A Few Photos of Goregousness!

Orca & Skunk posing for the camera (I have to congratulate Christie on how great she is capturing these kittens in photos - they are constantly moving when they're awake, and when they're sleeping, they are rolled into little black balls of fluff that are difficult to capture in photos!)

Skunk being calm in the midst of chaos:

Orca wondering if that hard stuff is really supposed to be food:

Not the clearest photo, but just look at all the white whiskers!

And you can imagine the ferocity of the meow!

 Here's a lovey little Bear:

And a curious Otter:

Skunk was lying upside down in Christie's lap, and she just posed perfectly like this!  I wonder what she is thinking about.

Again, not the clearest photo, but look at the earnest little face!  It's Orca:

Otter hiding inside the big box:

Ermine posing for the camera.  She's a natural!

Three babies in Christie's lap (Otter, Bear, and Skunk) and someone's butt:

Ermine being adorable (she can't help it!):

Christie is editing some more videos to post later.  Hope you are loving my kittens as much as I am!

-Juvy

on the CAT WALK!

The name is in honor of the fact that the kittens are more beautiful than any model on a fashion catwalk ever was!

Orca being like her Mama!

Small little tummies!

Christie said, "There's no milk in there!"

Orca is working on walking better!

When Christie comes into the room, all the kittens sit up and look at her and start mewing and walking towards her.  They are cute cute cute all in a pile looking in the same direction - like a bouquet of kittens!

Rawr!

Rolling around being delicious!

Sunny side up Ermine!

Walking around:

Walking, Part 2:


Hope you enjoyed these videos.  Which video made you laugh?  Which video made you say, "Aaawwwww!"  Which kitten wins the "Silliest Kitten of the Day" award today?

Drinking Water!

Today Bear drank water from the bowl like a big boy!  They've been sticking their faces in and being surprised by the water for a couple of days, and Ermine did that and then licked her lips yesterday, but today Bear started biting the bowl, then put his face down and licked the water for a long time!  They are learning very quickly!

Here are some adorable videos from the last few days:

Cute Bear when everyone else was sleeping:

The kittens crawling on Christie like a mountain:

Feet in the air, part one:

Feet in the air, part two:

More videos soon!

Wrestling and Walking!

My kittens get cuter every single day.  Christie has been taking TONS of videos, but the videos have to be edited and compressed and changed from one format into another format (those of you with iPads and iPhones and Macs apparently can't view .avi videos - silly Apple!)  So anyway, it takes quite some time.  

Today I wanted to give a little lecture on why I love each one of my kittens.  Of course, I love them because they are adorable and because they are mine, but there are additional quirks that make each one of them unique.  Here they are in alphabetical order (because I love them all equally!):

Bear: Bear is the only boy (as far as we can tell!), and he is playful and curious and friendly.  He was the first to leave the box, the first to stick his head in the water bowl, and the first to open his eyes.  He does not take much to be entertained (for example, he loves to play with his own feet!)  Here's an example of that:

Part One:

Part Two:

Ermine:  Ermine has beautiful long white whiskers and she is determined.  When she wants to get somewhere, she will get there.  She is the one who had the eye infection when she was only one week old, and she is a fighter!  She is perky and strikes out to discover new territory with interest.

Orca:  The Orca has an adorable way of wrinkling her forehead that none of the other kittens does.  Her face is beautiful and round (like an owl - if she had looked like that when she was born, I would have called her that!)  She is cuddly and interested in what is happening around her.

Otter:  Otter is sweet and inquisitive.  She has caught right up to Bear in size even though she started out as one of the smallest kittens, so I know she is persistent!

Skunk:  Skunk is currently the smallest of the kittens.  During the first few days of her life, she had to constantly fight with the Bear for the nipple that they both preferred.  She howled loudly and wriggled her way right back in there if Bear pushed her out.  (Now everyone gets their chance on the four functional nipples.)  She often sits and looks around her as if she is learning from what everyone else is doing.  She has a very intelligent look as if she is about to make a profound statement.

While Christie was able to upload the previous videos, for some reason, Blogger or Christie's browser seems to be having a problem tonight, and we'll have to wait to post more videos until tomorrow.

Those of you who are following, which kittens do you find the most appealing?  What do you love about kittens?  Leave comments! 

Growing!

Christie's week got really super extra busy and, while she took lots of videos, she didn't get a chance to edit them and post them (and she didn't teach me how yet), so this will be a heavy multi-media post!

First, here is an older video (from when the Bear's eyes were first opening):

Here is some video after the Ermine got ointment for her eyes:

The Bear snuggles Christie:

Funny little noises (courtesy of the Orca):

Someone is really happy to be eating!

Yawning and Skunk practicing cleaning herself!  Good job, little Skunk!

Sleeping in a pile!

Fuzzy little bellies:

Wrestling babies!  Practicing their motor skills.

Enjoy these new videos, and more will be posted soon!

The Ermine's Recovering!

Note from Christie: The sweet Ermine is getting better very quickly!  Thank you to our great vet's office for seeing her so quickly, to the Bear for accompanying her to the vet, and to Juvy for being such a great Mama, who made stout babies!

Juvy says: The kittens and I now are happily ensconced in Greg & Christie's guest bathroom.  There are puppy pads all over the floor just in case, for the babies, I'm sure.  *I* know how to use a litter box already, of course.  The bathroom is quiet and safe, and I don't have to worry about other cats roaming into my territory at night-time, trying to take my food.  There are three other cats in the house, but they haven't paid much attention to us, and we're pretty quiet.  Christie has allowed us to rest since our stressful day yesterday with the Ermine and the Bear going to the vet, and with the transition to living indoors, but she can't resist snuggling us a little bit; I don't blame her, because the kittens are the cutest fuzzy beasts ever, and I am quite loving and I purr a lot and squint my eyes half-closed to show affection.  Humans seem to like that.

Some noteworthy happenings from today and yesterday:
* Christie distinctly felt and heard the Skunk purring today!

* The Bear, the Skunk, and the Ermine have their eyes at least partly open!

* All kittens have dark blue eyes so far.

* All kittens are thriving and getting nice round bellies.  They have fluffy, soft fur, and they are sturdy.  Even though I only have four functioning nipples and FIVE kittens, they all are getting enough milk and are happy and roly-poly.

* I am even getting comfortable with Greg, though I am sort of shy.  He is really gentle and kind and he squints his eyes half-closed to show affection to me.  I like that.  

* No one else has shown any signs of developing the Ermine's eye infection.

Here is our new home, safe and sound and clean and warm (but not too warm!) and with lots of nummy food and comfy sleeping places:

Here is the Ermine's eye ointment:

Here is Christie snuggling the Orca.  The Orca seems to be the one who settles into snuggles the most.  She is sort of floppy and doesn't mew much. 

Here is a cute little close-up of the Orca!  Look at those long whiskers and the cute little white line across her nose!

The little Orca cuddling into Christie's neck (oh, and yes Christie IS wearing a new dress!  I'm sure she'd be glad to know you noticed!)

 Awwww . . . very sweet!  Look how teensy the baby is!

Here is the Skunk - her eyes are opening up slowly.  The one you see on the left is open almost all the way, but the one on the right is open close to her nose and still squinted shut towards her ear.  She's adorable and seems to be spunky and curious.

Another note from Christie: My neighbors Chris & Tia have let me know that they would like to find a home for the Mama cat of their kittens.  She is lovely and long-haired and friendly and playful and young, and they would adopt her themselves, but they have five dogs, and according to Chris, "one of the dogs is a jerk".  Ha!  If anyone is interested in a grown-up, but still young and spritely fuzzy girl who won't be quite as troublesome as a brand-spanking new kitten, she could be your new family member!  I would snap her up if we had an opening in our family at the moment. Oh!  And she only has HALF a tail!  I think she's delicious.

Ermine

Note from Christie: Oh no!  The Ermine has an eye infection of some sort.  Yesterday I noticed that his (her - I found out at the vet today!) eyes had gooey stuff on them and I thought at first that milk had dripped on her face and dried.  Then I looked closer and noticed that the gooey stuff was in her eyes and coming out of the eyes themselves.  Poor little Ermine! 

 

I called the vet this morning and I'm taking her in today at 11:15 AM.  I don't want to take in just her because she'll be away from Juvy, but I don't want to traumatize EVERYone in the family by taking them all to the vet.  No one else shows any symptoms of the same problem.

I'm a little scared because they don't even like to be away from Juvy for a whole minute, and this will be at least 45 minutes to get there and home.  She'll tire her little larynx out with mewing!

Will keep you all posted . . .

Update: The vet visit was successful!

Before I left, I covered the guest bathroom floor with puppy pads, washed and filled and brought in the tiny kitten litter box we used for kittens in the past, prepared new food and water, and picked up Juvy's box (with Juvy & kittens inside!) and put it in there. Juvy popped out when the box landed and looked around (purring super extra loud - probably the scared kind of purr) and got some snuggles from me, then went back in the box.  I petted her for a while and then grabbed two kittens and skedaddled before she heard them howling.

I took along the Bear (the biggest and strongest of the babies) so the Ermine would have someone to snuggle with. They didn't actually howl as much as I thought. They mewed loudly for a little while (mostly the Bear), then got tired out and went to sleep. Then woke up and mewed, then went back to sleep. If I kept my hand on them, they didn't mew and they cuddled into it and slept.  

Everyone at the vet's office oohed and aahed and drooled about how cute they are and how they are sturdy and strong and soft and fluffy and advanced for their age (just nine days old!) The Ermine weighs 8.45 ounces! The vet had to pop open the Ermine's eyes because they were crusted shut (ew), and when she did, greeny-yellow pus came bursting out. Poor kitten! The vet flushed out the pus (the poor Ermine screeched and tried to rub her eyes with her little paws) and then put an antibiotic ointment into her eyes. We are supposed to put the ointment in three times per day. 

It's slightly possible other kittens might get the infection from the Ermine, in which case, we can use the same ointment and we can get refills if we need to. If any of them starts sneezing or having diarrhea, we are supposed to take them in to the vet because that means they have an infection that requires oral antibiotics, as well.

We will be keeping them inside because they are vulnerable to many things outside, and the vet mentioned that the infected eyes could get herpes in them. We knew inside was best (and we'll be expecting that everyone who adopts one of these kittens keeps it indoors all the time) but we didn't want to traumatize Juvy right before or right after she had given birth, AND we were a little concerned that if she has a communicable disease, she might pass it to our three indoor cats.  The vet said that Juvy isn't a threat to our cats even if she has FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus - kitty AIDS) or feline leukemia as long as she doesn't share their litter box, water bowl, or food, and if they don't bite each other. We should wash our hands after touching Juvy, but we don't have to change our clothes.  By the way, neither of those virii are communicable to humans or other animals.

I made an vet appointment for Juvy for Saturday morning to test for FIV and leukemia (it will cost around $80 and results come back in 10 minutes), so then at least we know, and the kittens' families will know if their kittens are at risk for either of those two things (vaccinations are available, but not when the kittens are this young). So from now on we're planning to keep everyone inside in the guest bathroom until the kittens go to their new homes (healthy, safe, and disease-free!) then make sure Juvy is spayed and vaccinated and all that good stuff.

P.S. Ermine is a girl, Bear is a boy. Now that I know, I can probably tell what sexes the rest of them are by comparing, but I'm going to leave the kittens alone today and just focus on giving Juvy lots of love as she adapts to her new surroundings.  I think she's happy inside - she's been trying to sneak in when I opened or closed the sliding glass door, and when I'm in the bathroom with her, she just wants to sit on my lap or be right by me.  I love her to pieces!

Another Batch! + More Videos

Christie just chatted with her neighbors, Tia & Chris, and they are heroes for their work in our neighborhood helping homeless animals.  Thank you, Chris & Tia!  They are fostering 3 kittens right now that are looking for homes.  They sent some photos so I could post them, since most of my kittens are already spoken for.

This fluffy treat is orange, white, and black!

 And this confection is black and gray and white.

 This little guy (girl?) is mostly black.  They're all tasty, every single one!

 Here they are with their Mama.  She is gorgeous and Christie would snap her up in a heartbeat if the house weren't already full of felines!

And here are some videos of each of my kittens today.  They get cuter every day!
Today Christie got tiny videos of each kitten.  Here's the Ermine!

Orca, Otter, & Bear (in that order!):

The Orca being cute all upside-down!

Otter again!

And the sweet little Skunk!

And just because Christie thinks I'm beautiful, we present . . . Juvy!

Hope you have a GREAT Friday!  Meow!

Eyes Slightly Open

One kitten has slightly opened eyes today!  And everyone's umbilical cords have fallen off now. 

And Christie is finally able to identify all five kittens and tell them apart from one another.  This has come about because the kittens are doing a little bit more than just eating and sleeping and because Christie has had more days to watch them.  She has given them temporary descriptive names in order to be able to talk about them all.

The Skunk is mostly black with a white tummy, white paws, and a white stripe on his (her?) head.  So far, the Skunk has been in the middle of most of the arguments in the home!

The Bear is mostly black with a white splotch on his (her?) belly.  This kitten has a very cute round face and is fluffier than the others.

The Otter is all black and is very shiny and pretty. 

The Orca is mostly black, but with a white tummy, white paws, and a white chin.

The Ermine is mostly black with white tummy, white paws, and a partially white chin.  His (her?) chin is more white on his left-hand side than on the right (so if we're looking at him, there's more white on the right chin than the left).

 

Eventually, Christie will be able to get video and pictures of each kitten individually, so you can get to know them, but they are still too little to pick up and hold much.

But here are some ADORABLE pictures of them!

Christie adds: I believe this to be the Otter, but it may also be the Bear (I can't tell if the belly is white or if the face is extra round from this angle!)  Either way, I WANT TO SNUGGLE THIS KITTEN!

Here's how it looks when everyone is all lined up in a row.  The Bear on the far left is too sleepy to eat!

What a soft and fluffy way to sleep!

The kitten on the right is the Ermine, but Christie can't tell from this angle who the other one is.  They are like candy they're so nummy.

 Me and the Orca snuggling

I love to cuddle my kittens.

The Orca looks grey because of the sunshine.  I am in the shade, so I look very black (which I am!)  The kitten was on his way somewhere, but fell alseep on the way!

 The Bear zonked out.  Look at the teeny little pudgy tummy!  And they're super floppy when they're asleep. 

Christie has just informed me that I should refer to all the kittens as "he" until we find out more information about their genders because she thinks four out of five kittens are male.  It's hard to tell, since they're all quite small and she doesn't get a great look at the important areas, but we'll keep you informed!

Micro-Weasels

Greg called the kittens "micro-weasels" today!  (We call our cats weasels sometimes because they're sneaky and fuzzy.)  They definitely are MICRO!

A number of extra cute little videos today!
Here are some little bums:

Christie can now identify three kittens for sure (of course, as their Mama, I knew them all right away!)  One is all black and sleek (Christie calls this kitten the Otter).  One is all black and very fuzzy with a round owl face (the Bear).  One is a tuxedo cat (apparently there's a huge fan club for black & white cats!) with a white strip on the forehead (the Skunk).  Then there are two other tuxedo cats that Christie can't tell apart quite yet.  She's a little slow, but she's getting to know them better as time goes by.

Tiniest, cutest face ever!  By the way, the trickling you hear in the background is our backyard fountain.

The Skunk being cute. 

At ground level (this is either the Otter or the Bear - it's hard to tell when they're all in a pile! - being adorable and sleepy):

Hope you're enjoying the kittens as much as I am!

the Lovecats!

(That's the title of a song by the Cure, in case you didn't know it - and it seemed especially appropriate, since kittens are so loveable!)

It's impossible to take pictures or video of the kittens and not get adorableness!!!

And a close up of that kitten . . .

And now for a little video of the kittens getting used to being held by a human (Christie):

They keep getting cuter every single day!

The Ultimate Passover: Resurrection Sunday!

My kittens were born the night of the full moon (the night of Friday into Saturday). Friday was called Good Friday, when Jesus died to pay for the sins of the whole world. Their birthday is actually Saturday, which was Passover. Passover is the time in the history of the Jewish people when God provided protection for His people through the blood of an innocent lamb they smeared on their doors. Christ's followers believe that the Passover was not only celebrating what God did for His people with the blood of the lamb, but it looked forward, celebrating how Jesus (the innocent lamb) died provided the ultimate "pass-over" - if we choose Him, God will never punish us for our sins because Jesus already paid for them. We are passed over.

Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, is a time that originally celebrated NEW LIFE (baby animals, eggs, rabbits) and the return of fertility to the earth after the hard, cold winter. We still celebrate Easter with baby animals, eggs, and rabbits because they are symbols of the NEW LIFE we have when we choose to follow Jesus. The old us is gone, the new us has been born through what Jesus did!

My kittens were born at the apex of these holy days!

First Photos

It got light enough in the kitten box for Christie to get some photos of my babies this afternoon. They are strong enough to fight for the best spots for milk, and then they all get tired out at the same time and all sleep in a little line.

If you look carefully at this first photo (if you click on it, it will expand in size), you can see this kitten's tongue sticking out!

Look at how the babies sleep with their arms around each other!

This baby has a little thin white line down his (? - could also be a girl!) forehead.

So far, it looks as if there are two solid black kittens (one is puffier than the other), and three kittens with white paws and white tummy. This one with the skunk stripe also has white paws and white tummy. More details about the individuality of the kittens will emerge as they develop over the coming days and weeks.

P.S. The kittens are not striped. The stripes in the photos are from the dappled sunlight coming into our box through the blanket that's covering the opening.

First Video of KITTENS

I know you will be excited to see some video of the kittens!

Here is a link about kitten development from Animal Planet. Of course, they must be biased because none of the kittens in their photos are BLACK!!! (The best kittens are from "the dark side".)

And here's a video showing some tiny kitten claws and noses, as well as an umbilical cord (still attached to the kitten!)


I hope you're as enthralled with my kittens as I am!

Hi, I'm Juvy!

My name is Juvy, and this morning I had five kittens! I am about a year old, so I'm really quite young to have kittens, but sometimes unexpected kittens happen.

About three months ago, I started sleeping in a box in the front yard of Christie and Greg's house, but I was still really really scared of people. About one month ago, Christie noticed that my belly was getting bigger, and she figured out that kittens were going to be born. She moved the box into the backyard on the patio to keep me safe, and she made lots of little boxes that might be good places for the kittens to be born. She kept working hard to be my friend, too. First, she talked nicely to me while standing far away, then she got closer and closer, and finally I decided it would be okay to let her pet me. During the last couple of weeks, I've been tired and my tummy has been very big, and all I really have wanted to do is to have Christie snuggle me and rub my belly.

Here is a picture of me sleeping:

Here is a video of me getting cuddles from Christie:

I will tell you more about the kittens in the next post! They are pretty adorable!