pictures then, so these will be the last weekly ones we do.

17.7.10 - The first two of Noodle's kittens went to their new homes today and their new owners are delighted with them.  They phoned after they'd been home for about three hours and the kittens had been playing and were using the litter tray, having a nap etc. just as though they'd been there forever:-)  One more is going tomorrow, and another next weekend.  Laffytaffylucy is staying with us to carry on Noodle's lines when she' s neutered after her next litter.

20.7.10 - A quick picture before Loki leaves to go to his new home too - Noodle with Loki and Lucy:

We've had lovely reports about how the others are getting on.  They are having a wonderful time in their new homes, with their new owners absolutely delighted with them.