Gratuitous kitten photos

First steps

The kittens have been growing up fast.  They now zoom around the room on their little legs, leap up onto the sofa and spend all their time exploring their temporary home.  Mia, their mum, is very proud, loves to keep a watchful eye and meow all about them.

Milo is still far and away the biggest of the three.  Here's a picture showing his cute blond markings:

He is the greediest of the family and hiding under that big fluffy exterior is a great gentle giant.   Here's a nice photo of him playing with our scratching post (all three kittens are very fond of the scratching post and know better than to use the furniture!):

Marty spends a lot of time with his more confident brother.  He is blessed with a set of perfect black and white socks with matching bib and nose, which makes him look like he is wearing black tie.  He already loves attention, especially having his tummy rubbed:

He is a bit of a shy little thing at the moment, so it would be great if he could be homed with Milo.

Their little sister Megan is a confident little tortie.  She is very inquisitive, here she is investigating some feathers:

She's really sweet, and loves running up to play. She's a traditional independent tortie, but would be happily homed with her mother, Mia.

Here's Mia, as you can see, looking beautiful  and very proud.  She's a lovely, affectionate young lady who would love a home of her own.

New Arrivals

A few days after bidding farewell to Victoria and her family we took on a new foster cat and kittens.  Mia (the young mum) is a shy little tortie who loves being stroked and follows us around the room (once she stopped hiding behind the sofa).  She is a very caring mum, who always comes straight over to check on her kittens when we give them attention.

Here's a rare photo of Mia away from her family whilst she eats:

Mia has three kittens: Milo, Marty and Megan, who have just opened their eyes.

Milo is the biggest of the litter, he's a chubby ginger boy who has now fully opened his eyes.  He's a real mummy's boy, but seems likely to be a strapping ginger.  Here's a picture of him looking sleepy:

Megan is the littlest, and is just slowly opening up her eyes.  She's a sweet little tortie with a pretty light splash on her face, just like her mum.  Here she is calling out to her mum whilst being briefly separated for a photograph:

Marty is a black and white boy.  He is very easy going, and is medium sized between his petite sister and giant brother.  Here's a picture that shows off his amazing eyebrows:

We are really looking forward to getting to know the kittens as they grow and we are already enjoying our time with little Mia.

Happy Endings

In the space of a few short days all four of our foster cats were happily introduced to their new permanent homes.

Mum went first (she was quite fed up with the three mischievous kittens).  Victoria, (now re-christened Lulu) was very happy to slip out of our home and move on to her new life with space of her own and owners who will adore her.

Eddie and Bertie left together, with Bertie happy to have his bigger (well, fluffier and braver) brother to look after him.  Here are two pictures taken the morning before they left us, Bertie first (showing off his fine eyebrows) and Eddie second:

Lizzie was more than capable of fending for herself (she was always the most inquisitive and adventurous).  She's now busy enjoying her new home and family.  Here's a nice picture of her looking beautiful in the sunshine.

Of course, we miss them a tiny bit, but it is great to know they are all with good homes.

Three lively kittens

The three kittens have come on leaps and bounds (literally), they now run around our house, up and down the stairs and clamber up to look out of the window.

Eddie looking massive thanks to his thick fur (just like his mum).  He loves playing with his brother and sister.  

 A rare picture of Bertie chilling, he is a shy little thing (compared to his gregarious brother and sister) but every bit as cute.

Here is busy little Lizzy, who is always fastest to the food and loves to climb all the way to the first floor.  She is friendly and affectionate, likely to climb up onto your lap and she was the first to purr.

All three kittens are little heart breakers.  They will go to their new homes aged nine weeks, after their first vaccinations, microchipping and flea and worm treatment.

Bigger Kittens

The three kittens have been growing fast and now have opened their eyes!

White nose opened his eyes first, a few days before the rest, and Tortie last, although she seems to be excelling at toddling and is quite mobile, dragging herself around on her little belly.  Occasionally Tortie tries out her legs, waddling around like a little drunkard.

We have nominally named them (according to our best guess of their genders):

• White nose = Edward (Eddie)
• Black nose = Albert (Bertie)
• Tortie = Elizabeth (Lizzie)

Day Four Update

The kittens are now four days old and they are all doing well. We felt very nervous at first as they were so tiny and vulnerable but Victoria is a really good mother. Encouragingly, the kittens seem to be putting on weight very well:

• Tortie was 128g on day two, and is now 150g
• White Nose was 135g on day two and is now 159g
• Black Nose was 121g on day two and is now 151g

The photos really show how fast they're growing. We haven't got proper names for them yet as we aren't sure what gender they are!

Kittens!

We just got back tonight to find that the lovely Victoria had finally given birth, bringing three gorgeous kittens into the world.

Less than a day old, they are small but gorgeous handfuls of fur, two black and white and one tortoiseshell.  Victoria did a great job and they are clean and suckling well.

New Arrival

Today we welcomed a very heavily pregnant new guest to number 42.

Victoria

A fortnight or so ago we offered to foster a cat through Hounslow Animal Welfare Society (HAWS) after a conversation with a vet friend about how full animal shelters are at the moment. We adopted our own cats, Ron and Ginny, through HAWS and when they arrived at our home they had already had the benefit of living with a foster family. The attention they were given after being found as kittens on an allotment living feral had turned them into wonderful, affectionate, relaxed companions and we really wanted to help other cats like them.

We planned to foster one, perhaps two cats, however we got a call from HAWS asking us to consider taking on a rather urgent case. A lovely young, but very pregnant, homeless cat had been reported to HAWS. She was certainly once somebody's pet as she was desperate to get inside and is very friendly.

We've named our new guest Victoria. She's been with us for half a day now and made herself right at home. No awkward cowering in a corner, she's super friendly and purrs loudly as soon as we go into the room. She walks right up to you and rears up to meet your hand when you reach down to stroke her (no mean feat given how large she is at the moment!).

We're a little nervous given that it's our first experience of fostering, let alone preparing for newborn kittens, but Victoria really is a sweetheart. The vet nurse even said she would have adopted her if she had had the space.

More news on Victoria and her expected family to come soon.