A long while

Well, it's been a heck of a long time since I made an entry on here !

The kittens all left me, and are now settled in their new homes, apart from the one, who is sat on my lap as I type. I have a special role for her, but it is a secret at the moment .

Her mum, Lily is at stud, so hopefully more babies over Christmas time. I have already moved the kitten box into the lounge, as I have decided this is where they are going to go this time around. Poor Percy will have to find somewhere else to snuggle for a while.

I have been very very busy! What with Scouting activities over many weekends, and going away for 6 weeks in the summer, my life is going by in a blur at the moment. Although it is a pretty happy blur.

I am very busy trying to think of ways to start to earn some money, and one idea that springs to mind, is offering to care for animals while owners go away.

I have had such troubles getting my animals cared for, that it made me realise that there is a big hole out there, for people like me, especially for people with pedigree cats, as mine are. They really are not like other moggies ( as I do have one living with me, and have owned 2 previously) , and it would be wonderful to know someone else who could care for them on those occasions when I do have to go away.

So if anyone lives in my area, and is looking for help with their animals, drop me a message :)

Sunday night

20:17
Sunday Evening
My apologies that I did not write an entry for today. It was Sunday and I was having a little rest.
Things have begun to change here now. The babies have got MOBILE !!! Later, when they wake up again, I will attempt to get some video footage. They are rolling around and playing with one another, and grooming, waddling around the box and becoming more cuddly. Little Rappy is quite a character, and is always waddling out for some fuss. I am so very much hoping that the stripes on her tail develop, as she is definately Chocolate.
The trouble with the babies becoming mobile, is that Lily does not like it. Lily wants to take them OUT of the box, and put them under the bed...............it really is not very clean under the bed, and I really do not want them there, as I cannot see them. Sooooo, I have set up a vigil of sitting in the box ( as I am now) and then Lil agrees not to keep picking them up. I am not ready to move them into the bathroom yet. To me, they are still too young and I am not ready to part with them at night time. I have become attatched to having them in here with me.
Tomorrow, I am going to start to introduce a milky mixture, a couple of times in the day. This is always fun at first, watching them paddle through it all and make a mess. I will let them lick some off my finger at first to get a flavour. It will be nice to give Lily a little rest from all the feeding.
As I sit in the box, and type this, Lily has just jumped out of it, ...........just jumped back in, she is licking the babies and fortunately this time, she has not taken a baby out! But I am not sleeping in the box tonight. Last night she ended up putting them on the bed, so I am looking forward to some company tonight!!!
Hopefully I will get some good video footage tonight and then you can really see how lively they have become!-- Lesley

Wednesday night

Wednesday Night 21:58
Well, my babies have had a quiet day, feeding sleeping, squeaking and having cuddles with both Rich and Tim. My boys can't resist coming in and giving them a cuddle! They are at a very cute stage, where they do respond to your voice. I know that if I go into the box, and chat away, as I do, their little faces will look up, and they will squeak at me. Ohhhh, I love it when they do that! I love it even more when they start to waddle towards me.
And I have had some lovely cuddles, they are getting much more comfortable with being handled. And I love my Lil, if she hears them squealing when I pick them up, she looks, and if she sees that I have them, she goes back to sleep. Ahhhh, she TRUSTS me with these little ones. I kind of feel that we are bringing these up together, I think she sees me as her little helper.
I have been bringing Lil lots of chicken up to eat, and she has just had some Tuna and White Bait, in addition to the James Wellbeloved dry food that she eats. I have to make sure that she is eating plenty, as she is feeding these little ones. She really never leaves their side, and is almost reluctant to go out of the room to use the toilet, but she does prefer the litter trays in the conservatory, and I do like her to go and have a run up and down the stairs. She needs to get some exercise and stretch her legs.
As I look to my left, I can see one little baby, rolling on it's side, and looking up to me, with those oh sooo irrisistable red baby eyes. I just spoke to it, and it's little eyes lit up and it rolled on its back, you just have to go and tickle that belly!!!
I have just given them all a good check over, looked at all their eyes, tried to be more sure of their colours, definately a Lilac looking girl there. The larges kitten definately has a chocolate nose, I still think there is a caramel Tabby girl. The embarassing thing was, the large boy, was not looking very much like a boy.............he was looking more like a 'she'. It may just be the light and my having tired eyes, I will check them thoroughly again in the morning.
I am tired tonight, and I so must try to get to bed earlier!!! But these little ones are irrisistable, and then I have to spend time with the other cats in the house!!
--

Just over 2 weeks old

19:58 Tuesday evening.
Well, I have spent some nice quality time with my kittens today. They are becoming much more amenable to cuddles and chin strokes, and of course tickling their cute little tummies. Tim has his head in the box as I am typing, and he is stroking them and generally making a fuss. When I sit in the box, and talk to them, their little eyes and ears prick up and they look in my direction. And sometimes they waddle accross towards me.
I am beginning to form some more ideas about the colours of these babies. I think we may have,
Lilac Point girl
Caramel Tabby Point girl
Caramel/Chocolate girl
Poss a Choc Tabby girl, if not, Caramel.
The little boy, is def Choc, but I still just cannot decide if he is tabby or not.......I am looking twice a day at the mo, but he has a chocolate nose.
The little girl that I think may be Choc Tabby, or if not Caramel, has the loudest voice of them all, and protests the most when I pick her up. The boy is the most laid back of the litter at the moment. But once they really start to move around, I will be able to tell much more.
Lily has barely left them at all, apart from a couple of trips down to the conservatory to use the litter tray, she has just walked to the outer part of the box, to eat some chicken.
They are an incredibly sweet bunch, this lot. They seem quite content. I was watching them today, as they were cleaning one another, and themselves. When they are so small, it is very cute watching the clean one another. Their little paws are small and pink, and it fascinates me to see them licking and cleaning them.

Thursday 15th

I am trying to write things from a different angle here, than in my kitten diaries, otherwise, they will just be a repeat of one another.

Lil is sooo settled with her babies now, she barely wants to leave the room, and she doesn't ask for company.

I am feeling much more refreshed physically and mentally.

I am probably going to need this little break, with Lil being less needy, as in a couple of weeks time, these little darlings, will be running around, and keeping me very busy, and full of laughs. At the moment, they have the ahhhhh factor. So sweet little faces.

Rich is still struggling with the virus, and has been sick again, but he will still go to school. He doesn't like staying at home, and I would rather him be at school.

Tim has just settled ( again..............) in my bed, munching small chocolate eggs

My house needs a jolly good clean, I hate it not being clean, but this is only for a short period of time. I am not going to spend all day cleaning, if I can spend time with my cats instead.

Lil loves the new extension to her box, with all the teddies, SUCCESS !!!

February 14th

I did not write anything here yesterday, because I was a little tired, and I still had Richard home poor, and then my mother came round to join us, but my kitten diaries on my website were kept up to date.

Lily made her first attemt at moving kittens this morning. I knew she was thinking about it, as she had been digging around in the teddies under the dressing table for a few days now. Tim was in the room, as he slept in here last night, and I came back upstairs to find Lil shouting at me from the bed. I then heard a loud ammount of squealing from a kitten, but if was not from the box..........yes, there was a kitten crawling amongst the teddies!!!

I have now put the expension box onto the first box, and in it I have put lots of teddies. Hopefully that will keep her happy for a little longer. Bless her, she just cannot resist moving babies, and then telling me, almost as if she then wants me to go and get it back.

I am tired today, but feeling very happy really. I am not going to bed early enough, which is not good, but I feel good about things now, and I am bouncing around the house with a smile. That has to be good.

February 14th

I did not write anything here yesterday, because I was a little tired, and I still had Richard home poor, and then my mother came round to join us, but my kitten diaries on my website were kept up to date.

Lily made her first attemt at moving kittens this morning. I knew she was thinking about it, as she had been digging around in the teddies under the dressing table for a few days now. Tim was in the room, as he slept in here last night, and I came back upstairs to find Lil shouting at me from the bed. I then heard a loud ammount of squealing from a kitten, but if was not from the box..........yes, there was a kitten crawling amongst the teddies!!!

I have now put the expension box onto the first box, and in it I have put lots of teddies. Hopefully that will keep her happy for a little longer. Bless her, she just cannot resist moving babies, and then telling me, almost as if she then wants me to go and get it back.

I am tired today, but feeling very happy really. I am not going to bed early enough, which is not good, but I feel good about things now, and I am bouncing around the house with a smile. That has to be good.

1 week old

This time last week, Lily was in labour, and I was a nervous wreck! I am so glad that we are the other side of all of that, and the babies are now with us, and Lil is settled. I am deeply sorry that I did not get to meet the 2 precious little ones that did not make it into the world, we wont forget them.

On a brighter note, I managed to sleep in my own bed last night!!!!! What a difference that made to my sleep. Lil was quite happy.

This morning saw a series of disasters, as I rushed around trying to see to all the animals and getting the boys ready for school,

While going to clean out litter trays,I managed to trip over, going into the conservatory, spilling the contents of my bottle of spray bleach over the heater Heater goes up in smoke, trips the electricity, blackout,Philip swears at me, well, a bit more than that........Gollum, my nuetered lad , thinks,oh good, nice smell of ammonia, mum must have a new toilet, wees on the heater, which by now is smouldering........I then go out to the swamp, that once was my garden, to clean out bunny,trip over the wood Philip has left out from the cat run,not only am I covered in bleach, but I am now covered in mud........the cats think I am wonderful because I smell strange............

LOL so a good start to the day, in contrast to last Monday!!

Sunday afternoon

I have to say that it has been a quiet day today. The kittens have reached the stage in their development, where they are all organised with their mum, they are not trying to escape, their only interest being the milk, so as long as Lil is settled, I have a few days of being able to relax with them.

Not so good on the health front. Rich woke me this morning, to announce that he had been sick. He has not moved from his bed ( mind you, he is lazy so there is little difference there!), not got dressed, and I very much doubt washed. I didn't feel like challenging his condition this morning, so I have left hin in peace. I confess, that my tummy is feeling a little unsettled, so I have not, eaten anything. This I can ill afford to to. I promise myself a good feed as soon as things settle down. The trouble is, I don't care for food that much, I am definately one of those people who 'eats to live' rather than 'lives for eating'.
I hate cooking, that doesn't help either, and when I have kittens in the house, it is hard to motivate myself to cook!
When I was in Aberdeen over New year, it was great to be fed all the time by friends, I came back home distictly tubbier!
I am attatching a photo that I took of one of my babies having a cuddle with one of my teddies. definately has the ahhhhhh factor!
I am having problems with my server, and it does not want to upload the photo, so I'll try again later.

5 days old now

It's Saturday morning, and I think I have been swept by a tide of emotions this morning. This is the place to unburden these thoughts, because I know it is only read by a few people.
I have spend just about all my time, for the past week, in this room, with Lil and the kittens. I have not left the house, apart from a couple of trips into the garden to see to bunny.
I think I have been so intense because of the way the birth went. Having lost 2 kittens at the birth, and the fact that some of these babies were very small when I brought them home from the vets, terrified me. I was so very determined NOT to lose another, that I set up the vigil with Lily. Although this was necesary, because she would not sit with them, unless I was very close.
She has settled down nicely now, but she still does not want me far away. She will stay here with others, but the minute she hears my voice, she shouts to me, and leaps out to come and greet me.
How can you compare that sort of love and devotion. I know this is a special bond, that I am honoured to have.
But the intensity of emotions this week, has left me totally drained.
Last night I slept little. Too many thoughts buzzing around in my head, and these babies are getting mobile.
I am sure they spent the night waddling around the box, this upsets Lil, as she likes them nice a quiet........she is grumbling and asking me to help her out, they are squeaking and waddling everywhere.
Then, just to top it all, Rich had left his i pod and mobile phone in here, both with alarms set. One at 06:30 and the other ay 07:00. Tim was sleeping in here with me, and we both swore........
Bless Timothy, he told me that he wasn't tired, and told me to get into the bed, and he was going to sit by Lil.
Golly, did that feel good to grab an hours sleep.
I confess, that when Rich came in a bit later, He sat on the bed, gave me a hug, and I shed a few tears. He told me to stay in bed all day!!!
What would I do without Rich and Tim. So I have had lots of hugs from them this morning. Apart from my cats, they are the most important things in my life, and there is nothing I wouldn't do for them.

I am really feeling this morning, that maybe, I need a break from breeding. It feels unfair on the boys, that I have to take so very much time out, when I should also be spending time with them. I don't know if I can keep going through this tiredness, when I have so many others to look after.
I don't do self pity. Ok, I allow myself to feel low, as sometimes it is necesary to let the emotions work through. But then it is important to channel the strength of those emotions, into something positive.
So I have had my couple of hours feeling tired and down, and now it is time, to take the day, head on, and make something good out of it.
Golly, I am tired though! And this tiredness, is making me behave in irrational ways sometimes. Sorry for those on the receivng end!!!
I just had a love cuddle from Gollum.
I love my cats, no matter what I do, no matter if I get things wrong, they never get cross with me, never hold a grudge, always have a purr and cuddle and love me because I am me. We, as humans, could learn so much from them.
Right, I have rambled on enough this morning!! Time to sign off

3 days old now

Phew, well, we have made it to Thursday, and my babies that came home with us on Monday, are now settling down with their mum. Lily has fallen in love with them now. I think the trauma for her with the birth, did not help her bond with them the first day, and all the time that I spent with her, in this room, has really been needed. Now she barely leaves them. But she also barely leaves me also! She hates to be left in here on her own. She will let me leave the room if Richard or Timothy are sitting close by her.

She is such a special girl, and the love that she shows is very special.

Life here gets a little fraught outside this room. without me running the rest of the household, things seem to descend into chaos a bit. Tonight, Rich was cooking me something to eat. Fortunately I came into the kitchen, as he was making me a pizza with lovely mouldy mozzerella. So another slightly hungry night!! I have been munching avocados today, bananas, various nuts and seeds, cheese on toast and some maltesas, oh yes, and an apple!!! Not really what people would say a hot meal, but I just nibbled throughout the day. Next week, I must get back to preparing proper meals for myself and the children. Infact, as I sit here, I can feel my tummy rumbling, I must eat some more before bed.

I have attatched a photo of Rich looking after kittens and Lil, and kittens on a heat pad.

Also, my other diaries carry on with this link to my other website

http://www.razzlesiamese.com/kitten_lily3diary.php

Kittens arrive

Today I am just going to copy the diary entry that I have put on my Razzle website. After that, I will try to use this site, to write other little comments. I will put the link to my kitten diaries at the end of this.

Wednesday 7th FebruaryI have not written before now, because things did not go quite to plan, and I was totally shattered, Last night I just could not face anything, I just wanted to curl up, by Lil and the kittens, and to be honest, that was all I wanted to do, until the middle of this afternoon, which was day 2. I felt tired, and emotionally drained. But also, Lil would not sit with babies, if I was not lying there, with my head in view, and often arms cuddling her in her box. If I was not there, she would not stay with babies. But I must start at the beginning.
Monday morning, I was really not expecting babies until Wednesday, if I am honest. Lily has always been late with her babies. So at 07:45 when I noticed a streak of bloody mucus across her face, alarm bells began to ring. I was still in my shorts and t shirt that I wear in bed, I had neither eaten nor drunk anything at this stage, and was trying to get the kids ready for school. Fortuately I had arranged for their dad to be here, so that I did not have to drive them to school. Otherwise, neither of them would have gone in on Monday.
I made sure the boys had everything that they needed for school, and headed upstairs with Lil. I was hoping things were going to go smoothly, because I had neither washed, dressed, or done anything for myself. Lily started her contractions, just as she has in previous pregnancies, so I was hopeful for baby no 1 within at least 2 hours. Unfortunately things did not happen that way.
To start with, Lil was happy to lay in her box, while I rubbed her tummy, and reassured her. I was kneeling over the box, the whole time, a design fault that will have to be changed!!! So my legs are aching a lot today. She started to get really agitated, and we went through the normal routine where she went in and out of the litter tray, as she thought the pushing sensation meant she needed the toilet. I managed to get her to relax again, this was after about 2 hours now. And felt relieved, as I saw the sack for baby no 1 arriving, and I thought we were nearly there.......... Lil bent down to clean it, and with the action, the sack went back inside her body. After this, she became really really agitated.
I tried to reassure and calm her, but I felt I was not achieving too much. Her contractions then stopped, and after an hour, I realised that I needed to do something. I rang Gill Watson, she is the owner of the daddy to these babies, and a great help to me. She told me what I already suspected, that I needed to ring the vets. By this stage, I was shaking quite badly, and I felt tears were on the verge of coming out. So I took a deep breath, and rang the vets. They told me to take her straight down.
I hastily dressed, put on some darkish sunglasses, as I did not trust myself with the tears. I was shaking badly by this point. I just wanted every other car on the road to get out of the way.
The vet took us through and examined Lil. She told me what I suspected would be the case, she needed an injection of Oxytocin, to help start her labour again. I was told to leave her at the vets, and they would ring me as things happened. That was hard. I did not want to leave her, as she needed me to be close. But I had no choice. It was a tearful me that left the surgery. But I took the sensible route and had a shower, which helped to clear my mind. As soon as I had finished the vet rang me.
They said that Lil had delivered the first baby, but unfortunately it has not survived. That was not a good feeling, and by now, I was feeling quite numb. The next phone call, said she had delivered another baby, and this one was ok. I was told to wait an hour before ringing again. But as I had to go collect the boys from school, I actually went into the vets. They took me through to see Lil. She had 3 live babies, but sadly, had lost a second. This was so very sad, and I felt dreadful as I drove to collect the boys from school. The first thing the boys asked me, when I collected them, was how many kittens and how was Lil, which meant I had to give them the sad news.
We then made our way to the vets to collect Lily, and what we thought was 3 kittens. When we went in, we were greeted by lots of nurses. I was then told, and this was totally unexpected, that Lil now had 5 kittens!This took me so much by surprise, and I did lose my self control at this point, and felt the tears prickling my eyes. My dear, darling Lil, and she had had to go through all this without me. I confess I gave one of the nurses a big tearful hug, I just couldn't believe it when he told me she now had 5. Poor darling Lil, she has delivered 7 babies, lost 2 of them, and has 5, and she had to do all that without me.
We transferred them all into our large basket, amidst lots of thankyous to everyone for looking after them, and then we were off back home.
I am going to summarise now, for Tuesday and Monday night.
Lil took a while to settle with these babies, which surprised me, as the one thing she has always been good at, is bonding with her litters. But she did not want to settle in this room with the kittens. This is a horrible feeling, because you know that she must sit with them.
I resorted to laying on the floor, next to her box, on Monday night, often with my head in the box. She, bless her, purred, and washed my face for me! And as long as I stayed like that, she stayed with the babies.
I had a cold and uncomfy night, and a hungry one, as I realised that I had not got round to eating during the day! And when I woke up on Tuesday morning, it was a case of crawling off the floor, getting the children ready for school, and sending them off with their dad. I spent the rest of the day, until the boys came home from school, laying here with Lily, encouraging her to stay with babies. This seemed to pay off, and by the evening, I would say that she was much more comfortable and settled.
I had a sleepless night though. The kittens were squeaking lots, she kept feeding them and washing them, and they were active little things, fighting over the nipples!! They certainly have plenty of spirit in them! Timothy, must have a mention, when he has been here, he has amazing patience, and has spent a lot of time, sitting with them and making sure that they are latched on.
lily is with them at the moment, giving them a good wash, and they are protesting with the little squeaks that kittens have, I am sat next to her, with News 24 on the television. I find that at this stage of having kittens, 24 hours news is invaluable, as it keeps my mind awake, and the noise in the background, helps to block out the sound of the other 4 cats, leaping around on the landing outside my room. I want her to stay settled, so if she cannot hear them, it helps. I hope I am not driving my neighbours nuts by having it on all the time. But it is only for a short period of time.
I will sign off for now, tomorrow I hopefully will get back into the routine of normal daily entries. I am attaching a few photos, but I can only send a few across. My internet connection is a bit erratic at the moment, and it is proving difficult to mail larger files across. By the weekend the problem should be rectified.

http://www.razzlesiamese.com/kitten_lily3diary.php

Sunday Evening.........

Well, Sunday evening has arrived, and the one thing that I do know, is that by this time next week, the birth will be over. If I am honest, it is hard to think of much else at the moment. Lily has slowed down so very much, and as you will see from the photograph, the poor girl really is very large now.

She has started to follow me around a lot, and looks for cuddles and reassurance. Last night, ( I shut her in with me at night, away from the others now), I woke up feeling uncomfy. Lily had spread herself accross the entire length of my pillows, leaving me just a nice hard piece of mattress. She looked so relaxed and comfy that I hadn't the heart to move her.

She is not showing any great signs of 'nesting' so I am not expecting kittens tonight, nor tomorrow night really. I would expect them to arrive nearer the middle of the week. But I have things covered here, so I do not have to make any of the school runs. If Lil was to start her labour in the middle of the afternoon, I would be completely stuck, because I could not leave her. Both her life and that of her unborn kittens could be at risk if was to do so. So, it is Lily watching for me, for the next few days.

I know some people, who have made the observation,that, 'hey, cats just go off somewhere quiet and have their kittens on their own, what's all the fuss'.

Well, the fuss and preparation is about ensuring that Lily goes through the whole process, without any danger to her health. She is not just my cat, she is a very special friend, and I am deeply proud of her.

I need to be there, incase something goes wrong with the delivery, and she needs to be rushed to the vets. That is my greatest fear in all of this. I don't want to even anticipate the anguish if anything should happen to her.

I also need to be here, to try to ensure that every little kitten, developing inside of her, has the chance to survive, and has the chance of a long and happy life. And if Lil's last 2 deliveries are anything to go by, she will need me to assist. They came so quickly the last 2 times, that I really did need to intervene.

I can feel a rise in my adrenaline levels at the moment, this is causing me not to eat as much as I should, and I can ill afford to lose weight. Thankfully, Richard, who has been in Belgium all weekend with the school, has brought his mum back lots of chocolate. I may well need that through the nightly vigils to come.

Lily is snuggling up with her daughter at the moment, which is good. So I am going to try to get a little more sleep tonight.

3 Days to go, and the nerves are kicking in....

As the title says, it is getting so close now, that it could almost happen any time now. The knot in my tummy is getting tighter, some of it is fear, some of it is excitement and some of it is anticipation. Lily's delivered 2 litters before now, so I have some idea of what to expect. Once number one is out, she has proceeded to deliver the remaining babies so fast, that I really need to be there, and work quickly, to make sure the rest make it into the world safely. As soon as she looks at me, and makes the sound, that tells me that her uturus is starting to contract, my adrenaline will start to rush, and orders will be issued to other members of the house hold, as they all have their different jobs to do.

The heat pads, are in the lounge. These are all heated via the microwave, and I use them to keep the babies warm, while Lil is deliving subsequent kittens. Because, in the past, they have come every 6 minutes, on average, this just gives Lil time to eat the placenta, break the amniotic sack and start to clean. As soon as I see her strain with the next baby, I have to take over with the current baby, keeping it warm, and rubbing it's little body, gently with a warm towel, while directing Lil to the next baby that has appeared, without her realising it is there, she being so intent on the baby before. Sometimes it can be difficult to manouvre her quick enough, so I will make sure the sack is broken, to stop the baby from drowning in the fluid.

As each baby is delivered, the anxious bit is to wait for movement, and it is a great relief, as you see it moving, and then hear it squeak.

Once that is all done, Tim takes over, and sits with them, trying to get all the babies to latch on. Without this, they would obviously die, so it is vital that all babies are latched on, and snuggled up with mum, in a warm and clean environment.

At the moment Lil is not showing too much interest in the other cats in the house. She is quite clingy with me, and sits on my lap often. I am now shutting her in here with me at night. last night, she slept on the pillow next to mine. She has reached the stage where she needs the reassurance that I am not far away.

I have 2 photos today. One with her snuggled up with Galadriel, on my bed, and another, with her on one of her favourite places, a shoulder!!!

Video Clip of Lily

It is late tonight, so I wont write a lot of words. I have a new camcorder, and tonight, I have spent most of my time, trying to use is ( that part was easy) and then it seemed to take for ever to download this small file. I took this of Lil earlier, while she was finishing her tea. Please excuse the kitchen, as we had the place re wired a while ago, and it is the last room to be repaired from all the work!
Click on this link, and you should see Lil, and Carrie, who would not leave my feet!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LZvyjL6c-U

6 more nights to go..............

Well, time is drawing by now, and it really will not be long at all before the kittens are here.

I have noticed a change in things today.

Lily has started to spend more time away from the other cats, and she is spending more time with me. She often wants to come and sit on my lap, and she is demanding more attention.

The other 4 have taken over the kitten box, so tomorrow I will put a stop to that! I am going to set up 2 more beds on the landing, and tomorrow night, I am going to try to shut Lil in here with me on our own.

I need to start to take the comfy bed out of the box, and put layers of towels, and the pampers matress liners that I use, so that when Lil gets the urge to 'nest' she has plenty there to 'work with'. If I try to do that with the others in the room, Fluffy will just claw it all, and knowing our Gollum, it will take him back to being a baby, and he will probably wee in it............SO they need to be kept out of it!!

Lil is downstairs at the moment, sitting quietly in a hot spot in the hallway. I can see that she is changing, she is approaching that slightly agitated stage, where she wants to check everywhere out, and make sure that I am not far away.

The photo that I have posted today, I took a couple of hours ago, at the top of the stairs.

7 days to go now.............

It's been a peaceful day today, a very rare event in this house! For some reason, all seemed to run smoothly ( that is tempting fate, as it is not 10pm yet!), and I actually found myself twiddling my fingers, wondering what to do. I considered cleaning, but nothing seemed urgent, Tim was off school again, so I couldn't go out anywhere, and all the cats seemed pretty sleepy.

Now I know I am often heard to say, 'oh, I would love to be bored', but when you are actually bored.........well it is just that, BORING!

I should be enjoying the peace , because once the little babies are here, going by the size of Lily, there are going to be a few of them, I will be praying for more hours in the day, and wishing for that sense of boredom again. When I do, I must read this, and remind me, that boredom, really is not fun.

I cannot wait to have wee babies in the house again. I can't wait to see Lily more agile when she does not have to carry so much weight around. But she is brilliant, she does not complain. She sleeps, she makes a fuss of the others, she comes down stairs for some love and attention, and she eats. Her fur is in such good condition, which pleases me. She needs to be as healthy as poss to help her through motherhood. She is sitting opposite me as I type, on the stool in front of the dressing table. By the weekend, I need to start to prepare the box for birthing, and put the others out of the room. They are going to have to get used to sleeping on the landing again for a while, rather than in this room with me.

I took a few photos this evening, Lily and Carrie were eating the chicken that I had just put out ( which reminds me, I need to buy another chicken tomorrow), and I thought one of the shots showed just how big Lil is at the moment!

A week to go now ...............

I am typing this to the sound of a herd of furry feet, charging up and down the stairway!!! It is amazing just how much noise, such small animals can make! They look so elegant when they are balancing on the window sills, advertising their presence to the world around them, and then they turn into their crazy mode, and move like lightening around the house!

I love it though, when they sit on the window sill and watch me drive off when I take the kids to school. It is an hours round trip, and I know that when I get back, they will all be asleep.

Lily is coming along much the same. I was lying next to her on the bed this afternoon, for 10 minutes, with my hand on her tummy. and the movement from the babies inside was fascinating. You could distinguish between little legs poking her side. There was an awful lot of movement. Which obviously is good.

I am not taking her to the vets, as I have before, for a scan. This time I am going to keep her home, but organise a vet visit the morning after she has had the babies, to make sure that all has gone well, and that she is ok. Fingers tightly crossed for a safe delivery, with no need for medical intervention. But at the end of the day, the most important thing, is for Lily to come through it all, healthy and happy. She is my little darling, and I feel a deep responsibility for her.

I took a photo of Lily, a few hours ago, as she was in the kitten box. She was happy, as she had the whole place to herself.

8 days to go..........

I am tireder than normal tonight, so please excuse spelling mistakes! Both the boys now go to Scouts, and as it is a few miles away, it is 2 1/2 hours out of the evening, so I had to rush around to make sure that everything was seen to before I left. I know this may sound silly, but the cats are just not used to being in the house on their own in the evenings. Normally there is someone here. We were out from 7pm until 9.30pm. They were soooo pleased to see us when we got back, and Percy was in the lounge, asking for his nth meal of the day!

Lil is getting so large now. When she stands up, you can actually see the kittens moving around inside of her! Her tummy will change shape. She will come into the kitchen, and I let her stand on the hob, where I will cuddle her, and stroke her and talk to her, and feed her. I can cuddle her tummy, and rest my cheek against it, and feel the babies inside, it is a special feeling.

I have put the heated pad, underneath the cat bed, in the box............and yes, all 5 of them somehow manage to cram themselves in it. It never amazes me just how they can all snuggle into such a small place!! I want Lil to have it all to herself, but at the moment, she likes the other around her. By next weekend, I will start letting her be in here at night time, on her own, just with me. I want the others to start to get used to sleeping out of this room at bedtime. When the babies are here, Lil will have this place to herself, for as long as she wants it.

As I sign off, there has just been a loud bang down stairs, it is my guess, they have knocked off one of the plastic storage containers, that are waiting to be filled up with cat biccies...........I thought they were being too quiet!!!!!!!!!

10 days to go and counting..........

Yesterday, I made more changes to my bedroom, in preparation for the new arrivals, in about 10 days time. I have a little nervous feeling in my tummy at the moment, it is exciting, and scary at the same time.

I feel so strongly, that I must do everything in my power, to ensure Lily has a safe delivery, and the kittens make it into the world, safely, and healthy.

I am trying really hard, to make my room, a place, where Lil feels happy, and secure, and where she can have everything that she can possibly need.

Yesterday, I brought the kitten box into my room. We used this last year, downstairs, but it really was too big. It has been downsized considerably, so it will now fit neatly in my room, and when we are onto litter training, it also fits into the cosy part of the bathroom, by the radiator.

Lil has a choice of 2 places then, in my room, so I will watch her closely over the next few days, and see if she shows a preference. I suspect she will have the babies, for the first 10 days, in a cardboard box, under my dressing table, with the towels hanging down, to make it cosy, and then I will move them into the kitten box, making the transition for them into the bathroom, hopefully easy.

I am using the bathroom for the litter training, as it is the only place really in this house, without carpet, and it really helps then learn. I have found far too many little 'accidents' when I have tried training them in carpeted areas, as the carpet is nice and soft!!!!!!!!!!!

Lil is eating well at the moment, and she is being loving and special as always.

I visited a cat show today, and stocked up on some more essentials for the babies. There is so much to buy in preparation.

I have posted a photo of the kitten box, taken last night, as the 4 Siams ( not Lil) were exploring it, and another one, of the same 4, on my bed this morning, the long stretched out one is Gollum !!!!

Today got off to a good start !!!!!!!!!

Because I am not in paid employment, and because people keep asking, "What DO" you do all day, I find myself thinking this to myself constantly, and asking myself, exactly WHY I am tired! SO.......... here is a run down of today,

My bedroom door, is opposite the bathroom door, and my bed head, is next to the bedroom door, opposite the bathroom door. Just inside the bathroom door, there is a litter tray.........................

at 03:30 , I am woken, as Gollum (our neutered boy) leapt over me on the bed, and made a bee line for the litter tray...........now I wont be too graffic here, but it became obvious, even to my tired ears, that his tummy was not the best. It became obvious to my sense of smell, also, that his tummy was NOT the best...........

Nothing for it, but to get out of bed. Sleepily go down stairs, to the downstairs toilet, where litter tray cleaning things are. Go back upstairs, grumbling ( I may love them, but that does not mean, that at that time in the morning, I am going to be happy about doing this!), and clean out said litter tray. As I have just done this, Gollum goes onto the landing, and promply throws up all over the carpet. I take an inward sigh, go downstairs, and get vomit cleaning materials, and deal with said offering on the carpet. As I have done this, Gollum flies downstairs, through the cat flap, and needs the toilet again. Knowing that I do not want to have to deal with this when I get up later ( although, as things are going, it is not going to be much later), I follow Gollum, and see to said litter tray.

I make a decision, that although I have to be up at 06:00, I would like to get a couple of hours rest more, if I can. SO I decide to shut out of my room, the 4 now wide awake cats, and leave Lily in with me. So I ruch down stairs, hastily fill up the spare litter tray, and a bowl with biscuits and water, and shut her in the room with me.

I doze on and off for a couple of hours, then get up, to clear up 2 more piles of vomit that Gollum has left me. He is still running around like a crazy cat, so he is obviously feeling ok.

Morning chores done ( trays,food, Percy's medecine, bunny in shed needs heat pad re heated, kids sorted for school and me dressed and showered). This is all completed by 08:00. I am very pleased with myself for achieving this.

An hour round trip to drop the boys off to school, and I return, for a quick bite of breakfast, tidy up, check of litter trays, etc, and then rush back to Richard's school, for his parent/tutor interview time. Fortunately as he is doing fine, this is not too long.

Then I have to drive to Reading for a brief hospital appointment, and back home, to check litter trays etc. Relief as all seems to be ok here, and the cats are all asleep. So I go and check on bunny.

A brief half hour time on the pc, mug of green tea, and then back off out. A visit to Tesco's and then on to collect Richard from school.

Back here, re do bunnies heat pad, clean out her straw, feed her, and snuggle her in the shed, as the temperature is dropping.

Then I have to go off, to watch Timothy in a 5 a side football tournament, returning home, at around 18:00

Fortunately there is some bolognese sauce heating in the slow cooker, so I am able to muster together a quick supper, while trying to feed the cats at the same time. I put food out for them, as they come and ask for it. Gollum seems to be making up for this morning, as he is eating like a horse!

By 21:00 I put the boys to their bed, to read, and go outside to re heat bunnies pad one more time. It is very cold out tonight, and she is an old girl.

I have fed all of the cats, and washed out all of their water bowls. Washed both bathroom floors. And now, if I am lucky, all that needs be done, is a final clean of the litter trays before I can finally retire.

I am hoping that all is fine on the tummy front now, especiallt with Lily so heavily pregnant. I am feared for her this close to delivering kittens,

Rich is sleeping downstairs again, as the room is empty, and I am seriously thinking about sneaking into his room again tonight????? Tonight is my last chance for a few nights now. If all cats seem happy and healthy, I may just do that, and leave them my bed!!!!

I am only being this soft re my bedroom at the mo, because of Lily's advanced pregnancy. I really want to make her as comfy and as happy as possible.

Soooo, I am tired tonight, the question is, have I deserved the right, to claim tiredness?????

I have attatched a photo tonight, of some little monkies playing in the bathroom.

The little monkies are wide awake at the mo, and running around the place like wild things, every now and then, I flinch as one comes flying past me!!!!

It all seems SO busy here tonight.....

As the title of this page says, it all feels soo busy here tonight! At 21:43, I am actually ahead of myself, in that the children have actually got their lights off, Timothy has just finished reading, and agreed to stop at the point that he had reached. Richard, has gone to bed, in the room downstairs ( he prefers that room if he can get in there, to his own room), and is listening to his i pod.

I feel as if I go up and down the stairs 30/40 times a day, if not more. I want to invent a divice, which monitors just how many times I do use them. It may keep me fit, but at this time of night, my little legs are tired!

Bunny is tucked up in the shed, as it is sooo cold outside. She has a microwavable heated pad, which I normally heat up for her twice a day, but I think tonight, I must go outside again, and re heat it to keep her going all night. It retains its heat for 10 hours, so it is a good little thing. I have another one in the house, which I use for keeping new born kittens warm. It is taking some motivating to get me back outside for the heated pad for bunny, but I gave myself a stern talking to, reminding myself that we are all nice and warm here, and I can surely manage a few minutes in the cold!

I have fed the cats their supper, but the bowls seem to have emptied, so when I have finished this, I will go and make sure they are refilled, as night time is the time that they seem to eat the most. I don't want them howling in my ear in the middle of the night because they are hungry! That would not make me pleased.

I can hear a lot of noises coming from the bathroom, I am not sure what they have found to destroy, or keep them so enthralled, and I almost dare not look!!! But look I must.............................Fluffy had managed to pull the litter tray, and the cardboard box it was in, halfway accross the bathroom floor, while trying to get her piece of paper from underneath it. She seems to have put the paper back under, so it is obviously a game that is keeping her happy!

So, it is off to check the litter trays ( again), top up food bowls, check the children are snoozing happily, call Percy in from his pre bedtime stroll, go out and heat bunnies pad ( not looking forward to that one, it is creepy in the garden this time of night), and then hopefully, get some sleep. I am aiming to get into bed by 11 tonight, not something I have managed for a LONG time!!!

And it is 2 weeks today, that the kittens are due, it is getting closer all the time, and by this weekend, I must have everything that I need in the house. I have the scales out now too, I bought some more vet bedding. And hopefully on Saturday, I can stock up at the cat show that is close to me. We wait with nervous excitement!

I attatched a photo of Percy today, and one of some of the kittens last summer, lazing in the conservatory.

getting the bedroom ready for kittens

I know that it is still 2 weeks away, but there is no harm, and only good, to come out of being prepared, and doubly prepared, for the entrance into the world of little babies!

Lil's first litter, she had, in a cosy space I set up under my dressing table. For her 2nd, last year, we built a large box, and had it set up in the spare room downstairs, which has our computer and television, and is where the boys spend a lot of their time! I wasn't totally happy with the set up last year. So I have gone back to using my bedroom.

I now have my small tv, set up with digi box. And necesary tool, when you are sitting with kittens for long periods of time. And also, I have my wireless connection working, which means I can do everything from my lap top, in my room. So I need not be parted from the kittens for any great length of time. A lack of computer up here, was one of the reasons last year, that I had to opt for the downstairs room. I am much happier with the arrangements this time around.

Yesterday, I moved my bed closer to the door, this gave me much more space in front of the dressing table. I have also started to make the area, under the dressing table, cosier, and more closed in. When Lily gets closer, she will be looking for somewhere dark and quiet, to have her babies. There is a heated pad underneath some vet bedding, and the radiator is behind, so it is a very warm and cosy spot.

Lil is not showing much interest in it at the moment, preferring my bed, but that will all change, as she will recognise it as the place to go. ( alongside her driving me nuts, as she tries to fight her way into all the cupboards)

I took 2 photos today, The first one, you can See G ( G is short for Galadriel) and her daughter, Carrie, under the dressing table, in the cosy spot. Lily was snuggled up on my bed with Fluffy, her daughter from last year.

Just over 2 weeks to go till kittens now

We have just over 2 weeks to go before Lily delivers her kittens into the world. This will be her 3rd litter, so I am confident that she will be a good mum to her babies, as she always is. She has such a big tummy at the moment, that she must be carrying a good size litter again. So far she has produced 2 lots of 6 babies, and I would not be surprised if she is doing so again.
She is starting to slow right down. She wanders down stairs, to ask for food, and she cuddles the other cats. But when they are having one of their wild bursts of play, she tends to sit on the top of one of the scratching posts, and watches. She is so very much the 'main lady' in our house, and the others respect her for that. If they are racing up and down the stairs and over the landing, she likes to sit at the top of the stairs to watch them run by. And she is lovely and cuddly and purry. You just feel that you want to snuggle up to her all day, and kiss her tummy!
I have taken some photos today. The first 2 are of Lily on her own, 2 others are of her sleeping close by the others, on my bed, and the last one, I could not resist, was of her daughter, Lady G, from her very first litter 2 years ago.

WIND !!!!!!!!

Today turned out to be some day! We have had severe gales for the most of the day, which has left the garden looking like a battle zone, and the cats highly unsettled ( apart from Lily, who has the benefit of hormones to keep her calm), and my youngest child highly excited! Sitting here tonight, I feel a wave of tiredness sweeping over me, and I am glad that the weekend is now not far away.

I had to keep the shed door shut for the poor bunny, as I could not risk her being exposed to the elements, she was cosy in her hutch with her heated pad.

Then the wind REALLY got up. Gollum was running around the house, like a demon possessed, grumbling, and generally very agitated. He was also desparate for a fuss and reassurance. We have a partially, well, we HAD, built outdoor cat run in the garden.........not any more.....we have a collapsed and rather broken partially built can run in the back garden. I tried to shore it up with various articles, but the wind was too strong. And in the end, I just had to go in, closed the curtains so that I could not watch, and then cringed when I opened them up an hour later. So it now lays in tatters in the back garden, and me trying to explain to the cats, that it looks like they are going to have to wait a bit longer still, to get outside in it!

The wind was sooo strong, that it was also trying to wrench some of my year old bushes from the front garden, and I found myself battling to support them, with large heavy stones. I hadn't really engaged brain at this point, as I was trying to achieve all this in a skirt.....

The cats are just extra lively today, Gollum is still running around like a wild beast, and the chicken that I cooked yesterday is almost eaten up, so I must buy another one tomorrow.......

My oldest son had his parents evening this evening, that at least put a smile on my face, as the parting comment from his IT teacher was,

"well, who couldn't like Richard"

The photo today, I took just a little earlier, I had poured some red wine out, into a retsina glass, to warm it up, and Gollum was taking an interest in it, it made me smile, so I got the camera out!

I was just sent this photo

I was just sent this photo, by a dear friend of mine, who had one of our babies from our very first litter. Jane took this photo, almost a year ago now, the evening that G had her 5 kittens. You will see 11 kittens altogether in the photo, as Lily is on the left with her 6 babies, 5 1/2 weeks old, and G is to the right with her new borns.

How can a mum get some sleep!

Earlier today, I attempted to sit down. I had a small window of half an hour to take a break for myself, before the evening rush hour started. Well, I sat down, and one by one, each of the 5 siamese, came to join me. As each one came along, they took about 10 minutes to find just the right place that suited them........the half an hour turned to 50 minutes, and then at last all were settled. Lily and G, ( in the photo) were snuggled on the quilt by my feet, Fluffy and Gollum were cuddled by my shoulders, and Carrie had fought for, and won, her preferred spot, on my lap under the quilt. But it had taken them so long to get themselves organised, that I then had to squeeze myself out of the bundle, trying not to disturb them, in order to get on with the day's chores. They all looked at me in disgust as I slowly levered myself out, but I felt like telling them, if they had not taken so jolly long settling themselves, I would have enjoyed having the time to sleep with them!!!

As I type, there is chicken no. 2 cooking in the oven. They just could not get enough of the first roast chicken. I don't know why, but roast whole chicken seems to taste heaps nicer than cooked chicken breast or portions. They just go crazy for it, skin and all, and eat everything bar the bones. Obviously I take the meat off the bones for them, as putting chicken bones down for them would be far too dangerous.

Lily enjoys some of the chicken, aswell as her tuna, crushed biccies and cod. With only 3 weeks to go, she has reached that stage of her pregnancy, where her hormones are nice and settled, and she is really laid back. Lily is on the left in the photo. Timothy took it for me with my mobile phone, so it is not the best quality, and I have edited myself out of the pic!!!

3 weeks till kittens, and counting...

I thought today was going to be a quiet day, but I was wrong! It seems that with a 13 year old boy, and a 10 year old boy, that no ammount of food in the house is enough. It also seems, that with 5 growing siamese and one aging black moggy, no ammount of food is also enough!

I bought a large chicken yesterday, and cooked it in the oven, for 2 1/2 hours. Well, I think I can say, that they have almost eaten the lot, the cats that is, not the kids! I put it down, and they swarm all over it! I also have some baked cooked egg shells, crushed, mixed in with it, to make sure they are getting enough calcium, as chicken alone is not enough.

And Fluffy knows where to find her sachets of whiskers that she likes, so she drags them around after me, Gollum just looks longingly at me, when bowls are empty! Lily sits on the oven hob, and speaks to me, in a very quiet voice, and looks at me, with those lovely eyes of hers, and my heart melts. She is soo big now, poor love, and she still has 3 weeks to go. And she just does not want to eat anything, unless it has tuna in it!

poor Percy has health problems, he has just had 10 teeth out, he has had a cancerous lump removed from his face, and he is now being treated for an over active thyroid. An over active thyroid, increases his appetite, which was huge in the first place, so when he is awake, he wants food, and he will sit and wait relentlessly, until he gets it.

I spoke about Carrie last night, so I will leave her be tonight!

Percy gave us a nice offering, just as I was putting food on the table in the lounge. He decided to 'bring up' the remains of a mouse he had obviously eaten earlier while outside.............it didn't help the appetite.

I have posted 2 photos today. One shows you Lily cleaning herself, You can just make our her large belly, she did not want to pose for the camera, and Fluffy is sleeping alongside her. And the other photo, was of them all sleeping on the landing, although I managed to miss out the head of Gollum!

I am starting to plan, all the things that I need for the birth of the kittens. Where Lil is going to go, what I need, how to organise all the other cats, as I don't know how they will react to new babies. There is so much to think about. I have stocked up on,

alcohol hand cleaning fluid

anti bacterial wipes

syringes for feeding babies if needed

baby bottles for mixing and steralising baby milk, if needed.

I have the electric heated pads, the little fleecy hats, with microwavable heated pads in them, big round microwavable heated pad ( bunny has the other!), scales to weigh babies.

I need to get, pampers mattress liners, as when the babies are born, there is a lot of mess, and I find these absorbent. Lots of cotton wool, dental floss, clean towels. By the time the babies are due, it will all be nicely organised, in a stack of little drawers.

The cats are running around like crazy things at the moment, I will wait until they go to sleep again, before I clean the litter trays out. Yes, I am tired tonight, the children have been a little testing, and lack of sleep does catch up with you.

I have had a really easy day so far today! How often can I say that, and how long will it last!? I have neither had to take the children to school or pick them up ( Richard is off poorly any how), and the cats have been little angels.

I bought them a whole chicken, which has been cooking slowly in the oven all afternoon, and for a while they were all camped on top of the hob, because a/ it was nice and warm and b/ it smelt really nice. Carrie was yelling her little head off because she fancied sampling some of whatever was making the lovely smell, but she can have plenty later on when I cut it up for them.

Lily is just over 3 weeks now until she has her babies, and her tummy is rounding nicely. I was surprised by how much heavier she was when she sat on my lap earlier today. She is always very content when she is with kitten. She is also always hungry, and she has developed a real craving for tuna fish. I put little bit of it in most of her meals to encourage her to eat well. Lots of crushed biscuits mixed in with her wet food aswell, to ensure that she is getting plenty of nutrition.

Feeding times are quite an event, as they all like their favourites, and they all wait until their special dish is served up for them. Golum likes chicken, and fortunately he will eat some of the whiskers, oh so meaty with it in.

Fluffy is a fish girl, and either eats the cod, or the 'Oh so fishy' from whiskers. Lady G, she really just likes her James Wellbeloved biscuits, and occasionally beef.

Carrie is another story. Her favourite menu would be,

cheese and tomato pizza

bread and butter

cheese, especially warm and melted

pitta bread

bacon, nice and salty..............these would be her chosen diet, if she were allowed. But her poor little tummy would not be good if I let her eat this way. So she gets the occasional treat, or when she managed to steal something. She will then run off, growling, to keep the others away. I have posted a photo of the time when she stole a piece of corn on the cob. She has just launched herself down the stairs, and proceeded to try to walk all over the keyboard, so time to stop typing now!

How not to iron with a siamese in the house

Well, I just HAD to laugh this evening! While the ironing was being attempted in the spare room, Fluffy decided to add a little extra 'spice' to the whole performance.

What nicer, for a young Siamese, than a lovely warm t shirt! She had no fear of the actual iron, just love of the cosy warm t shirt.

Up she jumped, and at first, just sat in the warmth of the material, and then as she began to relax, she began to writhe in the material, adding far more creases to the garment, than it origionally started with. Oh yes, she was removed, but she jumped back up more quickly than one had time to pick the iron up again! Bless her, there are some things better off not attempted with a meezer in the room!

Apart from that, they have been really, really good today. They have eaten, slept and played nicely. Bunny even got out in her outside run because it was actually dry and without a gale blowing!

I feel happy tonight, I am well ahead on all my chores, the trays are clean, the food all out waiting for them, Percy has had his medicine, and bunny is tucked up in the shed. The children are not asleep, and Rich has an upset tummy, but they are old enough now to sort themselves out, so I can handle that.