OUR CATTERY BLOG - 2013
In Our Cattery Blog at Victorian Gardens Cattery, you will find us chatting about all the current activity happening at our Cattery, including pregnancies, births, babies and their development, new YouTube videos, new pictures, etc. We try to blog on a very regular basis throughout our kitten season. Please join us to find out all the exciting activity going on in our very busy Cattery.
SCARED ME TO DEATH
DECEMBER 31, 2013
Well, Hydrangea scared me to death today. I was working at my desk and went to throw some paper away in the trash by my desk. I got an absolute shock when I found my newly emptied trash container full of something. That something just happened to be my darling Hydrangea squeezed down in it, taking a kitten nap. You see her main body fur matched the trash container. She had heard something in the wall early today near the desk and wanted to be as close as she could to the sound so she could pounce when she needed to. She loves playing with bugs and any small living creature she can find. So our Little Miss Muffet was at it again. She, and her brother Miracle, turn 8 months old on Saturday, January 4, 2014. Her first CFA show date will be at the beginning of February 2014. We can't wait to show off this beauty.
DECEMBER 31, 2013
Well, Hydrangea scared me to death today. I was working at my desk and went to throw some paper away in the trash by my desk. I got an absolute shock when I found my newly emptied trash container full of something. That something just happened to be my darling Hydrangea squeezed down in it, taking a kitten nap. You see her main body fur matched the trash container. She had heard something in the wall early today near the desk and wanted to be as close as she could to the sound so she could pounce when she needed to. She loves playing with bugs and any small living creature she can find. So our Little Miss Muffet was at it again. She, and her brother Miracle, turn 8 months old on Saturday, January 4, 2014. Her first CFA show date will be at the beginning of February 2014. We can't wait to show off this beauty.
Nathaniel and Avery
December 28, 2013
We are behind in our sharing of adoptive families photos. Here is a cute picture from September of Nathaniel, a doll face Flame Point Himalayan from Primrose and Willie's first litter. Nathaniel will be 14 months old on New Years Eve. He is held by his companion, Avery. They live in Texas. From what I hear from their mother, Heather, Avery and Nathaniel are the best of buddies. Nathaniel spends most of his time with Avery.
December 28, 2013
We are behind in our sharing of adoptive families photos. Here is a cute picture from September of Nathaniel, a doll face Flame Point Himalayan from Primrose and Willie's first litter. Nathaniel will be 14 months old on New Years Eve. He is held by his companion, Avery. They live in Texas. From what I hear from their mother, Heather, Avery and Nathaniel are the best of buddies. Nathaniel spends most of his time with Avery.
Nathaniel, a Flame Point Himalayan and his companion,
Avery
MERRY CHRISTMAS
FROM
NICKY AND THE TRUMMERS
AND
THE RUSSO'S FABULOUS FLAME BROTHERS
DECEMBER 25, 2013
MERRY CHRISTMAS
FROM
VICTORIAN GARDENS CATTERY
December 24, 2013
VICTORIANGDN Just In The Nick-Of-Time
Kitten Nail Trimming
by Victoria and Terry Trummer
(Nicky's Parents)
November 29, 2013
Kitten Nail Trimming
by Victoria and Terry Trummer
(Nicky's Parents)
November 29, 2013
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
FROM
VICTORIAN GARDENS CATTERY
Thanksgiving Photo Shoots
November 28, 2013
Everyone, from the oldest to the youngest at Victorian Garden's Cattery wants to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving. We have been blessed this year and are grateful for the miracle births of Peony's beautiful babies. They have provided a beautiful photo shoot below. We also did one of Diamond since her hair is slowly growing out since her July shave. Primrose, just had to be a prima donna and actually wanted her picture taken. Unfortunately, we tried to get Pansy to cooperate but she is just to camera shy. There are total of over 60 photos combined in these individual photo shoots. Hope you enjoy them. Peony sure produced some lookers. Hope you all are blessed this season of the year as we have been.
The Flame Brothers
Dave Russo Photography
November 23, 2013
In the last month and a half, Dave and Lila have been photographing their two boys, Jonah (Extreme Face Flame Point Himalayan) and Toshi (formerly Solomon, a Doll Face Flame Point Himalayan. According to Lila, these two are inseparable. Both are Willie's sons. Jonah is Peony's baby and Toshi (Solomon) is Primrose's baby. We thank Dave and Lila for the wonderful glimpse into their lives. Dave and Lila have been gracious enough to allow us to see the full photo shoots at:
http://lilaf.smugmug.com/Category/Flame-Brothers
http://lilaf.smugmug.com/Category/Table-Cats-Sep-2013
You can go to these links to "like" or leave a comment on a particular photo.
Thanks Lila and Dave!
Cat Calendar Contest
Vote for Nicky on Facebook
November 10, 2013
Just In The Nick-Of-Time, 6 Month Old Seal Point Himalayan in his US Navy Sailor collar and hat.
Calling all friends, supporters, adoptive parents and our Wait List. Please help our Just In The Nick-Of-Time, a loving 6 month old Seal Point Himalayan kitten WIN the calendar contest sponsored by the Kansas City Cat Clinic. Please "Like" his picture at the Facebook page listed below. Per Vicky and Terry, his parents, " The KC Cat Clinic is having a cat calendar contest. You vote for your favorite cat---CAT, AS IN NICK T--on the KC Cat Clinic Facebook page. There is a telethon on TV in Kansas city and proceeds go to the Humane Society here. All proceeds for the calendar sales are presented at the telethon by Dr. Sundahl. They pick 13 cats one for each month and a cover cat for their calendar. Terry sent a picture of Nick T ( this is what they call him), in his sailor costume looking mean. It is hysterical. It's the best picture of all. The contest goes to midnight on the 15th. Please vote for our Nick!!!!" So everyone, please share this throughout Facebook and lets see if we can have our Nicky win! Thanks. Susan
PLEASE GO TO THIS FACEBOOK PAGE TO VOTE - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151939110279088&set=a.10151939056444088.1073741829.173803269087&&theater
PLEASE GO TO THIS FACEBOOK PAGE TO VOTE - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151939110279088&set=a.10151939056444088.1073741829.173803269087&&theater
MAXWELL JOEL
THE BOINKS RETRIEVER
November 7, 2013
Watch Maxwell Joel, our six month old Black Persian kitten fetch and retrieve his favorite toy, the Boinks. His adoptive parents have done a great job of training him.
Kitten Weights
October 31, 2013
Jonah, Flame Point HImalayan
This is a big week for some of our Adoptive Parents of Pansy and Peony's litters this year. Three of the kittens had their neuter and spay surgeries in the last two days. Their parents have just turned in their weigh in amounts from the Vets. We are so relieved that these three just breezed through their surgeries. Of course, they had excellent Vets to thank for that. They are all recuperating in their forever homes as I write this. Of course, I had to share the picture I just got in of Jonah in his pumpkin hat at the Mayfair Vet Hospital today. This was taken while he was still in Recovery and not yet come to from his neuter surgery. It appears that the girls at the hospital fell for him completely. How could you not? Just look at that angel face. Camellia and Hyacinth had their spay surgeries yesterday. Kathy brought them home this morning and said they were very loving. I am sure they are glad to be home.
Here is a fun thing I am planning on doing on a more regular basis ... listing weigh in amounts. Willie is producing such big babies that it will be fun to try to keep up with their weights. Nicky Jared's weight comes to me on a weekly basis. As you can see, he is going to be a very big boy. On the aside, Nicky is going to his next CFA cat show the weekend of Thanksgiving. His hair is starting to pop out so we hope he does great at the show.
Pansy and Willie's Litter #2 Born April 24, 2013 (6 Months Old)
Nicky Jared: 9.3 lbs (11/3)
Camellia: 7.1 lbs
Hyacinth: 6.71 lbs
Rose: 6.65 lbs
Maxwell Joel: 7.2 lbs (10/11)
Peony and Willie's Litter Born May 4, 2013 (5 1/2 Months Old) - The Miracle Babies
Miracle: 7.6 lbs (He loves to eat!)
Jonah: 7.28 lbs
Hydrangea: 5.71 lbs (Petite like her mom use to be)
Here is a fun thing I am planning on doing on a more regular basis ... listing weigh in amounts. Willie is producing such big babies that it will be fun to try to keep up with their weights. Nicky Jared's weight comes to me on a weekly basis. As you can see, he is going to be a very big boy. On the aside, Nicky is going to his next CFA cat show the weekend of Thanksgiving. His hair is starting to pop out so we hope he does great at the show.
Pansy and Willie's Litter #2 Born April 24, 2013 (6 Months Old)
Nicky Jared: 9.3 lbs (11/3)
Camellia: 7.1 lbs
Hyacinth: 6.71 lbs
Rose: 6.65 lbs
Maxwell Joel: 7.2 lbs (10/11)
Peony and Willie's Litter Born May 4, 2013 (5 1/2 Months Old) - The Miracle Babies
Miracle: 7.6 lbs (He loves to eat!)
Jonah: 7.28 lbs
Hydrangea: 5.71 lbs (Petite like her mom use to be)
6 YEAR PERSIAN AND HIMALAYAN
HCM HEALTH GUARANTEE
October 12, 2013
As of October 12, 2013, Victorian Gardens Cattery is very pleased to be the first known Persian and Himalayan Cattery in the world to offer a 6 Year HCM Health Guarantee on all its new kitten and cat contracts. We are so confident in our lines and in our regular HCM Ultra Scanned negative breeders, we are willing to offer this guarantee. For those who have had a loss of their companion to this horrible disease, you will be the first to appreciate how truly reassuring this guarantee is. Details of the 6 Year HCM Health Guarantee will be included on all new kitten and cat contracts. For details or questions about the health guarantee, please contact us.
HCM HEALTH GUARANTEE
October 12, 2013
As of October 12, 2013, Victorian Gardens Cattery is very pleased to be the first known Persian and Himalayan Cattery in the world to offer a 6 Year HCM Health Guarantee on all its new kitten and cat contracts. We are so confident in our lines and in our regular HCM Ultra Scanned negative breeders, we are willing to offer this guarantee. For those who have had a loss of their companion to this horrible disease, you will be the first to appreciate how truly reassuring this guarantee is. Details of the 6 Year HCM Health Guarantee will be included on all new kitten and cat contracts. For details or questions about the health guarantee, please contact us.
VICTORIANGDN'S IN THE NICK-OF-TIME
Seal Point Himalayan
Sixth Best Kitten in Long Hair Kitten Finals - Judge C. Dineson
September 26, 2013
CFA Twin Cities Cat Fanciers Show
Crystal, Minnesota
On Saturday, September 26, 2013, our VICTORIANGDN'S IN THE NICK-OF TIME was shown for the first time in the Kitten Class at the CFA Twin Cities Cat Fanciers Show in Crystal, Minnesota. He was shown by his parents, Terry and Victoria Trummer. We want to thank them for all the love and care they pour into Nicky. We are so proud of our boy and his parents. Victoria did an excellent job of getting him all groomed up months before the show. We want to thank Judge C. Dineson for her kind comments on Nicky. Per Victoria Trummer, "Judge Dineson was explaining to the crowd what she liked about him. His nice big eyes, nice big sturdy body, and well proportioned face." He even went to his first final in Ring 4 - Judge C. Dineson. He won 6th Best Kitten in this Long Hair Kitten Final. You have to remember that Nicky just turned 5 months old, four days before the show. Just look at how large he is already. He got spooked in Ring 2 and 3 with the noises and the hissing which got him hissing. Victoria was shocked. She said it was the first time she ever heard him hiss. Their cage station was right next to the loud speakers and they were right next to a cage with a hissing cat. Candy, a blue point Himalayan, was his tough competition. Nicky should feel more comfortable at his next show. Congratulations Nicky and the Trummers!
Seal Point Himalayan
Sixth Best Kitten in Long Hair Kitten Finals - Judge C. Dineson
September 26, 2013
CFA Twin Cities Cat Fanciers Show
Crystal, Minnesota
On Saturday, September 26, 2013, our VICTORIANGDN'S IN THE NICK-OF TIME was shown for the first time in the Kitten Class at the CFA Twin Cities Cat Fanciers Show in Crystal, Minnesota. He was shown by his parents, Terry and Victoria Trummer. We want to thank them for all the love and care they pour into Nicky. We are so proud of our boy and his parents. Victoria did an excellent job of getting him all groomed up months before the show. We want to thank Judge C. Dineson for her kind comments on Nicky. Per Victoria Trummer, "Judge Dineson was explaining to the crowd what she liked about him. His nice big eyes, nice big sturdy body, and well proportioned face." He even went to his first final in Ring 4 - Judge C. Dineson. He won 6th Best Kitten in this Long Hair Kitten Final. You have to remember that Nicky just turned 5 months old, four days before the show. Just look at how large he is already. He got spooked in Ring 2 and 3 with the noises and the hissing which got him hissing. Victoria was shocked. She said it was the first time she ever heard him hiss. Their cage station was right next to the loud speakers and they were right next to a cage with a hissing cat. Candy, a blue point Himalayan, was his tough competition. Nicky should feel more comfortable at his next show. Congratulations Nicky and the Trummers!
Cattery Updates
October 8, 2013
It has been a while since we have provided Cattery updates. On September 27, 2013 in the early morning, Pansy started labor. She was fine till the contractions started hard. The baby was so large that it was extremely painful for Pansy. She lost the only baby she had due to trauma during birthing. He was a gorgeous Red Persian male extreme face. He was big, solid and perfect in every way. It is very hard being a breeder at times. I will never forget that precious face, those beautiful large paws and wide shoulders. I definitely could see Willie's bone structure in this fellow. Willie produces big babies and from now on Pansy will be scheduled for C-Sections in order to prevent damage to the babies and to help her through the process. Pansy is doing fine now though she cried for several days looking for her baby. She put on a lot of weight during her pregnancy. She is now being very motherly to all the kittens acting like they are her own. It has helped her emotionally heal. So far, Diamond and Primrose are not in heat. When they finally go into heat, I will bred them to Willie. If any one has any questions, please contact me.
October 8, 2013
It has been a while since we have provided Cattery updates. On September 27, 2013 in the early morning, Pansy started labor. She was fine till the contractions started hard. The baby was so large that it was extremely painful for Pansy. She lost the only baby she had due to trauma during birthing. He was a gorgeous Red Persian male extreme face. He was big, solid and perfect in every way. It is very hard being a breeder at times. I will never forget that precious face, those beautiful large paws and wide shoulders. I definitely could see Willie's bone structure in this fellow. Willie produces big babies and from now on Pansy will be scheduled for C-Sections in order to prevent damage to the babies and to help her through the process. Pansy is doing fine now though she cried for several days looking for her baby. She put on a lot of weight during her pregnancy. She is now being very motherly to all the kittens acting like they are her own. It has helped her emotionally heal. So far, Diamond and Primrose are not in heat. When they finally go into heat, I will bred them to Willie. If any one has any questions, please contact me.
Pansy Update
September 26, 2013
Pansy is now on Day 68 of her pregnancy. Someone needs to inform her that she is late on delivery. She is cool as a cucumber. She will go over to her birthing supplies, sniff around, use her hand to rearrange items and then go jump on the bed and take a nap. It is like she wants to make sure everything is in order before she takes her nap. Her appetite today has been huge. Someone also needs to tell her it is usual for a queen to stop eating right before delivery. If she has not delivered by tomorrow at noon, we are going to the Vet for an ultrasound. We don't want any problems over the weekend. Maybe she will surprise us in the middle of the night tonight. Let us all hope.
September 26, 2013
Pansy is now on Day 68 of her pregnancy. Someone needs to inform her that she is late on delivery. She is cool as a cucumber. She will go over to her birthing supplies, sniff around, use her hand to rearrange items and then go jump on the bed and take a nap. It is like she wants to make sure everything is in order before she takes her nap. Her appetite today has been huge. Someone also needs to tell her it is usual for a queen to stop eating right before delivery. If she has not delivered by tomorrow at noon, we are going to the Vet for an ultrasound. We don't want any problems over the weekend. Maybe she will surprise us in the middle of the night tonight. Let us all hope.
.The Loving Sisters
Hyacinth and Camellia Updates
September 22, 1013
Kathy has recently provided us with new pictures of Hyacinth, an extreme faced Seal Point Himalayan with her sister, Camellia, a doll face Seal Point Himalayan. Kathy recently bought a crock pot to cook up the girls some homemade cooked wet food. We are proud of Kathy for providing the very best for her sweet girls. She says that Hyacinth is very laid back with a lapcat personality. Camellia is the on the go girl, just like her brother, Maxwell Joel. The pictures are date stamped. Thank you Kathy for the great updates.
September 20, 2013: "The girls are really growing...Hyacinth's hair is coming out more kind of poofy and the eyes ....you can see blue developing. They love wet food so I try to give them wet food at least once a day or every other day,. I'm partial but what beautiful kitty's. They love the home cooked cat food even Camellia. She meows for it in a very so voice."
September 17, 2013: "Hyacinths hair is now coming out more around here neck. Babies are so spoiled they just had poached salmon tonight."
September 7, 2013: "Hyacinth looks like she's going to be stocky. Camellia right now looks like she might be long in length. They are changing weekly."
Hyacinth and Camellia Updates
September 22, 1013
Kathy has recently provided us with new pictures of Hyacinth, an extreme faced Seal Point Himalayan with her sister, Camellia, a doll face Seal Point Himalayan. Kathy recently bought a crock pot to cook up the girls some homemade cooked wet food. We are proud of Kathy for providing the very best for her sweet girls. She says that Hyacinth is very laid back with a lapcat personality. Camellia is the on the go girl, just like her brother, Maxwell Joel. The pictures are date stamped. Thank you Kathy for the great updates.
September 20, 2013: "The girls are really growing...Hyacinth's hair is coming out more kind of poofy and the eyes ....you can see blue developing. They love wet food so I try to give them wet food at least once a day or every other day,. I'm partial but what beautiful kitty's. They love the home cooked cat food even Camellia. She meows for it in a very so voice."
September 17, 2013: "Hyacinths hair is now coming out more around here neck. Babies are so spoiled they just had poached salmon tonight."
September 7, 2013: "Hyacinth looks like she's going to be stocky. Camellia right now looks like she might be long in length. They are changing weekly."
The Undeniable Duo
A Photo Gallery of Jonah and Toshi
September 17, 2013
These two kittens are inseparable. Jonah is 4 months old and just arrived about a month ago at his new home with Dave and Lila, our photographer. Toshi has stuck like glue to Jonah's side every since. Toshi and Jonah have even appeared on Brawny Cats Facebook page. Here are a few of Lila's comments from the past month:
August 28, 2013: "Andrew from Brawnycat asked for some Jonah pictures and we got these just last night! He is doing great. His big brother is still gnawing his head, but not so much. Jonah is happy all the time and still talking constantly. Tomorrow, he goes for his vet check. It's been quite the week, work-wise, and many's the time I wanted to write after talking to you to let you now how much fun everybody is having. We could never have imagined how easy Jonah's transition would be."
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=196280017198570&set=a.152179294941976.1073741828.151740438319195&&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=208000462693192&set=a.152179294941976.1073741828.151740438319195&&theater
August 31, 2013: "Remember that most of the time they're biting and kicking each other! They roughhouse constantly. This morning, they jumped around with plastic strips pulled off a new container of Oxyclean so they eventually crashed and burned.It loses its charm when the roughhousing is on the bed and we’re trying to sleep! Toshi wallows over Jonah and pins him down to gnaw on his head. Jonah holds him back with his hind legs and smacks at Toshi’s head with his front legs. The just go, go, go – and Jonah flings himself at Toshi for more. They both squeal and make awful noises like someone is getting killed! "
A Photo Gallery of Jonah and Toshi
September 17, 2013
These two kittens are inseparable. Jonah is 4 months old and just arrived about a month ago at his new home with Dave and Lila, our photographer. Toshi has stuck like glue to Jonah's side every since. Toshi and Jonah have even appeared on Brawny Cats Facebook page. Here are a few of Lila's comments from the past month:
August 28, 2013: "Andrew from Brawnycat asked for some Jonah pictures and we got these just last night! He is doing great. His big brother is still gnawing his head, but not so much. Jonah is happy all the time and still talking constantly. Tomorrow, he goes for his vet check. It's been quite the week, work-wise, and many's the time I wanted to write after talking to you to let you now how much fun everybody is having. We could never have imagined how easy Jonah's transition would be."
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=196280017198570&set=a.152179294941976.1073741828.151740438319195&&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=208000462693192&set=a.152179294941976.1073741828.151740438319195&&theater
August 31, 2013: "Remember that most of the time they're biting and kicking each other! They roughhouse constantly. This morning, they jumped around with plastic strips pulled off a new container of Oxyclean so they eventually crashed and burned.It loses its charm when the roughhousing is on the bed and we’re trying to sleep! Toshi wallows over Jonah and pins him down to gnaw on his head. Jonah holds him back with his hind legs and smacks at Toshi’s head with his front legs. The just go, go, go – and Jonah flings himself at Toshi for more. They both squeal and make awful noises like someone is getting killed! "
THE DIARY OF A SHOW KITTEN
VICTORIANGDN'S IN THE NICK-OF-TIME
Nicholas Jared Update
September 16, 2013
Well Nicky, an almost 5 month old Seal Point Himalayan, is getting ready for his first CFA kitten show on September 28, 2013. He now faces a bath each week. His mom shampoos him three times with different shampoos. She even has a professional groomers dryer to fast dry hismassive coat out. We can't wait to see pictures from the show. His newest stroller is on the way says his mother, Victoria. She provided him with a play pen which is now one of his toys. It is actually for the hotel room the night before the show so he doesn't have to step on the carpet. Here are some updates on NIcky.
September 15, 2013: "Nick has his routine at night. I can carry him into the bedroom and put him on the bed. He jumps off and is under to try and catch T's feet. He gets back up after the lights are out. He sleeps in between the headboard and my pillow. He was very lovey this weekend. He likes it when it is just us two. Then he's my baby. We layed on the couch all day together. I have an ear ache from allergies. I decided to take a day off. I am always running of doing something. He would let me carry him around all day if I could. He is starting to talk just to be talking to me. He could be downstairs playing and he calls me to come and look at him. He is like a child. I waited to go to Petsmart until today, so the bodyguard was with us. (Terry) Nick was a little nervous at first but then calmed down and enjoyed himself. He likes the car ride. Everyone in the store made over him. Lots of young girls work there and were in the store. I didn't have the heart to tell them they couldn't pet him. But it is bath time today anyway. He love the attention. I did the ringside grooming today. I don't think he looks any different. Our puff ball. His new thing is, and he is quite proud of himself is climbing on the kitchen counter from jumping up on the high chairs at the kitchen bar, up on the bar, and onto the counter and in the sink--go figure. This is where he gets bathed. He hasn't found Fish yet. Thank goodness."
September 14, 2013: "T went to play golf with his Navy buddies. It's just me and N. We cuddled this morning and we discussed the show. He listens well for a almost 5 month old. We have a Wii for exercise and games. It also weighs you and your pets and keeps track of BMI, wt., and what exercise you have done. We weighed this morning and he gained .2oz. The wii says he is 6.8lbs. We weigh in every weekend. He looks bigger. What a strong handsome boy he is. He is already bigger than Petunia and Blossom both already. His face is changing getting darker, makes his eyes look bigger , more defined mustache, getting fluffier and lots of heavy muscles. He is just a baby. I wish you could see him... Well all for now....I am taking the Nick to Petco for an outing to see the mice and parakeets. Vicki "
August 31, 2013: "Big Foot finds the way to escape ......He's a crazy nut! We sent this one back."
August 29, 2013: "We thought Nick looked like he was getting taller and heavier overnight so we weighed Terry while holding him----his vet visit was on the 19th and he was 5lbs 10oz, they use a baby scale---we think that he is 6lbs 8oz now WOW!!!."
August 27- 28, 2013: "Nick put on a show last weekend on the tree. We should have named him Tarzan (which kind of cute). He was hanging from the top shelf, on the outside by one paw and staring at us as we both gasp. As soon as we both jump up he crawls up top and down the hole in the top shelf to the second level, jumps to the couch and is off.
We got the stroller yesterday. I took the main part out of the box and laid it on the floor. You know who was already crawling in it. It wasn't unfolded yet but he fit in. We put it together, he jumps in, and then we see little paws coming out from under the front then the back. Then a whole arm and part of a head. We thought something wasn't put together. It appears that the floor of the stroller isn't attached to the front or back of the top and we can't figure out if there is a way to do it. The stroller floor, what they sit on is not attached to the bar that goes across the front and the bar that goes across the back. He is so funny. You should have seen that arm coming out of the bottom of the stroller. We haven't taken it apart yet to send back. I will try to get a picture of him doing it again. You will laugh.
He is so full of energy. He has decided to sleep sideways in the bed in the "Jared style" in the picture you took on the camping trip. His back feet up in the air, his body stretched out, and his head and front legs turned on their side. He has his feet on Terry as if to say--You take up to much room, move over. His front paws on me to say, I love my Mama, knead, knead. My brother Nick and I used to call kitty kneading when we were kids "tooey-toes". I love his name. I like the hyphens. Nick-of-Time, what a great name. The official "Show Cat". I tell all my patients all about him and they all want to see his picture. They think that this could be my calling. Maybe they know something that I don't. I am nervous about this all. I haven't tried to trim his ears yet on the tips. I watched a video on how to do it. I finally am relaxed when trimming his nails. He is so good. I made my second batch of cooked chicken thighs. This time I left it more shredded, instead of pureed. He had been fed before I started shredding and mixing but when he smelled the chicken he went nuts. Of course, we can't say no. He licked the bowl I mixed it in. He is getting taller, and leaner. His fur is coming in. I gave him, "The Elaborate Rinse"--as my brother calls it , Sunday. Degreasing with Dawn, and 3 different shampoos with ear cleaning, face washing and tooth brushing. Not a peep out of him. I put the dryer in the bedroom and dry him in bathroom. He is not crazy about that yet. He hides his face on my stomach. But the new dryer goes fast. He looks much lighter and much fluffier. "
August 22, 2013: "He is playful and doing his thing. All boy! He is thinking Oh yeah their gone, Oh yeah. Toys downstairs, food, litter box. Oh boy! Monday when I left he followed me out and wanted to come. He is great at entertaining himself.We practiced show cat tonight. We carry him around on my arm and walk around the house. He is good at this. We have a metal cage we put him in. He is not used to this yet. Take him out and put him on a table and do the judge thing. Tonight when we put him on the table he immediately went after the feather. He is full of energy. I can't imagine what he is going to do at the real shows."
August 21, 2013: "Cat Tent. Almost as fun as the cubes. Everything is getting larger. Isn't he a doll. That face and his cute nose. He has Willies profile. The girls at the vet were picking him up a holding him over their heads like you would a baby and kissing his face. Giving him treats. He loved it. I was looking at the stroller like yours yesterday. T rides a bike and can give him rides and I can stroll him. We are now officially June, Sugar Bear, and Honey Boo Boo. LOL "
August 18, 2013: "NEWS FLASH: 3 WEEKS AGO AT THE VET NICK WEIGHED 4.3----THIS WEEK---WAIT FOR IT 5.10. TA DA!!! He got two shots. He just laid on his side and didn't make a peep or even move. He was so good he got a catnip frog. What a cat!!!! "
VICTORIANGDN'S IN THE NICK-OF-TIME
Nicholas Jared Update
September 16, 2013
Well Nicky, an almost 5 month old Seal Point Himalayan, is getting ready for his first CFA kitten show on September 28, 2013. He now faces a bath each week. His mom shampoos him three times with different shampoos. She even has a professional groomers dryer to fast dry hismassive coat out. We can't wait to see pictures from the show. His newest stroller is on the way says his mother, Victoria. She provided him with a play pen which is now one of his toys. It is actually for the hotel room the night before the show so he doesn't have to step on the carpet. Here are some updates on NIcky.
September 15, 2013: "Nick has his routine at night. I can carry him into the bedroom and put him on the bed. He jumps off and is under to try and catch T's feet. He gets back up after the lights are out. He sleeps in between the headboard and my pillow. He was very lovey this weekend. He likes it when it is just us two. Then he's my baby. We layed on the couch all day together. I have an ear ache from allergies. I decided to take a day off. I am always running of doing something. He would let me carry him around all day if I could. He is starting to talk just to be talking to me. He could be downstairs playing and he calls me to come and look at him. He is like a child. I waited to go to Petsmart until today, so the bodyguard was with us. (Terry) Nick was a little nervous at first but then calmed down and enjoyed himself. He likes the car ride. Everyone in the store made over him. Lots of young girls work there and were in the store. I didn't have the heart to tell them they couldn't pet him. But it is bath time today anyway. He love the attention. I did the ringside grooming today. I don't think he looks any different. Our puff ball. His new thing is, and he is quite proud of himself is climbing on the kitchen counter from jumping up on the high chairs at the kitchen bar, up on the bar, and onto the counter and in the sink--go figure. This is where he gets bathed. He hasn't found Fish yet. Thank goodness."
September 14, 2013: "T went to play golf with his Navy buddies. It's just me and N. We cuddled this morning and we discussed the show. He listens well for a almost 5 month old. We have a Wii for exercise and games. It also weighs you and your pets and keeps track of BMI, wt., and what exercise you have done. We weighed this morning and he gained .2oz. The wii says he is 6.8lbs. We weigh in every weekend. He looks bigger. What a strong handsome boy he is. He is already bigger than Petunia and Blossom both already. His face is changing getting darker, makes his eyes look bigger , more defined mustache, getting fluffier and lots of heavy muscles. He is just a baby. I wish you could see him... Well all for now....I am taking the Nick to Petco for an outing to see the mice and parakeets. Vicki "
August 31, 2013: "Big Foot finds the way to escape ......He's a crazy nut! We sent this one back."
August 29, 2013: "We thought Nick looked like he was getting taller and heavier overnight so we weighed Terry while holding him----his vet visit was on the 19th and he was 5lbs 10oz, they use a baby scale---we think that he is 6lbs 8oz now WOW!!!."
August 27- 28, 2013: "Nick put on a show last weekend on the tree. We should have named him Tarzan (which kind of cute). He was hanging from the top shelf, on the outside by one paw and staring at us as we both gasp. As soon as we both jump up he crawls up top and down the hole in the top shelf to the second level, jumps to the couch and is off.
We got the stroller yesterday. I took the main part out of the box and laid it on the floor. You know who was already crawling in it. It wasn't unfolded yet but he fit in. We put it together, he jumps in, and then we see little paws coming out from under the front then the back. Then a whole arm and part of a head. We thought something wasn't put together. It appears that the floor of the stroller isn't attached to the front or back of the top and we can't figure out if there is a way to do it. The stroller floor, what they sit on is not attached to the bar that goes across the front and the bar that goes across the back. He is so funny. You should have seen that arm coming out of the bottom of the stroller. We haven't taken it apart yet to send back. I will try to get a picture of him doing it again. You will laugh.
He is so full of energy. He has decided to sleep sideways in the bed in the "Jared style" in the picture you took on the camping trip. His back feet up in the air, his body stretched out, and his head and front legs turned on their side. He has his feet on Terry as if to say--You take up to much room, move over. His front paws on me to say, I love my Mama, knead, knead. My brother Nick and I used to call kitty kneading when we were kids "tooey-toes". I love his name. I like the hyphens. Nick-of-Time, what a great name. The official "Show Cat". I tell all my patients all about him and they all want to see his picture. They think that this could be my calling. Maybe they know something that I don't. I am nervous about this all. I haven't tried to trim his ears yet on the tips. I watched a video on how to do it. I finally am relaxed when trimming his nails. He is so good. I made my second batch of cooked chicken thighs. This time I left it more shredded, instead of pureed. He had been fed before I started shredding and mixing but when he smelled the chicken he went nuts. Of course, we can't say no. He licked the bowl I mixed it in. He is getting taller, and leaner. His fur is coming in. I gave him, "The Elaborate Rinse"--as my brother calls it , Sunday. Degreasing with Dawn, and 3 different shampoos with ear cleaning, face washing and tooth brushing. Not a peep out of him. I put the dryer in the bedroom and dry him in bathroom. He is not crazy about that yet. He hides his face on my stomach. But the new dryer goes fast. He looks much lighter and much fluffier. "
August 22, 2013: "He is playful and doing his thing. All boy! He is thinking Oh yeah their gone, Oh yeah. Toys downstairs, food, litter box. Oh boy! Monday when I left he followed me out and wanted to come. He is great at entertaining himself.We practiced show cat tonight. We carry him around on my arm and walk around the house. He is good at this. We have a metal cage we put him in. He is not used to this yet. Take him out and put him on a table and do the judge thing. Tonight when we put him on the table he immediately went after the feather. He is full of energy. I can't imagine what he is going to do at the real shows."
August 21, 2013: "Cat Tent. Almost as fun as the cubes. Everything is getting larger. Isn't he a doll. That face and his cute nose. He has Willies profile. The girls at the vet were picking him up a holding him over their heads like you would a baby and kissing his face. Giving him treats. He loved it. I was looking at the stroller like yours yesterday. T rides a bike and can give him rides and I can stroll him. We are now officially June, Sugar Bear, and Honey Boo Boo. LOL "
August 18, 2013: "NEWS FLASH: 3 WEEKS AGO AT THE VET NICK WEIGHED 4.3----THIS WEEK---WAIT FOR IT 5.10. TA DA!!! He got two shots. He just laid on his side and didn't make a peep or even move. He was so good he got a catnip frog. What a cat!!!! "
Cattery Updates
September 14, 2013
Yesterday, three kittens and three cats made the long trip down to Wilmington, North Carolina to The Sound Cat. This time, the kittens and Diamond were able to ride in a very large play pen in the back of the SUV. Willie, Diamond and Peony all had HCM Cardiac Ultrasounds. It was Diamond's first, and Willie and Peony's second time for a scan. We had good news from all three scans. Diamond also had a scan of her kidneys and reproductive area and all was normal. Willie Wonka's heart was a big surprise. Dr. Williams said he has a normal cat heart not Persian heart which is excellent. Hopefully he is passing down this great heart to his offspring. He has large heart ventricles which is what the blood goes through in the heart. Peony's also got an all clear with a perfectly normal heart.
The kittens, Miracle, Hydrangea and Rose were next. We wanted Dr. Williams to hear their heart and lungs. They all checked out great. Dr. Williams did mention that she thought Miracle had the perfect nose. They also were very good for their Purevax Rabies shot. Purevax Rabies vaccines do not have the preservatives in them that the regular rabies shots have. The regular rabies shot is know to cause cancer in some cats at the injection site. We highly recommend all parents seek to get the Purevax Rabies vaccine for their cats and kittens.
I had numerous pet carriers in the Vet's reception area and people were all gathered around. They had a copy of Cat Fancy for October and were looking at it and the Victorian Gardens Cattery kittens and cats in their carriers.
Hopefully on Monday, Diamond's paperwork arrives and I can fax it to CFA. She will definitely be mated on her next heat. Hopefully her babies arrive in early December. I am so looking forward to see what she can produce.
Now to Pansy. Our little girl has gotten quite a bit rounder over the last week. She is now weighting in at 25.1% of her weight compared to what she weighted on Day 10 of her pregnancy. Last pregnancy on the same date in time, she weighted in at 25.3% from her weight at heat. So she is running neck and neck with her weight from last pregnancy. Last pregnancy she had 5 large kittens. So she may surprise me and have a fairly large number of kittens. Next Sunday will be Day 64 of her pregnancy. Last pregnancy she had her babies on Day 66. On Day 66 she was 37% from her weight during heat. We will blog after her babies come and when we have had time to catch up on sleep. Pansy is an excellent mother so we don't forsee any problems. She was put on the Kitty Bloom Wate this morning so her babies should start becoming very active as they get ready for their delivery into this world. We are so looking forward to seeing her once again in her favor role as mother. She is now nesting in her new Victorian Nursery.
September 14, 2013
Yesterday, three kittens and three cats made the long trip down to Wilmington, North Carolina to The Sound Cat. This time, the kittens and Diamond were able to ride in a very large play pen in the back of the SUV. Willie, Diamond and Peony all had HCM Cardiac Ultrasounds. It was Diamond's first, and Willie and Peony's second time for a scan. We had good news from all three scans. Diamond also had a scan of her kidneys and reproductive area and all was normal. Willie Wonka's heart was a big surprise. Dr. Williams said he has a normal cat heart not Persian heart which is excellent. Hopefully he is passing down this great heart to his offspring. He has large heart ventricles which is what the blood goes through in the heart. Peony's also got an all clear with a perfectly normal heart.
The kittens, Miracle, Hydrangea and Rose were next. We wanted Dr. Williams to hear their heart and lungs. They all checked out great. Dr. Williams did mention that she thought Miracle had the perfect nose. They also were very good for their Purevax Rabies shot. Purevax Rabies vaccines do not have the preservatives in them that the regular rabies shots have. The regular rabies shot is know to cause cancer in some cats at the injection site. We highly recommend all parents seek to get the Purevax Rabies vaccine for their cats and kittens.
I had numerous pet carriers in the Vet's reception area and people were all gathered around. They had a copy of Cat Fancy for October and were looking at it and the Victorian Gardens Cattery kittens and cats in their carriers.
Hopefully on Monday, Diamond's paperwork arrives and I can fax it to CFA. She will definitely be mated on her next heat. Hopefully her babies arrive in early December. I am so looking forward to see what she can produce.
Now to Pansy. Our little girl has gotten quite a bit rounder over the last week. She is now weighting in at 25.1% of her weight compared to what she weighted on Day 10 of her pregnancy. Last pregnancy on the same date in time, she weighted in at 25.3% from her weight at heat. So she is running neck and neck with her weight from last pregnancy. Last pregnancy she had 5 large kittens. So she may surprise me and have a fairly large number of kittens. Next Sunday will be Day 64 of her pregnancy. Last pregnancy she had her babies on Day 66. On Day 66 she was 37% from her weight during heat. We will blog after her babies come and when we have had time to catch up on sleep. Pansy is an excellent mother so we don't forsee any problems. She was put on the Kitty Bloom Wate this morning so her babies should start becoming very active as they get ready for their delivery into this world. We are so looking forward to seeing her once again in her favor role as mother. She is now nesting in her new Victorian Nursery.
Cattery Updates
September 8, 2013
Hydrangea and Little Miracle had their 4 month birthday on the 4th. Little Miracle is now weighting over 5 lbs and is solid as a rock. We are weekly bathing these two kittens with plans on showing them in the near future. We are hoping that Little Miracle's nose pad will pull up prior to us showing him. Both their coats are coming in full, thick and long.
We wanted to show in pictures, the color difference between our Seal Point Himalayan, The Perfect Hydrangea and a Chocolate Point Himalayan, Little Miracle. Chocolates and Chocolate Carriers are usually slower at developing their eye color and point color. These pictures were taken right before their 4 month birthday. They will continue to change till they are 1 1/2 years old. One huge difference between a Seal Point and a Chocolate Point is the color of the paw pads and their point color. Little Miracles paw pads are pink whereas Hydrangea's are a deep brown. Little Miracles points are milk chocolate color whereas Hydrangea's are a seal or dark brown. Chocolate is a recessive gene. Chocolates for the most part are considered a rare color and a higher price is usually asked for them. You ask why ... In order to get a Chocolate kitten, you need both parents to pass the Chocolate gene to its kitten. In the case of Hydrangea, who is a Chocolate Carrier, Willie Wonka, her father, passed her the Chocolate gene. In the case of Little Miracle, Willie and Peony both passed him a Chocolate gene. So Little Miracle carries two Chocolate genes and his sister, Hydrangea carries one. Little Miracle is what is called a visual chocolate, meaning you can see his chocolate color. Hydrangea can have Chocolate babies as long as she is mated to a Visual Chocolate or Chocolate Carrier male. Little Miracle will pass the Chocolate gene to all his offspring. When mated to a Chocolate Carrier or to a Visual Chocolate, Little Miracle will have Chocolate kittens.
Pansy is now on her 50th day of her pregnancy. She is doing very well. In just the last few days, her stomach has gotten bigger. She is crying very early in the morning for her wet food now. She is eating dry food also this time around. She is not as huge as she was with her litter of 5 last pregnancy. With this mornings weigh in, she was up 19.90% of her weight on Day 10 of her pregnancy. We did not get her weight when she was in heat. On Day 50th of her last pregnancy when she was carrying 5 babies, her weight had increased 19.2% from when she was in heat. We gave her current babies a great start by feeding her the full dose of Kitty Bloom Vitamins right from Day 1. We then tapered back around week 4 since we didn't want the babies to be too big that they could not get out. So her weight gain is excellent. We expect her to deliver in approximately 2 weeks. We expect mostly Seals and Blacks with this litter. All will be Chocolate Carriers and about 25% will be Dilute Carriers.
We are hoping to finally get Diamond's CFA Registration Transfer of Ownership paperwork this week. We have scheduled her and Willie for HCM Ultrasounds at the Sound Cat for later in the week. She is still in heat but hopefully will be going out of heat very soon. We expecting to bred her next time she does go in to heat.
Primrose acted like she was starting in to heat this week and then nothing happened. So we are still waiting. She will be bred to Willie as soon as she goes in to heat.
On September 28th, VICTORIANGDN'S In The Nick-Of-Time (formerly Nicky Jared born 4/22/13) will be shown by his new parents, the Trummers, in the Kitten Class at the Twin City's CFA Show in Minnesota. Nicky is getting special grooming sessions now so that he is ready for his big debut. We will let everyone know how he does at the show. Nicky is a very laid back kitten. He definitely has the personality for showing. Hopefully we can get a video and some pictures of Nicky at the show. We wish Nicky and the Trummers the very best results at the show and look forward to hearing all the details.
September 8, 2013
Hydrangea and Little Miracle had their 4 month birthday on the 4th. Little Miracle is now weighting over 5 lbs and is solid as a rock. We are weekly bathing these two kittens with plans on showing them in the near future. We are hoping that Little Miracle's nose pad will pull up prior to us showing him. Both their coats are coming in full, thick and long.
We wanted to show in pictures, the color difference between our Seal Point Himalayan, The Perfect Hydrangea and a Chocolate Point Himalayan, Little Miracle. Chocolates and Chocolate Carriers are usually slower at developing their eye color and point color. These pictures were taken right before their 4 month birthday. They will continue to change till they are 1 1/2 years old. One huge difference between a Seal Point and a Chocolate Point is the color of the paw pads and their point color. Little Miracles paw pads are pink whereas Hydrangea's are a deep brown. Little Miracles points are milk chocolate color whereas Hydrangea's are a seal or dark brown. Chocolate is a recessive gene. Chocolates for the most part are considered a rare color and a higher price is usually asked for them. You ask why ... In order to get a Chocolate kitten, you need both parents to pass the Chocolate gene to its kitten. In the case of Hydrangea, who is a Chocolate Carrier, Willie Wonka, her father, passed her the Chocolate gene. In the case of Little Miracle, Willie and Peony both passed him a Chocolate gene. So Little Miracle carries two Chocolate genes and his sister, Hydrangea carries one. Little Miracle is what is called a visual chocolate, meaning you can see his chocolate color. Hydrangea can have Chocolate babies as long as she is mated to a Visual Chocolate or Chocolate Carrier male. Little Miracle will pass the Chocolate gene to all his offspring. When mated to a Chocolate Carrier or to a Visual Chocolate, Little Miracle will have Chocolate kittens.
Pansy is now on her 50th day of her pregnancy. She is doing very well. In just the last few days, her stomach has gotten bigger. She is crying very early in the morning for her wet food now. She is eating dry food also this time around. She is not as huge as she was with her litter of 5 last pregnancy. With this mornings weigh in, she was up 19.90% of her weight on Day 10 of her pregnancy. We did not get her weight when she was in heat. On Day 50th of her last pregnancy when she was carrying 5 babies, her weight had increased 19.2% from when she was in heat. We gave her current babies a great start by feeding her the full dose of Kitty Bloom Vitamins right from Day 1. We then tapered back around week 4 since we didn't want the babies to be too big that they could not get out. So her weight gain is excellent. We expect her to deliver in approximately 2 weeks. We expect mostly Seals and Blacks with this litter. All will be Chocolate Carriers and about 25% will be Dilute Carriers.
We are hoping to finally get Diamond's CFA Registration Transfer of Ownership paperwork this week. We have scheduled her and Willie for HCM Ultrasounds at the Sound Cat for later in the week. She is still in heat but hopefully will be going out of heat very soon. We expecting to bred her next time she does go in to heat.
Primrose acted like she was starting in to heat this week and then nothing happened. So we are still waiting. She will be bred to Willie as soon as she goes in to heat.
On September 28th, VICTORIANGDN'S In The Nick-Of-Time (formerly Nicky Jared born 4/22/13) will be shown by his new parents, the Trummers, in the Kitten Class at the Twin City's CFA Show in Minnesota. Nicky is getting special grooming sessions now so that he is ready for his big debut. We will let everyone know how he does at the show. Nicky is a very laid back kitten. He definitely has the personality for showing. Hopefully we can get a video and some pictures of Nicky at the show. We wish Nicky and the Trummers the very best results at the show and look forward to hearing all the details.
Nathaniel Update
September 1, 2013
Boy, our Nathaniel is really growing up. When Hannah sent these pictures yesterday, I thought immediately of how much Nathaniel looked like The Perfect Calla Lily from Petunia's first litter. Calla Lily is Nathaniel's aunt. Nathaniel is from Primrose and Willie's first litter. He was the smallest male of the litter but is catching up fast with his huge brothers. When he was last weighted at the Vet he was 9 lbs. Nataniel just turned 10 months old this past week. Most of our kittens do most of their growing from from 6 months old to 12 months old. Their eye color and color points will continue to darken till they reach 18 months old. You can see more pictures of this cutie by visiting Primrose's Adopted Kittens 2013. Hannah has provided the following updates on Nataniel during our August Adoptive Parents Appreciation Month:
"Here is a recent pic of Nathaniel. He got a fur-cut for summer (even though he's in the air conditioning all day). He is getting really big. For a while there I was thinking that he wasn't going to end up being that big, but he is getting very large! He keeps growing! He'll look enormous once his coat grows back in! What age do they usually stop growing?
He's doing great! He and my daughter are still best buds. The dogs don't even phase him anymore. He is a gorgeous cat! He's got a super personality! He's very playful, very smart and affectionate (when he wants to be). Lol. "
September 1, 2013
Boy, our Nathaniel is really growing up. When Hannah sent these pictures yesterday, I thought immediately of how much Nathaniel looked like The Perfect Calla Lily from Petunia's first litter. Calla Lily is Nathaniel's aunt. Nathaniel is from Primrose and Willie's first litter. He was the smallest male of the litter but is catching up fast with his huge brothers. When he was last weighted at the Vet he was 9 lbs. Nataniel just turned 10 months old this past week. Most of our kittens do most of their growing from from 6 months old to 12 months old. Their eye color and color points will continue to darken till they reach 18 months old. You can see more pictures of this cutie by visiting Primrose's Adopted Kittens 2013. Hannah has provided the following updates on Nataniel during our August Adoptive Parents Appreciation Month:
"Here is a recent pic of Nathaniel. He got a fur-cut for summer (even though he's in the air conditioning all day). He is getting really big. For a while there I was thinking that he wasn't going to end up being that big, but he is getting very large! He keeps growing! He'll look enormous once his coat grows back in! What age do they usually stop growing?
He's doing great! He and my daughter are still best buds. The dogs don't even phase him anymore. He is a gorgeous cat! He's got a super personality! He's very playful, very smart and affectionate (when he wants to be). Lol. "
Stormy Update
Formerly Viola
August 30, 2013
Viola, now called Storm or Stormy, is a beautiful doll face blue cream Persian from Petunia's third litter. Her brothers are Andy (Zachariah), Jediadiah and Joshua. She is now 2 years old. We haven't had an update in a while since the family was moving from Savannah, Georgia to Colorado. It made our day when we opened up our email and found this update on our sweet and very smart girl. You can read and see more pictures of Storm (Viola) on the Adopted Kittens page 2011. Here is the update from Storm's mother, Shannon:
"We are now back in Colorado which is where we planned to retire to. Storm is doing great! She had a difficult time with the move, the majority of our household items were in storage in Georgia for a month and a half. One of those things included her scratcher toy that she liked to sleep on and play on and apparently her cubes that she loved to sleep in. I didn’t realize the cubes didn’t come with us. She was really funny in the hotel because she is not allowed on the tables or counters at home, but apparently hotels in her mind are different and she spent the entire night at one hotel looking in the mirror trying to find the remainder of the room. You could see her looking into the mirror then over at the wall, then back over and over. She was better with the move when we bought her new cubes because she had something she liked for her own. She has grown to be very beautiful.
I don’t know if I told you what the reasoning behind her name was. Her actual name is Storm Cloud (nickname Stormy) because her coloring is exactly like storm clouds at sunset with the grey, cream and orange colors. Her nickname is Wet Paw because every time she drinks water she swirls it around with her paw then licks it off the paw at least five or six times before she will drink out of the bowl. I always wondered if she is checking for temperature or taste, or just wants to play in it. Then of course she leaves paw prints everywhere she goes. She is a big licker, she will lay on the bed and lick my daughters arm and tries for the face almost half the night. We aren’t sure why she does this, but she loves to do it. Personally I think it is pretty funny that she is so determined to do it.
Storm has a mind of her own as all the kittens seem to and she lets us know when she is happy or unhappy with something. We went to visit my parents for a week and a half this summer and had a friend watch the cats, and when we returned home she was so mad at McKayla. For a week Storm ignored my daughter and made sure she knew her displeasure over the situation. Personally I thought it was pretty funny but McKayla was very upset with it. She wouldn’t even sleep on her pillow on McKayla’s bed.
Storm is doing great and she has been a wonderful addition to our family. We all adore her and she adores McKayla. I am attaching a couple pictures. I was not able to get one of all three of us with Storm but I was able to get one with her and McKayla. I wanted to get some so you could see her coloring but she isn’t overly cooperative in that. I think the one of her looking out the window shows her chin, it is half orange and half grey. The picture with her laying on the dresser and the one with McKayla are within the past two weeks. The other two were in Georgia but are within the last 9 months.
Formerly Viola
August 30, 2013
Viola, now called Storm or Stormy, is a beautiful doll face blue cream Persian from Petunia's third litter. Her brothers are Andy (Zachariah), Jediadiah and Joshua. She is now 2 years old. We haven't had an update in a while since the family was moving from Savannah, Georgia to Colorado. It made our day when we opened up our email and found this update on our sweet and very smart girl. You can read and see more pictures of Storm (Viola) on the Adopted Kittens page 2011. Here is the update from Storm's mother, Shannon:
"We are now back in Colorado which is where we planned to retire to. Storm is doing great! She had a difficult time with the move, the majority of our household items were in storage in Georgia for a month and a half. One of those things included her scratcher toy that she liked to sleep on and play on and apparently her cubes that she loved to sleep in. I didn’t realize the cubes didn’t come with us. She was really funny in the hotel because she is not allowed on the tables or counters at home, but apparently hotels in her mind are different and she spent the entire night at one hotel looking in the mirror trying to find the remainder of the room. You could see her looking into the mirror then over at the wall, then back over and over. She was better with the move when we bought her new cubes because she had something she liked for her own. She has grown to be very beautiful.
I don’t know if I told you what the reasoning behind her name was. Her actual name is Storm Cloud (nickname Stormy) because her coloring is exactly like storm clouds at sunset with the grey, cream and orange colors. Her nickname is Wet Paw because every time she drinks water she swirls it around with her paw then licks it off the paw at least five or six times before she will drink out of the bowl. I always wondered if she is checking for temperature or taste, or just wants to play in it. Then of course she leaves paw prints everywhere she goes. She is a big licker, she will lay on the bed and lick my daughters arm and tries for the face almost half the night. We aren’t sure why she does this, but she loves to do it. Personally I think it is pretty funny that she is so determined to do it.
Storm has a mind of her own as all the kittens seem to and she lets us know when she is happy or unhappy with something. We went to visit my parents for a week and a half this summer and had a friend watch the cats, and when we returned home she was so mad at McKayla. For a week Storm ignored my daughter and made sure she knew her displeasure over the situation. Personally I thought it was pretty funny but McKayla was very upset with it. She wouldn’t even sleep on her pillow on McKayla’s bed.
Storm is doing great and she has been a wonderful addition to our family. We all adore her and she adores McKayla. I am attaching a couple pictures. I was not able to get one of all three of us with Storm but I was able to get one with her and McKayla. I wanted to get some so you could see her coloring but she isn’t overly cooperative in that. I think the one of her looking out the window shows her chin, it is half orange and half grey. The picture with her laying on the dresser and the one with McKayla are within the past two weeks. The other two were in Georgia but are within the last 9 months.
Maxwell Joel and Boinks
Updates
August 28, 2013
In July 2013, our very rambunctious and very sweet Joel went to his new home in Wilmington, North Carolina. Maxwell is a Black Persian from Pansy and Willie's second litter together. He is doing great with his new family of three. Laura provided us a video and a picture of Maxwell Joel playing with his new toy called a Boink. This is the first time we have seen this toy. Laurie graciously provided our kittens with a stash of these toys for their enjoyment. Thank you Laurie. We look forward to hearing more updates from Maxwell Joel's family in his new forever home. He is looking good!! Please see Laurie's comments on Maxwell and his new toy below:
July 28, 2013: "Max loves this little toy and his tunnel. We thought about you when we saw him play with it. They were .50 cent at a store called Unleashed by Landfall. It is one of his favorites but it gets stuck under furniture easily."
August 8, 2013: "They seem really durable. The cutest thing is him picking it up and carrying it around spot to spot. And boy does he love the FF kitten food. He meows till you place it down for him. He was an angel for me to clip his nails - I was so relieved. Again he is the greatest! I will send a couple of pictures too."
"
Updates
August 28, 2013
In July 2013, our very rambunctious and very sweet Joel went to his new home in Wilmington, North Carolina. Maxwell is a Black Persian from Pansy and Willie's second litter together. He is doing great with his new family of three. Laura provided us a video and a picture of Maxwell Joel playing with his new toy called a Boink. This is the first time we have seen this toy. Laurie graciously provided our kittens with a stash of these toys for their enjoyment. Thank you Laurie. We look forward to hearing more updates from Maxwell Joel's family in his new forever home. He is looking good!! Please see Laurie's comments on Maxwell and his new toy below:
July 28, 2013: "Max loves this little toy and his tunnel. We thought about you when we saw him play with it. They were .50 cent at a store called Unleashed by Landfall. It is one of his favorites but it gets stuck under furniture easily."
August 8, 2013: "They seem really durable. The cutest thing is him picking it up and carrying it around spot to spot. And boy does he love the FF kitten food. He meows till you place it down for him. He was an angel for me to clip his nails - I was so relieved. Again he is the greatest! I will send a couple of pictures too."
"
Andy (Zachariah) on the couch snuggling with Tashi (Shih Tzu)
Jed and Andy Update
August 27, 2013
Faye wrote us an update back on July 10, 2013 about her two boys, Sweet Jedidiah (Jed) a Cream Persian and Sweet Zachariah, now called Andy, a Cream Point Himalayan. She also did a follow up today. Both boys were littermates from Petunia's last litter on May 1, 2011. Faye, in the past, has told some pretty amazing stories about the very smart and very rambunctious Jed. And Andy is the very sweet and very empathic lap cat. You can read more about the boys and read Faye's funny stories by going to the Adopted Kittens 2011 page. Here is Faye's latest update:
July 10, 2013: "They are as adorable as ever. Jed continues to amaze with his smarts -- in fact, all the toys I have bought for him have not challenged him enough so I am going to see if I can find a "smart cat" website for toys and expend a little of his brain power playing rather than finding things to get into. He is a love though and will snuggle briefly but his mind is to busy to sit still long. And Andy -- what can I say -- he is the sweetest baby imaginable and if Merlin or Tashi are having a bad day and not feeling well he is so concerned. He still loves to groom Tashi and put his arms around him and go to sleep all curled up in a ball. We can't tell if Tashi likes it or just tolerates it but Jake always tells Tashi he is pretty lucky to have a feline friend!! ... The boys go for their annual checkup in August and since that is a happy time I am going to make myself go. I will let you know what Andy weighs -- he is a big boy!"
August 27, 2013: "Dr. Stagnitta said the boys are wonderful, healthy guys. Jed purred all the time Dr. S was checking him out and giving him his shots. Dr. S. kept looking at Jed's eyes and his face shape. Finally he said Jed should be named Leo because he has a little lion face. Jake and I have said that numerous times. He has that direct lion stare when he is focused on something but his name, Jed, is just perfect for him. Andy, who is usually the people person, was very shy at the vet. Andy weighs 13 pounds and Jed weighs 12. I thought Andy would outweigh Jed more than that but Andy has that huge coat that makes him look bigger. I promise -- when things settle down a bit for us -- I will send you new pictures."
August 27, 2013
Faye wrote us an update back on July 10, 2013 about her two boys, Sweet Jedidiah (Jed) a Cream Persian and Sweet Zachariah, now called Andy, a Cream Point Himalayan. She also did a follow up today. Both boys were littermates from Petunia's last litter on May 1, 2011. Faye, in the past, has told some pretty amazing stories about the very smart and very rambunctious Jed. And Andy is the very sweet and very empathic lap cat. You can read more about the boys and read Faye's funny stories by going to the Adopted Kittens 2011 page. Here is Faye's latest update:
July 10, 2013: "They are as adorable as ever. Jed continues to amaze with his smarts -- in fact, all the toys I have bought for him have not challenged him enough so I am going to see if I can find a "smart cat" website for toys and expend a little of his brain power playing rather than finding things to get into. He is a love though and will snuggle briefly but his mind is to busy to sit still long. And Andy -- what can I say -- he is the sweetest baby imaginable and if Merlin or Tashi are having a bad day and not feeling well he is so concerned. He still loves to groom Tashi and put his arms around him and go to sleep all curled up in a ball. We can't tell if Tashi likes it or just tolerates it but Jake always tells Tashi he is pretty lucky to have a feline friend!! ... The boys go for their annual checkup in August and since that is a happy time I am going to make myself go. I will let you know what Andy weighs -- he is a big boy!"
August 27, 2013: "Dr. Stagnitta said the boys are wonderful, healthy guys. Jed purred all the time Dr. S was checking him out and giving him his shots. Dr. S. kept looking at Jed's eyes and his face shape. Finally he said Jed should be named Leo because he has a little lion face. Jake and I have said that numerous times. He has that direct lion stare when he is focused on something but his name, Jed, is just perfect for him. Andy, who is usually the people person, was very shy at the vet. Andy weighs 13 pounds and Jed weighs 12. I thought Andy would outweigh Jed more than that but Andy has that huge coat that makes him look bigger. I promise -- when things settle down a bit for us -- I will send you new pictures."
Delphinium and Dianthus Updates
(Gemma and Voodoo)
August 26, 2013
Jill sent in updates on our two girls, Delphinium (Seal Point Himalayan) and Dianthus (Black Persian), now named Gemma and Voodoo back in June and July. We got very behind in our updates so we apologize. Both girls are from Pansy and Willie's first litter together. Jill sent in pictures of Voodoo and had earlier sent in pictures of Delphinium. Just look at her gorgeous copper eye color. Delphinium's pictures can be viewed in the Adopted Kittens 2012 The girl's first birthday was back on June 26, 2013 and Jill sent in a special update for their birthday. We are wishing Jill the very best health and healing from her surgery. Here are Jill's updates:
June 28, 2013: "Tomorrow the babies turn 1 year old. I can't believe they're no longer babies.
One week before I picked them up to take them home, I had gone through one last round of treatment for thyroid cancer and had been given the "all clear". Though my birthday is in September, they were a birthday present in more ways than one. Then on May 22nd, I found out that I had uterine cancer, completely unrelated to the thyroid.
Over the last couple of weeks, Gemma & Voodoo have been a constant source of love, comfort and entertainment as I've been home after my surgery. Somehow they knew something was wrong when I came home. Maggie put aside her disdain for the kittens so all 3 could snuggle next to me the first couple of days. Once they knew I was on the mend, it seems their purpose in life was to keep me entertained while I watched them run& chase each other, particularly on the cat tower...one of the best purchases EVER, by the way!
In celebration tomorrow, they're going to get some tuna. And lots & lots of kisses."
July 13, 2013: "I was able to get some decent pictures of Voodoo's face tonight. It's hard to get her features in a picture because her face is so dark. And if I use the flash, all you can see are huge glowing orange eyes. You can really see the deep copper color and the contrast with the dark black fur is amazing. She had just gotten done drinking from their water fountain and has water all over her face."
(Gemma and Voodoo)
August 26, 2013
Jill sent in updates on our two girls, Delphinium (Seal Point Himalayan) and Dianthus (Black Persian), now named Gemma and Voodoo back in June and July. We got very behind in our updates so we apologize. Both girls are from Pansy and Willie's first litter together. Jill sent in pictures of Voodoo and had earlier sent in pictures of Delphinium. Just look at her gorgeous copper eye color. Delphinium's pictures can be viewed in the Adopted Kittens 2012 The girl's first birthday was back on June 26, 2013 and Jill sent in a special update for their birthday. We are wishing Jill the very best health and healing from her surgery. Here are Jill's updates:
June 28, 2013: "Tomorrow the babies turn 1 year old. I can't believe they're no longer babies.
One week before I picked them up to take them home, I had gone through one last round of treatment for thyroid cancer and had been given the "all clear". Though my birthday is in September, they were a birthday present in more ways than one. Then on May 22nd, I found out that I had uterine cancer, completely unrelated to the thyroid.
Over the last couple of weeks, Gemma & Voodoo have been a constant source of love, comfort and entertainment as I've been home after my surgery. Somehow they knew something was wrong when I came home. Maggie put aside her disdain for the kittens so all 3 could snuggle next to me the first couple of days. Once they knew I was on the mend, it seems their purpose in life was to keep me entertained while I watched them run& chase each other, particularly on the cat tower...one of the best purchases EVER, by the way!
In celebration tomorrow, they're going to get some tuna. And lots & lots of kisses."
July 13, 2013: "I was able to get some decent pictures of Voodoo's face tonight. It's hard to get her features in a picture because her face is so dark. And if I use the flash, all you can see are huge glowing orange eyes. You can really see the deep copper color and the contrast with the dark black fur is amazing. She had just gotten done drinking from their water fountain and has water all over her face."
Little Miracles Photo Shoots
August 22, 2013
Dave Russo had a photo shoot with Little Miracle this last weekend and we had our own photo shoot with Miracle and the Vintage Child's Chair last week. He looks like he is scowling, but he really is a sweetie. Miracle is 3 1/2 months old and will be 4 months old on September 4th. Miracle has gotten to be very heavy boned and solid. He loves to eat. He starts purring as soon as you pick him up. He is going to have a wonderful coat on him. You can read about Miracle's miracle birth on May 4th and 5th Cattery Blog. You can see more pictures of Miracle in Peony's Nursery 2013. He will be a future breeder for Diamond next year.
August 22, 2013
Dave Russo had a photo shoot with Little Miracle this last weekend and we had our own photo shoot with Miracle and the Vintage Child's Chair last week. He looks like he is scowling, but he really is a sweetie. Miracle is 3 1/2 months old and will be 4 months old on September 4th. Miracle has gotten to be very heavy boned and solid. He loves to eat. He starts purring as soon as you pick him up. He is going to have a wonderful coat on him. You can read about Miracle's miracle birth on May 4th and 5th Cattery Blog. You can see more pictures of Miracle in Peony's Nursery 2013. He will be a future breeder for Diamond next year.
The Perfect English Rose, Black Persian
Dave Russo Photo Shoot - August 17, 2013
Vintage Child's Chair Photo Shoot - August 15, 2013
August 20, 2013
Dave Russo Photo Shoot - August 17, 2013
Vintage Child's Chair Photo Shoot - August 15, 2013
August 20, 2013
CoCoPuff Update
Formerly Dahlia, Black Persian
August 19, 2013
Formerly Dahlia, Black Persian
August 19, 2013
Back on June 22nd, CoCoPuff's mother, Jan, sent these pictures of CoCoPuff to us. CoCoPuffs eye color is looking good. She is an extreme face black Persian with copper eye color and a silky coat. Since she is a chocolate carrier, her eye color will only get deeper and richer in the next six months. She is currently one year old. Her mother is Pansy and her father is Willie. Cleo, a black lab, is her companion. Jan had stated she will be entering her little girl in the Black Cat Contest for Cat Fancy. We hope to be seeing CoCoPuff's picture in the January 2014 Issue of Cat Fancy magazine. We are routing for you CoCoPuff. You can read and see more about CoCoPuff by going to the 2012 Adoptive Kittens page.
Jonah & His New Family
August 18, 2013
August 18, 2013
Jonah & His New Family
Dave and Lila with Jonah, Flame Point Himalayan.
Yesterday, our sweet cuddle bug, Jonah left with his new parents, Dave and Lila, for his new home in Cary, NC. It was sad seeing him go since he had become my desk cuddle bug. Jonah is going to a home with six other cats, including our own Solomon, renamed Toshi. Dave and Lila love coming to the Cattery to play with our litters and take some fantastic photography of our little ones as well as our grown ups. Yesterday was no exception. So stay tuned to some of those photographs to show up all over our website and on Facebook. If you want a sneek peak of the photo shoot, just following the link: http://lilaf.smugmug.com/Category/Vic-Gardens-Cattery-Aug17-2013. We have posted above, Jonah's Photo Shoot from last week as well as the most recent photos from Jonah's new home.
Lila called this morning to let me know that Jonah had meet Toshi and Nikko and they were all relaxed and doing great together. Toshi had even taken up the big brother role. She also send some great photos which can be viewed above. Dave wrote us later this evening to let us know how Jonah did today, his first full day in his new home. Here is what he wrote: "Jonah was dying to get out and about this afternoon, so we let him roam. He flew all around, purring and trilling everywhere. Toshi followed him everywhere. I think those two sense they have a family connection. And Nikko keeps coming around to welcome him as well. The other cats just watch him fly by ;-) No one seems concerned. Just another brother, I guess! I have a few pictures from last night, but I haven’t processed them yet. Jonah is now sleeping beside Lila’s chair in her office."
And here is what Lila wrote on August 19th: "Well, the peaceful existence of the kitten isolated in my office came to an end about 5:30 last night. After having slept most of the day, he woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and started screaming and crying to be let out. As you said - once he started running it was like,"You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" He ran all over the house, up and down the stairs, around the downstairs and made his funny squealing noises the whole time. At this time, he hadn't yet made the acquaintance of Dexter and Cedric. Dexter is like a slow-moving vehicle and just watched Jonah run by without registering any reaction. Cedric was lounging on the kitchen counter and was not in the least disturbed when Jonah flew up and sat beside him. As Jonah ran around to discover the wonderful toys he hadn't seen yet, the others joined in the fun. Everybody stayed around him to watch what he did. Toshi almost never leaves his side. It's hilarious to see him trailing after Jonah - they really do look like Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo! Jonah is pooping, peeing and eating just like he's supposed to do. He's eating both the YA and Flint River Ranch dry with gusto and a little of the FF turkey morning and evening. He went right to the litter box inside the big plastic bin and pooped this morning - smart boy! After he had his breakfast and had made a whirlwind morning tour of the house, Jonah went in Dave's office and sat in the antique chair next to the desk, right in front of the window, very content. I can't wait to see what he does tonight."
You can see more of Jonah in Peony's Nursery 2013 and in Peony's Adopted Kittens 2013 page. You can read more about Peony's horrific delivery of these babies on this blog for May 4, 2013. We are so thankful that Jonah and his two siblings made it through that horrible circumstance, no thanks to an unethical Vet. These three siblings are truly happy and healthy miracles.
Lila called this morning to let me know that Jonah had meet Toshi and Nikko and they were all relaxed and doing great together. Toshi had even taken up the big brother role. She also send some great photos which can be viewed above. Dave wrote us later this evening to let us know how Jonah did today, his first full day in his new home. Here is what he wrote: "Jonah was dying to get out and about this afternoon, so we let him roam. He flew all around, purring and trilling everywhere. Toshi followed him everywhere. I think those two sense they have a family connection. And Nikko keeps coming around to welcome him as well. The other cats just watch him fly by ;-) No one seems concerned. Just another brother, I guess! I have a few pictures from last night, but I haven’t processed them yet. Jonah is now sleeping beside Lila’s chair in her office."
And here is what Lila wrote on August 19th: "Well, the peaceful existence of the kitten isolated in my office came to an end about 5:30 last night. After having slept most of the day, he woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and started screaming and crying to be let out. As you said - once he started running it was like,"You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" He ran all over the house, up and down the stairs, around the downstairs and made his funny squealing noises the whole time. At this time, he hadn't yet made the acquaintance of Dexter and Cedric. Dexter is like a slow-moving vehicle and just watched Jonah run by without registering any reaction. Cedric was lounging on the kitchen counter and was not in the least disturbed when Jonah flew up and sat beside him. As Jonah ran around to discover the wonderful toys he hadn't seen yet, the others joined in the fun. Everybody stayed around him to watch what he did. Toshi almost never leaves his side. It's hilarious to see him trailing after Jonah - they really do look like Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo! Jonah is pooping, peeing and eating just like he's supposed to do. He's eating both the YA and Flint River Ranch dry with gusto and a little of the FF turkey morning and evening. He went right to the litter box inside the big plastic bin and pooped this morning - smart boy! After he had his breakfast and had made a whirlwind morning tour of the house, Jonah went in Dave's office and sat in the antique chair next to the desk, right in front of the window, very content. I can't wait to see what he does tonight."
You can see more of Jonah in Peony's Nursery 2013 and in Peony's Adopted Kittens 2013 page. You can read more about Peony's horrific delivery of these babies on this blog for May 4, 2013. We are so thankful that Jonah and his two siblings made it through that horrible circumstance, no thanks to an unethical Vet. These three siblings are truly happy and healthy miracles.
The Perfect Hydrangea Photo Shoot
Age: 3 1/2 Months
August 16, 2013
Age: 3 1/2 Months
August 16, 2013
Updates on The Perfect Calla Lily
Flame Point Himalayan (Petunia x Chester)
Comments by Heather via Facebook
August 15, 2013
It looks like the romance may have been broken up by the playstation. I wonder if they have tried to be in the same landing together. Those love birds. Thank you Heather for the updates.
Flame Point Himalayan (Petunia x Chester)
Comments by Heather via Facebook
August 15, 2013
It looks like the romance may have been broken up by the playstation. I wonder if they have tried to be in the same landing together. Those love birds. Thank you Heather for the updates.
The Perfect English Rose
Black Persian
As Featured in the October 2013 Issue of Cat Fancy Magazine
Black Persian
As Featured in the October 2013 Issue of Cat Fancy Magazine
Well, this news is just too exciting to keep to myself, so I had to share. Today in my mail, besides a wonderful package and gorgeous card from Nicholas Jared (I will write about that soon), was an October 2013 Issue of Cat Fancy Magazine. I don't know if it is out on the newsstands yet, but it has been published. I held my breathe as I opened it up and scanned the index for the Black Persian article. It starts on page 30 and goes to page 37. The article is written by Audrey Pavia, a very famous freelance animal writer. So I started turning the pages one by one with anxiousness and excitement rolled in to one. And there is was, my beautiful Rose, laid out beautifully on page 36. I was interviewed by Audrey for the article. She asked specific questions regarding the Black Persians I have breed. My name and some of my comments appear in the "The Stunning Black Persian" section of the article. They even mentioned Pansy and Willie's name. Now how exciting is that? You can see the cover and one page of the article above. You can see and read more about The Perfect English Rose in Pansy's Nursery 2013. The Perfect English Rose is staying on at our Cattery as a future breeder in 2014. Right now we are on the look out for the special guy to mate her to.
I did notice on page 37 that there is a Black Cat Contest. For any of you who has a black kitten from our Cattery or has a feline member of your household who is black in color, I would encourage you to enter the contest. They are asking for quality prints on CD and a short paragraph of 50 words about your black beauty. Entries have to be postmarked by October 4, 2013. Winners photos and stories will appear in the January 2014 Cat Fancy magazine. So calling all parents of my Black Persians ... you know who you are. LOL
So please pick up the October 2013 issue of Cat Fancy in honor of our Rose and enjoy reading the article entitled: "Black Magic". Please let me know if any of you decide to enter the contest.
SAMSON UPDATE
August 12, 2013
August 12, 2013
We were so excited when we opened our email and saw an update from Samson's mom, along with some wonderful family photos and a video. Samson is now 8 months old. We did not even recognize Samson as he has changed so much is such a short period of time. He is so beautiful and HUGE. Just look at that huge tail. I absolutely love those blush checks. We are happy that he made it safely through his neuter at 6 months old. If this is how big he is at 8 months old, we can't wait to see how big he is at one year old. He still is the biggest kitten we have ever had at the Cattery. You can start to see his eye color darkening. It should be fully in when he reached 1 1/2 years old. His mother weighted him and Samson is already coming in at between 10 to 11 pounds at age 8 months. Our lines tend to do their most growing between 8 to 12 months, so Samson is going to be huge, just like his name sake. You can read and see more of Samson by going to Primrose's Adoptive Kittens 2013 page. Here is the update from his Mom:
"Samson is growing so big and doing great! He brings so much happiness to us all! I don't know if he keeps the kids entertained more or they him...I guess a mixture of the two. He is not a lap cat nor is he lazy. He is very active and is always involved in everything we do around the house. He enjoys being involved in daily tasks. He follows us around the house and is always in the same room as us. He loves when we clean... who knew cleaning could be so fun but he always finds something to play with or to "check out".
He has a very important role in the house and is nicknamed "The Fly Hunter"! He prowls around the windows on a daily basis and checks for flies...we haven't had to use a fly swatter all summer. He is just a perfect fit for our active family. He does have a softer side as well which we usually see early in the morning. He loves to roll over for belly rubs and shows a lot of affection. He is so good with the kids and accepts everyone carrying him around and holding him like a baby. They love him so very much and he knows it. He's a bit spoiled!! We do have a pet stroller and the kids take him on walks all the time. He really enjoys this and just looks around at the big wide world as they stroll.
He was neutered at 6 months old and had a very easy recovery. He didn't skip a beat! He is a bit fussy when it comes to his food. He doesn't like certain foods and lets us know it. He will just turn his nose up and walk away if you give him something he doesn't like. I spent a lot of time returning canned food. He doesn't like any seafood and doesn't like certain brands. Fancy Feast and Royal Canine are the only two he wants to eat. He knows what he likes and that's just fine with us!
He is still very playful and finds the best toys around the house. He loves Q-tips, boxes, bouncy balls, or a wadded up piece of paper. He of course still loves the bug too! He is so much fun and makes us laugh as he rips around the house playing. We have found that he likes to use his brain in play as well. He loves us to show him a small toy then hide it so he can go look for it. We show him the toy then go put it somewhere (like the top of his cat tree) and he climbs up to find it. He's very bright!
We've had some trying times here, as I know you have as well. We lost our 15 1/2 year old yellow lab (Einstein) this spring. He was in kidney failure and had to be put down. He lived a long life but we miss him none the less. We almost lost our Newfie (Reagan) around the same time. I woke up at midnight to her whining and saw she had bloat. I rushed her to the 24 hour clinic here in Knoxville and found out her stomach had turned. It is usually fatal and they didn't expect her to make it through the surgery but we were blessed that night! She is doing very well and made a full recovery.
Your newest litters were adorable! We've watched their videos. None of them have looked as rambunctious as Samson and his litter mates and I bet you're happy about that.. ha ha! I hope you are healthy, happy, and doing well. I've attached some photos of Samson. I hope you enjoy them!
Janie "
TOSHI UPDATE
aka: Solomon
August 8, 2013
It has been since May 17th since we last blogged with updates and pictures on Toshi, formerly named Solomon, a Flame Point Himalayan. Dave and Lila have been faithful about writing in and updating us on Toshi and his newest adventures. If you don't know it, Dave and Lily bless our Cattery with wonderful pictures they take of our babies. We enjoy reading all the updates and seeing Dave's great photography. We were just so busy here with two litters that we got behind in our blogging. So we are going back to May 2013 and providing all the updates and the newest pictures we have received on Toshi and his fur family of 5 other cats. In May 2013, Toshi had his neuter surgery and came through with flying colors. In fact, here is how Lila describes it:
May 18, 2013: "Toshi has had a very good morning – again, not showing a single sign of discomfort – and spent several hours lounging against the kitchen storm door, watching the bird activity. He jumped on and off the bed several times last night, purring and snuggling. For all his fussing when he’s interrupted while “busy,” he’s still a lovebug."
May 24, 2013: "Toshi still has no clue what happened to him - seriously! He never slowed down after the surgery, not one minute. He's so interested in everything, all the time. He's taking a time out from playing in the morning the last couple of days to actually eat canned food - can you believe it? He might be growing, I guess, or just realizing that he can play all he wants later. He doesn't try to grab anybody else's breakfast when he gets the canned food - just eats what he wants, then goes off to wash his face. I had the same experience with those YA treats. I thought Nikko and Zena were going to take my arm off for them. Toshi is very talkative, trilling a lot and going yowwww when he wants attention. I haven't yet seen him afraid of anything - loud noises, things outside, nothing. He likes to run with his tail down, like a raccoon! He's entertaining every minute. He likes to take a swipe at anybody's tail going by - but with a soft paw, of course.
We realized that it's almost FOUR MONTHS since Toshi came to live with us. Dave says it's like he's always been part of the household. I can't imagine a smoother transition than we've had with him. I told the vet the other day that he has made a real difference with the other kitties - making them more interactive and playful, for sure. It could be that the YA food does some of it, too. They all love it - no holdouts in the bunch, not even picky Zena. The other night, I gave Zena, Quincy and Nikko (the treat hounds) some treats, and Mr. Toshi came right up and "begged" like the others! I''ll keep encouraging him to "sit up," which they all know, and we'll see if he learns the trick.
June 23, 2013: "Dave took these last night – the kitties have new loungers from Andrew Lesko at Brawny Cat, where Cedric has been the spokescat. Look at Toshi. He’s starting to get a ruff!
May 18, 2013: "Toshi has had a very good morning – again, not showing a single sign of discomfort – and spent several hours lounging against the kitchen storm door, watching the bird activity. He jumped on and off the bed several times last night, purring and snuggling. For all his fussing when he’s interrupted while “busy,” he’s still a lovebug."
May 24, 2013: "Toshi still has no clue what happened to him - seriously! He never slowed down after the surgery, not one minute. He's so interested in everything, all the time. He's taking a time out from playing in the morning the last couple of days to actually eat canned food - can you believe it? He might be growing, I guess, or just realizing that he can play all he wants later. He doesn't try to grab anybody else's breakfast when he gets the canned food - just eats what he wants, then goes off to wash his face. I had the same experience with those YA treats. I thought Nikko and Zena were going to take my arm off for them. Toshi is very talkative, trilling a lot and going yowwww when he wants attention. I haven't yet seen him afraid of anything - loud noises, things outside, nothing. He likes to run with his tail down, like a raccoon! He's entertaining every minute. He likes to take a swipe at anybody's tail going by - but with a soft paw, of course.
We realized that it's almost FOUR MONTHS since Toshi came to live with us. Dave says it's like he's always been part of the household. I can't imagine a smoother transition than we've had with him. I told the vet the other day that he has made a real difference with the other kitties - making them more interactive and playful, for sure. It could be that the YA food does some of it, too. They all love it - no holdouts in the bunch, not even picky Zena. The other night, I gave Zena, Quincy and Nikko (the treat hounds) some treats, and Mr. Toshi came right up and "begged" like the others! I''ll keep encouraging him to "sit up," which they all know, and we'll see if he learns the trick.
June 23, 2013: "Dave took these last night – the kitties have new loungers from Andrew Lesko at Brawny Cat, where Cedric has been the spokescat. Look at Toshi. He’s starting to get a ruff!
Winn Feline Foundation
Ricky Fund-HCM Persian Research
Donations
August 9, 2013
We have just completed our newest article available on our website. It covers the very timely topic of HCM in Persians and Himalayans. Please take the time to read our article found on our new HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY (HCM) &The Persian & Himalayan Controversy page. This article was coauthored by Jeanne O'Donnell of Donegal Cattery and Susan Youngman of Victorian Gardens Cattery. We are both passionate about the Persian and Himalayan breed and want to do everything we can to stop the spread of HCM and keep the breed from going extinct.
Effective August 9, 2013, all kittens adopted from Victorian Gardens Cattery will have a donation made to the Ricky Fund – HCM Persian Research, in honor of the kitten and its new family or in honor of the name of a family cat that has HCM or has died of HCM. It is our way of honoring our newly adopted kittens and their families and contributing to the health and welfare of these breed. If you would like to make a donation to the HCM Persian Research at the Ricky Fund, please see our HCM page or click on the Winn Foundation banner found on our home page.
Ricky Fund-HCM Persian Research
Donations
August 9, 2013
We have just completed our newest article available on our website. It covers the very timely topic of HCM in Persians and Himalayans. Please take the time to read our article found on our new HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY (HCM) &The Persian & Himalayan Controversy page. This article was coauthored by Jeanne O'Donnell of Donegal Cattery and Susan Youngman of Victorian Gardens Cattery. We are both passionate about the Persian and Himalayan breed and want to do everything we can to stop the spread of HCM and keep the breed from going extinct.
Effective August 9, 2013, all kittens adopted from Victorian Gardens Cattery will have a donation made to the Ricky Fund – HCM Persian Research, in honor of the kitten and its new family or in honor of the name of a family cat that has HCM or has died of HCM. It is our way of honoring our newly adopted kittens and their families and contributing to the health and welfare of these breed. If you would like to make a donation to the HCM Persian Research at the Ricky Fund, please see our HCM page or click on the Winn Foundation banner found on our home page.
Welcome To The Trummers
Jared's New Family
August 8, 2013
Jared's New Family
August 8, 2013
On July 25, 2013, Pansy's precious lapcat Jared was placed in to the arms of his new parents, the Trummers, in Kansas City, Missouri. His mom and dad have sent in many pictures of him in his new home. She is even going to a CFA show next weekend to learn all she can about showing Jared at a CFA show in the future. We would like to share some of her comments, via email, about the new love of her life ... Nicholas Jared. The beautiful photos above were taken professionally by Haub Photograph, Lee's Summit, Missouri. Do you see the resemblance to Willie Wonka? Don't forget to read about the Trummer's story of finding their new kitten in Pansy's Adopted Persian and Himalayan Kittens 2013 page or their heart break of loosing their beloved cat, Petunia of Whipstaff Cattery, this spring to HCM on our HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY (HCM) &The Persian & Himalayan Controversy page.
August 7, 2013: "He likes to tease me. He knows he is not to touch the flowers on the table. He was in the kitchen rubbing on my legs. When I went to pet him, he darts across the floor, up the kitchen chair, runs across the table, jumps up like a basketball player making a slam-drunk, slaps the flower, runs down the chair, and zooms down the steps. I went to the steps and he was on the bottom stair peeking over the top, like I couldn't see him. He's so funny. V"
August 4, 2013: "You really did a wonderful job at getting them used to everything. He so good in the bath. Not a peep. Likes to be combed. Eats well. Plays hard with us or by himself. When the doorbell rings he runs to the door. Amazing. Terry would go outside just to see him do it through the window. V"
August 4, 2013: "Cooked up some of the Young Again Chicken for Nicky J. I wasn't sure if he would eat my cooking. So I fed him some with the spoon. He licked it up. If he smells chicken thighs cooking, he starts crying for some. I had some last week for dinner and when he was smelling the crockpot he was wanting some. He is happy, healthy, and such a joy. V"
August 1, 2013: "Just wanted to update you on our baby. He is now recognizing his name. When you call him he will pert up, look at you, and then hop over. So cute. He loves his feathers--anything with feathers. His cubes are attached to each other. He will jump in and out of them, roll around inside until they flip over or stand on their side. Terry ran an errand yesterday and when he came home, we always call for him. He came to the door to see who was calling. Yesterday was THE DAY for me. He was on the kitchen table sunning himself. He has now discovered the silk flowers in the vase are fun to batt at and try to chew. He was playing with them so I went over and in my cat voice (which amounts to baby talk) told him that he was not to do that. No chewing Mamas flowers and picked him up. He looked at me right in the eyes and was so listening to what I said, taking it in---We touched souls for the first time. He's mine and I'm his. Victoria "
July 26, 2013: "How I have missed hearing a purr and his is so sweet. He stayed in bed with us all night. He sleeps in between our pillows. He would wake us up occasionally, Terry mostly. He said that he was laying on his shoulder. This kitten stuff is new to him. I woke up twice and went to the restroom and brought him with me for a potty break and some munchies. He just wants to be petted. I love the way he smells. I get up at five. He was up at 4:50. We got up and then he pottied. He had a drink and some munchies and water. Then it was PLAY TIME. He loves the ball in the track. The one we got has this feather on a flagpole like spring that sticks up in the middle. He had hold of it and was dragging the whole track around the living room. He looked like Toshi with the feather wand in his mouth. Terry eats cereal in the AM and when the boy smelled that he wanted some desperately. I opened the can of the Royal Canin Kitten food and gave him some. He licked the bowl clean. I am cooking some food this weekend for him. Anyway he is a joy. Victoria"
August 7, 2013: "He likes to tease me. He knows he is not to touch the flowers on the table. He was in the kitchen rubbing on my legs. When I went to pet him, he darts across the floor, up the kitchen chair, runs across the table, jumps up like a basketball player making a slam-drunk, slaps the flower, runs down the chair, and zooms down the steps. I went to the steps and he was on the bottom stair peeking over the top, like I couldn't see him. He's so funny. V"
August 4, 2013: "You really did a wonderful job at getting them used to everything. He so good in the bath. Not a peep. Likes to be combed. Eats well. Plays hard with us or by himself. When the doorbell rings he runs to the door. Amazing. Terry would go outside just to see him do it through the window. V"
August 4, 2013: "Cooked up some of the Young Again Chicken for Nicky J. I wasn't sure if he would eat my cooking. So I fed him some with the spoon. He licked it up. If he smells chicken thighs cooking, he starts crying for some. I had some last week for dinner and when he was smelling the crockpot he was wanting some. He is happy, healthy, and such a joy. V"
August 1, 2013: "Just wanted to update you on our baby. He is now recognizing his name. When you call him he will pert up, look at you, and then hop over. So cute. He loves his feathers--anything with feathers. His cubes are attached to each other. He will jump in and out of them, roll around inside until they flip over or stand on their side. Terry ran an errand yesterday and when he came home, we always call for him. He came to the door to see who was calling. Yesterday was THE DAY for me. He was on the kitchen table sunning himself. He has now discovered the silk flowers in the vase are fun to batt at and try to chew. He was playing with them so I went over and in my cat voice (which amounts to baby talk) told him that he was not to do that. No chewing Mamas flowers and picked him up. He looked at me right in the eyes and was so listening to what I said, taking it in---We touched souls for the first time. He's mine and I'm his. Victoria "
July 26, 2013: "How I have missed hearing a purr and his is so sweet. He stayed in bed with us all night. He sleeps in between our pillows. He would wake us up occasionally, Terry mostly. He said that he was laying on his shoulder. This kitten stuff is new to him. I woke up twice and went to the restroom and brought him with me for a potty break and some munchies. He just wants to be petted. I love the way he smells. I get up at five. He was up at 4:50. We got up and then he pottied. He had a drink and some munchies and water. Then it was PLAY TIME. He loves the ball in the track. The one we got has this feather on a flagpole like spring that sticks up in the middle. He had hold of it and was dragging the whole track around the living room. He looked like Toshi with the feather wand in his mouth. Terry eats cereal in the AM and when the boy smelled that he wanted some desperately. I opened the can of the Royal Canin Kitten food and gave him some. He licked the bowl clean. I am cooking some food this weekend for him. Anyway he is a joy. Victoria"
August
Adoptive Parent Appreciation Month
Cattery Updates
August is Adoptive Parent Appreciation Month at Victorian Gardens Cattery. As Pansy's litter has now been adopted, we are spending time catching up on yard work, house cleaning and Cattery work. It is the perfect month for us to spend time Blogging about our Adoptive Families and their fur babies. For the month of August, we will be featuring every other day, an Adoptive Family and their kitten/cat. We plan on starting near the end of this week. We already have a lot of photos and comments that have been sent in from families over the last month. So stay tuned.
Many of you knew that Primrose was pregnant and we were awaiting the arrival of her baby/babies around July 17th or shortly thereafter. On the night of July 14th, Primrose was acting like she was going in to labor but never contracted. We found her in that condition when we went in to the Pregnancy Room that night. We stayed by her side for the next four days waiting. She was loving all the attention. When she had not delivered her baby/babies by Monday, we took her to the Sound Cat for an Ultrasound to find out if the baby/babies were still alive and to do a C-Section if needed. You can't believe our astonishment when we were told by Dr. Williams that Primrose no longer had a baby in her. How could that be? We even had an xray of her baby. Dr. Williams said to go home and search the room thoroughly. While we were at the Sound Cat, Dr. Williams did a reproductive ultrasound on her womb and found it health and normal. We also requested that Primrose have her regular HCM Cardiac Ultrasound. Dr. Williams said her heart was normal and negative for HCM. Then Primrose and I made the long 3 hour trip home. We searched our Pregnancy Room high and low for a baby. We found an immature stillborn in the back of the closet in the Pregnancy Room. We were very sad. I guess Primrose had the baby on July 14th. For two days after the Sound Cat appointment, Primrose followed me room to room and was never more than 2 to 3 feet away from me. She appeared lost and didn't know quite what to do with herself. Several days later, she went in to heat. Dr. Williams recommending breeding her without waiting so that we would not need to worry about Pyometra (Uterus Infection). So we do plan on breeding Primrose when she next goes in to heat. When the girls go in and out of heat constantly, they drop weight and have the possibility of getting Pyometra. We will Blog when she next goes in to heat and is bred. We have a good idea that this will be sometime in August. If the mating to Willie takes, her babies would be due in October and available to go to their new homes in January.
On July 25th, we took Jared, Pansy's Seal Point Himi Boy to the Richmond Virginia Airport for his trip with Transpeter to his new home with the Trummers in Raymore, Missouri. To say that this boy is getting spoiled rotten is an understatement. He has every toy imaginable at his new home. Victoria and Terry have sent the above pictures and even a video. Victoria and Terry will be showing our Jared off at a CFA show in their regio n in the near future. Victoria is very excited about this. Jaredhad his Veterinarian appointment last week and passed with flying colors. Victoria even made him his own slowcooker chicken thighs this weekend using the CarnivoreRaw supplements. We are anxiously awaiting the family photo with Jared. His new name is Nicolas Jared, Nicky for short. He is named after Victoria's brother Nicky. From what I understand, they have some similar personalities. Victoria even said today via email that he runs to the door anytime the doorbell rings. His father goes outside and looks in the window to see Jared coming running to the door. That Willie, he just knows how to make outgoing and friendly kittens.
We took the kittens camping the weekend of July 26th up in Chesterfield, Virgina. What a beauty place. We camped at Pocahontas State Park. Kathy, Camellia and Hyacinth (Pansy's girls) came by the camping trailer for an outing with the kittens and their sister, Rose. We even took the stroller out with all the kittens in it for a stroll through the campground. Everyone had a great evening. The next day, Kathy met us at the CFA show in Richmond Virginia. Kathy is going to be showing Hyacinth (Seal Point Himalayan) at a CFA show in that area when she gets a bit older. We had a nice time with Kathy at the show.
Jonah (Peony's Flame Point Himalayan) is still with us. His information and photos are available on the Available Kitten's page. When Pansy's babies left for their new home and Peony's babies turned 13 weeks old, we let the remaining kittens (Rose, Miracle, Hydrangea and Jonah) have free roam in the whole house. It has definitely been a busy house with 4 kittens under foot and around every corner. The kittens are having the time of their life running up and down the stairs and between rooms. I find that these kittens prefer to be in the room that I am working in almost all the time. These are outgoing, friendly, people oriented kittens. Miracle, Rose and Hydrangea are staying here at the Cattery as our future breeders next year.
And last, but definitely not least, is our new girl, Diamond (Black and White Bi-color Persian). She is an absolute sweetheart. Her fur is growing back now after having to be shaved down due to her arrival here at the Cattery full of skin tight mats from the chin all the way to the butt. She seems to love her shave. She is still in isolation for another week and half as we watch for viruses or fungus. So far we are not seeing anything. We are still awaiting her CFA registration paperwork from the breeder in Texas. We will not be able to breed her till we receive the transfer of ownership paperwork on her. It has been a frustrating process trying to get it. Hopefully it will come soon. We did want to breed her this month but may have to hold off waiting for the paperwork. When Diamond had been here for 2 weeks, we put the Breeze litter box with pine pellets in to her room next to her litter box filled with clumping litter. She had used clumping litter at the last Cattery. Low and behold, Diamond choose immediately to start using the Breeze litter box with pine pellets. We were so happy to see this. She loves her wet food in the morning with Kitty Bloom vitamins. She is even gaining weight and filling out. Yeah! She is a smart girl. We are so impressed with her pedigree. In the first six generations of her parent's pedigree, we counted 63 Grand Champions and 83 Champions. All we can say is WOW! Mixed with Willie and his pedigree, we have high hopes for some wonderful show kittens. We hope they get Willie's extreme nose or a compromise between her very extreme nose and his very healthy extreme nose. We can expect from the mating, all Persians (50% being CPC) with 50% being solid and 50% being bi-color. 50% should be chocolates and the others will be chocolate carriers. We are so excited to see what they will produce together. We are hoping for a bi-color chocolate. So we are praying that her CFA transfer of ownership paperwork arrives soon from the breeder in Austin, Texas so she can be bred to Willie Wonka.
As you can see, we have been very busy. There is never a dull moment around here. There is plenty of catch up going on. When you have two litters back to back it can be extremely busy.
Stay tuned for our Adoptive Parent Appreciate Blogs starting this week.
Adoptive Parent Appreciation Month
Cattery Updates
August is Adoptive Parent Appreciation Month at Victorian Gardens Cattery. As Pansy's litter has now been adopted, we are spending time catching up on yard work, house cleaning and Cattery work. It is the perfect month for us to spend time Blogging about our Adoptive Families and their fur babies. For the month of August, we will be featuring every other day, an Adoptive Family and their kitten/cat. We plan on starting near the end of this week. We already have a lot of photos and comments that have been sent in from families over the last month. So stay tuned.
Many of you knew that Primrose was pregnant and we were awaiting the arrival of her baby/babies around July 17th or shortly thereafter. On the night of July 14th, Primrose was acting like she was going in to labor but never contracted. We found her in that condition when we went in to the Pregnancy Room that night. We stayed by her side for the next four days waiting. She was loving all the attention. When she had not delivered her baby/babies by Monday, we took her to the Sound Cat for an Ultrasound to find out if the baby/babies were still alive and to do a C-Section if needed. You can't believe our astonishment when we were told by Dr. Williams that Primrose no longer had a baby in her. How could that be? We even had an xray of her baby. Dr. Williams said to go home and search the room thoroughly. While we were at the Sound Cat, Dr. Williams did a reproductive ultrasound on her womb and found it health and normal. We also requested that Primrose have her regular HCM Cardiac Ultrasound. Dr. Williams said her heart was normal and negative for HCM. Then Primrose and I made the long 3 hour trip home. We searched our Pregnancy Room high and low for a baby. We found an immature stillborn in the back of the closet in the Pregnancy Room. We were very sad. I guess Primrose had the baby on July 14th. For two days after the Sound Cat appointment, Primrose followed me room to room and was never more than 2 to 3 feet away from me. She appeared lost and didn't know quite what to do with herself. Several days later, she went in to heat. Dr. Williams recommending breeding her without waiting so that we would not need to worry about Pyometra (Uterus Infection). So we do plan on breeding Primrose when she next goes in to heat. When the girls go in and out of heat constantly, they drop weight and have the possibility of getting Pyometra. We will Blog when she next goes in to heat and is bred. We have a good idea that this will be sometime in August. If the mating to Willie takes, her babies would be due in October and available to go to their new homes in January.
On July 25th, we took Jared, Pansy's Seal Point Himi Boy to the Richmond Virginia Airport for his trip with Transpeter to his new home with the Trummers in Raymore, Missouri. To say that this boy is getting spoiled rotten is an understatement. He has every toy imaginable at his new home. Victoria and Terry have sent the above pictures and even a video. Victoria and Terry will be showing our Jared off at a CFA show in their regio n in the near future. Victoria is very excited about this. Jaredhad his Veterinarian appointment last week and passed with flying colors. Victoria even made him his own slowcooker chicken thighs this weekend using the CarnivoreRaw supplements. We are anxiously awaiting the family photo with Jared. His new name is Nicolas Jared, Nicky for short. He is named after Victoria's brother Nicky. From what I understand, they have some similar personalities. Victoria even said today via email that he runs to the door anytime the doorbell rings. His father goes outside and looks in the window to see Jared coming running to the door. That Willie, he just knows how to make outgoing and friendly kittens.
We took the kittens camping the weekend of July 26th up in Chesterfield, Virgina. What a beauty place. We camped at Pocahontas State Park. Kathy, Camellia and Hyacinth (Pansy's girls) came by the camping trailer for an outing with the kittens and their sister, Rose. We even took the stroller out with all the kittens in it for a stroll through the campground. Everyone had a great evening. The next day, Kathy met us at the CFA show in Richmond Virginia. Kathy is going to be showing Hyacinth (Seal Point Himalayan) at a CFA show in that area when she gets a bit older. We had a nice time with Kathy at the show.
Jonah (Peony's Flame Point Himalayan) is still with us. His information and photos are available on the Available Kitten's page. When Pansy's babies left for their new home and Peony's babies turned 13 weeks old, we let the remaining kittens (Rose, Miracle, Hydrangea and Jonah) have free roam in the whole house. It has definitely been a busy house with 4 kittens under foot and around every corner. The kittens are having the time of their life running up and down the stairs and between rooms. I find that these kittens prefer to be in the room that I am working in almost all the time. These are outgoing, friendly, people oriented kittens. Miracle, Rose and Hydrangea are staying here at the Cattery as our future breeders next year.
And last, but definitely not least, is our new girl, Diamond (Black and White Bi-color Persian). She is an absolute sweetheart. Her fur is growing back now after having to be shaved down due to her arrival here at the Cattery full of skin tight mats from the chin all the way to the butt. She seems to love her shave. She is still in isolation for another week and half as we watch for viruses or fungus. So far we are not seeing anything. We are still awaiting her CFA registration paperwork from the breeder in Texas. We will not be able to breed her till we receive the transfer of ownership paperwork on her. It has been a frustrating process trying to get it. Hopefully it will come soon. We did want to breed her this month but may have to hold off waiting for the paperwork. When Diamond had been here for 2 weeks, we put the Breeze litter box with pine pellets in to her room next to her litter box filled with clumping litter. She had used clumping litter at the last Cattery. Low and behold, Diamond choose immediately to start using the Breeze litter box with pine pellets. We were so happy to see this. She loves her wet food in the morning with Kitty Bloom vitamins. She is even gaining weight and filling out. Yeah! She is a smart girl. We are so impressed with her pedigree. In the first six generations of her parent's pedigree, we counted 63 Grand Champions and 83 Champions. All we can say is WOW! Mixed with Willie and his pedigree, we have high hopes for some wonderful show kittens. We hope they get Willie's extreme nose or a compromise between her very extreme nose and his very healthy extreme nose. We can expect from the mating, all Persians (50% being CPC) with 50% being solid and 50% being bi-color. 50% should be chocolates and the others will be chocolate carriers. We are so excited to see what they will produce together. We are hoping for a bi-color chocolate. So we are praying that her CFA transfer of ownership paperwork arrives soon from the breeder in Austin, Texas so she can be bred to Willie Wonka.
As you can see, we have been very busy. There is never a dull moment around here. There is plenty of catch up going on. When you have two litters back to back it can be extremely busy.
Stay tuned for our Adoptive Parent Appreciate Blogs starting this week.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW FAMILIES
July 20, 2013
We want to welcome two new families to our growing Victorian Gardens Cattery family. Today Joel, an extreme face Black Persian, went to his new family, the Tracys in Wilmington, North Carolina. His name is now Maxwell Joel Tracy. He will be doted on by this family of three. As of the writing, Joel had a good fun 3 hour trip to Wilmington and is now napping soundly in his new home.
Kathy from Sandston, Virgina took home her two girls, Camellia, a doll face Seal Point Himalayan, and her sister, Hyacinth, an extreme face Seal Point Himalayan. We just got off the phone with Kathy. The girls have only been home less than an hour and were having fun running all over the place exploring. Kathy was laughing on the phone at their actions.
It is always harder on the ones left behind and Jared is no exception. He is our sensitive lap cat and he knew that his buddy, Joel, the leader of the pack was gone. He was crying and wanted to be held and petted. Things will definitely slow down in our Main Cattery room since three of our kittens are now gone to their new homes, including the ring leader, Joel. Jared will be leaving, via plane, for his new home in Missouri on Monday. His parents are overjoyed to have him and are literally counting down the days. Will he be in for a treat! Can you spell "spoiled".
Many have written asking about Primrose and her status with her babies. As of the writing of this blog, Primrose is quiet and calm. Her temperature is normal and she is eating. We are all asking ... when are those babies going to arrive? Only she knows. If she has not had her babies by Monday morning, we will be taking her in to the Vet for an exam and another x-ray. So keep you fingers crossed that their arrival with be tonight or Sunday.
Diamond, our new bi-color Black and White Persian arrived on Thursday after traveling by plane for two days. We had to shave her down due to matting, but have left her huge show tail. So there will be no showing her at the CFA show in Virginia next weekend. Hopefully in the springtime, while she still has her winter coat on, we can show her. She is a sweet thing. She is in isolation for the first 4 weeks. After her isolation, she can mingle slowly with our other girls. Last night I went in to her room and sat down on the floor to be near her. She sat on my lap and put both paws on my chest and kneaded dough all the while purring up a storm. This should give you a great indication of her personality. She will be mated to Willie after she comes out of isolation.
We are contemplating mating Pansy earlier than normal to Willie since she keeps going through heat cycles. It is bad on a female's system to keep going through these heat cycles and not being bred. It can cause Pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus. When this happens, the likely outcome is spaying a cat. We had this happen this year to our beautiful Peony. We do not want to risk this happening to Pansy. So we are contemplating breeding her now, but our decision has not been made yet. So stay tuned. She is in heat now and if we bred her now, she will have Christmas kittens available.
July 20, 2013
We want to welcome two new families to our growing Victorian Gardens Cattery family. Today Joel, an extreme face Black Persian, went to his new family, the Tracys in Wilmington, North Carolina. His name is now Maxwell Joel Tracy. He will be doted on by this family of three. As of the writing, Joel had a good fun 3 hour trip to Wilmington and is now napping soundly in his new home.
Kathy from Sandston, Virgina took home her two girls, Camellia, a doll face Seal Point Himalayan, and her sister, Hyacinth, an extreme face Seal Point Himalayan. We just got off the phone with Kathy. The girls have only been home less than an hour and were having fun running all over the place exploring. Kathy was laughing on the phone at their actions.
It is always harder on the ones left behind and Jared is no exception. He is our sensitive lap cat and he knew that his buddy, Joel, the leader of the pack was gone. He was crying and wanted to be held and petted. Things will definitely slow down in our Main Cattery room since three of our kittens are now gone to their new homes, including the ring leader, Joel. Jared will be leaving, via plane, for his new home in Missouri on Monday. His parents are overjoyed to have him and are literally counting down the days. Will he be in for a treat! Can you spell "spoiled".
Many have written asking about Primrose and her status with her babies. As of the writing of this blog, Primrose is quiet and calm. Her temperature is normal and she is eating. We are all asking ... when are those babies going to arrive? Only she knows. If she has not had her babies by Monday morning, we will be taking her in to the Vet for an exam and another x-ray. So keep you fingers crossed that their arrival with be tonight or Sunday.
Diamond, our new bi-color Black and White Persian arrived on Thursday after traveling by plane for two days. We had to shave her down due to matting, but have left her huge show tail. So there will be no showing her at the CFA show in Virginia next weekend. Hopefully in the springtime, while she still has her winter coat on, we can show her. She is a sweet thing. She is in isolation for the first 4 weeks. After her isolation, she can mingle slowly with our other girls. Last night I went in to her room and sat down on the floor to be near her. She sat on my lap and put both paws on my chest and kneaded dough all the while purring up a storm. This should give you a great indication of her personality. She will be mated to Willie after she comes out of isolation.
We are contemplating mating Pansy earlier than normal to Willie since she keeps going through heat cycles. It is bad on a female's system to keep going through these heat cycles and not being bred. It can cause Pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus. When this happens, the likely outcome is spaying a cat. We had this happen this year to our beautiful Peony. We do not want to risk this happening to Pansy. So we are contemplating breeding her now, but our decision has not been made yet. So stay tuned. She is in heat now and if we bred her now, she will have Christmas kittens available.
Cat Fancy's October 2013 Cover
Black Persians
July 17, 2013
As you can see from the Cat Fancy October 2013 cover, our The Perfect English Rose's picture did not make the cover. However, the Managing Editor of Cat Fancy did pick one of her photos to be used in the issue. Her photo hopefully will be in the article on Black Persians. We were one of the Catteries interviewed for the article. So please stay tuned.
Black Persians
July 17, 2013
As you can see from the Cat Fancy October 2013 cover, our The Perfect English Rose's picture did not make the cover. However, the Managing Editor of Cat Fancy did pick one of her photos to be used in the issue. Her photo hopefully will be in the article on Black Persians. We were one of the Catteries interviewed for the article. So please stay tuned.
So Many Updates
July 15, 2013
We have just released a new video of Pansy and Peony's kittens playing in our Main Cattery Room. It had been quite a while since we had taken a new video. We may try to take another one before Pansy's kittens start leaving at the end of this week. The video can be viewed on YouTube or on our YouTube Videos page or in either Pansy or Peony's 2013 Nurseries. You can join the growing number of subscribers to our YouTube channel to receive automatic updates when we publish a new video.
Last night Primrose started into Stage 1 labor. We were up with her all night as she kept going in and out of labor. This was a surprise to us since today is Day 62 of her pregnancy. As I write this, she is sitting quietly beside me on the bed breathing quickly and kneading dough. She has yet to have any contractions. She will not let me leave her side.
Pansy's kittens turn 12 weeks old today. Today they will get their second 4 in 1 with Leukemia shots. So it is a very busy day at the Cattery.
And last but not least, our new girl, a black and white bicolor extreme face Persian carrying the chocolate gene and possible odd eye gene is suppose to arrive into Raleigh, NC airport from Austin, Texas on Tuesday night. She will be in isolation from the rest of the gang for 30 days to ensure that she is ringworm free and healthy. She will go for a HCM Cardiac Ultrasound in those 30 days of isolation, as well as a full Veterinarian health check this week. If her coat is in good condition, we are planning on showing her in the CFA Show held in Richmond, Virginia, July 27th. She is a beauty. She is one year old and is ready to breed to Willie Wonka, our Chocolate Point Himalayan, after her 30 days of isolation from the rest of the gang. We are hoping that combined they can produce a bicolor Chocolate & White and a Solid Chocolate Persian. All kittens will be Persians. There will be no Himalayans from her since she is not a CPC (Color Point Carrier) Persian. She will not be producing the dilute colors of: blue and lilac since she does not carry the dilute gene. She was born at well known Stepp'nStone's Cattery in Ontario, Canada. The Cattery is now closed due to retirement. She has excellent lines behind her, including some that are very similar to our girl's line. Once she is here, we will post her full pedigree. I think you will be impressed. The picture of her was taken at Stepp'nStone's Cattery when she was a kitten. Once she is here, we will get some updated pictures. We love her markings. She can produce bicolors of: Black & White, Red & White, Chocolate & White and solid colors of: Black, Red, Chocolate and Parti-colors of: Calico. If you have any questions about her, please feel free to contact us.
July 15, 2013
We have just released a new video of Pansy and Peony's kittens playing in our Main Cattery Room. It had been quite a while since we had taken a new video. We may try to take another one before Pansy's kittens start leaving at the end of this week. The video can be viewed on YouTube or on our YouTube Videos page or in either Pansy or Peony's 2013 Nurseries. You can join the growing number of subscribers to our YouTube channel to receive automatic updates when we publish a new video.
Last night Primrose started into Stage 1 labor. We were up with her all night as she kept going in and out of labor. This was a surprise to us since today is Day 62 of her pregnancy. As I write this, she is sitting quietly beside me on the bed breathing quickly and kneading dough. She has yet to have any contractions. She will not let me leave her side.
Pansy's kittens turn 12 weeks old today. Today they will get their second 4 in 1 with Leukemia shots. So it is a very busy day at the Cattery.
And last but not least, our new girl, a black and white bicolor extreme face Persian carrying the chocolate gene and possible odd eye gene is suppose to arrive into Raleigh, NC airport from Austin, Texas on Tuesday night. She will be in isolation from the rest of the gang for 30 days to ensure that she is ringworm free and healthy. She will go for a HCM Cardiac Ultrasound in those 30 days of isolation, as well as a full Veterinarian health check this week. If her coat is in good condition, we are planning on showing her in the CFA Show held in Richmond, Virginia, July 27th. She is a beauty. She is one year old and is ready to breed to Willie Wonka, our Chocolate Point Himalayan, after her 30 days of isolation from the rest of the gang. We are hoping that combined they can produce a bicolor Chocolate & White and a Solid Chocolate Persian. All kittens will be Persians. There will be no Himalayans from her since she is not a CPC (Color Point Carrier) Persian. She will not be producing the dilute colors of: blue and lilac since she does not carry the dilute gene. She was born at well known Stepp'nStone's Cattery in Ontario, Canada. The Cattery is now closed due to retirement. She has excellent lines behind her, including some that are very similar to our girl's line. Once she is here, we will post her full pedigree. I think you will be impressed. The picture of her was taken at Stepp'nStone's Cattery when she was a kitten. Once she is here, we will get some updated pictures. We love her markings. She can produce bicolors of: Black & White, Red & White, Chocolate & White and solid colors of: Black, Red, Chocolate and Parti-colors of: Calico. If you have any questions about her, please feel free to contact us.
An Afternoon at the Vet
Primrose, Peony and Pansy's Kittens
July 11, 2013
Today Peony and Pansy's kittens all went to our Veterinarian for their Wellness Exam. Their hearts passed inspection. We pulled a fecal sample from one kitten in each litter. All samples were negative. They were poked and prodded with barely any cries. OK, Jonah fussed when his fecal sample was taken and Little Miracle really did not like his private parts prodded. We took all the kittens into the Vet's office in our stroller. It was like a second home to them and most ended up falling asleep in the stroller during the examinations.
Primrose who is now on Day 58 of her pregnancy. She has had a weight gain of 27.5% of the weight she was at during her last heat. This is compared to 26.58% for her last pregnancy on this day. We brought Primrose to the Vet because she was really stumping us. She was not big and we really couldn't feel any babies moving, but she was gaining weight daily and her nipples were large and red. Our Vet examined her and could feel what he thought were two kittens. The x-ray showed one kitten. I looked at the chest of the kitten and thought I saw several skeletons. The other Vet looked at the x-ray and said he saw two. So my best guess is she is carrying two babies. The one baby that is clear to see on the x-ray was large. Tomorrow she starts on the Kitty Bloom Wate which will make the babies wake up and prepare for birthing. It will also give plenty of energy to Primrose to prepare her. We are really interested to see how fat these babies are since Primrose has been on the dry Young Again with no added supplements the majority of this pregnancy.
While we were at the Vet, we were able to get a picture of Primrose's x-ray and Dr. Billy Manning, our Veterinarian. He had his hands full and was loosing Joel who was hiding in back of the Seals. Thanks Dr. Manning for a great visit and spending so much time taking care of our gang.
Primrose, Peony and Pansy's Kittens
July 11, 2013
Today Peony and Pansy's kittens all went to our Veterinarian for their Wellness Exam. Their hearts passed inspection. We pulled a fecal sample from one kitten in each litter. All samples were negative. They were poked and prodded with barely any cries. OK, Jonah fussed when his fecal sample was taken and Little Miracle really did not like his private parts prodded. We took all the kittens into the Vet's office in our stroller. It was like a second home to them and most ended up falling asleep in the stroller during the examinations.
Primrose who is now on Day 58 of her pregnancy. She has had a weight gain of 27.5% of the weight she was at during her last heat. This is compared to 26.58% for her last pregnancy on this day. We brought Primrose to the Vet because she was really stumping us. She was not big and we really couldn't feel any babies moving, but she was gaining weight daily and her nipples were large and red. Our Vet examined her and could feel what he thought were two kittens. The x-ray showed one kitten. I looked at the chest of the kitten and thought I saw several skeletons. The other Vet looked at the x-ray and said he saw two. So my best guess is she is carrying two babies. The one baby that is clear to see on the x-ray was large. Tomorrow she starts on the Kitty Bloom Wate which will make the babies wake up and prepare for birthing. It will also give plenty of energy to Primrose to prepare her. We are really interested to see how fat these babies are since Primrose has been on the dry Young Again with no added supplements the majority of this pregnancy.
While we were at the Vet, we were able to get a picture of Primrose's x-ray and Dr. Billy Manning, our Veterinarian. He had his hands full and was loosing Joel who was hiding in back of the Seals. Thanks Dr. Manning for a great visit and spending so much time taking care of our gang.
Babies Go Camping and Strolling
July 9, 2013
Over the July 4th long weekend holiday, both Peony and Pansy's litters went camping in a nice, big camping trailer. It took only a few minutes for the kittens to adjust to their new environment. They all slept in their carriers in the back seat till we arrived at our camping site. We were able to spend quality time with both litters for which they are now totally spoiled from. We had Peony's kittens in one room and Pansy's kittens in another room till the last 2 days when we let them get to know each other. Everyone had a great time. We have provided some pictures of our camping trip. Pansy's kittens went in the stroller for the first time. There was absolute enjoyment for every kitten right from the start. It became well known that we were the folks with the stroller full of kittens in the Campground. We were stopped several times by people wanting to view our precious babies. One lady came out every time we strolled by her RV to view the kittens. These kittens were so at ease in the stroller that several of them would fall asleep during the stroll. We tried for an early morning stroll and a last evening stroll each day. We couldn't have been more pleased. We try to take each litter camping after they have turned 9 weeks old. It allows the kitten to adjust to a new environment and makes their new transition to their new home that much easier.
July 9, 2013
Over the July 4th long weekend holiday, both Peony and Pansy's litters went camping in a nice, big camping trailer. It took only a few minutes for the kittens to adjust to their new environment. They all slept in their carriers in the back seat till we arrived at our camping site. We were able to spend quality time with both litters for which they are now totally spoiled from. We had Peony's kittens in one room and Pansy's kittens in another room till the last 2 days when we let them get to know each other. Everyone had a great time. We have provided some pictures of our camping trip. Pansy's kittens went in the stroller for the first time. There was absolute enjoyment for every kitten right from the start. It became well known that we were the folks with the stroller full of kittens in the Campground. We were stopped several times by people wanting to view our precious babies. One lady came out every time we strolled by her RV to view the kittens. These kittens were so at ease in the stroller that several of them would fall asleep during the stroll. We tried for an early morning stroll and a last evening stroll each day. We couldn't have been more pleased. We try to take each litter camping after they have turned 9 weeks old. It allows the kitten to adjust to a new environment and makes their new transition to their new home that much easier.
JONAH
Available for Adoption
July 3, 2013
We have just finished going through our Wait List yesterday. We are now making Jonah, Peony's sweet Flame Point Himalayan boy, available for adoption. Jonah has a wonderful, outgoing and friendly personality. He grabs at the hearts of all who meet him. He is a charmer. He loves to play but he is also a cuddler and loves, loves, loves to be held and loved. You can ask for a better combination in a kitten. You can view his pictures and description on our Available Kittens page. He is currently 8 1/2 weeks old and will be able to leave for his forever loving home on August 3, 2013. If you have any questions, please let us know.
Available for Adoption
July 3, 2013
We have just finished going through our Wait List yesterday. We are now making Jonah, Peony's sweet Flame Point Himalayan boy, available for adoption. Jonah has a wonderful, outgoing and friendly personality. He grabs at the hearts of all who meet him. He is a charmer. He loves to play but he is also a cuddler and loves, loves, loves to be held and loved. You can ask for a better combination in a kitten. You can view his pictures and description on our Available Kittens page. He is currently 8 1/2 weeks old and will be able to leave for his forever loving home on August 3, 2013. If you have any questions, please let us know.
THE FELINE PHOTOGRAPHY OF DAVE RUSSO
June 29, 2013
Pansy and Peony's Kittens Photo Shoot
On Saturday, Dave Russo and his wife, Lila, came for a kitten visit. Boy did we have fun. Dave and Lila are father and mother to six kittens and cats of their own. Their lives are full of cats. Our own Solomon (renamed Toshi) joined their home in January this year. Dave and Lila love playing with the kittens and it is a great time when they come to the Cattery. You have never seen sillier people then when four adults get together with little kittens for a photo shoot. You would think we were nuts at the lengths we will go to get a good picture with all little fur eyes looking at the camera. It was hysterical. We got Peony's group right before their nap time. We photographed Pansy's group right after nap time. What a difference a few hours makes. It was a lovely day and Dave is wonderful in spending time getting the photos ready for us to enjoy. Thank you so much Dave and Lila. You are a blessing.
The Newest Photo Shoots Available
June 25, 2013
Yesterday we did a Photo Shoot of Pansy and Peony's Kittens. Pansy's kittens turned 9 weeks old on Monday. Peony's kittens turned 7 weeks old on Saturday. Pansy's kittens had their first set of shots yesterday ... 4 in 1 with Leukemia. Everyone came through with flying colors. It is always a relief to have the first set done with. All the kittens this week are getting their full sets of dewormers. They did have some pretreatment at a young age, but now we are dosing them right before they are to leave here. Pansy's kittens are moving this evening to the Main Cattery room. We have been disinfecting and santizing everything for their arrival. Peony's kittens will be moved finally to the Toddler Room tomorrow after we get done disinfecting and sanitizing everything, including toys and playstations, in that room. It is well past time because Pansy's kittens have outgrown the little playstation and Peony's babies are climbing on everything in their Nursery. We will do a new video once everyone is well established in their new rooms. We are currently half way through our Priority Wait List. So for those who have not been called or emailed, please expect a call soon. Thank you all for your patience. Enjoy the pictures.
You can view the newest photo shoots in the mother's respective nurseries:
http://www.victoriangardenscattery.com/peonys-nursery-2013.html
http://www.victoriangardenscattery.com/pansys-nursery-2013.html
June 25, 2013
Yesterday we did a Photo Shoot of Pansy and Peony's Kittens. Pansy's kittens turned 9 weeks old on Monday. Peony's kittens turned 7 weeks old on Saturday. Pansy's kittens had their first set of shots yesterday ... 4 in 1 with Leukemia. Everyone came through with flying colors. It is always a relief to have the first set done with. All the kittens this week are getting their full sets of dewormers. They did have some pretreatment at a young age, but now we are dosing them right before they are to leave here. Pansy's kittens are moving this evening to the Main Cattery room. We have been disinfecting and santizing everything for their arrival. Peony's kittens will be moved finally to the Toddler Room tomorrow after we get done disinfecting and sanitizing everything, including toys and playstations, in that room. It is well past time because Pansy's kittens have outgrown the little playstation and Peony's babies are climbing on everything in their Nursery. We will do a new video once everyone is well established in their new rooms. We are currently half way through our Priority Wait List. So for those who have not been called or emailed, please expect a call soon. Thank you all for your patience. Enjoy the pictures.
You can view the newest photo shoots in the mother's respective nurseries:
http://www.victoriangardenscattery.com/peonys-nursery-2013.html
http://www.victoriangardenscattery.com/pansys-nursery-2013.html
Primrose Update
June 16, 2013
As many of you know already, Primrose is pregnant. Willie and her babies are due on or after July 17, 2013. She is now on Day 33 or exactly half way through her pregnancy. As of today's date, she is now weighting 12.7% more than she did when she was mated. That is a great increase in her weight. She is on the Young Again 50/22 dry food with no supplements. To compare her weight to her last litter, on Day 34 of her last litter, she had gained 7.45% and Pansy had gained 6.4% on Day 34. She is weighting exactly the same on Day 34 as she did on both pregnancies. With all the in and out of heat, it plays a toll on weight. So she has gained back what she original lost during all those heats. We will pay close attention to Primrose's weight to see if she will actually be weighting more by the time of delivery then she did last litter. If you remember Primrose and Pansy both had babies that were very large at birth. Already her weight gain is almost double that of last years litter for that date. So we are excited to see what will happen.
Since we had not posted videos or photos in a while, we are playing catch up this weekend. Pansy's kittens were introduced today to the track ball and the laser mouse. All of the new toys went over with a big hit. Now we will get woken up in the middle of the night with the side of the ball going around the track. We just published another video of Pansy's litter and another one for Peony's litter. You can view them on our YouTube channel, in their Nurseries page or on our YouTube Videos page. Hope you enjoy them. If you like them, please "like" the video on Youtube and/or leave a comment on Youtube. We will try for some more formal pictures of the kittens this week along with naming them. Hopefully by the end of the week, we can start down our Priority Wait List for matching families with kittens for their forever home.
We also wanted to do a comparison of weight for Pansy's litter compared to Primrose and Pansy's last litter. Remember that Pansy's babies were weaned at 3 weeks old right on to our homemade cooked food. So here is the comparison. We are very pleased since Pansy had 5 kittens compared to 4 kittens in Primrose's litter and Pansy's first litter. Kitten #2 is only 20 grams away from our biggest kitten yet, Samson, at 1010 grams. He is eating the homemade cooked food. Boy, can this boy eat. This is as of today's weight compared to the same point in time on the last litters.
Pansy Litter #2
Kitten #1: 920 grams (Female)
Kitten #2: 990 grams (Male)
Kitten #3: 890 grams (Female)
Kitten #4: 795 grams (Female)
Kitten #5: 905 grams (Male)
Pansy Litter #1
Dahlia: 836 grams
Delphinium: 718 grams
Dianthus: 971 grams
Daffodil: 830 grams
Primrose Litter #2
Nathaniel: 840 grams
Solomon:950 grams
Annie: 860 grams
Samson: 1010 grams
Kitten #5 is only eating the dry kitten food and nursing. He is a wild thing. He loves to play and play crazy. The rest are all nursing and eating the cooked homemade food.
Peony's babies are about 10 days behind Pansy's babies. They just started weaning on the homemade cooked food. They have had the dry available to them. With that said, Peony's babies are catching up to what Pansy's babies were at on Day 44. So I think in the end, Peony's babies will not be far behind Pansy's babies in weight. Remember Peony is a lot smaller than Pansy and was not eatting the homemade cooked food. She is now, in the last week, eating both along with her babies. So it will be interesting to see how they progress weight wise.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
June 16, 2013
As many of you know already, Primrose is pregnant. Willie and her babies are due on or after July 17, 2013. She is now on Day 33 or exactly half way through her pregnancy. As of today's date, she is now weighting 12.7% more than she did when she was mated. That is a great increase in her weight. She is on the Young Again 50/22 dry food with no supplements. To compare her weight to her last litter, on Day 34 of her last litter, she had gained 7.45% and Pansy had gained 6.4% on Day 34. She is weighting exactly the same on Day 34 as she did on both pregnancies. With all the in and out of heat, it plays a toll on weight. So she has gained back what she original lost during all those heats. We will pay close attention to Primrose's weight to see if she will actually be weighting more by the time of delivery then she did last litter. If you remember Primrose and Pansy both had babies that were very large at birth. Already her weight gain is almost double that of last years litter for that date. So we are excited to see what will happen.
Since we had not posted videos or photos in a while, we are playing catch up this weekend. Pansy's kittens were introduced today to the track ball and the laser mouse. All of the new toys went over with a big hit. Now we will get woken up in the middle of the night with the side of the ball going around the track. We just published another video of Pansy's litter and another one for Peony's litter. You can view them on our YouTube channel, in their Nurseries page or on our YouTube Videos page. Hope you enjoy them. If you like them, please "like" the video on Youtube and/or leave a comment on Youtube. We will try for some more formal pictures of the kittens this week along with naming them. Hopefully by the end of the week, we can start down our Priority Wait List for matching families with kittens for their forever home.
We also wanted to do a comparison of weight for Pansy's litter compared to Primrose and Pansy's last litter. Remember that Pansy's babies were weaned at 3 weeks old right on to our homemade cooked food. So here is the comparison. We are very pleased since Pansy had 5 kittens compared to 4 kittens in Primrose's litter and Pansy's first litter. Kitten #2 is only 20 grams away from our biggest kitten yet, Samson, at 1010 grams. He is eating the homemade cooked food. Boy, can this boy eat. This is as of today's weight compared to the same point in time on the last litters.
Pansy Litter #2
Kitten #1: 920 grams (Female)
Kitten #2: 990 grams (Male)
Kitten #3: 890 grams (Female)
Kitten #4: 795 grams (Female)
Kitten #5: 905 grams (Male)
Pansy Litter #1
Dahlia: 836 grams
Delphinium: 718 grams
Dianthus: 971 grams
Daffodil: 830 grams
Primrose Litter #2
Nathaniel: 840 grams
Solomon:950 grams
Annie: 860 grams
Samson: 1010 grams
Kitten #5 is only eating the dry kitten food and nursing. He is a wild thing. He loves to play and play crazy. The rest are all nursing and eating the cooked homemade food.
Peony's babies are about 10 days behind Pansy's babies. They just started weaning on the homemade cooked food. They have had the dry available to them. With that said, Peony's babies are catching up to what Pansy's babies were at on Day 44. So I think in the end, Peony's babies will not be far behind Pansy's babies in weight. Remember Peony is a lot smaller than Pansy and was not eatting the homemade cooked food. She is now, in the last week, eating both along with her babies. So it will be interesting to see how they progress weight wise.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Peony's Babies Six Week Birthday Photos and Videos
June 15, 2013
Today was busy at the Cattery as Peony's babies had their first bath session and second nail trimming. While they were drying in the second Nursery, we took the time to thoroughly sanitize their Nursery floor. When they returned to their Nursery, they were fed and were tired after the stress of their first bath. We took the time to take some pictures right after their bath and right before their nap time. One video features Little Miracle in his new bed playing with his feet as he waits to fall asleep. Just like a human baby plays in its crib during nap time, prior to conking out. Our little Seal girl has the smallest ears of any kitten of ours to date. In fact she is the most cobby and short kitten we have had to date. We hope we will be able to show her in CFA shows. We will just have to wait to see how she develops.
You can view the videos on our YouTube Channel, Pansy's Nursery 2013, or our YouTube Videos page. You can subscribe to our growing base of YouTube subscribers (97 and growing) by going directly to our YouTube Channel. Once subscribed, you will be notified as soon as we publish a video. Enjoy.
June 15, 2013
Today was busy at the Cattery as Peony's babies had their first bath session and second nail trimming. While they were drying in the second Nursery, we took the time to thoroughly sanitize their Nursery floor. When they returned to their Nursery, they were fed and were tired after the stress of their first bath. We took the time to take some pictures right after their bath and right before their nap time. One video features Little Miracle in his new bed playing with his feet as he waits to fall asleep. Just like a human baby plays in its crib during nap time, prior to conking out. Our little Seal girl has the smallest ears of any kitten of ours to date. In fact she is the most cobby and short kitten we have had to date. We hope we will be able to show her in CFA shows. We will just have to wait to see how she develops.
You can view the videos on our YouTube Channel, Pansy's Nursery 2013, or our YouTube Videos page. You can subscribe to our growing base of YouTube subscribers (97 and growing) by going directly to our YouTube Channel. Once subscribed, you will be notified as soon as we publish a video. Enjoy.
It's Nap Time At The Cattery
Candid Photos and Video
June 15, 2013
Today Pansy and Willie's kittens played hard for about 2 hours. We washed their faces and watched them playing together. They are a hoot. About 30 minutes before their nap time, we took a video and then started taking candid pictures of them. They are not cropped, so please excuse my feet showing. They were fighting sleep but did not want to give up their playtime. Sounds just like human children. They have grown and developed a lot since our last set of pictures and videos. Kitten #2's face looks just like Willie, his father, except for the coloring. Kitten #5 looks the spitting image of The Perfect Dahlia from Pansy's first litter, last year. If they had been put side by side as babies, you would have not been able to tell them apart except for the sex. Kitten #3 looks just like Daffodil from Pansy's first litter last year. We will be naming the kittens in the next week. Kitten #4 is an absolute ham for the camera. We are hoping she makes it on the cover of Cat Fancy Magazine's October edition, which will feature the Black Persian. We have already been interviewed for the article. Say a little prayer ... Stay tuned to our YouTube Channel, Pansy's Nursery 2013, or our YouTube Videos page for the publication of our latest video today. You can subscribe to our growing base of YouTube subscribers by going directly to our YouTube Channel. Once subscribed, you will be notified as soon as we publish a video. Enjoy.
Candid Photos and Video
June 15, 2013
Today Pansy and Willie's kittens played hard for about 2 hours. We washed their faces and watched them playing together. They are a hoot. About 30 minutes before their nap time, we took a video and then started taking candid pictures of them. They are not cropped, so please excuse my feet showing. They were fighting sleep but did not want to give up their playtime. Sounds just like human children. They have grown and developed a lot since our last set of pictures and videos. Kitten #2's face looks just like Willie, his father, except for the coloring. Kitten #5 looks the spitting image of The Perfect Dahlia from Pansy's first litter, last year. If they had been put side by side as babies, you would have not been able to tell them apart except for the sex. Kitten #3 looks just like Daffodil from Pansy's first litter last year. We will be naming the kittens in the next week. Kitten #4 is an absolute ham for the camera. We are hoping she makes it on the cover of Cat Fancy Magazine's October edition, which will feature the Black Persian. We have already been interviewed for the article. Say a little prayer ... Stay tuned to our YouTube Channel, Pansy's Nursery 2013, or our YouTube Videos page for the publication of our latest video today. You can subscribe to our growing base of YouTube subscribers by going directly to our YouTube Channel. Once subscribed, you will be notified as soon as we publish a video. Enjoy.
Update on Pansy and Peony's Babies
June 15, 2013
Today was a busy day for our Cattery. Pansy's babies had their first bath session and their second nail trimming. The babies were excellent in the water. There was only one that fussed and then just a little. They were dried in the second nursery. This allowed us to clear out the Toddler Room and sanitize the floors in anticipation of a visit from Peony's babies.
This evening we brought Peony's babies in to meet Pansy and her babies for a 30 minute visit. Pansy's babies were right in the middle of playtime. Pansy's babies just smelled them and then went on with their play. They all did very well at being introduced. Pansy wanted to smell and lick them for which Peony's babies were a little cautious. Peony laid down on the floor and talked to her babies when they would come up to her. So overall, it went very well. Tomorrow, Peony's babies will have their first bath and second nail trim. Then they will spend more time in the Toddler Room with Pansy's gang while we santize the floors in the Victorian Nursery. If the meeting goes well, we may leave them in the Toddler Room to see if that will be their new home. Peony and Pansy are both very protective of their babies so if there is any problem, it will probably be between the mothers. So we will take it very slow. Peony's babies have grown a lot and we think they may be able to handle Pansy's big babies, maybe I should start saying kittens. We should be able to get some videos of all eight kittens together this weekend. We will also do a photo shoot of the kittens. So please stay tuned.
June 15, 2013
Today was a busy day for our Cattery. Pansy's babies had their first bath session and their second nail trimming. The babies were excellent in the water. There was only one that fussed and then just a little. They were dried in the second nursery. This allowed us to clear out the Toddler Room and sanitize the floors in anticipation of a visit from Peony's babies.
This evening we brought Peony's babies in to meet Pansy and her babies for a 30 minute visit. Pansy's babies were right in the middle of playtime. Pansy's babies just smelled them and then went on with their play. They all did very well at being introduced. Pansy wanted to smell and lick them for which Peony's babies were a little cautious. Peony laid down on the floor and talked to her babies when they would come up to her. So overall, it went very well. Tomorrow, Peony's babies will have their first bath and second nail trim. Then they will spend more time in the Toddler Room with Pansy's gang while we santize the floors in the Victorian Nursery. If the meeting goes well, we may leave them in the Toddler Room to see if that will be their new home. Peony and Pansy are both very protective of their babies so if there is any problem, it will probably be between the mothers. So we will take it very slow. Peony's babies have grown a lot and we think they may be able to handle Pansy's big babies, maybe I should start saying kittens. We should be able to get some videos of all eight kittens together this weekend. We will also do a photo shoot of the kittens. So please stay tuned.
Beautiful Delphi
Female Doll Faced Seal Point Himalayan
June 12, 2013
Pansy's little girl from her first litter named Delphinium has blossomed into a beauty little girl. Jill renamed Delphinium, Gemma. This past week, Jill sent us some close ups of Delphinium. Her eyes have turned out a wonderful medium blue. Delphinium is not quite one year old, so her eye color should continue to darkened till she reaches the age of 18 months old. We can't wait to see her eye color at 18 months old. We were so excited to see this terrific eye color from Pansy and Willie's baby. Delphinium inherited Willie's unique cream mustache. Just look at those long and curled whiskers. And the hair ... oh my ... she has Buttercup's fabulous coat. Thank you Jill for providing these close up pictures for all to enjoy.
Female Doll Faced Seal Point Himalayan
June 12, 2013
Pansy's little girl from her first litter named Delphinium has blossomed into a beauty little girl. Jill renamed Delphinium, Gemma. This past week, Jill sent us some close ups of Delphinium. Her eyes have turned out a wonderful medium blue. Delphinium is not quite one year old, so her eye color should continue to darkened till she reaches the age of 18 months old. We can't wait to see her eye color at 18 months old. We were so excited to see this terrific eye color from Pansy and Willie's baby. Delphinium inherited Willie's unique cream mustache. Just look at those long and curled whiskers. And the hair ... oh my ... she has Buttercup's fabulous coat. Thank you Jill for providing these close up pictures for all to enjoy.
Update on Pansy and Peony's Babies
May 31, 2013
We wanted to give everyone an update on Pansy and Peony's babies as they are growing up so very fast. I just wish I could keep them at a certain age but as in everything in life, kittens do grow up. Peony's babies are now all getting out of their birthing bed on their own, walking around, wrestling and playing with each other. The Flame boy is even running. Now that doesn't surprise me since he was the first to get out of the birthing bed in the first place. They are all over the place. Their weight gain is very steady at 10 to 15 grams and sometimes 20 each day. By the time we have the next photo shoot and video, they will have changed so much.
Pansy's babies are now going up to the second floor of the playstation on their own. The Seal Points are now eating the Young Again dry food mixed in with my homemade cooked food. The hold outs on the weaning are the Black Persians. Neither one now seems to like my homemade food. The little boy is eating Fancy Feast kitten which is carbohydrate free. My little girl does not seem to like wet food but prefers her mother's milk. She actually spits the food out if you put it in her mouth. I think I might have a picky eater on my hands. She is definitely not taking after her mother in the food consumption area. Her mother eats like a horse. That is one of the reasons she produces such large babies. So the Black Persians are taking everything at their own pace. All the babies are sniffing at the dry food which makes me VERY happy. It is very interesting to see the differencies in personality traits between the Black Persians and the Seal Points. In Pansy's first litter, I really didn't see any differences in personality or size between the Persians and Himalayans but this litter, her Black Persians are definitely not as aggressive as the Seal Points who are very rambuncious. The Black Persians were born the smallest of the group, but still good sized babies. It should be interesting to see how they change over the next few weeks. Pansy went in to heat about a week ago probably because of the early weaning (3 week). Hopefully she comes out of heat very soon. She will not be bred until early next year.
Next Thursday, we will be able to tell if Primrose got pregnant from being bred to Willie a few weeks ago.
Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend ahead.
May 31, 2013
We wanted to give everyone an update on Pansy and Peony's babies as they are growing up so very fast. I just wish I could keep them at a certain age but as in everything in life, kittens do grow up. Peony's babies are now all getting out of their birthing bed on their own, walking around, wrestling and playing with each other. The Flame boy is even running. Now that doesn't surprise me since he was the first to get out of the birthing bed in the first place. They are all over the place. Their weight gain is very steady at 10 to 15 grams and sometimes 20 each day. By the time we have the next photo shoot and video, they will have changed so much.
Pansy's babies are now going up to the second floor of the playstation on their own. The Seal Points are now eating the Young Again dry food mixed in with my homemade cooked food. The hold outs on the weaning are the Black Persians. Neither one now seems to like my homemade food. The little boy is eating Fancy Feast kitten which is carbohydrate free. My little girl does not seem to like wet food but prefers her mother's milk. She actually spits the food out if you put it in her mouth. I think I might have a picky eater on my hands. She is definitely not taking after her mother in the food consumption area. Her mother eats like a horse. That is one of the reasons she produces such large babies. So the Black Persians are taking everything at their own pace. All the babies are sniffing at the dry food which makes me VERY happy. It is very interesting to see the differencies in personality traits between the Black Persians and the Seal Points. In Pansy's first litter, I really didn't see any differences in personality or size between the Persians and Himalayans but this litter, her Black Persians are definitely not as aggressive as the Seal Points who are very rambuncious. The Black Persians were born the smallest of the group, but still good sized babies. It should be interesting to see how they change over the next few weeks. Pansy went in to heat about a week ago probably because of the early weaning (3 week). Hopefully she comes out of heat very soon. She will not be bred until early next year.
Next Thursday, we will be able to tell if Primrose got pregnant from being bred to Willie a few weeks ago.
Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend ahead.
May 24, 2013 - Pansy and Willie's Babies
32 Day Victorian Chamber Pot Photo Shoot
The babies were woke up from their naps for this photo shoot. There never seems to be a perfect time when the light is right and the babies are wide awake. Our very rambunctious Seal Points in their wild play time this week that included biting and scratching each other's faces, made for some pink around the eyes. You can see their videos from this week to see what I mean. Our Pink Girl must have gotten scratched the most. You only have to look at the video to see why. She usually instigates the rough play. At one point during the photo shoot, she tried to leap off the bed. She is fearless for sure. Their little personalities are really starting to come out.
The babies were too young to be interested in sitting in a Chamber Pot to take a photo. As an example, Kitten #1 only wanted to play for the camera almost the whole time, so we just went with it. She is going to have a massive long coat. Her face is already overwhelmed by her long hair on top of her head. Our little Black Persian girl only wanted to sleep in the Chamber Pot. Maybe it was not the best week for the Photo Shoot but I hope you enjoy the pictures. I fell madly in love last night with Kitten #2 who crawled up on my lap, laid down and just was content to be petted for a long time. He ended up falling asleep stretched out on my lap. You really could not ask for anything more in the way of love. This morning Kitten #1 was on my lap on her back, stretched out playing with a toy. Pansy and Willie really do have babies with great loving personalities.
You can see the Victorian Chamber Pot Photo Shoot in Pansy's Nursery 2013
32 Day Victorian Chamber Pot Photo Shoot
The babies were woke up from their naps for this photo shoot. There never seems to be a perfect time when the light is right and the babies are wide awake. Our very rambunctious Seal Points in their wild play time this week that included biting and scratching each other's faces, made for some pink around the eyes. You can see their videos from this week to see what I mean. Our Pink Girl must have gotten scratched the most. You only have to look at the video to see why. She usually instigates the rough play. At one point during the photo shoot, she tried to leap off the bed. She is fearless for sure. Their little personalities are really starting to come out.
The babies were too young to be interested in sitting in a Chamber Pot to take a photo. As an example, Kitten #1 only wanted to play for the camera almost the whole time, so we just went with it. She is going to have a massive long coat. Her face is already overwhelmed by her long hair on top of her head. Our little Black Persian girl only wanted to sleep in the Chamber Pot. Maybe it was not the best week for the Photo Shoot but I hope you enjoy the pictures. I fell madly in love last night with Kitten #2 who crawled up on my lap, laid down and just was content to be petted for a long time. He ended up falling asleep stretched out on my lap. You really could not ask for anything more in the way of love. This morning Kitten #1 was on my lap on her back, stretched out playing with a toy. Pansy and Willie really do have babies with great loving personalities.
You can see the Victorian Chamber Pot Photo Shoot in Pansy's Nursery 2013
Day 20 - Peony's Babies Photo Shoot
May 24, 2013
Peony's babies are now walking very fast up to you when you come near them. They are making great progress. As of Wednesday nights weigh-in, Little Miracle has gone past his Seal sister in weight and his fur is starting to come in thicker and lengthen. He is a love bug and craves attention and petting. He especially loves his head rubbed. Our Seal girl's fur is starting to show the regular Seal cream roots which will be her normal fur coat color. She is walking, almost running now. She is very cobby with nice short body and legs. Her eyes are bright and she is so alert. We are seriously considering keeping her as a future breeder. The Seal's girls eye color is a little different than the two boys at this time. Her baby eyes are deep Royal Blue, where as the boys are a very deep blue gray. The larger Flame Point boy is so sweet and gentle. We may have a lapcat in the making. All her babies are carrying the chocolate gene and one or two should be carrying the dilute gene. Only DNA testing would tell who is carrying the dilute gene. It looks like all three of these babies are extreme face but we want to wait a little bit longer to know for sure. Their faces are developing so fast during this time and we want the eyes to be fully open to make the determination. There really is a fine line between an extreme face and a doll face. An extreme face has the top of its nose pad level with the bottom of the eye or above. A doll face has the top of its nose pad lower than the bottom of the eye. So really it could be a matter of 1/16" determination. All our extreme faces have been gifted with large nostrils. larger nose pads and a small nose bridge, thanks to Willie's genes. So we don't have the health problems that normal extreme faced Persians have with tiny nose pads, no nose bridge and tiny nostrils. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
You can view the Photo Shoot in Peony's Nursery 2013
And, by the way, we did the Antique Victorian Chamber Pot Photo Session today for Pansy's babies. It was a little early to do the Chamber Pot for them. Usually we wait till the babies are five or six weeks old. So many of the shots are outside the Chamber Pot because some of the babies did not want to stay in it. We will publish that photo shoot tomorrow, Saturday, in Pansy's Nursery 2013.
Today was busy at the Cattery with cleaning and moving both litters between new rooms for them. Pansy's babies are asleep as I write in their Toddler Room. It is so big for them right now. But just wait, in four more weeks, they will have more than likely outgrown it also. They will be moved to our Main Cattery Room one week after their first set of shots which is scheduled for June 24th. How does time fly. It will be nice to have Peony's babies in a bigger room where they can stay out on the floor more and explore and walk and run. I am sure Peony's will enjoy it also.
And it appears that Pansy's babies have all been successfully potty trained in just these few days. They are also well on their way to weaning. Our Kitten #2 loves his food so much that he has passed the weight Kitten #1, which was our largest kitten.
May 24, 2013
Peony's babies are now walking very fast up to you when you come near them. They are making great progress. As of Wednesday nights weigh-in, Little Miracle has gone past his Seal sister in weight and his fur is starting to come in thicker and lengthen. He is a love bug and craves attention and petting. He especially loves his head rubbed. Our Seal girl's fur is starting to show the regular Seal cream roots which will be her normal fur coat color. She is walking, almost running now. She is very cobby with nice short body and legs. Her eyes are bright and she is so alert. We are seriously considering keeping her as a future breeder. The Seal's girls eye color is a little different than the two boys at this time. Her baby eyes are deep Royal Blue, where as the boys are a very deep blue gray. The larger Flame Point boy is so sweet and gentle. We may have a lapcat in the making. All her babies are carrying the chocolate gene and one or two should be carrying the dilute gene. Only DNA testing would tell who is carrying the dilute gene. It looks like all three of these babies are extreme face but we want to wait a little bit longer to know for sure. Their faces are developing so fast during this time and we want the eyes to be fully open to make the determination. There really is a fine line between an extreme face and a doll face. An extreme face has the top of its nose pad level with the bottom of the eye or above. A doll face has the top of its nose pad lower than the bottom of the eye. So really it could be a matter of 1/16" determination. All our extreme faces have been gifted with large nostrils. larger nose pads and a small nose bridge, thanks to Willie's genes. So we don't have the health problems that normal extreme faced Persians have with tiny nose pads, no nose bridge and tiny nostrils. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
You can view the Photo Shoot in Peony's Nursery 2013
And, by the way, we did the Antique Victorian Chamber Pot Photo Session today for Pansy's babies. It was a little early to do the Chamber Pot for them. Usually we wait till the babies are five or six weeks old. So many of the shots are outside the Chamber Pot because some of the babies did not want to stay in it. We will publish that photo shoot tomorrow, Saturday, in Pansy's Nursery 2013.
Today was busy at the Cattery with cleaning and moving both litters between new rooms for them. Pansy's babies are asleep as I write in their Toddler Room. It is so big for them right now. But just wait, in four more weeks, they will have more than likely outgrown it also. They will be moved to our Main Cattery Room one week after their first set of shots which is scheduled for June 24th. How does time fly. It will be nice to have Peony's babies in a bigger room where they can stay out on the floor more and explore and walk and run. I am sure Peony's will enjoy it also.
And it appears that Pansy's babies have all been successfully potty trained in just these few days. They are also well on their way to weaning. Our Kitten #2 loves his food so much that he has passed the weight Kitten #1, which was our largest kitten.
The Perfect Calla Lily
Newest Photo Gallery
May 23, 2013
Heather sent us some pictures of The Perfect Calla Lily from Facebook. She is a Flame Point Himalayan from our first litter in 2009 between Petunia Lilymae (Cream Point Himalayan) and Lord Chesterfield the First (Red and White Persian). She is also the sister to The Perfect Buttercup (Cream Point Himalayan) and The Perfect Primrose (Cream Persian). Here is a quick note from Heather: "The way her fur grows on her face makes her look mad sometimes! She is a sweetie and is obsessed with water. Every time I even walk near a faucet, she meows like crazy. She comes flying into the kitchen when she hears the ice dispenser!" Comments on photos from Heather. Thanks Heather for these great pictures. I love the Thin Mints Picture! What a character she is.
Newest Photo Gallery
May 23, 2013
Heather sent us some pictures of The Perfect Calla Lily from Facebook. She is a Flame Point Himalayan from our first litter in 2009 between Petunia Lilymae (Cream Point Himalayan) and Lord Chesterfield the First (Red and White Persian). She is also the sister to The Perfect Buttercup (Cream Point Himalayan) and The Perfect Primrose (Cream Persian). Here is a quick note from Heather: "The way her fur grows on her face makes her look mad sometimes! She is a sweetie and is obsessed with water. Every time I even walk near a faucet, she meows like crazy. She comes flying into the kitchen when she hears the ice dispenser!" Comments on photos from Heather. Thanks Heather for these great pictures. I love the Thin Mints Picture! What a character she is.
Peony's Babies Newest Video
May 20, 2013
We are downloading to YouTube this evening, Peony's babies newest video. It features all three Himalayan kittens as they have their first walk around on the blanket today, Day 17 of their lives. We are going to try to let them on the blanket once a day so that they can strengthen their legs for walking and running. They are all doing very well and gaining at a normal rate. Their eyes are all open. There eyes still need to adjust to the bright light in the pregnancy room versus the dimmer light in their Nursery. This video should gives you a good view of their precious faces.
You can subscribe to our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens" to be notified immediately when a video is published. While viewing the video, if you like it, please click on the "like" button and leave a comment. You can view the video once it is published either directly on YouTube, in Peony's Nursery 2013 or on YouTube Videos page. Enjoy these precious miracles.
For those who may have missed the news on the Available Kittens Page, Primrose was bred last week for three days. We will have pregnancy confirmation at the beginning of June or three weeks from last Thursday. Primrose provides us with large, doll faced babies which are very popular. Stay tuned for news of her hopeful pregnancy.
May 20, 2013
We are downloading to YouTube this evening, Peony's babies newest video. It features all three Himalayan kittens as they have their first walk around on the blanket today, Day 17 of their lives. We are going to try to let them on the blanket once a day so that they can strengthen their legs for walking and running. They are all doing very well and gaining at a normal rate. Their eyes are all open. There eyes still need to adjust to the bright light in the pregnancy room versus the dimmer light in their Nursery. This video should gives you a good view of their precious faces.
You can subscribe to our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens" to be notified immediately when a video is published. While viewing the video, if you like it, please click on the "like" button and leave a comment. You can view the video once it is published either directly on YouTube, in Peony's Nursery 2013 or on YouTube Videos page. Enjoy these precious miracles.
For those who may have missed the news on the Available Kittens Page, Primrose was bred last week for three days. We will have pregnancy confirmation at the beginning of June or three weeks from last Thursday. Primrose provides us with large, doll faced babies which are very popular. Stay tuned for news of her hopeful pregnancy.
Spreadsheet Comparing 60 Prescriptive/RX Diet Dry Cat Food Brands
| yacfcrxdietchart-5-08-2013final.pdf |
Spreadsheet Comparing 80 Dry Cat Food Brands
| yachartbook_all.pdf |
Update on Andy and Jed
May 19, 2013
Two Peas in Petunia's Pod: Andy, Cream Pt Himalayan & Jed, Cream Persian.
We have been delayed in getting Andy and Jed's update on our blog since it came in right between our litter births and the picture came in prior to that. You can tell by the picture that Jed was just waking up. Faye is always great about keeping us updated and we really do enjoy hearing their stories ... especially Jed's newest antics. If you have not had a chance to read some of Jed's stories, just head over to the Adopted Kittens 2011 page. He is one very determined and smart boy. Probably the smartest we have ever had, though I must say, Toshi is going to give him a run for the money. Andy is just about as sweet as a cat can be. We missed our lapcat when he left for his new home. Hope you enjoy Faye's stories. Here is the latest update: "Andy and Jed are their usual delightful selves. Andy is totally laid back except in the morning when we are having our coffee. He tears around the room, down the hall, climbs to the top of our tall cat condo, throws catnip toys in the air and jumps up for them. Then, after about 20 minutes he stretches out by Tashi and takes a nap. Jed spreads his active time out throughout the day! " Thanks Faye for the update.
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The Toshi That No One or Thing Can Stop
May 17, 2013
On Thursday of this week, Toshi (Solomon), Flame Point Himalayan headed to his veterinarian for his neuter surgery. He had been there the day before for his lab work. He came through his neuter surgery with flying colors. Lila provided us with the following pretty amazing story: "He has not stopped running. The little red dragon started to fetch the minute he got in the house. He had his tiny bit of pain medicine from a syringe and that slowed him down a bit – for a while. Then it was fetch that spring toy again…and again…and again. He carries it over and brushes against my foot so I know he’s ready for me to throw it. It really is unreal to see how wild he is, having just had surgery! What’s wrong with us, that we can’t bounce back as he does? They are just in love with him at Mayfair. ... I have a feeling the baby will soon crash and burn, because he’s gone nonstop since about 6:00." Yes, I wish we all could pounce back like Toshi did right after surgery.
May 17, 2013
On Thursday of this week, Toshi (Solomon), Flame Point Himalayan headed to his veterinarian for his neuter surgery. He had been there the day before for his lab work. He came through his neuter surgery with flying colors. Lila provided us with the following pretty amazing story: "He has not stopped running. The little red dragon started to fetch the minute he got in the house. He had his tiny bit of pain medicine from a syringe and that slowed him down a bit – for a while. Then it was fetch that spring toy again…and again…and again. He carries it over and brushes against my foot so I know he’s ready for me to throw it. It really is unreal to see how wild he is, having just had surgery! What’s wrong with us, that we can’t bounce back as he does? They are just in love with him at Mayfair. ... I have a feeling the baby will soon crash and burn, because he’s gone nonstop since about 6:00." Yes, I wish we all could pounce back like Toshi did right after surgery.
Pansy's Awesome Kittens
May 17, 2013
Pansy's babies are so adorable and smart. The last 24 hours have seen some astounding changes in their lives at such an early age. They are only 23 days old, just over 3 weeks old, and the two Black Persians are already using the litter box. It was a piece of cake. Then this afternoon, we put down a plate of our homemade cooked kitten/cat food. We had pureed it before we had frozen it in preparation for weaning. It is the exact same food Pansy has been on during her pregnancy and into nursing. I was astounded to see all five of them go after the food with gusto. I have never seen this before in one of our litters. It is actually pretty early to start weaning, but these guys are definitely ready for it. They actually eat quite a bit of the food. Maybe I should say licked quite a bit. I had the camera on hand just in case. So this has been a big day for videos. We are loading the videos on to YouTube tonight for your enjoyment. Oh by the way, the little pink girl ... well she is already using the scratching post at 3 weeks old. WOW!
May 17, 2013
Pansy's babies are so adorable and smart. The last 24 hours have seen some astounding changes in their lives at such an early age. They are only 23 days old, just over 3 weeks old, and the two Black Persians are already using the litter box. It was a piece of cake. Then this afternoon, we put down a plate of our homemade cooked kitten/cat food. We had pureed it before we had frozen it in preparation for weaning. It is the exact same food Pansy has been on during her pregnancy and into nursing. I was astounded to see all five of them go after the food with gusto. I have never seen this before in one of our litters. It is actually pretty early to start weaning, but these guys are definitely ready for it. They actually eat quite a bit of the food. Maybe I should say licked quite a bit. I had the camera on hand just in case. So this has been a big day for videos. We are loading the videos on to YouTube tonight for your enjoyment. Oh by the way, the little pink girl ... well she is already using the scratching post at 3 weeks old. WOW!
Update on the Gang
May 15, 2013
It was so great to see the development of the babies today. Peony's babies are filled out and showing their colors. They are cleaning themselves and playing roll over. The little one is a Chocolate Point male. He is doing great. Not quite sure yet if he is a doll face or extreme. Both of his eyes are starting to open. When they open fully, I will be more able to make a determination. The middle kitten is a stunner with a coat color that we have not yet seen at the Cattery. We believe it to be a darker Seal Point female. Her eyes have not opened yet. She has a nice big head and is nice and cobby. The largest of the litter is looking to be a Flame Point. We are guessing it is a male at this point with the possibility of one or two testicles not yet dropped in. I do remember one of the kittens having one dropped testicle at birth. It is not uncommon for testicles to go back and forth from the sack. Peony is very protective of her babies and gets a pouting face if you are doing something she doesn't approve of. This truly is a miracle litter with what Peony and her babies went through at birth. We feel very blessed to have them thriving and Peony being such a good mother in spite of her surgery.
Pansy's babies are stunners. They are also so sweet. Several in the litter are very cobby with tree trunks for legs. The first one to come walking up to you is always the female doll face Seal Point which we call the "Pink Girl" . She is a real sweetie and very curious. You can tell the Seal Points apart now by looking at their faces. Our babysitter said the black Persians are very close and always sleep together. The babies are all walking and climbing in their Nursery. We did put out a little saucer of milk replacer this afternoon and Pansy and one of her kittens were drinking a little. It still seems a little early for weaning. They were all put in the Feline Pine litter box today but nothing happened but crying. About weights ... we compared Pansy's babies to Pansy's last litter to see what were the differences. Dianthus (Pansy's largest kitten from last litter of four) is the only kitten that is in range with this new litter and even then three kittens in her current litter are still ahead of Dianthus. Primrose's last litter of four ranged from 350 grams to 440 grams on Day 22, so pretty close to Pansy's litter of five.
Pansy's Litter Day 22: (3 Weeks):
Kitten #1: 415 grams (Female Seal)
Kitten #2: 400 grams (Male Seal)
Kitten #3: 350 grams (Female Seal)
Kitten #4: 345 grams (Female Black)
Kitten #5: 375 grams (Male Black)
Primrose was bred to Willie twice today. We will try again tomorrow and the next day also. If this mating takes and she gets pregnant, her babies would be due around July 17th.
Stay tuned for new videos of the babies in the next few days.
May 15, 2013
It was so great to see the development of the babies today. Peony's babies are filled out and showing their colors. They are cleaning themselves and playing roll over. The little one is a Chocolate Point male. He is doing great. Not quite sure yet if he is a doll face or extreme. Both of his eyes are starting to open. When they open fully, I will be more able to make a determination. The middle kitten is a stunner with a coat color that we have not yet seen at the Cattery. We believe it to be a darker Seal Point female. Her eyes have not opened yet. She has a nice big head and is nice and cobby. The largest of the litter is looking to be a Flame Point. We are guessing it is a male at this point with the possibility of one or two testicles not yet dropped in. I do remember one of the kittens having one dropped testicle at birth. It is not uncommon for testicles to go back and forth from the sack. Peony is very protective of her babies and gets a pouting face if you are doing something she doesn't approve of. This truly is a miracle litter with what Peony and her babies went through at birth. We feel very blessed to have them thriving and Peony being such a good mother in spite of her surgery.
Pansy's babies are stunners. They are also so sweet. Several in the litter are very cobby with tree trunks for legs. The first one to come walking up to you is always the female doll face Seal Point which we call the "Pink Girl" . She is a real sweetie and very curious. You can tell the Seal Points apart now by looking at their faces. Our babysitter said the black Persians are very close and always sleep together. The babies are all walking and climbing in their Nursery. We did put out a little saucer of milk replacer this afternoon and Pansy and one of her kittens were drinking a little. It still seems a little early for weaning. They were all put in the Feline Pine litter box today but nothing happened but crying. About weights ... we compared Pansy's babies to Pansy's last litter to see what were the differences. Dianthus (Pansy's largest kitten from last litter of four) is the only kitten that is in range with this new litter and even then three kittens in her current litter are still ahead of Dianthus. Primrose's last litter of four ranged from 350 grams to 440 grams on Day 22, so pretty close to Pansy's litter of five.
Pansy's Litter Day 22: (3 Weeks):
Kitten #1: 415 grams (Female Seal)
Kitten #2: 400 grams (Male Seal)
Kitten #3: 350 grams (Female Seal)
Kitten #4: 345 grams (Female Black)
Kitten #5: 375 grams (Male Black)
Primrose was bred to Willie twice today. We will try again tomorrow and the next day also. If this mating takes and she gets pregnant, her babies would be due around July 17th.
Stay tuned for new videos of the babies in the next few days.
The Long Wait
May 14, 2013
I am sitting at the Los Angeles Airport in California awaiting a red eye flight back to Raleigh, North Carolina and my babies. The timing of the business trip was definitely not the best but there was no choice. I am so glad to be heading back to see Peony and Pansy's babies. Tears would well up in my eyes when I thought of my babies and missing them so much. They all were well taken care of while I was away. I was given daily updates on their growth and weight. It just is not the same as seeing them in person and watching those exciting first weeks. I know many of you are as anxious as I am to see those cute little baby faces. From what I have heard, our little Miracle (Peony's baby) is now the same size as the middle baby. Can't wait to see them. Their caretaker said that Peony has become very protective of her babies. And that is the way it should be. Yes, we don't know the sexes yet, but I will definitely make a good effort to look when I get home. They were so small when I left on Wednesday, I just didn't have the heart to disturb them. Pansy, I am told, is eating like a horse. She has a lot of large mouths to feed. My goal in the next week is to start her babies in the weaning process as well as the litter box. Primrose surprised me and went in to heat this weekend. She has had some time in with Willie. This week she will be bred. From what I understand, Primrose was paying close attention to Willie as he sat every night on the couch with their babysitter. Stay tuned for new pictures and videos by the end of the week.
May 14, 2013
I am sitting at the Los Angeles Airport in California awaiting a red eye flight back to Raleigh, North Carolina and my babies. The timing of the business trip was definitely not the best but there was no choice. I am so glad to be heading back to see Peony and Pansy's babies. Tears would well up in my eyes when I thought of my babies and missing them so much. They all were well taken care of while I was away. I was given daily updates on their growth and weight. It just is not the same as seeing them in person and watching those exciting first weeks. I know many of you are as anxious as I am to see those cute little baby faces. From what I have heard, our little Miracle (Peony's baby) is now the same size as the middle baby. Can't wait to see them. Their caretaker said that Peony has become very protective of her babies. And that is the way it should be. Yes, we don't know the sexes yet, but I will definitely make a good effort to look when I get home. They were so small when I left on Wednesday, I just didn't have the heart to disturb them. Pansy, I am told, is eating like a horse. She has a lot of large mouths to feed. My goal in the next week is to start her babies in the weaning process as well as the litter box. Primrose surprised me and went in to heat this weekend. She has had some time in with Willie. This week she will be bred. From what I understand, Primrose was paying close attention to Willie as he sat every night on the couch with their babysitter. Stay tuned for new pictures and videos by the end of the week.
Pansy and Willie's Babies First Photo Shoot
Update on Peony and Her Babies
May 8, 2013
We are burning the midnight oil tonight. We have just published the first photo shoot of Pansy and Willie's babies taken today. These babies are looking great. We are keeping several of the kittens as future breeder shows. And as always, Pansy's babies have the very best and sweetest personalities. These babies are no exception. So you can find the photo shoot in Pansy's Nursery 2013. Enjoy.
We took some photos tonight of Peony's babies and Peony. Peony is nursing almost non stop and these babies are putting on weight. The last two weigh-ins today have resulted in 5 gram increases for each baby at each weighin. We weigh them about 4 times a day so already 10 gram increases in half a day. Their bellies are full. We are hand feeding Peony since she does not want to leave her birthing bed for even a minute. Enjoy their photos in Peony's Nursery 2013. We are thinking about calling the littlest one, Miracle.
Our next video and photos will be in about one week from now. So stay tuned. If you have any questions about these litters, feel free to email us. We are planning on breeding Primrose next time she comes in to heat. She produces mostly doll faced kittens and right now they are popular on our Priority Wait List.
Update on Peony and Her Babies
May 8, 2013
We are burning the midnight oil tonight. We have just published the first photo shoot of Pansy and Willie's babies taken today. These babies are looking great. We are keeping several of the kittens as future breeder shows. And as always, Pansy's babies have the very best and sweetest personalities. These babies are no exception. So you can find the photo shoot in Pansy's Nursery 2013. Enjoy.
We took some photos tonight of Peony's babies and Peony. Peony is nursing almost non stop and these babies are putting on weight. The last two weigh-ins today have resulted in 5 gram increases for each baby at each weighin. We weigh them about 4 times a day so already 10 gram increases in half a day. Their bellies are full. We are hand feeding Peony since she does not want to leave her birthing bed for even a minute. Enjoy their photos in Peony's Nursery 2013. We are thinking about calling the littlest one, Miracle.
Our next video and photos will be in about one week from now. So stay tuned. If you have any questions about these litters, feel free to email us. We are planning on breeding Primrose next time she comes in to heat. She produces mostly doll faced kittens and right now they are popular on our Priority Wait List.
Nothing Short of a Miracle
68 Hours after Delivery
May 7, 2013
What happened today is nothing short of a miracle. I want to thank every one for your prayers and support for Peony, Pansy and the babies. At noon today, I brought Peony in to Pansy's Nursery to spend some time with her babies. She loved on them, cleaned them and cuddled them. Wow, what a wonderful mother. Her babies knew her scent. Of course, again they wanted to nurse on her. She laid on her back with her surgery scar and nipples all available to the babies. It was gut wrenching to see them looking high and low for what they craved the most ... their own mother's milk. But that is where my own lack of faith was. While Peony was cuddling and loving on her babies, I went over to hand fed Pansy her food. A few minutes later, I looked over to check on Peony and there it was, Kitten #3 was nursing on one of Peony's nipples. Within a minute, Kitten #1 (the smallest) had found his favorite nipple and was nursing on it. I just started tearing up because I realized I was seeing a miracle right before my eyes. Kitten #2 and been frantically searching for a nipple and it took a few minutes, but low and behold, there he went also. I ran out of the Nursery to grab the camera for some shots. I know in my heart that this miracle happened because of the prayers that went up for Peony and her babies. Many of you wrote and told me they would be in your prayers. God does answer our prayers. This though, was way past my expectation and I am eternally graceful. I will continue the day to watch Peony and her babies and see if her milk or Colostrum keeps on coming. I would have expected her Colostrum or milk to have dried up by now. It may take a while for the production to start in earnest, but we are headed wonderfully in a great direction. If all goes well, Peony and her babies will be moved back to Peony's Nursery this evening. What a miracle. I have never seen the babies this content and quiet. My little girl was at peace and went to sleep in contentment. Pansy is such a great mom to have taken on the additional load of nursing these three newborns for the last 26 hours as well as her own five very large babies. I think that being with her babies and Pansy's nipples taught Peony's babies how to find a nipple and how to fight for one.
In the pictures above, Kitten #1, the smallest, is hidden under her arm nursing. If you look closely, you can see him. He is a fighter and has been every since he was born.
68 Hours after Delivery
May 7, 2013
What happened today is nothing short of a miracle. I want to thank every one for your prayers and support for Peony, Pansy and the babies. At noon today, I brought Peony in to Pansy's Nursery to spend some time with her babies. She loved on them, cleaned them and cuddled them. Wow, what a wonderful mother. Her babies knew her scent. Of course, again they wanted to nurse on her. She laid on her back with her surgery scar and nipples all available to the babies. It was gut wrenching to see them looking high and low for what they craved the most ... their own mother's milk. But that is where my own lack of faith was. While Peony was cuddling and loving on her babies, I went over to hand fed Pansy her food. A few minutes later, I looked over to check on Peony and there it was, Kitten #3 was nursing on one of Peony's nipples. Within a minute, Kitten #1 (the smallest) had found his favorite nipple and was nursing on it. I just started tearing up because I realized I was seeing a miracle right before my eyes. Kitten #2 and been frantically searching for a nipple and it took a few minutes, but low and behold, there he went also. I ran out of the Nursery to grab the camera for some shots. I know in my heart that this miracle happened because of the prayers that went up for Peony and her babies. Many of you wrote and told me they would be in your prayers. God does answer our prayers. This though, was way past my expectation and I am eternally graceful. I will continue the day to watch Peony and her babies and see if her milk or Colostrum keeps on coming. I would have expected her Colostrum or milk to have dried up by now. It may take a while for the production to start in earnest, but we are headed wonderfully in a great direction. If all goes well, Peony and her babies will be moved back to Peony's Nursery this evening. What a miracle. I have never seen the babies this content and quiet. My little girl was at peace and went to sleep in contentment. Pansy is such a great mom to have taken on the additional load of nursing these three newborns for the last 26 hours as well as her own five very large babies. I think that being with her babies and Pansy's nipples taught Peony's babies how to find a nipple and how to fight for one.
In the pictures above, Kitten #1, the smallest, is hidden under her arm nursing. If you look closely, you can see him. He is a fighter and has been every since he was born.
Peony and Pansy Update
May 6, 2013
The last 52 hours has seemed like a blurr. So much has happened so fast. First off, Peony was rushed in to an available Veterinarian Office late on Saturday afternoon for a C-Section. We were very concerned for her and her babies since she had been in labor since Wednesday and was only having light contractions every so often. We are glad that we took her to a Veterinarian. It was not a Veterinarian we had used before and will be one that we will never use again or recommend. Unfortunately our Veterinarian, Dr. Manning's office was closed as well as most Veterinarian Offices. Her three babies were brought to us in a blue hospital towel with their umbilical cord still attached as well as their sack. The Vet, nor the staff, did not even break the sack to allow the babies to breathe. My ex-husband and I worked on the babies as fast as we could. Even while we could hear the office staff laughing outside the door at us. We didn't want to loose a precious one and we didn't. It took time and work but all three made it through, no thanks to the Veterinarian and their staff. Poor Peony. While I was having to work fast to save the three babies, I was informed that I needed to tell them whether to spay Peony. They informed me that she had an uterine infection. I had to make that hard decision under extreme pressure and stress. For the benefit of Peony, I had her spayed. My heart grieves for her loss of ever having any more kittens. They handed her back to me after her C-Section and Spay, while she was shaking violently. That they cared so little about my precious girl is a crime. I ran her to the car and wrapped her quickly in a towel and turned on the heater in the car full blast. I held my precious girl in my arms on the long ride home. Her babies had been place by us in a warmed incubator and were crying loudly for food. When we got home, Peony's shaking had stopped. She was still groggy. We put her babies and her in a room warmed to over 80 degrees and went to work hand feeding all the babies with Colostrum. They were starving. They are smaller babies, about the size of Primrose's first litter of premies (Joseph, Benjamin and Pansy). Their placentas had all detached from the uterine horn. We don't know when that had occurred but my guess would have been on Wednesday. We tried to have them nurse on Peony, but only one would nurse and only on one of the larger nipples. Her nipples are so tiny, being her first time as a mom. So for the first 36 hours of their life, we hand fed them Colostrum every 1 to 2 hours all day and night long. Today, I switched them over to a milk replacer. Poor Peony wanted so bad to nurse her babies and her babies wanted so bad to nurse on her. She would get very stressed by their crying and not being able to help them. So for her and her babies, I made the hard decision to let Pansy nurse the babies. I have been in tears most of the day over the hard decision. Probably the lack of sleep doesn't help with that. It is really hard to see Peony looking and crying for her babies. I brought her in to see her babies in Pansy's Nursery soon after moving them. We will try to let her see her babies several times a day. Pansy has taken Peony's three babies under her wings and is treating them like her own. She is very protective of them. We are trying our best to keep Pansy's babies in a separate birthing bed than Peony's babies. So far it is working. I will try in a few days to get some pictures of the babies.. It was far from my mind these last few days but I know lots of people are interested in seeing these precious babies. I will wait on revealing sexes till they are bigger. It looks like possible 2 flames or chocolates and one seal point. We are praying and looking forward to the day that these three precious babies are running around hard and fast after Pansy's babies. My dearest Peony, this was not how it was suppose to be. It was suppose to be a joy, a gift, a wonderful experience ... motherhood.
We would really appreciate prayers for Peony, Pansy and all our babies at our Cattery during this time. Pansy is going to have to adjust to a much heavier load and her babies will have to adjust as well. They are doing great and we will be supplementing the feeding of all the babies. Pansy is getting feed the very best food, our homemade cooked food with Young Again Supplements. In fact we are cooking up 15 pounds of it, just for her. Thank you all who have written and expressed your support and concern for Peony and her babies. We really appreciate it.
May 6, 2013
The last 52 hours has seemed like a blurr. So much has happened so fast. First off, Peony was rushed in to an available Veterinarian Office late on Saturday afternoon for a C-Section. We were very concerned for her and her babies since she had been in labor since Wednesday and was only having light contractions every so often. We are glad that we took her to a Veterinarian. It was not a Veterinarian we had used before and will be one that we will never use again or recommend. Unfortunately our Veterinarian, Dr. Manning's office was closed as well as most Veterinarian Offices. Her three babies were brought to us in a blue hospital towel with their umbilical cord still attached as well as their sack. The Vet, nor the staff, did not even break the sack to allow the babies to breathe. My ex-husband and I worked on the babies as fast as we could. Even while we could hear the office staff laughing outside the door at us. We didn't want to loose a precious one and we didn't. It took time and work but all three made it through, no thanks to the Veterinarian and their staff. Poor Peony. While I was having to work fast to save the three babies, I was informed that I needed to tell them whether to spay Peony. They informed me that she had an uterine infection. I had to make that hard decision under extreme pressure and stress. For the benefit of Peony, I had her spayed. My heart grieves for her loss of ever having any more kittens. They handed her back to me after her C-Section and Spay, while she was shaking violently. That they cared so little about my precious girl is a crime. I ran her to the car and wrapped her quickly in a towel and turned on the heater in the car full blast. I held my precious girl in my arms on the long ride home. Her babies had been place by us in a warmed incubator and were crying loudly for food. When we got home, Peony's shaking had stopped. She was still groggy. We put her babies and her in a room warmed to over 80 degrees and went to work hand feeding all the babies with Colostrum. They were starving. They are smaller babies, about the size of Primrose's first litter of premies (Joseph, Benjamin and Pansy). Their placentas had all detached from the uterine horn. We don't know when that had occurred but my guess would have been on Wednesday. We tried to have them nurse on Peony, but only one would nurse and only on one of the larger nipples. Her nipples are so tiny, being her first time as a mom. So for the first 36 hours of their life, we hand fed them Colostrum every 1 to 2 hours all day and night long. Today, I switched them over to a milk replacer. Poor Peony wanted so bad to nurse her babies and her babies wanted so bad to nurse on her. She would get very stressed by their crying and not being able to help them. So for her and her babies, I made the hard decision to let Pansy nurse the babies. I have been in tears most of the day over the hard decision. Probably the lack of sleep doesn't help with that. It is really hard to see Peony looking and crying for her babies. I brought her in to see her babies in Pansy's Nursery soon after moving them. We will try to let her see her babies several times a day. Pansy has taken Peony's three babies under her wings and is treating them like her own. She is very protective of them. We are trying our best to keep Pansy's babies in a separate birthing bed than Peony's babies. So far it is working. I will try in a few days to get some pictures of the babies.. It was far from my mind these last few days but I know lots of people are interested in seeing these precious babies. I will wait on revealing sexes till they are bigger. It looks like possible 2 flames or chocolates and one seal point. We are praying and looking forward to the day that these three precious babies are running around hard and fast after Pansy's babies. My dearest Peony, this was not how it was suppose to be. It was suppose to be a joy, a gift, a wonderful experience ... motherhood.
We would really appreciate prayers for Peony, Pansy and all our babies at our Cattery during this time. Pansy is going to have to adjust to a much heavier load and her babies will have to adjust as well. They are doing great and we will be supplementing the feeding of all the babies. Pansy is getting feed the very best food, our homemade cooked food with Young Again Supplements. In fact we are cooking up 15 pounds of it, just for her. Thank you all who have written and expressed your support and concern for Peony and her babies. We really appreciate it.
Peony Update
Day 65 of Pregnancy
May 3, 2013
Well, it has been another day of waiting with Peony for her babies to arrive. She still wants her belly rubbed and we graciously comply. I think Peony and I are both wondering if the babies will ever show their little faces to the world. You can definitely feel 4 hard lumps on her side and they are kicking. We have had several false starts. She was ready each time. She would jump in her birthing bed ready and then a little bit later jump out and lay on the floor. Our second pair of hands graciously came over several times when we called that it was time. Peony is now on Day 65 of her pregnancy. If she has not had the babies by Monday, we will be taking her to our Veterinarian for an xray to make sure that the babies can fit through the canal and that everything is alright. Hopefully they will make their appearance soon. She was only bred for 3 days so we do know that the timing is right. Guess her babies just need the extra time in the womb. This is her first litter so we don't have much to gauge her pregnancy it by except for how her mom, Petunia did during her pregnancies. So stay tuned.
Day 65 of Pregnancy
May 3, 2013
Well, it has been another day of waiting with Peony for her babies to arrive. She still wants her belly rubbed and we graciously comply. I think Peony and I are both wondering if the babies will ever show their little faces to the world. You can definitely feel 4 hard lumps on her side and they are kicking. We have had several false starts. She was ready each time. She would jump in her birthing bed ready and then a little bit later jump out and lay on the floor. Our second pair of hands graciously came over several times when we called that it was time. Peony is now on Day 65 of her pregnancy. If she has not had the babies by Monday, we will be taking her to our Veterinarian for an xray to make sure that the babies can fit through the canal and that everything is alright. Hopefully they will make their appearance soon. She was only bred for 3 days so we do know that the timing is right. Guess her babies just need the extra time in the womb. This is her first litter so we don't have much to gauge her pregnancy it by except for how her mom, Petunia did during her pregnancies. So stay tuned.
Peony and Pansy Updates
May 2, 2013
Well, we pretty much didn't get much sleep last night since Peony started labor purring and on and off small labor contracting. We were ready to go, including calling our extra set of hands to be here. She started the whole process with acting exactly like her mother Petunia did when she was getting ready for labor ... she would not let us leave her side. If we were distracted, she would cry. If we moved away by a few feet, she would cry and follow. When Peony's labor contractions stopped around 2:30 a.m. in the morning, she had to have her belly rubbed the next 6 hours. I think they called that "spoiled in the making". We got up and fed Pansy and weighted the babies this morning and got right back to Peony. She is laying on the bed beside me as I write this. She is purring and having to be touched or she will get up and start crying. So hopefully she will deliver sometime today. For this being her first time, she does seem to know what is going on. She will go in and out of her birthing bed or her birthing box. Last night it did appear that she had four hard babies in her womb. So we just have to wait to see.
Pansy's babies are doing great. We got the kittens out on a blanket on the floor last night for their first time walking. I was surprised at how well Kitten #4 was already starting to get up on her legs and walk. Depending on the situation with Peony today, we will try to get the babies out on the blanket again today. If we get time today between sleeping and tending to Peony, we will try to load up a new video on our YouTube channel that was taken yesterday, Day 8. They are climbing, just starting to walk, playing and cleaning themselves. They are so cute. You have to just love those extreme faces. They look so innocent and that they are.
May 2, 2013
Well, we pretty much didn't get much sleep last night since Peony started labor purring and on and off small labor contracting. We were ready to go, including calling our extra set of hands to be here. She started the whole process with acting exactly like her mother Petunia did when she was getting ready for labor ... she would not let us leave her side. If we were distracted, she would cry. If we moved away by a few feet, she would cry and follow. When Peony's labor contractions stopped around 2:30 a.m. in the morning, she had to have her belly rubbed the next 6 hours. I think they called that "spoiled in the making". We got up and fed Pansy and weighted the babies this morning and got right back to Peony. She is laying on the bed beside me as I write this. She is purring and having to be touched or she will get up and start crying. So hopefully she will deliver sometime today. For this being her first time, she does seem to know what is going on. She will go in and out of her birthing bed or her birthing box. Last night it did appear that she had four hard babies in her womb. So we just have to wait to see.
Pansy's babies are doing great. We got the kittens out on a blanket on the floor last night for their first time walking. I was surprised at how well Kitten #4 was already starting to get up on her legs and walk. Depending on the situation with Peony today, we will try to get the babies out on the blanket again today. If we get time today between sleeping and tending to Peony, we will try to load up a new video on our YouTube channel that was taken yesterday, Day 8. They are climbing, just starting to walk, playing and cleaning themselves. They are so cute. You have to just love those extreme faces. They look so innocent and that they are.
NUK Spoons
May 1, 2013
Ok, are babies are spoiled at our Cattery. And when I say babies, I mean our adult cats and our kittens. When weaning time comes around, our babies are use to being started on Nuk spoons. You have probably heard me blog about them or seen pictures of the Nuk spoon in the photo gallery of Samson and Fancy Feast. Nuk spoons are long baby spoons with a plastic coating in the bowl. It allows babies to safely and comfortably eat from a spoon without damaging their teeth on hard cold metal. Nuk spoons are also heat sensitive and turn color depending on the amount of heat. Even our Pansy, who loves to be hand fed when she is Nursing, is using the Nuk spoon. We are currently hand feeding her every 4 hours. She doesn't want to eat her hand cooked food out of the bowl but wants it hand delivered to her on a Nuk spoon. Many of my adoptive parents tell me they don't understand why their baby will only eat off a spoon. Ok, I am to blame. These babies are spoiled right from the get go. I know, but I love my babies so much. Many of you have told me you are not going to feed your babies from a spoon and that is all right.
For those of you who are considering carrying on the tradition out of necessity, I was excited today to get an email with a coupon available for Nuk tableware. It should include Nuk spoons. I usually pick up the Nuk spoons at BabiesRUs. If you decide to print the coupon, you can always use the back arrow to print another one.
You will probably see this new litter eating off a Nuk spoon in a couple of weeks.
Here is the link:
May 1, 2013
Ok, are babies are spoiled at our Cattery. And when I say babies, I mean our adult cats and our kittens. When weaning time comes around, our babies are use to being started on Nuk spoons. You have probably heard me blog about them or seen pictures of the Nuk spoon in the photo gallery of Samson and Fancy Feast. Nuk spoons are long baby spoons with a plastic coating in the bowl. It allows babies to safely and comfortably eat from a spoon without damaging their teeth on hard cold metal. Nuk spoons are also heat sensitive and turn color depending on the amount of heat. Even our Pansy, who loves to be hand fed when she is Nursing, is using the Nuk spoon. We are currently hand feeding her every 4 hours. She doesn't want to eat her hand cooked food out of the bowl but wants it hand delivered to her on a Nuk spoon. Many of my adoptive parents tell me they don't understand why their baby will only eat off a spoon. Ok, I am to blame. These babies are spoiled right from the get go. I know, but I love my babies so much. Many of you have told me you are not going to feed your babies from a spoon and that is all right.
For those of you who are considering carrying on the tradition out of necessity, I was excited today to get an email with a coupon available for Nuk tableware. It should include Nuk spoons. I usually pick up the Nuk spoons at BabiesRUs. If you decide to print the coupon, you can always use the back arrow to print another one.
You will probably see this new litter eating off a Nuk spoon in a couple of weeks.
Here is the link:
Pansy's Babies and Their New Video
Day 6
April 28, 2013
Pansy's babies are finishing up on Day 6 and will be going on Day 7 late this afternoon. So far, Kitten #1 and Kitten #4 doubled their birth rate yesterday, Day 5. Then on Day 6, Kitten #5 doubled his birth rate. They are all nursing great. They are still maintaining an edge on their weight over Pansy's first litter and Primrose's second litter. Even more amazing, Kitten #1 has already started to open her eyes last night. Early this morning, one eye was all the way open. I shaved around Pansy's nipples this morning so that it would be easier for the babies to find all the nipples. They are so big now that it is very hard for all of them to fit at one time side by side. So there is a lot of fighting over getting a spot at the nipples. I walked in on Pansy yesterday afternoon as she was doing her famous nursing, sitting up. Even though it worked with her last litter of four, it really does not work well with a litter of five since the fifth nipple is too high for them to reach. So far the weight is ranging from 190 grams (Kitten #1) to 160 grams (Black Persians). These kittens are lookers. They all have such darling faces. We have such published a new video this evening. It can be viewed on our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens" or in Pansy's Nursery 2013 or on our YouTube Videos page.
Peony is now on Day 60 of her pregnancy. Peony got her hair shaved around her nipples as well as her claws clipped. Tomorrow her Nursery gets cleaned in preparation for the babies. Her babies are moving alot with one in particular bouncing all over the place. If we can get a good video of it, we will post it.
Stay tuned.
Day 6
April 28, 2013
Pansy's babies are finishing up on Day 6 and will be going on Day 7 late this afternoon. So far, Kitten #1 and Kitten #4 doubled their birth rate yesterday, Day 5. Then on Day 6, Kitten #5 doubled his birth rate. They are all nursing great. They are still maintaining an edge on their weight over Pansy's first litter and Primrose's second litter. Even more amazing, Kitten #1 has already started to open her eyes last night. Early this morning, one eye was all the way open. I shaved around Pansy's nipples this morning so that it would be easier for the babies to find all the nipples. They are so big now that it is very hard for all of them to fit at one time side by side. So there is a lot of fighting over getting a spot at the nipples. I walked in on Pansy yesterday afternoon as she was doing her famous nursing, sitting up. Even though it worked with her last litter of four, it really does not work well with a litter of five since the fifth nipple is too high for them to reach. So far the weight is ranging from 190 grams (Kitten #1) to 160 grams (Black Persians). These kittens are lookers. They all have such darling faces. We have such published a new video this evening. It can be viewed on our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens" or in Pansy's Nursery 2013 or on our YouTube Videos page.
Peony is now on Day 60 of her pregnancy. Peony got her hair shaved around her nipples as well as her claws clipped. Tomorrow her Nursery gets cleaned in preparation for the babies. Her babies are moving alot with one in particular bouncing all over the place. If we can get a good video of it, we will post it.
Stay tuned.
Update on Pansy and Peony
April 26, 2013
Pansy's litter of five babies naturally lined up after nursing.
Many of you have written to us to ask how Pansy was doing after her delivery of her babies. As of last night, I would say she is back to her normal self. She was crying for her wet food to be fed to her. She was eating a lot like she normally does. She had a great normal big stool ... the first since Tuesday. She is out of the birthing bed and walking about the Nursery when the babies fall asleep after being fed. She is doing great and we thank each and every one for their concern for her. She even wanted to sit on my lap and be cuddled with this morning after her babies pictured were fast asleep in their bed.
Her babies ... well they are just going to beat all records. They all are eating great. I thought it would be fun to actually show you what I mean by doing a comparison of weights between Pansy's first litter and Primrose's second litter last year, compared to these babies at approximately the 87 hour weigh in. If you remember, Primrose's last litter had beaten all our previous records. You will need to realize that Pansy is smaller than Primrose and weighs less than her. Let me say, I try not to be partial, but these babies are gorgeous and may be the prettiest we have had at our Cattery. They are just starting their 4th day. Here are the stats as of this mornings weigh in at 8:00 a.m.:
Approximately 87 hours after delivery for comparisons:
Kitten #1: 155 grams or 5.47 ounces (Seal Female Extreme)
Kitten #2: 150 grams or 5.29 ounces (Seal Male Extreme)
Kitten #3: 140 grams or 4.93 ounces (Seal Female Doll)
Kitten #4: 130 grams or 4.59 ounces (Black Female Extreme)
Kitten #5: 130 grams or 4.59 ounces (Black Male Extreme)
Primrose's Litter #2:
Nathaniel: 105 grams or 3.7 ounces
Solomon: 136 grams or 4.8 ounces
Sweet Annie: 136 grams or 4.8 ounces
Samson: 136 ounces or 4.8 ounces
Pansy's Litter #1:
Dahlia: 119 grams or 4.2 ounces
Delphinium: 102 grams or 3.6 ounces
Dianthus: 130 grams or 4.59 ounces
Daffodil: 120 grams or 4.23 ounces
By the way, the far right pictured kitten is our pink Himi girl with the Himi in the middle being the boy. Our giant Himi on the far left is Kitten #1. I would say from looking at the picture that the Persian on the far right is the girl. She is really a compact and cobby package. We are planning right now of keeping her at our Cattery for a future breeder.
And now for Peony. Hopefully she does not feel slighted. She is happy and doing great. She is much smaller than Pansy (about 3/4 pound) and is only carrying about 3 kittens. Even with that said, at this mornings weigh in, she has gained 22.07% of her prepregnancy weight. She does not favor my homemade cooked food but really likes Royal Canin Kitten Food. So we give her what she wants. She does get some wet food every day with the Kitty Bloom Vitamins. She just started on the Kitty Bloom Wate on Wednesday and her weight gain is shooting upwards. We will be getting the Pregnancy Room and her Nursery ready on Monday and Tuesday. We will plan on her having her babies anytime from Wednesday onward. Since she was only bred for three days, we do plan that she will have her babies by next weekend. So stay tuned.
Her babies ... well they are just going to beat all records. They all are eating great. I thought it would be fun to actually show you what I mean by doing a comparison of weights between Pansy's first litter and Primrose's second litter last year, compared to these babies at approximately the 87 hour weigh in. If you remember, Primrose's last litter had beaten all our previous records. You will need to realize that Pansy is smaller than Primrose and weighs less than her. Let me say, I try not to be partial, but these babies are gorgeous and may be the prettiest we have had at our Cattery. They are just starting their 4th day. Here are the stats as of this mornings weigh in at 8:00 a.m.:
Approximately 87 hours after delivery for comparisons:
Kitten #1: 155 grams or 5.47 ounces (Seal Female Extreme)
Kitten #2: 150 grams or 5.29 ounces (Seal Male Extreme)
Kitten #3: 140 grams or 4.93 ounces (Seal Female Doll)
Kitten #4: 130 grams or 4.59 ounces (Black Female Extreme)
Kitten #5: 130 grams or 4.59 ounces (Black Male Extreme)
Primrose's Litter #2:
Nathaniel: 105 grams or 3.7 ounces
Solomon: 136 grams or 4.8 ounces
Sweet Annie: 136 grams or 4.8 ounces
Samson: 136 ounces or 4.8 ounces
Pansy's Litter #1:
Dahlia: 119 grams or 4.2 ounces
Delphinium: 102 grams or 3.6 ounces
Dianthus: 130 grams or 4.59 ounces
Daffodil: 120 grams or 4.23 ounces
By the way, the far right pictured kitten is our pink Himi girl with the Himi in the middle being the boy. Our giant Himi on the far left is Kitten #1. I would say from looking at the picture that the Persian on the far right is the girl. She is really a compact and cobby package. We are planning right now of keeping her at our Cattery for a future breeder.
And now for Peony. Hopefully she does not feel slighted. She is happy and doing great. She is much smaller than Pansy (about 3/4 pound) and is only carrying about 3 kittens. Even with that said, at this mornings weigh in, she has gained 22.07% of her prepregnancy weight. She does not favor my homemade cooked food but really likes Royal Canin Kitten Food. So we give her what she wants. She does get some wet food every day with the Kitty Bloom Vitamins. She just started on the Kitty Bloom Wate on Wednesday and her weight gain is shooting upwards. We will be getting the Pregnancy Room and her Nursery ready on Monday and Tuesday. We will plan on her having her babies anytime from Wednesday onward. Since she was only bred for three days, we do plan that she will have her babies by next weekend. So stay tuned.
April 24, 2013
Update on Willie and Pansy's Babies
We can not believe the babies have just completed their first 48 hours. They are all doing very well. In fact, their weight increase has been amazing. We did have to take Pansy to the Vet on an emergency yesterday because she was not doing really well. She was very stressed and panting. We thought there might be more babies inside her that were not coming out. She had an xray and exam at the Vet and he found no kittens. She was stressed from such a hard delivery of two of the biggest kittens we have had at birth. She was in a lot of pain. He gave her a dose of pain medication and after the hour long trip home from the Vet was doing so much better. The babies started putting on a lot of weight as they road with their mother in the car. They stayed in the car while we brought her in to the Vet. I asked the Vet if wanted to see the babies and he eagerly went to the car with me. He delicately looked at their faces and looked to see if they were boys ord girls. The Vet is impressed by the kittens that Willie is producing for us. Pansy is still tired from the delivery but doing very well and attending to her beauties. And these babies are beautiful. We thought we had a litter of mostly doll faced kittens, but it looks like now we have a litter of mainly extreme faced kittens. The twins are two Black Persians that look the spitting image of The Perfect Dahlia. They were born the smallest of the litter and have each gained 30 grams in only 48 hours. It truly is amazing. I just love looking at their faces. You can see a picture of them above. So here is what we know so far:
Kitten #1: Himi - Born at 80 grams - 48 hours later at 120 grams or +40 grams - Female and Possible Seal or Tortie Extreme Face
Kitten #2: Himi - Born at 95 grams - 48 hours later at 125 grams or +30 grams - Male Seal and Possible Extreme
Kitten #3: Himi - Born at 95 grams - 48 hours later at 115 grams or +20 grams - Female and Possible Seal or Tortie Doll Face
Kitten #4: Black Persian - Born at 75 grams- 48 hours later at 105 grams or +30 grams - Female Extreme
Kitten #5: Black Persian - Born at 80 grams - 48 hours later at 110 grams or +30 grams - Male Extreme
** Kitten #1 and #3 birthing/weight records may have been mixed up during the birthing, but for now we will keep them as they are originally. We really had a hard time telling who was who. Our pink girl is now #3 and has a pink marker spot on top of her head and #2 has an aqua mark on top of his head.
We are planning to upload a new video of the babies tonight on YouTube which will show you their little faces. It takes a while to upload videos so please be patient. You should be able to view it much later this evening or early morning. You will be able to view it on our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens" or on our website in Pansy's Nursery or YouTube Video page. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel in order to be notified immediately when we publish a video on YouTube. Please forgive the bad lighting of florescent.
We think that Pansy and Willie did an absolutely awesome job on this litter. We could not be happier or prouder.
Enjoy!
Update on Willie and Pansy's Babies
We can not believe the babies have just completed their first 48 hours. They are all doing very well. In fact, their weight increase has been amazing. We did have to take Pansy to the Vet on an emergency yesterday because she was not doing really well. She was very stressed and panting. We thought there might be more babies inside her that were not coming out. She had an xray and exam at the Vet and he found no kittens. She was stressed from such a hard delivery of two of the biggest kittens we have had at birth. She was in a lot of pain. He gave her a dose of pain medication and after the hour long trip home from the Vet was doing so much better. The babies started putting on a lot of weight as they road with their mother in the car. They stayed in the car while we brought her in to the Vet. I asked the Vet if wanted to see the babies and he eagerly went to the car with me. He delicately looked at their faces and looked to see if they were boys ord girls. The Vet is impressed by the kittens that Willie is producing for us. Pansy is still tired from the delivery but doing very well and attending to her beauties. And these babies are beautiful. We thought we had a litter of mostly doll faced kittens, but it looks like now we have a litter of mainly extreme faced kittens. The twins are two Black Persians that look the spitting image of The Perfect Dahlia. They were born the smallest of the litter and have each gained 30 grams in only 48 hours. It truly is amazing. I just love looking at their faces. You can see a picture of them above. So here is what we know so far:
Kitten #1: Himi - Born at 80 grams - 48 hours later at 120 grams or +40 grams - Female and Possible Seal or Tortie Extreme Face
Kitten #2: Himi - Born at 95 grams - 48 hours later at 125 grams or +30 grams - Male Seal and Possible Extreme
Kitten #3: Himi - Born at 95 grams - 48 hours later at 115 grams or +20 grams - Female and Possible Seal or Tortie Doll Face
Kitten #4: Black Persian - Born at 75 grams- 48 hours later at 105 grams or +30 grams - Female Extreme
Kitten #5: Black Persian - Born at 80 grams - 48 hours later at 110 grams or +30 grams - Male Extreme
** Kitten #1 and #3 birthing/weight records may have been mixed up during the birthing, but for now we will keep them as they are originally. We really had a hard time telling who was who. Our pink girl is now #3 and has a pink marker spot on top of her head and #2 has an aqua mark on top of his head.
We are planning to upload a new video of the babies tonight on YouTube which will show you their little faces. It takes a while to upload videos so please be patient. You should be able to view it much later this evening or early morning. You will be able to view it on our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens" or on our website in Pansy's Nursery or YouTube Video page. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel in order to be notified immediately when we publish a video on YouTube. Please forgive the bad lighting of florescent.
We think that Pansy and Willie did an absolutely awesome job on this litter. We could not be happier or prouder.
Enjoy!
April 24, 2013 - Updates
We are planning to update the blog tonight about Pansy and her babies, including a new video and a picture of the adorable twins. We are very busy during the day so we will wait till tonight to blog. Thanks for your patience.
Peony is due next Wednesday or after so we are busy preparing. She is doing great. You can definitely feel her babies popping out of her sides. She loves having her tummy rubbed. Can't wait to see if she and Willie produce our first Chocolates. All her babies will be Chocolate Carriers and 50% will be Dilute Carriers.
We are planning to update the blog tonight about Pansy and her babies, including a new video and a picture of the adorable twins. We are very busy during the day so we will wait till tonight to blog. Thanks for your patience.
Peony is due next Wednesday or after so we are busy preparing. She is doing great. You can definitely feel her babies popping out of her sides. She loves having her tummy rubbed. Can't wait to see if she and Willie produce our first Chocolates. All her babies will be Chocolate Carriers and 50% will be Dilute Carriers.
Pansy and Willie's Babies Have Arrived
April 22, 2013
Between 1:40 and 3:40 p.m. today, Pansy had 5 babies. She may still have more, we will just have to see. So far she has had 2 Black Persians and 3 Himis. The Himis appear to be Seals but will know more in the coming days, since the girls could be Torties. There is a mix of males and females. We have been know to get the sex wrong at birth. LOL Two of the Himis are the largest kittens we have ever had at our Cattery at birth. These babies seem to have a good deal of fat on their bodies right from birth. We are wondering if our homemade wet cat food with Young Again supplements had anything to do with that. Usually babies are pretty skinny when born. Right from birth, all these babies were all over the place and boisterous, thanks to the Kitty Bloom Wate. They are all nursing. Pansy is extremely tired and is resting. Having babies that large really was hard on her. Even Dianthus, the huge Black Persian from last years litter was not that large at birth. Neither was Solomon from Primrose's last litter. We are watching her closely. She has just started cleaning them after her rest.
Here is what we know so far:
REVISED April 24, 2013
All Chocolate Carriers and 50% Dilute Carriers
We may have currently mixed up Kitten #1 and #3 in birth order and weight.
Kitten #1: Himi - 80 grams - Female and Possible Seal or Tortie Extreme
Kitten #2: Himi - 95 grams - Male Seal and Possible Extreme
Kitten #3: Himi - 95 grams - Female and Possible Seal or Tortie Doll Face
Kitten #4: Black Persian - 75 grams- Female Extreme
Kitten #5: Black Persian - 80 grams - Male Extreme
Pansy's newborn video for Day 1 is now available to watch in Pansy's Nursery, YouTube Video Page or at our YouTube Video Channel "weloveourkittens". It was taked 2 hours after delivery. You can subscribe to our YouTube video channel to know immediately when we publish a new video.
April 22, 2013
Between 1:40 and 3:40 p.m. today, Pansy had 5 babies. She may still have more, we will just have to see. So far she has had 2 Black Persians and 3 Himis. The Himis appear to be Seals but will know more in the coming days, since the girls could be Torties. There is a mix of males and females. We have been know to get the sex wrong at birth. LOL Two of the Himis are the largest kittens we have ever had at our Cattery at birth. These babies seem to have a good deal of fat on their bodies right from birth. We are wondering if our homemade wet cat food with Young Again supplements had anything to do with that. Usually babies are pretty skinny when born. Right from birth, all these babies were all over the place and boisterous, thanks to the Kitty Bloom Wate. They are all nursing. Pansy is extremely tired and is resting. Having babies that large really was hard on her. Even Dianthus, the huge Black Persian from last years litter was not that large at birth. Neither was Solomon from Primrose's last litter. We are watching her closely. She has just started cleaning them after her rest.
Here is what we know so far:
REVISED April 24, 2013
All Chocolate Carriers and 50% Dilute Carriers
We may have currently mixed up Kitten #1 and #3 in birth order and weight.
Kitten #1: Himi - 80 grams - Female and Possible Seal or Tortie Extreme
Kitten #2: Himi - 95 grams - Male Seal and Possible Extreme
Kitten #3: Himi - 95 grams - Female and Possible Seal or Tortie Doll Face
Kitten #4: Black Persian - 75 grams- Female Extreme
Kitten #5: Black Persian - 80 grams - Male Extreme
Pansy's newborn video for Day 1 is now available to watch in Pansy's Nursery, YouTube Video Page or at our YouTube Video Channel "weloveourkittens". It was taked 2 hours after delivery. You can subscribe to our YouTube video channel to know immediately when we publish a new video.
The Gigantic Playstation
April 21, 2013
Jill wrote in on April 9th and sent us some pictures of the girls, Delphinium and Dianthus. Both are Pansy's girls from her first litter. Delphinium is a Seal Point Himalayan renamed Gemma and Dianthus is a huge Black Persian renamed Vodoo. Jill sent these pictures as she was putting together this gigantic playstation for her girls. It was actually a playstation we had been thinking of purchasing for our Cattery. Her are some of Jill's comments: "I bought a new ginormous cat tree and it was delivered today. I'm trying to put it together with the "assistance" of 3 cats." Way to go Jill. I am sure the girls are loving their new huge playstation.
April 21, 2013
Jill wrote in on April 9th and sent us some pictures of the girls, Delphinium and Dianthus. Both are Pansy's girls from her first litter. Delphinium is a Seal Point Himalayan renamed Gemma and Dianthus is a huge Black Persian renamed Vodoo. Jill sent these pictures as she was putting together this gigantic playstation for her girls. It was actually a playstation we had been thinking of purchasing for our Cattery. Her are some of Jill's comments: "I bought a new ginormous cat tree and it was delivered today. I'm trying to put it together with the "assistance" of 3 cats." Way to go Jill. I am sure the girls are loving their new huge playstation.
Newest Update on Pansy
Day 65
April 20, 2013
The Perfect Pansy - Tortoiseshell Persian
Well, we are all anxiously awaiting for Pansy to go into labor. We know Pansy does have a fan base and many are anxiously awaiting with us. So far she is still eating and sleeping with no signs of the start of labor. She is alert and happy. This morning is Day 65 of her pregnancy. She is now at an amazing 35.8% of her body weight from when she was in her heat cycle. We are hoping that the extra time is giving the babies conceived later in her heat cycle time to fully develop. She did cry about every 2 hours last night because she was hungry for wet food. So we got up all night long to feed her. The babies are moving constantly, thanks to the Kitty Bloom Wate. So they should be very active when they arrive into this world. She has been on the Wate now for over a week. It gives her and her babies energy through delivery and the birth canal. We can't say enough good about the Wate. Since using the Wate, we have not lost one baby during the delivery process. Sometimes the babies right out of the womb are moving so much we have a very hard time even tying off the cord. This picture was taken around noon today as she tries her best to clean herself. You can see how hard it is with such a huge belly. Her little legs are up in the air trying to do a balancing act. We are cleaning her nipples and her butt for her since it is to hard for her to do now. She really is a trooper. We are going to stay in our Pregnancy Room watching her from here on out. Her new Nursery is done and just waiting for her and her babies.
Update on Pansy
April 17, 2013
Well, it is down to the wire now and we wanted to give a quick update. We are working hard and fast to finish the new Nursery Pansy and her babies will be in for their first 3 weeks. We are working on cleaning the Pregnancy Room thoroughly for the delivery of her babies. Pansy is now finishing Day 62 of her pregnancy. As of this morning, she had gained 32% of the weight she was at when she was in heat. If her babies come on Day 65, we figure she will be up to a 35% weight gain. She might surprise us and be there tomorrow since she is gaining a lot this week. You can feel the hard babies poking out of her sides. She has been on Kitty Bloom Wate since last Thursday. Due to that, the babies are very active. Pansy is a real trooper. Our Priority Wait List will be notified via email of Pansy's babies arrival hopefully within the first day of their arrival. Then when we get a good break, we will blog about it. Hopefully we get one good night of rest before they come. We are so excited. Stay tuned.
April 17, 2013
Well, it is down to the wire now and we wanted to give a quick update. We are working hard and fast to finish the new Nursery Pansy and her babies will be in for their first 3 weeks. We are working on cleaning the Pregnancy Room thoroughly for the delivery of her babies. Pansy is now finishing Day 62 of her pregnancy. As of this morning, she had gained 32% of the weight she was at when she was in heat. If her babies come on Day 65, we figure she will be up to a 35% weight gain. She might surprise us and be there tomorrow since she is gaining a lot this week. You can feel the hard babies poking out of her sides. She has been on Kitty Bloom Wate since last Thursday. Due to that, the babies are very active. Pansy is a real trooper. Our Priority Wait List will be notified via email of Pansy's babies arrival hopefully within the first day of their arrival. Then when we get a good break, we will blog about it. Hopefully we get one good night of rest before they come. We are so excited. Stay tuned.
Pansy and Peony's X-Ray Report
April 15, 2013
Pansy and Peony did great at the Vet today. Pansy is so huge that I made the Vet promise me he would be extra careful with her when he carried her to the X-Ray machine and took the xray of her uterus. He must think I am crazy.
As I had expected, Pansy is full of babies. She is on Day 60 of her pregnancy. Normal gestation is from 62 to 70 days. My girls usually deliver around Day 64 to 66, with 64 being the norm. The Vet estimated 5 to 6 kittens. We could see at least 5 skeltons with one partially hidden. He took one X-Ray of one side. So it is hard to see clearly through to the other side. I was allowed to take the xray home and have been looking at it. The more I look at Pansy's X-Ray, it appears that I am seeing more skeltons and heads than just the 5 or 6 babies. You can even see spinal cords, heads, rib cages, and arms. I would not be surprised it there are more than 6 babies in the womb. Only time will tell. I wanted to take a picture or scan the X-Ray to put it up on the website, but I couldn't figure a way to do it. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. It is facinating to see the xray. It looks like a whole lots of zippers.
Peony's X-Ray shows much smaller babies since she is on Day 47 of her pregnancy. The Vet thought she was carrying 3 babies. Her babies are much harder to see since the X-Ray is lighter. I think I can make out three heads maybe more skeletons. I know I have felt 3 babies in the last week.
So now we will just have to wait and see what precious babies both girls deliver. We will not have to wait long for Pansy's babies. One baby has its head already near the birth canal. Can't wait to welcome the first baby into his/her new world. So stay tuned.
April 15, 2013
Pansy and Peony did great at the Vet today. Pansy is so huge that I made the Vet promise me he would be extra careful with her when he carried her to the X-Ray machine and took the xray of her uterus. He must think I am crazy.
As I had expected, Pansy is full of babies. She is on Day 60 of her pregnancy. Normal gestation is from 62 to 70 days. My girls usually deliver around Day 64 to 66, with 64 being the norm. The Vet estimated 5 to 6 kittens. We could see at least 5 skeltons with one partially hidden. He took one X-Ray of one side. So it is hard to see clearly through to the other side. I was allowed to take the xray home and have been looking at it. The more I look at Pansy's X-Ray, it appears that I am seeing more skeltons and heads than just the 5 or 6 babies. You can even see spinal cords, heads, rib cages, and arms. I would not be surprised it there are more than 6 babies in the womb. Only time will tell. I wanted to take a picture or scan the X-Ray to put it up on the website, but I couldn't figure a way to do it. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. It is facinating to see the xray. It looks like a whole lots of zippers.
Peony's X-Ray shows much smaller babies since she is on Day 47 of her pregnancy. The Vet thought she was carrying 3 babies. Her babies are much harder to see since the X-Ray is lighter. I think I can make out three heads maybe more skeletons. I know I have felt 3 babies in the last week.
So now we will just have to wait and see what precious babies both girls deliver. We will not have to wait long for Pansy's babies. One baby has its head already near the birth canal. Can't wait to welcome the first baby into his/her new world. So stay tuned.
Update on Pansy and Peony's Pregnancies
April 14, 2013
The time is fast approaching and we are working fast and furious on trying to get our newest Nursery complete in time for Pansy's babies this week. We wanted to give everyone an update on the girls and their pregnancies.
As of this morning, Pansy has reached Day 59 of her pregnancy. We will start to expect her babies delivery from Thursday forward. Pansy has gained 27.16% of her weight from her first mating. That is a huge increase. You can compare that to Primrose, her mother, who was 26.58% on the same date in time during her last pregnancy. Primrose had 4 of the largest babies we have ever had at our Cattery. She looks so large it feels uncomfortable. We believe Pansy is carrying more than four babies. We want them to arrived into this brand new world health and safe.
Peony has now reached Day 46 of her pregnancy. We are expecting her babies to arrived on or after May 1st. She is up to 14.5% of her weight from her first mating. This is compared to Pansy's weight on Day 46 of 19.34% and Primrose's at 16.31%. So we are still expecting Peony to have three or four babies. We have felt at least 3 babies so far in the last week. Her eating has picked up nicely. She will eat both wet and dry food, whereas Pansy only eats wet food when she is pregnant.
Tomorrow both girls go to the Vet for X-rays. This is the first pregnancies we are doing this for. We want to see how many babies each girl is carrying and if the babies can fit through the birth canal. Even though our Vet does not like to do X-Rays for pregnancies because he has been wrong on counts, we still would like to see for our self. Each baby should have their skeletons show up on X-Ray so we can get an approximate count. This information is very helpful during delivery.
Pansy and Peony will stay in separate Nurseries for the first three weeks of their kittens lives. Then we will contemplate letting them raise their babies together in the Toddler Room after Peony's babies have reached at least 3 or 4 weeks old. We will just wait and see how much difference in size and maturity the litters are.
So stay tuned as we blog tomorrow evening about the X-Ray results.
This week we tried our hand at making Homemade Cooked Kitten/Cat Wet Food using the Young Again CarnivoreRaw Supplements. It was just too easy. We obtained 5 lbs of Natural Deboned Chicken Thighs at a great price. We made it super easy by using the Crock Pot. Stay tuned for our newest easy recipe that we hope to have up on our website by the end of the week. And yes, our pregnant girls are eating it.
Now it is on to finishing up the new Nursery for Pansy and her babies ...
April 14, 2013
The time is fast approaching and we are working fast and furious on trying to get our newest Nursery complete in time for Pansy's babies this week. We wanted to give everyone an update on the girls and their pregnancies.
As of this morning, Pansy has reached Day 59 of her pregnancy. We will start to expect her babies delivery from Thursday forward. Pansy has gained 27.16% of her weight from her first mating. That is a huge increase. You can compare that to Primrose, her mother, who was 26.58% on the same date in time during her last pregnancy. Primrose had 4 of the largest babies we have ever had at our Cattery. She looks so large it feels uncomfortable. We believe Pansy is carrying more than four babies. We want them to arrived into this brand new world health and safe.
Peony has now reached Day 46 of her pregnancy. We are expecting her babies to arrived on or after May 1st. She is up to 14.5% of her weight from her first mating. This is compared to Pansy's weight on Day 46 of 19.34% and Primrose's at 16.31%. So we are still expecting Peony to have three or four babies. We have felt at least 3 babies so far in the last week. Her eating has picked up nicely. She will eat both wet and dry food, whereas Pansy only eats wet food when she is pregnant.
Tomorrow both girls go to the Vet for X-rays. This is the first pregnancies we are doing this for. We want to see how many babies each girl is carrying and if the babies can fit through the birth canal. Even though our Vet does not like to do X-Rays for pregnancies because he has been wrong on counts, we still would like to see for our self. Each baby should have their skeletons show up on X-Ray so we can get an approximate count. This information is very helpful during delivery.
Pansy and Peony will stay in separate Nurseries for the first three weeks of their kittens lives. Then we will contemplate letting them raise their babies together in the Toddler Room after Peony's babies have reached at least 3 or 4 weeks old. We will just wait and see how much difference in size and maturity the litters are.
So stay tuned as we blog tomorrow evening about the X-Ray results.
This week we tried our hand at making Homemade Cooked Kitten/Cat Wet Food using the Young Again CarnivoreRaw Supplements. It was just too easy. We obtained 5 lbs of Natural Deboned Chicken Thighs at a great price. We made it super easy by using the Crock Pot. Stay tuned for our newest easy recipe that we hope to have up on our website by the end of the week. And yes, our pregnant girls are eating it.
Now it is on to finishing up the new Nursery for Pansy and her babies ...
TOSHI AND THE CHERRY TREE
April 11, 2013
Dave Russo hit another home run on these pictures of Toshi (Solomon), Flame Point Himalayan and his companion, Cedric, Black Extreme Faced Persian. They were taken with a cherry tree in full bloom. Lila is holding Toshi. At one point, Toshi is licking the dew off the cherry blossom. Lila also sent in these comments from last Sunday: "Well, our little Creamsicle had a blast this morning while we worked out. The tunnel had been kicked into the living room, so for nearly 30 minutes, he raced in and out of it and around our kicking legs with his ears back and tail bent. He was hilarious! I’ve opened windows as the day gets warmer, and he makes sure he’s in the front ones, where the trees and birds are. I think he’s had his workout for the day, too."
April 11, 2013
Dave Russo hit another home run on these pictures of Toshi (Solomon), Flame Point Himalayan and his companion, Cedric, Black Extreme Faced Persian. They were taken with a cherry tree in full bloom. Lila is holding Toshi. At one point, Toshi is licking the dew off the cherry blossom. Lila also sent in these comments from last Sunday: "Well, our little Creamsicle had a blast this morning while we worked out. The tunnel had been kicked into the living room, so for nearly 30 minutes, he raced in and out of it and around our kicking legs with his ears back and tail bent. He was hilarious! I’ve opened windows as the day gets warmer, and he makes sure he’s in the front ones, where the trees and birds are. I think he’s had his workout for the day, too."
Update on Nathaniel
April 5, 2013
Nathaniel's mother, Hannah, wrote in today and provided us with these very cute pictures and the below comments. We didn't even recognize Nathaniel. His baby face has changed so much. And just look at that coat of fur. We see a very striking resemblance to his brother Toshi (Solomon). Sounds like Nathaniel is quite the character. Here is what Hannah wrote: "I had to share these pics of Nathaniel with you. That's my backpack on wheels and that's Nathaniel in it. He climbed in and went to sleep. Too cute! He's a mess! I've never seen a cat that loves to play as much as he does. When he plays with his toys, he goes to town with them! And he'll play for a long time by himself. Anyway, he's doing great!
April 5, 2013
Nathaniel's mother, Hannah, wrote in today and provided us with these very cute pictures and the below comments. We didn't even recognize Nathaniel. His baby face has changed so much. And just look at that coat of fur. We see a very striking resemblance to his brother Toshi (Solomon). Sounds like Nathaniel is quite the character. Here is what Hannah wrote: "I had to share these pics of Nathaniel with you. That's my backpack on wheels and that's Nathaniel in it. He climbed in and went to sleep. Too cute! He's a mess! I've never seen a cat that loves to play as much as he does. When he plays with his toys, he goes to town with them! And he'll play for a long time by himself. Anyway, he's doing great!
Our Cloud Prince
Update on Toshi (Formerly Solomon)
April 3, 2013
Toshi, waiting for the trashmen.
Lila, Toshi's mother, emailed us this fluffy cloud picture last week along with the following: "Doesn’t he look like a little cloud? But he is SOLID under there. He and Zena are so nosy. They love to sit on that stool and stare at whatever is going on outside. Toshi has become one of the “bathroom crew” – the kitties who just have to come in the bathroom when I get up and start with the shower. He very happily lies on the tile and watches Dexter and Nikko drink from the faucet. Quincy comes in, but I have to try to keep him from the loud talking he likes to do, which is probably translated to FEED ME. I’ve been able to cuddle on Toshi a lot more in the last week or two. I think he’s starting to like it and not be so busy discovering his world. But he still spends 90% of his time running, running and running. I don’t know how he does it, but he never seems to tire of batting a toy around and around, fetching it, knocking it away…just endlessly playing. I can’t imagine any cat being friendlier, brighter or cuter! Seriously!" Thank you Lila for keeping us informed with pictures and comments of how Toshi is doing in his home. He truly has a beautiful coat. It sounds like he is spoiled with love.
Update on Pansy and Peony's Pregnancies
April 2, 2013
We wanted to give a quick up date on how Pansy and Peony are doing. Both girls are doing great and eating well. Pansy is now on Day 47 of her pregnancy and Peony is on Day 34. Each girl is gaining good weight. Pansy is actually huge by any standards we have had in the past. Pansy's weight has now increased 19.34% of the weight from when she was in heat. This is 3% more than Primrose (her mother) was at on Day 46 of her last pregnancy. And we all know how big Primrose's babies were. We are expecting Pansy to have more than 4 babies. That said, she could surprise us. She loves rolling on her back on the floor with her hands and legs stretched out. She just loves being pregnant and she knows that she is. Peony on the other hand, just doesn't understand what is happening inside her body since this is her first litter. Peony is a smaller girl than Pansy. We estimate that Pansy is about 13 days ahead of Peony in her pregnancy. Peony's weight has now increased 5.4% compared to Pansy's on Day 34 at 6.4%. We estimate that Peony is probably going to have between 3 to 4 kittens. We are glad to report that it appears that Peony's progesterone levels are holding strong. She is eating all the time. We can not believe that Pansy is only a little over 2 weeks from delivery. We are so excited to have new kittens around our Cattery. It has been so quiet since Joseph, Benjamin, Petunia and all the kittens have left for their new homes. Pansy should be due on or after April 18th. We do expect a few days after April 18th. Peony is due on or after May 1st and her delivery should be either May 1st to the 4th. Stay tune for more news as the days fast approach. You can check out their pregnancy calendars by going to the below links:
Pansy's Pregnancy Calendar
Peony's Pregnancy Calendar
April 2, 2013
We wanted to give a quick up date on how Pansy and Peony are doing. Both girls are doing great and eating well. Pansy is now on Day 47 of her pregnancy and Peony is on Day 34. Each girl is gaining good weight. Pansy is actually huge by any standards we have had in the past. Pansy's weight has now increased 19.34% of the weight from when she was in heat. This is 3% more than Primrose (her mother) was at on Day 46 of her last pregnancy. And we all know how big Primrose's babies were. We are expecting Pansy to have more than 4 babies. That said, she could surprise us. She loves rolling on her back on the floor with her hands and legs stretched out. She just loves being pregnant and she knows that she is. Peony on the other hand, just doesn't understand what is happening inside her body since this is her first litter. Peony is a smaller girl than Pansy. We estimate that Pansy is about 13 days ahead of Peony in her pregnancy. Peony's weight has now increased 5.4% compared to Pansy's on Day 34 at 6.4%. We estimate that Peony is probably going to have between 3 to 4 kittens. We are glad to report that it appears that Peony's progesterone levels are holding strong. She is eating all the time. We can not believe that Pansy is only a little over 2 weeks from delivery. We are so excited to have new kittens around our Cattery. It has been so quiet since Joseph, Benjamin, Petunia and all the kittens have left for their new homes. Pansy should be due on or after April 18th. We do expect a few days after April 18th. Peony is due on or after May 1st and her delivery should be either May 1st to the 4th. Stay tune for more news as the days fast approach. You can check out their pregnancy calendars by going to the below links:
Pansy's Pregnancy Calendar
Peony's Pregnancy Calendar
UPDATE ON PANSY AND PEONY
MARCH 20, 2013
We have good news to report. Several days ago, Peony's nipples started picking up. She is on Day 21 of her pregnancy. This is calculated based on her first mating on February 28. She should get pinker as she approaches Day 21. She is going through morning sickness currently and we are hoping her appetite will start to pick up in the next few days. If our calculations are correct, her delivery date would be approximately May 3 middle of the night or May 4th. Peony is a Chocolate Carrier and Willie is a visual Chocolate Point. We are expecting 100% Himalayans from this litter, with 50% being Chocolate Points or Chocolate Tortie Points. Of course, statistics can be off. We are very hopeful that we will finally see our first chocolate points from her litter. The other 50% should be Flame Points, Seal Points or Tortie Points.
Pansy is now on Day 33 of her pregnancy. Her delivery date is approximately April 19th or 20th. She is starting to eat huge amounts of food like she did during her last pregnancy. She is now up to 3 cans of food a day. In the last four days, she has gained 7.7 ounces or just slightly under 1/2 a pound. That is a lot of weight gain for just being mid way through her pregnancy. She is getting very large around her middle. We can even feel knots on her sides. We believe she is carrying a lot of kittens due to her rapid weight gain, her belly size and that she was mated quite a bit. We are already planning on assisting her with feeding if she has an extremely large litter. We expect 50% Persians and 50% Himalayans in this litter comprising some of the follow colors: Tortiseshell, Black, Red, Tortie Point, Seal Point, Flame Point.
We monitor Pansy and Peony's weight now every day. We have attached a pregnancy calendar for each of the girls. The script for these pregnancy calendars are copyrighted by: Script Copyright 1996-1999 Suzan van Prooijen - The Netherlands- Released to Purrinlot Persians USA Copyright 01-03-03. You can go to the links to see Pansy's Pregnancy Calendar and Peony's Pregnancy Calendar. If you have children, please be careful, since the calendar is graphic in its explanations. Hope you enjoy them. My girls usually deliver around Day 63 or Day 64, so the bottom of the calendar will be off a little.
Just this week we reopened our Priority Wait List for a few more families to join. If you are seriously interested in a kitten from our 2013 litters, please start by reading our Policies found on our Prices and Policies Page and then filling out our Kitten Application and sending or emailing it in. If you have any questions, please let us know. If you do not hear from us within 24 hours, it may be that we did not get your email. Please contact us by phone or directly through our email address at victoriangardenscattery@live.com.
MARCH 20, 2013
We have good news to report. Several days ago, Peony's nipples started picking up. She is on Day 21 of her pregnancy. This is calculated based on her first mating on February 28. She should get pinker as she approaches Day 21. She is going through morning sickness currently and we are hoping her appetite will start to pick up in the next few days. If our calculations are correct, her delivery date would be approximately May 3 middle of the night or May 4th. Peony is a Chocolate Carrier and Willie is a visual Chocolate Point. We are expecting 100% Himalayans from this litter, with 50% being Chocolate Points or Chocolate Tortie Points. Of course, statistics can be off. We are very hopeful that we will finally see our first chocolate points from her litter. The other 50% should be Flame Points, Seal Points or Tortie Points.
Pansy is now on Day 33 of her pregnancy. Her delivery date is approximately April 19th or 20th. She is starting to eat huge amounts of food like she did during her last pregnancy. She is now up to 3 cans of food a day. In the last four days, she has gained 7.7 ounces or just slightly under 1/2 a pound. That is a lot of weight gain for just being mid way through her pregnancy. She is getting very large around her middle. We can even feel knots on her sides. We believe she is carrying a lot of kittens due to her rapid weight gain, her belly size and that she was mated quite a bit. We are already planning on assisting her with feeding if she has an extremely large litter. We expect 50% Persians and 50% Himalayans in this litter comprising some of the follow colors: Tortiseshell, Black, Red, Tortie Point, Seal Point, Flame Point.
We monitor Pansy and Peony's weight now every day. We have attached a pregnancy calendar for each of the girls. The script for these pregnancy calendars are copyrighted by: Script Copyright 1996-1999 Suzan van Prooijen - The Netherlands- Released to Purrinlot Persians USA Copyright 01-03-03. You can go to the links to see Pansy's Pregnancy Calendar and Peony's Pregnancy Calendar. If you have children, please be careful, since the calendar is graphic in its explanations. Hope you enjoy them. My girls usually deliver around Day 63 or Day 64, so the bottom of the calendar will be off a little.
Just this week we reopened our Priority Wait List for a few more families to join. If you are seriously interested in a kitten from our 2013 litters, please start by reading our Policies found on our Prices and Policies Page and then filling out our Kitten Application and sending or emailing it in. If you have any questions, please let us know. If you do not hear from us within 24 hours, it may be that we did not get your email. Please contact us by phone or directly through our email address at victoriangardenscattery@live.com.
Our Pet Stroller
March 17, 2013
Well, our much anticipated Aosom Elite II Pet Stroller arrived yesterday. The quality was much better than anticipated, as well as the ease of set up. It will be very simple to get it in our SUV for traveling to the Vet. It rides smoothly and is large enough for 4 to 6 cats. With it set up with the wheels on, it measures 31" across, so just enough clearance to get it through our historic house's larger doors. Within the first five minutes of our first walk around the block, someone stopped us and asked about it. They had never seen one before. Our first baby to get the joy of a walk was Buttercup, Cream Point Himalayan. You can see her in the stroller in the above pictures. She did very well. It only took about a minute for her to settle down, lay down and enjoy the ride. It was cold outside but we were having so much fun, we took a little longer stroll than expected. We are so pleased with this stroller.
March 17, 2013
Well, our much anticipated Aosom Elite II Pet Stroller arrived yesterday. The quality was much better than anticipated, as well as the ease of set up. It will be very simple to get it in our SUV for traveling to the Vet. It rides smoothly and is large enough for 4 to 6 cats. With it set up with the wheels on, it measures 31" across, so just enough clearance to get it through our historic house's larger doors. Within the first five minutes of our first walk around the block, someone stopped us and asked about it. They had never seen one before. Our first baby to get the joy of a walk was Buttercup, Cream Point Himalayan. You can see her in the stroller in the above pictures. She did very well. It only took about a minute for her to settle down, lay down and enjoy the ride. It was cold outside but we were having so much fun, we took a little longer stroll than expected. We are so pleased with this stroller.
OUR WIZ KID
AKA: THE PRINCE OF ORANGE
UPDATE ON TOSHI (SOLOMON)
March 13, 2013
Last week Lila, Toshi's mom, provided us with several glimpses into Toshi's world and heart. You can read more about Toshi by clicking on the link: "The Prince of Orange has had a great week – and is now fetching every toy he’s able to carry. He has nothing but fun. Here are some cute shots from the last couple of days. He loves anything small and easy to carry this week - little plastic rings, the little foil crinkle balls. I got him a big foil ball and he's having some fun with that, too. I told you I fell asleep in the red chair in the living room last night. When I woke up at 1:30, Nikko was on my lap (of course) and Toshi was dozing in a regal position on the side table. That's what he does. When he tires of running like a madman, he wants to sit somewhere close by. He still prefers a hard surface, like the bare floor, for sleeping. And we realized this morning, looking at the pictures, that what makes him different from other kittens we've had is that he is PROPORTIONATE, like a miniature adult cat. He doesn't have the big, goofy ears and feet that Quincy did, or the gangly legs of Dexter. This is fascinating to us. Toshi just took a flying leap onto my desk and is now sitting on the printer. He’s just such a good companion. He has just lay down behind the computer – and did the same thing on Dave’s desk earlier. He just wants to be close to us."
AKA: THE PRINCE OF ORANGE
UPDATE ON TOSHI (SOLOMON)
March 13, 2013
Last week Lila, Toshi's mom, provided us with several glimpses into Toshi's world and heart. You can read more about Toshi by clicking on the link: "The Prince of Orange has had a great week – and is now fetching every toy he’s able to carry. He has nothing but fun. Here are some cute shots from the last couple of days. He loves anything small and easy to carry this week - little plastic rings, the little foil crinkle balls. I got him a big foil ball and he's having some fun with that, too. I told you I fell asleep in the red chair in the living room last night. When I woke up at 1:30, Nikko was on my lap (of course) and Toshi was dozing in a regal position on the side table. That's what he does. When he tires of running like a madman, he wants to sit somewhere close by. He still prefers a hard surface, like the bare floor, for sleeping. And we realized this morning, looking at the pictures, that what makes him different from other kittens we've had is that he is PROPORTIONATE, like a miniature adult cat. He doesn't have the big, goofy ears and feet that Quincy did, or the gangly legs of Dexter. This is fascinating to us. Toshi just took a flying leap onto my desk and is now sitting on the printer. He’s just such a good companion. He has just lay down behind the computer – and did the same thing on Dave’s desk earlier. He just wants to be close to us."
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
March 8, 2013
Tortoiseshell Persian with pinked up nipples on Day 19 of her pregnancy.
Yes, the picture is of our sweet Tortoiseshell Persian named The Perfect Pansy. And yes, that is a picture of her "pinked up" nipples. We had to lightened up the picture since it was taken in the evening. Her nipples pinked up on Wednesday, which we calculate to be roughly Day 18 or Day 19 of her pregnancy. The picture was taken the evening of March 6th. From our calculations, she probably got pregnant either February 16 or 17 or 18. We are looking at around April 19th probably in the wee hours into April 20th for her to deliver her babies. Of course, if she did have babies conceived even during the 19th and 20th of February, her body will probably hold off having the babies, waiting for the preemies conceived on the 19th and 20th to mature. Our Priority Wait List is closed currently but we are planning on reopening it for a small period of time when we can confirm Peony's pregnancy. We should be able to provide visual pregnancy verification on Peony around March 20th. We will take her to our Veterinarian around week 4 for Veterinarian verification of her pregnancy. We do have a list started for those who want to be notified when our Priority Wait List reopens. If you would like to be on this list, please contact us.
UPDATE ON COCO PUFF
(The Perfect Dahlia)
March 3, 2013
CoCo Puff, AKA: The Perfect Dahlia, Black Persian
This update came in on March 1st from Jan, CoCo Puff's mom. "CoCo Puff is growing up too fast. I want her to be a kitten forever. She is still the sweetest and most affectionate kitty that I have ever had, my little love-bug. She follows me from room to room and Ross always says he sees the special bond between us. I can't imagine my life before my little baby girl. She means everything to me-so Thank You again for allowing us to take her. You will never know how much love she gets. I wish every animal was loved so much. I hope all is going great with you and your furbabies. Thanks for the updates. I also wanted to tell you I got CoCo Puff pet insurance with TruPanion. It is only $21.00 a month with a $150.00 deductable. I think every pet owner should have pet insurance. We learned the hard way with Ting-Tang. Just gives me peace of mind." Ting-Tang was the Wattey's 17 year old Black Persian that died in 2012. The Watteys were devastated by their loss of Ting-Tang. You can read the story of Ting-Tang and CoCo Puff on the Adopted Kittens Page for 2009-2012.
MATING IS JUST SOOO EXHAUSTING
March 2, 2013
As some of you know, Peony, our Tortie Point Himalayan went in to heat on Feb. 26th. Today is her third day being mating to Willie. Each day so far, they have mated five times. Today is their last day. We caught her yesterday on one of our four new pet beds catching up on her rest after a very active day of mating to Willie. We were on hand for every one of her matings. Willie is getting very well practiced now and is doing a good job. Her pregnancy confirmation should be around March 22nd. We will start her on progesterone shots on Monday to ensure she maintains this pregnancy. We will probably take her in to the Vet around 4 weeks from now to ensure she is pregnant. If she is pregnant, this will be her first litter. She is a chocolate carrier so we are hoping she will produce for us a few chocolate points. Peony has a gorgeous long coat with very long ear tuffs and a nice full tail.
March 2, 2013
As some of you know, Peony, our Tortie Point Himalayan went in to heat on Feb. 26th. Today is her third day being mating to Willie. Each day so far, they have mated five times. Today is their last day. We caught her yesterday on one of our four new pet beds catching up on her rest after a very active day of mating to Willie. We were on hand for every one of her matings. Willie is getting very well practiced now and is doing a good job. Her pregnancy confirmation should be around March 22nd. We will start her on progesterone shots on Monday to ensure she maintains this pregnancy. We will probably take her in to the Vet around 4 weeks from now to ensure she is pregnant. If she is pregnant, this will be her first litter. She is a chocolate carrier so we are hoping she will produce for us a few chocolate points. Peony has a gorgeous long coat with very long ear tuffs and a nice full tail.
Update on Delphinium and Dianthus
March 1, 2013
This week Jill gave us an update on Dianthus, Black Persian and Delphinium, Seal Point Himalayan. These are Pansy's and Willie's daughters. The girls had their spay surgeries on Monday. I must say, I am impressed with the girl's Vet. Not only did he keep the girls overnight, but he is making them wear a collar for a whole week so they can not lick or bite their stitches. This greatly reduces the chances of infection. Now that is a very conscientious Vet. We are so glad to hear that the girls made it through their surgeries with flying colors. They were up walking around in their cages at the Vet soon afterwards, still a little groggy from the drugs. Jill has renamed the girls Gemma and Voodoo. Here is her update: "Here are a couple of pictures of the girls. They aren't exactly liking the cone head look, but they aren't fighting it either. They came home from the vet last night along with some pain meds. Six of the vet techs came out to say goodbye. Apparently the girls were attention hounds and had everyone wrapped around their little paws. You can't see Gemma's pale blue eyes here because she's sleeping, but they really are very pale. You can see Voodoo's copper eyes. They are getting deeper and deeper in color every day. The girls decided a couple of months ago that they wanted big girl food instead of kitten food. I've been mixing the kitten food with adult food since then. The vet says I should wean them off the kitten food over the next couple of months. It shouldn't be hard. They are not fussy eaters at all. Currently they are getting a mix of Nutro kitten and Nutro adult indoor food. I'll start lowering the amount of kitten food I mix in the next time I buy food. Finally, their weight. Voodoo weighs a hefty 8.3 lbs and Gemma is the skinny petite one at 6.1 lbs. Its funny when you see them next to each other because they look like they're the same size. Then you pick them up and realize Gemma is all fluff with her really long fur. " Thank you Jill for the update on Pansy and Willie's girls.
March 1, 2013
This week Jill gave us an update on Dianthus, Black Persian and Delphinium, Seal Point Himalayan. These are Pansy's and Willie's daughters. The girls had their spay surgeries on Monday. I must say, I am impressed with the girl's Vet. Not only did he keep the girls overnight, but he is making them wear a collar for a whole week so they can not lick or bite their stitches. This greatly reduces the chances of infection. Now that is a very conscientious Vet. We are so glad to hear that the girls made it through their surgeries with flying colors. They were up walking around in their cages at the Vet soon afterwards, still a little groggy from the drugs. Jill has renamed the girls Gemma and Voodoo. Here is her update: "Here are a couple of pictures of the girls. They aren't exactly liking the cone head look, but they aren't fighting it either. They came home from the vet last night along with some pain meds. Six of the vet techs came out to say goodbye. Apparently the girls were attention hounds and had everyone wrapped around their little paws. You can't see Gemma's pale blue eyes here because she's sleeping, but they really are very pale. You can see Voodoo's copper eyes. They are getting deeper and deeper in color every day. The girls decided a couple of months ago that they wanted big girl food instead of kitten food. I've been mixing the kitten food with adult food since then. The vet says I should wean them off the kitten food over the next couple of months. It shouldn't be hard. They are not fussy eaters at all. Currently they are getting a mix of Nutro kitten and Nutro adult indoor food. I'll start lowering the amount of kitten food I mix in the next time I buy food. Finally, their weight. Voodoo weighs a hefty 8.3 lbs and Gemma is the skinny petite one at 6.1 lbs. Its funny when you see them next to each other because they look like they're the same size. Then you pick them up and realize Gemma is all fluff with her really long fur. " Thank you Jill for the update on Pansy and Willie's girls.
MY SPECIAL VISIT WITH TOSHI
Feb. 27, 2013
On Sunday, February 24th, I hand delivered Sweet Annie to Sarah in Raleigh, NC. I will tell you all about that when I next Blog. We are awaiting a picture of Sweet Annie with her mom. After I hand delivered Annie to Sarah, Lila and Dave invited me over to visit them at their house in Cary, North Carolina. I was looking forward to meeting their gang. We had a wonderful time together enjoying all of their six furbabies. Toshi stood right there and let me pick him up and love on him. Later he laid on my lap on his back with his head hanging off my knees while I rubbed his tummy. He seemed so peaceful and calm the whole time I was there. Even Cedric, their gorgeous Black Persian, allowed me to hold him like a baby in my arms. Nikko sat in his bed right next to me at the table while Lila, Dave and I enjoyed some wonderful French pastries and tea. Of course, our talk is almost always about cats. These two love their babies and love cats! My only regret is that Quincy, their huge Maine Coon would not come out and play with me. I was hoping to give him a bear hug. I have never actually ever held a Maine Coon in my arms and was looking forward to it.
Lila and Dave are such hospitable and generous people. We browsed all the new pictures of Toshi, which are shown above. Toshi is now in the habit of either working out with them to their exercise DVD or will sit in a chair and watch the DVD. Dave caught some fabulous pictures of Toshi in the bathtub. You would have thought they were against a white photography background. They truly are beautiful.
Last night, Lila while she was working at her desk she wrote me this quick note: "Here I sit, going as fast as I can through this ... file, and our puffball got behind me in my chair and started washing his face. He’s such a good companion – really just wants to be where we are and not ask for much. And I couldn’t ask for more!"
Feb. 25: "Today, the refrigerator repair guy came (the door wouldn’t stay shut). The five big cats cowered under the bed while Toshi sat calmly on the kitchen counter and watched everything. What a character."
Feb. 27, 2013
On Sunday, February 24th, I hand delivered Sweet Annie to Sarah in Raleigh, NC. I will tell you all about that when I next Blog. We are awaiting a picture of Sweet Annie with her mom. After I hand delivered Annie to Sarah, Lila and Dave invited me over to visit them at their house in Cary, North Carolina. I was looking forward to meeting their gang. We had a wonderful time together enjoying all of their six furbabies. Toshi stood right there and let me pick him up and love on him. Later he laid on my lap on his back with his head hanging off my knees while I rubbed his tummy. He seemed so peaceful and calm the whole time I was there. Even Cedric, their gorgeous Black Persian, allowed me to hold him like a baby in my arms. Nikko sat in his bed right next to me at the table while Lila, Dave and I enjoyed some wonderful French pastries and tea. Of course, our talk is almost always about cats. These two love their babies and love cats! My only regret is that Quincy, their huge Maine Coon would not come out and play with me. I was hoping to give him a bear hug. I have never actually ever held a Maine Coon in my arms and was looking forward to it.
Lila and Dave are such hospitable and generous people. We browsed all the new pictures of Toshi, which are shown above. Toshi is now in the habit of either working out with them to their exercise DVD or will sit in a chair and watch the DVD. Dave caught some fabulous pictures of Toshi in the bathtub. You would have thought they were against a white photography background. They truly are beautiful.
Last night, Lila while she was working at her desk she wrote me this quick note: "Here I sit, going as fast as I can through this ... file, and our puffball got behind me in my chair and started washing his face. He’s such a good companion – really just wants to be where we are and not ask for much. And I couldn’t ask for more!"
Feb. 25: "Today, the refrigerator repair guy came (the door wouldn’t stay shut). The five big cats cowered under the bed while Toshi sat calmly on the kitchen counter and watched everything. What a character."
Ketamine Dangers
February 25, 2013
Many of you know that I belong to a Feline Health Blog. I have gained so much knowledge and advise from this fabulous group of breeders. Most are breeders of other feline breeds other than Persian and Himalayan. This past week the warning went out to all feline breeders on our Health Blog on the use of Ketamine during surgeries. It was advising and warning not to use Ketamine during surgeries because it can lead to death in kittens and cats. Ketamine is an injectable anesthesia. It has very serious side effects and the most serious is death. It is an inexpensive anesthesia and that is why some Veterinarians are using it. Please have your kittens and cats medical records flagged at your Veterinarian stating you do not want Ketamine used on your cat or kitten for any reason. At Victorian Gardens Cattery we do everything we can to warn parents of potential hazards as we become aware of them. This is to ensure our babies live a long, happy life. So for those recently adopted kittens, please discuss this with your Vet prior to any spay or neuter surgery. For those on our Wait List, do not worry. In your Kitten Care Kit, we provide you with an Information Sheet on Spay/Neuter Surgeries. We have also now made this Information Sheet available on our website. We ask you to discuss this sheet with your Vet, prior to any spay/neuter surgery. The warning of Ketamine will be on the Information Sheet. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Please give all my babies a special hug and kiss from me today.
February 25, 2013
Many of you know that I belong to a Feline Health Blog. I have gained so much knowledge and advise from this fabulous group of breeders. Most are breeders of other feline breeds other than Persian and Himalayan. This past week the warning went out to all feline breeders on our Health Blog on the use of Ketamine during surgeries. It was advising and warning not to use Ketamine during surgeries because it can lead to death in kittens and cats. Ketamine is an injectable anesthesia. It has very serious side effects and the most serious is death. It is an inexpensive anesthesia and that is why some Veterinarians are using it. Please have your kittens and cats medical records flagged at your Veterinarian stating you do not want Ketamine used on your cat or kitten for any reason. At Victorian Gardens Cattery we do everything we can to warn parents of potential hazards as we become aware of them. This is to ensure our babies live a long, happy life. So for those recently adopted kittens, please discuss this with your Vet prior to any spay or neuter surgery. For those on our Wait List, do not worry. In your Kitten Care Kit, we provide you with an Information Sheet on Spay/Neuter Surgeries. We have also now made this Information Sheet available on our website. We ask you to discuss this sheet with your Vet, prior to any spay/neuter surgery. The warning of Ketamine will be on the Information Sheet. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Please give all my babies a special hug and kiss from me today.
UPDATE ON NATHANIEL
February 23, 2013
On February 16th, this past week, Nathaniel's mom has updated us on our precious boy. Thanks Hannah! "Just wanted to let you know that Nathaniel had another vet appointment yesterday to get some vaccinations. Everything went really well again. My vet is extremely impressed with Nathaniel's personality, and he can't get over how beautiful his coat is. My vet really likes Nathaniel! He was also very impressed with how thorough you were with giving vaccinations. He said that most breeders don't give the proper amount of vaccinations to the kittens. ... Nathaniel is slowly but surely warming up to the dogs. He's still a little leery of them, but he's definitely feeling more comfortable getting in close proximity to them. He walked right under Axle, my oldest bulldog, this morning. My bulldogs are being really good with him, and I think he's realizing that they have no intention of causing him any harm. He's doing great with his litter box! No problems whatsoever. I really like the breeze litter box and pine pellets system. It sure beats traditional litter boxes and litter. "
February 23, 2013
On February 16th, this past week, Nathaniel's mom has updated us on our precious boy. Thanks Hannah! "Just wanted to let you know that Nathaniel had another vet appointment yesterday to get some vaccinations. Everything went really well again. My vet is extremely impressed with Nathaniel's personality, and he can't get over how beautiful his coat is. My vet really likes Nathaniel! He was also very impressed with how thorough you were with giving vaccinations. He said that most breeders don't give the proper amount of vaccinations to the kittens. ... Nathaniel is slowly but surely warming up to the dogs. He's still a little leery of them, but he's definitely feeling more comfortable getting in close proximity to them. He walked right under Axle, my oldest bulldog, this morning. My bulldogs are being really good with him, and I think he's realizing that they have no intention of causing him any harm. He's doing great with his litter box! No problems whatsoever. I really like the breeze litter box and pine pellets system. It sure beats traditional litter boxes and litter. "
TOSHI UPDATE
February 22, 2013
We have had several updates on Toshi over the last week along with some wonderful photography of Toshi with his family. The photographer is Toshi's own father, Dave Russo Photography. Hope you enjoy these select updates and photos as well as we do. Thank you to Toshi's family for providing them to us.
2/14/13: "He weights FIVE POUNDS. Zena weighs 9 pounds. He has about tripled in size! He runs and climbs like a wild man. Wait till you see him. Had his rabies, then will get the other shots in a couple of weeks. He spent about 5 minutes total in his cage at the vet – the techs couldn’t keep their hands off of him! He’s still fetching, too – and drags those stick toys all the way up the stairs now, slamming the stick against each riser.
2/17/13: "This morning, he decided not to run like a madman around us when while we worked out to the DVD. Instead, he slapped the turbo trackball toy like crazy the entire time. I think he feels like he needs to do something because we’re “playing.” We finally had had to cut the long sticks off the feather toys because he’s dragging them up the cat tree and it seemed a little hazardous. His color really is starting to come in. When he was against the cream- colored sheets this morning, I could tell that he’s more orange overall. He’s paying a lot of attention to the birds and the moving bushes and trees outside. I don’t see one moment when he’s not happy or interested in something. He has no fear of anything, that I can tell. But that can be a bad thing! We’re watching him carefully to be sure he doesn’t pay too much attention to electrical cords or any other hazards. But he’s starting to chew, and I have to watch what paper I put on the floor!"
2/22/2013: "He’s had a busy week – still carrying the feather toy all over the house. We usually find it in our bathroom when we get up. He must think he’s bringing us a special prize. He’s sleeping on the bed every night now, and Dexter and Nikko don’t mind sharing the space with him. He plays so hard that once he’s out, he’s out! And he’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger… He now jumps up on the bed every night and bonks his head against mine, sticks his head in my hand to pet him and purrs like an outboard motor. I believe he knows he's the little prince (for the moment) and that he can try anything, since he looks irresistably cute, no matter what he does. He was wild again when we worked out last night - putting his ears back and running back and forth at full speed!"
February 22, 2013
We have had several updates on Toshi over the last week along with some wonderful photography of Toshi with his family. The photographer is Toshi's own father, Dave Russo Photography. Hope you enjoy these select updates and photos as well as we do. Thank you to Toshi's family for providing them to us.
2/14/13: "He weights FIVE POUNDS. Zena weighs 9 pounds. He has about tripled in size! He runs and climbs like a wild man. Wait till you see him. Had his rabies, then will get the other shots in a couple of weeks. He spent about 5 minutes total in his cage at the vet – the techs couldn’t keep their hands off of him! He’s still fetching, too – and drags those stick toys all the way up the stairs now, slamming the stick against each riser.
2/17/13: "This morning, he decided not to run like a madman around us when while we worked out to the DVD. Instead, he slapped the turbo trackball toy like crazy the entire time. I think he feels like he needs to do something because we’re “playing.” We finally had had to cut the long sticks off the feather toys because he’s dragging them up the cat tree and it seemed a little hazardous. His color really is starting to come in. When he was against the cream- colored sheets this morning, I could tell that he’s more orange overall. He’s paying a lot of attention to the birds and the moving bushes and trees outside. I don’t see one moment when he’s not happy or interested in something. He has no fear of anything, that I can tell. But that can be a bad thing! We’re watching him carefully to be sure he doesn’t pay too much attention to electrical cords or any other hazards. But he’s starting to chew, and I have to watch what paper I put on the floor!"
2/22/2013: "He’s had a busy week – still carrying the feather toy all over the house. We usually find it in our bathroom when we get up. He must think he’s bringing us a special prize. He’s sleeping on the bed every night now, and Dexter and Nikko don’t mind sharing the space with him. He plays so hard that once he’s out, he’s out! And he’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger… He now jumps up on the bed every night and bonks his head against mine, sticks his head in my hand to pet him and purrs like an outboard motor. I believe he knows he's the little prince (for the moment) and that he can try anything, since he looks irresistably cute, no matter what he does. He was wild again when we worked out last night - putting his ears back and running back and forth at full speed!"
Sweet Jediadiah
and the
Westminster Dog Show
February 21, 2013
Sweet Jediadiah, Cream Persian
On Valentines Day last week, Faye, Sweet Jediadiah's mother, wrote us another amazing story about Jed. We always knew that Jed was a very smart cookie right from the day he was born, but he just keeps amazing us. The story came from Debbie, the Jacobson's house/pet sitter they use when they are out of town. Here is the story that Debbie recounted to Faye when she returned from her vacation: "Debbie had to take a minute before she left last night to tell us an "Amazing Jed" story. She said that she watched the Westminster Dog Show both nights. She said the first night Jed would sit right in front of the television and watch too -- that when the commercials would come on he would wander off but when the dogs came back on he would come back. She said when the herding group was doing their thing he actually got very close to the television, sat up on his hind legs like he was REALLY into those dogs. She said she was amazed at how long he watched and told a friend of hers that it was just a fluke and she was sure he would not do it the second night. To her surprise, the second night of the dog show was just as fascinating to Jed as the first. We have seen him watch television before but not for as long a period. We will just have to get him some DVD's to watch! "
February 19, 2013 - Update On Our Girls
Currently Pansy has been mated to Willie Wonka for the last five days. Primrose keeps cycling in and out of heat but we are waiting a little bit longer to breed her in order for her body to build up after her October 31, 2012 litter. She keeps cycling in and out of heat. We found out yesterday that Peony was not pregnant. We were disappointed. We were so looking forward to her kittens. She either lost her babies due to low progesterone or either she didn't get pregnant when bred to Willie in January. We will rebred her to Willie the next time she goes in to her heat cycle. She will have progesterone shots right away after being mated. Peony and Primrose both are chocolate carriers and thus mated with Willie can produce Chocolate Persian and Himalayans. There can be do dilutes like blues or creams since Willie does not carry the dilute gene. We already have a Wait List for these litters. If you are interested in a kitten from one of these litters, please fill out our Kitten Application. Serious inquires only. Please stay tuned for updates on these girls.
Currently Pansy has been mated to Willie Wonka for the last five days. Primrose keeps cycling in and out of heat but we are waiting a little bit longer to breed her in order for her body to build up after her October 31, 2012 litter. She keeps cycling in and out of heat. We found out yesterday that Peony was not pregnant. We were disappointed. We were so looking forward to her kittens. She either lost her babies due to low progesterone or either she didn't get pregnant when bred to Willie in January. We will rebred her to Willie the next time she goes in to her heat cycle. She will have progesterone shots right away after being mated. Peony and Primrose both are chocolate carriers and thus mated with Willie can produce Chocolate Persian and Himalayans. There can be do dilutes like blues or creams since Willie does not carry the dilute gene. We already have a Wait List for these litters. If you are interested in a kitten from one of these litters, please fill out our Kitten Application. Serious inquires only. Please stay tuned for updates on these girls.
One Very Special Heart
Happy Valentines Day
February 14, 2013
Andy (Zachariah) on the couch snuggling with Tashi (Shih Tzu)
Our very sweet and precious lapcat Andy (AKA Zachariah, Cream Point Himalayan) has one very special heart. Wish all humans in the world had this much compassion and empathy for one another. From Andy's mom, Faye: "Tashi, our little Shih Tzu rescue dog, is almost totally deaf now but his heart condition has not worsened and his renal problems have stabilized. Both he and Merlin continue to play and be themselves much of the time. Andy just loves Tashi and is always snuggling up to him while they both sleep. I will get a picture and send it to you. The other night Andy had his arm around Tashi and they were both sound asleep." I truly believe in my heart that Andy has a keen sense that not all is right with Tashi. Andy goes out of his way to show love, compassion and empathy to this precious furbaby.
February 12, 2012 - Can You Believe This??
Yesterday, we were sent these great pictures of Toshi, aka Solomon, Primrose's 3 1/3 month old kitten actually retrieving. It is really amazing. This is a very early age for a kitten to learn how to retrieve. Petunia, Toshi's grandmother, use to retrieve a ball when she was around 9 months old, but never this young. Here are the comments from Toshi's mom, Lila: "Over and over, I throw the feather stick and he brings it to me. Can you believe it??" We think Toshi is a very amazingly smart kitten. Next step ... hint, hint, hint ... toilet potty training.
Yesterday, we were sent these great pictures of Toshi, aka Solomon, Primrose's 3 1/3 month old kitten actually retrieving. It is really amazing. This is a very early age for a kitten to learn how to retrieve. Petunia, Toshi's grandmother, use to retrieve a ball when she was around 9 months old, but never this young. Here are the comments from Toshi's mom, Lila: "Over and over, I throw the feather stick and he brings it to me. Can you believe it??" We think Toshi is a very amazingly smart kitten. Next step ... hint, hint, hint ... toilet potty training.
Samson, Flame Point Himalayan Kitten with Snowball, a Lionhead Bunny, his new friend.
February 11, 2013 - Yes, It's Real!
Yes, the rabbit in the picture next to Samson is real. It looks just like a stuffed animal, but it is one of two Lionhead bunnies in the Magnus Family. The bunny is named Snowball and Samson is starting to learn to play with it. Snowball is just a little bit bigger than Samson. Here is the newest update from the Magnus Family: "Samson is doing great! He's been so much fun lately! He's really becoming comfortable here with us and he's been rip roaring around. He loves to play with balled up socks and the cube/tunnel we have. He's kept us entertained for sure! He shows his softer side more and more...we found out that his favorite pass time is getting a belly rub! As you can see below, Samson is making friends with Snowball. They have seen each other a few times so far usually just sniffing and watching but Samson actually reached out his paw tonight to try to play with Snowball's tail which was really cute! " You just have to wonder what Snowball thinks of Samson, don't you???
Yes, the rabbit in the picture next to Samson is real. It looks just like a stuffed animal, but it is one of two Lionhead bunnies in the Magnus Family. The bunny is named Snowball and Samson is starting to learn to play with it. Snowball is just a little bit bigger than Samson. Here is the newest update from the Magnus Family: "Samson is doing great! He's been so much fun lately! He's really becoming comfortable here with us and he's been rip roaring around. He loves to play with balled up socks and the cube/tunnel we have. He's kept us entertained for sure! He shows his softer side more and more...we found out that his favorite pass time is getting a belly rub! As you can see below, Samson is making friends with Snowball. They have seen each other a few times so far usually just sniffing and watching but Samson actually reached out his paw tonight to try to play with Snowball's tail which was really cute! " You just have to wonder what Snowball thinks of Samson, don't you???
February 10, 2013 - Update on The Perfect Dahlia, AKA CoCo Puff
The newest photos of CoCo Puff, Black Persian have arrived. There is something very funny about some of these photos. Back in December, Jan and I talked on the phone about CoCo Puff for over an hour. We laughed at CoCo Puff and her antics. One thing Jan swore up and down at during our phone conversation was that CoCo Puff was not allowed on the kitchen countertops. CoCo Puff had back in December arrived at the spot where she could jump that high. Jan was ready with the spray bottle of water. Even this week, Jan and I were laughing, or at least I was laughing, about the fact that I saw that in some of the photos she had sent in early January, they showed CoCo Puff on the kitchen countertop. Jan realizes that CoCo Puff has her wrapped around her paws. Here is an update on CoCo Puff that just came in yesterday along with the lastest photos. Enjoy watching via photography how CoCo Puff relates to her friend and companion, Cleo, their large and beautiful Chocolate Lab. Thank you Jan for sharing your special times and photos of your girl.
"Cleo and CoCo Puff are the best of buddies now. They sleep together quite a bit on Cleo's pillow in the living room. I think Cleo thinks CoCo Puff is her baby. They groom each other and play constantly. It amazes me that a little kitten that does not even weigh 6 pounds isn't scared of a 65 pound dog! CoCo Puff has 3 favorite toys she loves to play with-Her plastic Circle toy with the ball in it, a peacock feather that I have had for years(which by the way is totally destroyed now), and of course Cleo! She also loves plastic grocery bags. We lay 3 or 4 of them on the floor in the kitchen and she amuses herself at least for 30 minutes. She loves the noise she can make with them!! I hide one of her balls in the middle and she likes to try to find it. She also loves to chase me and Ross through the house. When she catches us she wraps her paws around our legs and then runs off for us to chase her. She has quite the personality! She also loves to be the center of attention. When Ross walks through the house coming home from work she will throw herself on the floor right in front of him and roll over on her back so he will scratch her belly!! How cute is that!!"
The newest photos of CoCo Puff, Black Persian have arrived. There is something very funny about some of these photos. Back in December, Jan and I talked on the phone about CoCo Puff for over an hour. We laughed at CoCo Puff and her antics. One thing Jan swore up and down at during our phone conversation was that CoCo Puff was not allowed on the kitchen countertops. CoCo Puff had back in December arrived at the spot where she could jump that high. Jan was ready with the spray bottle of water. Even this week, Jan and I were laughing, or at least I was laughing, about the fact that I saw that in some of the photos she had sent in early January, they showed CoCo Puff on the kitchen countertop. Jan realizes that CoCo Puff has her wrapped around her paws. Here is an update on CoCo Puff that just came in yesterday along with the lastest photos. Enjoy watching via photography how CoCo Puff relates to her friend and companion, Cleo, their large and beautiful Chocolate Lab. Thank you Jan for sharing your special times and photos of your girl.
"Cleo and CoCo Puff are the best of buddies now. They sleep together quite a bit on Cleo's pillow in the living room. I think Cleo thinks CoCo Puff is her baby. They groom each other and play constantly. It amazes me that a little kitten that does not even weigh 6 pounds isn't scared of a 65 pound dog! CoCo Puff has 3 favorite toys she loves to play with-Her plastic Circle toy with the ball in it, a peacock feather that I have had for years(which by the way is totally destroyed now), and of course Cleo! She also loves plastic grocery bags. We lay 3 or 4 of them on the floor in the kitchen and she amuses herself at least for 30 minutes. She loves the noise she can make with them!! I hide one of her balls in the middle and she likes to try to find it. She also loves to chase me and Ross through the house. When she catches us she wraps her paws around our legs and then runs off for us to chase her. She has quite the personality! She also loves to be the center of attention. When Ross walks through the house coming home from work she will throw herself on the floor right in front of him and roll over on her back so he will scratch her belly!! How cute is that!!"
$10 off Litter Genie Coupon Available
At our Cattery, we have a Litter Genie beside almost every litter box. We use it because it makes scooping and removing the litter so much easier. Instead of having to find a bag to put the litter in and then dump the bag each and every time, we just scoop the waste into the Litter Genie. Then when the bag at the bottom gets full, we empty it. So for one cat using one litter box, you could probably go a whole week before having to remove the bag, which saves time. The Litter Genie is especially built to remove the odors. You can read all about the Litter Genie on their website.
We are blogging about the Litter Genie for the main reason that there is currently a $10.00 off manufacturer's coupon available to print on Smart Source. If you have not printed coupons from Smart Source, you will need to install their software for free. We have never had an issue with their software. You can select by Brand for faster searching on Smart Source. Just put in Litter Genie. You should be able to print off two coupons. You can take this coupon to Walmart, Petco, Petsmart or any retailer that carries the product. Petco and Petsmart both price match each other. If you decide to purchase one, I hope you enjoy it as well as we do at the Cattery. We also are now using regular grocery bags in the bottom and using their liner at the top.
We are blogging about the Litter Genie for the main reason that there is currently a $10.00 off manufacturer's coupon available to print on Smart Source. If you have not printed coupons from Smart Source, you will need to install their software for free. We have never had an issue with their software. You can select by Brand for faster searching on Smart Source. Just put in Litter Genie. You should be able to print off two coupons. You can take this coupon to Walmart, Petco, Petsmart or any retailer that carries the product. Petco and Petsmart both price match each other. If you decide to purchase one, I hope you enjoy it as well as we do at the Cattery. We also are now using regular grocery bags in the bottom and using their liner at the top.
ADORABLE CALLA LILY
Update from Facebook
Our precious Calla Lily, Flame Point Himalayan
On January 28th, 2013, Heather posted this adorable picture of The Perfect Calla Lily on Facebook along with the following comment:
"She is a true joy and we love her so much! Alex loves her too. They sound like a herd of elephants chasing each other all over the house! They are snuggle buddies too! You and your business, Victorian Gardens Cattery have been a blessing to us. We are so thankful we found you and our precious Lily!"
You have to wonder what our precious Calla Lily is dreaming about from this picture. It is a picture of pure innocence. I am sure Heather would laugh at that because is she so innocent? Heather, Calla Lilies' mother, is a lover of all animals. I think if Heather could, she would have a houseful of them. She is just one of those lovely people who shows compassion and empathy to all animals, including rescues. Calla Lily was the first Flame Point we produces at our Cattery. Lily is now 3 1/2 years old. Calla Lily has the cotton fur coat so Heather lets her have a lions cut haircut. There is one picture of her with her full coat in the Adopted Kittens page. She looks fab in it. She looks so much like her sister Buttercup except for the color point color. She was born in Petunia's first litter. There father is Lord Chesterfield, a large boned extreme faced Red and White Persian. She is Buttercup and Primrose's sister. Her companion in Heather's home is Alex, a Seal Point Himalayan who is related to her. Petunia and Alex have the same parents. Alex came from the breeder from whom we got Petunia from. You can read more about Calla Lily and see more pictures of her by going to our Adopted Persian and Himalayan Kittens 2009-2012 page.
"She is a true joy and we love her so much! Alex loves her too. They sound like a herd of elephants chasing each other all over the house! They are snuggle buddies too! You and your business, Victorian Gardens Cattery have been a blessing to us. We are so thankful we found you and our precious Lily!"
You have to wonder what our precious Calla Lily is dreaming about from this picture. It is a picture of pure innocence. I am sure Heather would laugh at that because is she so innocent? Heather, Calla Lilies' mother, is a lover of all animals. I think if Heather could, she would have a houseful of them. She is just one of those lovely people who shows compassion and empathy to all animals, including rescues. Calla Lily was the first Flame Point we produces at our Cattery. Lily is now 3 1/2 years old. Calla Lily has the cotton fur coat so Heather lets her have a lions cut haircut. There is one picture of her with her full coat in the Adopted Kittens page. She looks fab in it. She looks so much like her sister Buttercup except for the color point color. She was born in Petunia's first litter. There father is Lord Chesterfield, a large boned extreme faced Red and White Persian. She is Buttercup and Primrose's sister. Her companion in Heather's home is Alex, a Seal Point Himalayan who is related to her. Petunia and Alex have the same parents. Alex came from the breeder from whom we got Petunia from. You can read more about Calla Lily and see more pictures of her by going to our Adopted Persian and Himalayan Kittens 2009-2012 page.
February 5, 2013: Updates On Our Three Boys
Updates are coming in on our three Flame Point Himalayan boys in their new homes. We are adding the updates to the bottom of each announcement on our blog, so please scroll down to see all the updates. Thank you parents for keeping up informed on your big boys. We love hearing and seeing how they are doing!. You have a lot of fans and followers. Please don't miss Samson's huge new buddy, Reagan. WOW!
Updates are coming in on our three Flame Point Himalayan boys in their new homes. We are adding the updates to the bottom of each announcement on our blog, so please scroll down to see all the updates. Thank you parents for keeping up informed on your big boys. We love hearing and seeing how they are doing!. You have a lot of fans and followers. Please don't miss Samson's huge new buddy, Reagan. WOW!
Solomon's New Family
Renamed Toshi
Lila Forro and Dave Russo
Cary, North Carolina
Solomon with Lila, his new mom.
On February 2, 2013, Solomon went home to his new family in Cary, North Carolina. Seeing Dave and Lila was nothing new to Solomon who had seen them two other times at the Cattery. Dave is our famous photographer. They had waited since June 30, 2012 for Solomon. Dave sat on the floor this time without his camera and played with Sweet Annie and Solomon for hours. They really bonded together. Both kittens thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon with Lila and Dave. Lila got special snuggle time with Sweet Annie whom she adores. Lila and Dave's family consists of five other adult cats named Dexter, Nikko (The Leader), Quincy (Maine Coon), Cedric (Black Extreme Face Persian), and Zena (Doll Face Seal Point Himalayan). Their sixth cat, Buddy, had to be put to sleep the day that Solomon was born. This is not the first time that this has happened at our Cattery. It is like GOD is looking down and orchestrating each and every one of our families needs. This family is outstanding and has a heart for cats that can not be beat. Several of their cats have HCM so it was very important for them to have a very healthy kitten. Dave bonded immediately to Solomon during their first photo shoot. You should have seen the pair. It was a match made in heaven. Solomon became Toshi the minute he was in his new home. They had picked out the perfect Japanese name for him. Lila has kept us well informed of the day to day happening with Solomon since he left, as well as their wonderful photography. Enjoy the ride:
Feb. 2nd, 9 PM: (Pictures Below) "Just wanted you to see that he’s already supervising Mom’s work and knows how to use the litterbox! With every minute, our little guy is more confident, more active and more curious! Love him, love him, love him!
Feb. 3rd, 7 AM: "We had a completely peaceful, quiet night. Last night, Toshi stayed in my office while I worked, settling down under my desk and occasionally batting at one of his new toys. We kept the door closed because we didn’t want to over whelm him with all five members of the tribe last night. He tried hard to stay awake, but I’d catch him falling over as his eyes slowly closed! Nikko came in for several visits and Toshi reacted each time as though he was greeting a friend. He also met Cedric and Dexter. Cedric didn’t even react – just came in and got on my lap, purring and wanting to be combed. After a couple of minutes, he noticed Toshi crouched down next to me and just went over to sniff him and greet him – and went on his merry way! Dexter was a little frightened of Toshi at first and poofed his tail – but within five minutes, they were lying down with each other and Toshi was rolling on his back, so you know he wasn’t afraid of him. We kept on until around 11:30. Toshi had passed out at my feet and I got the rest of the kitties ready for bed after closing the office door for the night. Several times, I awoke and listened for kitten crying. I heard nothing. When I got up 30 minutes ago, there was no mob outside the door. The rest of the kitties were snoozing in their usual spots and otherwise acting completely normal. When I opened the office door, Toshi was sitting quite comfortably on the futon in my office, looking very relaxed. So far this morning, he’s had a good snack of dry food and I’m on the way downstairs to get him some wet. My impression this morning is that Toshi is getting very interested in what’s going on outside that door! He can hear the other cats playing and he just stares at the door. We’re so proud of our guys and their behavior so far! Today, he’ll meet Quincy and Zena, the last two. I don’t expect any other reaction from them than what we’ve seen so far. The only cat with a strong reaction other than Nikko’s welcoming behavior is Dexter, who is OBSESSED with the fact that there’s a bowl of food he can’t get to in the plastic bin! I can already see that he wants to be right with one of us, or with one of the cats, at all times. He’s very sociable. He hasn’t complained about a thing. Right now, he’s on the cat tree in my office, looking at and listening to the birds outside through the window that’s cracked open a bit. I can’t wait to see what he does today! We have a wonderful kitty because you have spent every minute since October 31 giving him the best care possible! "
Feb. 3rd, 5 PM: (Picture Below) "Well, Mr. Toshi has had quite a day. He traveled to the office with us this morning and cried until his dad let him out of the carrier and put him on his lap! As you can see by the attached picture, he was quite content to ride along inside Dave’s jacket. I think we have a serious DADDY’S BOY issue developing. Dave is so calm with the cats that they always like to be with him, and Toshi is no exception." ..."Toshi is now exploring our house, and the other cats are just going about their usual business. At the moment, they aren’t in the least upset that another cat is in here. Nikko continues to follow him and touch noses with him, as though to encourage him. Toshi definitely wants to run around and check things out. Luckily, there’s not much area for him to cover. He’s spending time under and behind furniture, peering around. He’s incredibly responsive! When I speak to him, his tail goes up and he squeaks. He’s cautious around the other cats, but in no way is he running in fear or looking terrified."
Feb 4th: (Pictures Below) "I just laugh at Dave…he’s just so besotted with this kitten! Believe me, I get plenty of attention from our little guy. He really loves being around us and interacting. Another quiet night passed, with not a peep from him. He slept on top of the cat tree in my office and was very sleepy when I looked in just after 5. ... Oh, what a time we had at the vet! He put on quite a show for everybody in the place. Dr. Santilli said he was just perfect! ... Look at these pictures and how Toshi hammed it up in the special cat exam room, which has a ledge next to the window and toys. He purred so much, Dr. S. almost couldn’t listen to his heart decently. I’ve never seen this, but they give a cat a whiff of alcohol on a cotton ball, which surprises them and stops the purring for a few seconds. It works! He just didn’t care what they did to him. ... He continues to roam the house – with less grumbling from the other cats, for sure. They still spend a lot of time looking at him, but they seem so at ease. I put Toshi on the cat tree with Nikko and they actually snuggled up together. Right now, he’s conked out on the top of the tree (surprise, surprise) and was passing out in the last picture I’ve attached. He definitely gravitates to Dave, sitting under his chair, behind him, in front of him - he just has to be in on whatever he’s doing."
Feb. 9th: "He [Quincy] has been playing hard with Toshi and Cedric, diving in and out of their pop-up cube. ... It’s amazing to realize that Toshi has been with us for only a week today – because he’s definitely part of the household now. The growling and complaining from Zena and Dexter has dwindled, and I also see that he’s comfortable around them because he realizes they’re all bluff. I’m finding that he likes to be upstairs much of the time – probably because that’s where he started out. He also has a A LOT to say! He meows, trills and hollers when he’s playing – especially when he wants us to come pay attention to him. He continues to sleep by himself in my office at night, as far as I know. We’re just letting him do his thing and discover what he likes to do. It’s really great to see how he is affecting the others, though, with his playfulness. These guys haven’t had so much exercise in years!
Hope you all enjoyed these daily updates from Lila on our sweetie Toshi, aka Solomon. The pictures are wonderful and shows Dave's ability and skill as a photographer in capturing the emotions and essence of the moment. We look forward to many more updates and photos from this adoptive family. You can see more pictures of Toshi in our Adopted Persian and Himalayan 2013 page. You can also see him in action by going to our YouTube Videos page.
Feb. 2nd, 9 PM: (Pictures Below) "Just wanted you to see that he’s already supervising Mom’s work and knows how to use the litterbox! With every minute, our little guy is more confident, more active and more curious! Love him, love him, love him!
Feb. 3rd, 7 AM: "We had a completely peaceful, quiet night. Last night, Toshi stayed in my office while I worked, settling down under my desk and occasionally batting at one of his new toys. We kept the door closed because we didn’t want to over whelm him with all five members of the tribe last night. He tried hard to stay awake, but I’d catch him falling over as his eyes slowly closed! Nikko came in for several visits and Toshi reacted each time as though he was greeting a friend. He also met Cedric and Dexter. Cedric didn’t even react – just came in and got on my lap, purring and wanting to be combed. After a couple of minutes, he noticed Toshi crouched down next to me and just went over to sniff him and greet him – and went on his merry way! Dexter was a little frightened of Toshi at first and poofed his tail – but within five minutes, they were lying down with each other and Toshi was rolling on his back, so you know he wasn’t afraid of him. We kept on until around 11:30. Toshi had passed out at my feet and I got the rest of the kitties ready for bed after closing the office door for the night. Several times, I awoke and listened for kitten crying. I heard nothing. When I got up 30 minutes ago, there was no mob outside the door. The rest of the kitties were snoozing in their usual spots and otherwise acting completely normal. When I opened the office door, Toshi was sitting quite comfortably on the futon in my office, looking very relaxed. So far this morning, he’s had a good snack of dry food and I’m on the way downstairs to get him some wet. My impression this morning is that Toshi is getting very interested in what’s going on outside that door! He can hear the other cats playing and he just stares at the door. We’re so proud of our guys and their behavior so far! Today, he’ll meet Quincy and Zena, the last two. I don’t expect any other reaction from them than what we’ve seen so far. The only cat with a strong reaction other than Nikko’s welcoming behavior is Dexter, who is OBSESSED with the fact that there’s a bowl of food he can’t get to in the plastic bin! I can already see that he wants to be right with one of us, or with one of the cats, at all times. He’s very sociable. He hasn’t complained about a thing. Right now, he’s on the cat tree in my office, looking at and listening to the birds outside through the window that’s cracked open a bit. I can’t wait to see what he does today! We have a wonderful kitty because you have spent every minute since October 31 giving him the best care possible! "
Feb. 3rd, 5 PM: (Picture Below) "Well, Mr. Toshi has had quite a day. He traveled to the office with us this morning and cried until his dad let him out of the carrier and put him on his lap! As you can see by the attached picture, he was quite content to ride along inside Dave’s jacket. I think we have a serious DADDY’S BOY issue developing. Dave is so calm with the cats that they always like to be with him, and Toshi is no exception." ..."Toshi is now exploring our house, and the other cats are just going about their usual business. At the moment, they aren’t in the least upset that another cat is in here. Nikko continues to follow him and touch noses with him, as though to encourage him. Toshi definitely wants to run around and check things out. Luckily, there’s not much area for him to cover. He’s spending time under and behind furniture, peering around. He’s incredibly responsive! When I speak to him, his tail goes up and he squeaks. He’s cautious around the other cats, but in no way is he running in fear or looking terrified."
Feb 4th: (Pictures Below) "I just laugh at Dave…he’s just so besotted with this kitten! Believe me, I get plenty of attention from our little guy. He really loves being around us and interacting. Another quiet night passed, with not a peep from him. He slept on top of the cat tree in my office and was very sleepy when I looked in just after 5. ... Oh, what a time we had at the vet! He put on quite a show for everybody in the place. Dr. Santilli said he was just perfect! ... Look at these pictures and how Toshi hammed it up in the special cat exam room, which has a ledge next to the window and toys. He purred so much, Dr. S. almost couldn’t listen to his heart decently. I’ve never seen this, but they give a cat a whiff of alcohol on a cotton ball, which surprises them and stops the purring for a few seconds. It works! He just didn’t care what they did to him. ... He continues to roam the house – with less grumbling from the other cats, for sure. They still spend a lot of time looking at him, but they seem so at ease. I put Toshi on the cat tree with Nikko and they actually snuggled up together. Right now, he’s conked out on the top of the tree (surprise, surprise) and was passing out in the last picture I’ve attached. He definitely gravitates to Dave, sitting under his chair, behind him, in front of him - he just has to be in on whatever he’s doing."
Feb. 9th: "He [Quincy] has been playing hard with Toshi and Cedric, diving in and out of their pop-up cube. ... It’s amazing to realize that Toshi has been with us for only a week today – because he’s definitely part of the household now. The growling and complaining from Zena and Dexter has dwindled, and I also see that he’s comfortable around them because he realizes they’re all bluff. I’m finding that he likes to be upstairs much of the time – probably because that’s where he started out. He also has a A LOT to say! He meows, trills and hollers when he’s playing – especially when he wants us to come pay attention to him. He continues to sleep by himself in my office at night, as far as I know. We’re just letting him do his thing and discover what he likes to do. It’s really great to see how he is affecting the others, though, with his playfulness. These guys haven’t had so much exercise in years!
Hope you all enjoyed these daily updates from Lila on our sweetie Toshi, aka Solomon. The pictures are wonderful and shows Dave's ability and skill as a photographer in capturing the emotions and essence of the moment. We look forward to many more updates and photos from this adoptive family. You can see more pictures of Toshi in our Adopted Persian and Himalayan 2013 page. You can also see him in action by going to our YouTube Videos page.
Nathaniel's New Family
The Mathus Family
El Campo, Texas
Nathaniel and The Mathus Family
On February 1st, Nathaniel, Doll Face Flame Point Himalayan kitten was hand delivered by the Cattery to his new family in Texas. The Mathus Family had waited since November for Nathaniel. On Feb. 1st, Nathaniel had his first experience flying. I am sure, he wishes it was his last. We had to go on two flights to get to Houston.
The Mathus Family includes one daughter named Avery, pictured center in the photo, along with three English Bulldogs ranging in age from one year to 4 years old. Hannah, Nathaniel's mother had to have her 7 year old Black Persian put to sleep. Nathaniel is a sensitive kitten, as well as strong willed ... interesting combination. So we brought along a receiving blanket which had his litter mates and mother's scent on it in order to help him during the flight. Nathaniel went straight into Avery's sweet arms and he snuggled right down into his blanket and went to sleep. She was so gentle and loving to him. We have received several updates on Nathaniel since he arrived at his new home. Here are some of the comments Hannah has sent:
Feb. 1st: "We made it home fine with Nathaniel. He played quite a bit in the car on the way home and then crashed on my daughter's lap and then he moved to my daughter's friend's lap. He loves my daughter and her friend! ... He is absolutely the most adorable little thing I've ever seen! Everybody is crazy about him! I'll send you an update tomorrow. "
Feb 2nd: "Just wanted to let you know that Nathaniel is doing great today! He's eating both his dry and canned food and is drinking water. He's been playing a lot, and meowing like crazy if he doesn't like what's going on. LOL! He does not like to be left alone in a room for even a second. I cleaned his face and eyes earlier and he seemed to enjoy it; it put him to sleep." and later that day "He slept with my daughter last night on her bed. I went in this morning to get him and he was laying by her head asleep on his blanket. It was so cute! He loves my daughter and her friend, Katelyn. He and I just woke up from a 3 hour nap. Lol. I put him by me on the bed on his blanket and he slept with me the whole time. "
Feb 5th: "Nathaniel is doing great! He's turned into a little manic! Lol. He is playing a lot now with his toys and rips around the house. He sleeps with my daughter every night, all night. He's eating great and going potty great. He still does not like to be left alone in a room; he immediately starts meowing when he realizes no one else is around. He also seems to like hopping in and out of the bathtub. Lol. He's just so darn cute that it's hard to keep your hands off of him. Anyway, everything is going well! "
Feb 7: "Nathaniel and I just got back from his vet appointment. My vet was very, very pleased with Nathaniel. He said everything looks great and he 100% approves of this kitten. Lol. He said his heart sounds good and was pleased that there was no tenderness when he felt on his stomach. He immediately came into the room and recognized that Nathaniel is a flame point.... my vet was very impressed with Nathaniel and gave him his stamp of approval."
Once again, a home run, with a wonderful family for one of our precious kittens. You can read more of Nathaniel and see more pictures by going to our Adopted Persian and Himalayan Kittens 2013 page. We will look forward to receiving photos and more updates on Nathaniel from his family.
The Mathus Family includes one daughter named Avery, pictured center in the photo, along with three English Bulldogs ranging in age from one year to 4 years old. Hannah, Nathaniel's mother had to have her 7 year old Black Persian put to sleep. Nathaniel is a sensitive kitten, as well as strong willed ... interesting combination. So we brought along a receiving blanket which had his litter mates and mother's scent on it in order to help him during the flight. Nathaniel went straight into Avery's sweet arms and he snuggled right down into his blanket and went to sleep. She was so gentle and loving to him. We have received several updates on Nathaniel since he arrived at his new home. Here are some of the comments Hannah has sent:
Feb. 1st: "We made it home fine with Nathaniel. He played quite a bit in the car on the way home and then crashed on my daughter's lap and then he moved to my daughter's friend's lap. He loves my daughter and her friend! ... He is absolutely the most adorable little thing I've ever seen! Everybody is crazy about him! I'll send you an update tomorrow. "
Feb 2nd: "Just wanted to let you know that Nathaniel is doing great today! He's eating both his dry and canned food and is drinking water. He's been playing a lot, and meowing like crazy if he doesn't like what's going on. LOL! He does not like to be left alone in a room for even a second. I cleaned his face and eyes earlier and he seemed to enjoy it; it put him to sleep." and later that day "He slept with my daughter last night on her bed. I went in this morning to get him and he was laying by her head asleep on his blanket. It was so cute! He loves my daughter and her friend, Katelyn. He and I just woke up from a 3 hour nap. Lol. I put him by me on the bed on his blanket and he slept with me the whole time. "
Feb 5th: "Nathaniel is doing great! He's turned into a little manic! Lol. He is playing a lot now with his toys and rips around the house. He sleeps with my daughter every night, all night. He's eating great and going potty great. He still does not like to be left alone in a room; he immediately starts meowing when he realizes no one else is around. He also seems to like hopping in and out of the bathtub. Lol. He's just so darn cute that it's hard to keep your hands off of him. Anyway, everything is going well! "
Feb 7: "Nathaniel and I just got back from his vet appointment. My vet was very, very pleased with Nathaniel. He said everything looks great and he 100% approves of this kitten. Lol. He said his heart sounds good and was pleased that there was no tenderness when he felt on his stomach. He immediately came into the room and recognized that Nathaniel is a flame point.... my vet was very impressed with Nathaniel and gave him his stamp of approval."
Once again, a home run, with a wonderful family for one of our precious kittens. You can read more of Nathaniel and see more pictures by going to our Adopted Persian and Himalayan Kittens 2013 page. We will look forward to receiving photos and more updates on Nathaniel from his family.
Samson's New Family
The Magnus Family
Knoxville, Tennessee
The Magnus Family
Knoxville, Tennessee
On January 31st, we met the Magnus family half way between Our Cattery and Knoxville, Tennessee in order to hand deliver our precious Samson, Extreme Faced Flame Point Himalayan kitten. Samson's new family had fallen in love with him on line through looking at the photos and watching the videos. After our hand delivery, we all headed over to Petsmart where Samson had his first encounter with birds. He had missed his long afternoon nap and was tired, but when he saw the birds, he sprang to life. The Magnus family has 2 lionhead bunnies, a 15 year old Yellow Lab and a 5 year old Newfoundland dog. He will have a lot of members of the family to play with since the Magnus's have four children, with names all starting with the letter "K". We were so impressed with how well behaved these children were. Since placing Samson in their arms, the Magnus family has kept us updating on how he is adapting to his new home and family. Since many of you fell in love with Samson and want to know how he is doing, here are some of the Magnus's comments:
Jan. 31st: "He settled right in once we got in the house. He had water, used his litter box and has been loving playing with his bug. He hasn't stopped purring since we got home! He's really enjoying exploring the room and is very curious. He seems to love the kids and all the attention they give him. I took the picture below when he stopped moving for a minute to clean himself. We're looking forward to snuggling in the bed with him in a few minutes so he can get some well deserved rest. We love love love him!!!!!!"
Feb. 1st: "You should be very proud of Samson. He did not cry at all last night! Me, Samson, Kerrigan and Kayden all spent the night in Kerrigan’s room. I woke up at 3AM to check on him since I hadn’t heard anything all night and I found him sitting on the floor next to Kayden, just sitting there. I went over and picked him up and he immediately started purring. We snuggled in bed for a while then he ate a bit, drank some more water, played with some toys then we snuggled some more as he napped. He got up this morning and ate his breakfast with his vitamins, we washed his face off, and played some more. The only time I heard him cry was when all the kids left the room. He went over to the door and cried for them. As you can tell, he is adjusting very well. I think he is going to really enjoy living with us. We love how playful he is…boy you were right, he sure does love that bug! I should take everything else back and stock up on bugs..ha ha! He is such a happy little kitten, he walks around purring all the time and we love it!"
Feb 2nd: "Samson is doing great!!! He has explored our whole upstairs already! He's been exploring all day which you can see has wiped him out. He's a little fish in a big pond here. We have seen a side of him that you may not have. At times, he's been a bit of a chicken...but he quickly over comes his fears due to his curiosity. We all seem to be gaining his trust daily as he now jumps up by us to be petted and wants to stay longer each time. He's sleeping next to me and Kayden as I type. He has been listening to our Newfoundland making noise downstairs and seems to be getting used to it. We intend to allow them to see each other once Samson seems very comfortable freely roaming the upstairs. He doesn't pay much attention to the bunnies at this time. He saw them but didn't pay much attention. He's turning into quite a lover but still loves to play...a purrfect match for us!"
Feb 5: (Picture Below) "Samson is doing great! He got to meet Reagan today. Not too much excitement but no resistance either. Samson was very good and calm during their meeting. He just looked at her and gave a couple quiet hisses but allowed her to sniff him. Reagan is very big but her sweet loving personality makes her a bit less intimidating. Samson walked around while Reagan watched him so that was promising. I was really glad to see Samson stick around instead of running away.
Samson is very loving to everyone and enjoys being with us. He likes to jump up on the bed at 4:30 in the morning to purr by me until I pet him. I'm not sure why his internal clock is set for 4:30 but we spend a little time loving on each other until we doze off again. It's a very sweet moment and I treasure them!
He's going to see the vet tomorrow but seems very healthy and happy. We comb him everyday and he doesn't seem to mind. He's getting better about having his eyes washed. I do it once or twice a day depending on necessity and I think he's come to realize that it's just the way things are going to be. He didn't pull away or meow today so I think it's safe to say that victory went to me...ha ha!
We love him so very much and spoil him with attention! Don't worry though, he gets plenty of rest while we are at school/work.
Here's a picture of Kellen, Kerrigan, Samson, Reagan, and Kayden after the first meeting... Everyone is still alive!!!!!"
Feb. 6th: "Samson went to the vet today...everything went well. He tested negative for feline aids and leukemia. He weighs 4.8lbs. They were very impressed with him and said he is very healthy! And of course they found him to be adorable! He was very well behaved and playful at the vet...just like at home."
We feel so blessed to once again have a wonderful family for one of our precious kittens. You can read more of Samson and see more pictures by going to our Adopted Persian and Himalayan Kittens 2013 page.
Jan. 31st: "He settled right in once we got in the house. He had water, used his litter box and has been loving playing with his bug. He hasn't stopped purring since we got home! He's really enjoying exploring the room and is very curious. He seems to love the kids and all the attention they give him. I took the picture below when he stopped moving for a minute to clean himself. We're looking forward to snuggling in the bed with him in a few minutes so he can get some well deserved rest. We love love love him!!!!!!"
Feb. 1st: "You should be very proud of Samson. He did not cry at all last night! Me, Samson, Kerrigan and Kayden all spent the night in Kerrigan’s room. I woke up at 3AM to check on him since I hadn’t heard anything all night and I found him sitting on the floor next to Kayden, just sitting there. I went over and picked him up and he immediately started purring. We snuggled in bed for a while then he ate a bit, drank some more water, played with some toys then we snuggled some more as he napped. He got up this morning and ate his breakfast with his vitamins, we washed his face off, and played some more. The only time I heard him cry was when all the kids left the room. He went over to the door and cried for them. As you can tell, he is adjusting very well. I think he is going to really enjoy living with us. We love how playful he is…boy you were right, he sure does love that bug! I should take everything else back and stock up on bugs..ha ha! He is such a happy little kitten, he walks around purring all the time and we love it!"
Feb 2nd: "Samson is doing great!!! He has explored our whole upstairs already! He's been exploring all day which you can see has wiped him out. He's a little fish in a big pond here. We have seen a side of him that you may not have. At times, he's been a bit of a chicken...but he quickly over comes his fears due to his curiosity. We all seem to be gaining his trust daily as he now jumps up by us to be petted and wants to stay longer each time. He's sleeping next to me and Kayden as I type. He has been listening to our Newfoundland making noise downstairs and seems to be getting used to it. We intend to allow them to see each other once Samson seems very comfortable freely roaming the upstairs. He doesn't pay much attention to the bunnies at this time. He saw them but didn't pay much attention. He's turning into quite a lover but still loves to play...a purrfect match for us!"
Feb 5: (Picture Below) "Samson is doing great! He got to meet Reagan today. Not too much excitement but no resistance either. Samson was very good and calm during their meeting. He just looked at her and gave a couple quiet hisses but allowed her to sniff him. Reagan is very big but her sweet loving personality makes her a bit less intimidating. Samson walked around while Reagan watched him so that was promising. I was really glad to see Samson stick around instead of running away.
Samson is very loving to everyone and enjoys being with us. He likes to jump up on the bed at 4:30 in the morning to purr by me until I pet him. I'm not sure why his internal clock is set for 4:30 but we spend a little time loving on each other until we doze off again. It's a very sweet moment and I treasure them!
He's going to see the vet tomorrow but seems very healthy and happy. We comb him everyday and he doesn't seem to mind. He's getting better about having his eyes washed. I do it once or twice a day depending on necessity and I think he's come to realize that it's just the way things are going to be. He didn't pull away or meow today so I think it's safe to say that victory went to me...ha ha!
We love him so very much and spoil him with attention! Don't worry though, he gets plenty of rest while we are at school/work.
Here's a picture of Kellen, Kerrigan, Samson, Reagan, and Kayden after the first meeting... Everyone is still alive!!!!!"
Feb. 6th: "Samson went to the vet today...everything went well. He tested negative for feline aids and leukemia. He weighs 4.8lbs. They were very impressed with him and said he is very healthy! And of course they found him to be adorable! He was very well behaved and playful at the vet...just like at home."
We feel so blessed to once again have a wonderful family for one of our precious kittens. You can read more of Samson and see more pictures by going to our Adopted Persian and Himalayan Kittens 2013 page.
January 30, 2013 - Victorian Carriage Photo Shoot and New Video
Things have been hopping around the Cattery. This is a big and very busy week at our Cattery as Samson leaves on Thursday for his new home in Tennessee, Nathaniel leaves on Friday for his new home in Texas and Solomon leaves on Saturday for his new home in Cary, North Carolina. Sweet Annie will not even know where her brothers disappeared to. We are contemplating making Sweet Annie available for adoption. We are waiting for pregnancy confirmations on Peony and Pansy before making a decision. These babies have grown so fast and are so large, healthy and happy. They are always going to be remembered as the three boys that were so rambunctious in everything they did. They will really be missed.
Today the kittens had their Victorian Carriage Photo Shoot in celebration of their 13 week birthday. Happy Birthday. You can view the Victorian Carriage Photo Shoot in Our Nursery.
We are currently downloading their last video entitled "The Bug" on to our Youtube channel. It is a farewell video of them on their 13 week birthday, today. Hope you enjoy these beautifully coated Flame Points and our sweet Tortie Point girl as they chase "The Bug around the Main Cattery Room. The video can be viewed directly on our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens" or in Our Nursery or Youtube Video page.
We have received a lot of new photos and updates from our adoptive parents and will be posting and blogging the information and pictures next week, so please stay tuned for our latest updates. We really appreciate our parents that send us the updates and photos. We thoroughly enjoy looking at the pictures, reading the updates, laughing and smiling. Thank you so much parents.
Things have been hopping around the Cattery. This is a big and very busy week at our Cattery as Samson leaves on Thursday for his new home in Tennessee, Nathaniel leaves on Friday for his new home in Texas and Solomon leaves on Saturday for his new home in Cary, North Carolina. Sweet Annie will not even know where her brothers disappeared to. We are contemplating making Sweet Annie available for adoption. We are waiting for pregnancy confirmations on Peony and Pansy before making a decision. These babies have grown so fast and are so large, healthy and happy. They are always going to be remembered as the three boys that were so rambunctious in everything they did. They will really be missed.
Today the kittens had their Victorian Carriage Photo Shoot in celebration of their 13 week birthday. Happy Birthday. You can view the Victorian Carriage Photo Shoot in Our Nursery.
We are currently downloading their last video entitled "The Bug" on to our Youtube channel. It is a farewell video of them on their 13 week birthday, today. Hope you enjoy these beautifully coated Flame Points and our sweet Tortie Point girl as they chase "The Bug around the Main Cattery Room. The video can be viewed directly on our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens" or in Our Nursery or Youtube Video page.
We have received a lot of new photos and updates from our adoptive parents and will be posting and blogging the information and pictures next week, so please stay tuned for our latest updates. We really appreciate our parents that send us the updates and photos. We thoroughly enjoy looking at the pictures, reading the updates, laughing and smiling. Thank you so much parents.
TOXIC LITTERS AND FRESH STEP
January 20, 2013
It very recently came to our attention as we were doing some research, that the litter our Cattery was using, Fresh Step, contained crystalline silica. Our very recent research indicated that silica could cause cancer. There are numerous articles on the web about the toxicity of silica to cats and their owners. We have used Fresh Step Cat Litter at our Cattery for years without knowing this. We had used Fresh Step due to it being highly effective in odor control. Our Cattery is now working hard at switching over all our adult breeders to a pine pellet litter, similar to Feline Pine Pellets. Our current litter of kittens have already transitioned over to the pine pellet litter with no problems. These kittens used Fresh Step for less than a week. They were on Feline Pine clumping from the time they first started using a litter box. We feel blessed that this information has come to our attention and we can offer litters that do not cause any harm to our babies or mothers.
When a cat urinates in a pine pellet litter box, the pine pellet turns to sawdust. We are using the pine pelleted litter with the Tidy Cat Breeze Litter Box (Not their pads or mineral litter). We use a 1/2 of a puppy pad in the bottom tray. The litter box filters the sawdust down to the bottom tray for removal. The sawdust can be used as mulch in your gardens and is totally natural. You just remove the dry solids from the top of the box and throw those away. We usually put about 2 to 3" of the pine pellets in the litter box so that the cats and kittens can scratch and cover up like normal. The Breeze litter box comes with a scoop that can be used with pelleted litter. If you choose to use pine pellets, please make sure they are kiln dried. We are very happy with this system and it seems to be working well. By using the pine pellets with the Breeze system, you are actually using less litter. A 40 lb bag should last a long time. The pine pellets are used by cat breeders throughout the United States.
For your consideration, attached are two links to information that our research uncovered.
Article on Toxic Cat Litter
National Institute of Health - Household Products
We highly advise that if you are using one of the litters that contain silica, a cancer causing material, that you switch to a natural cat litter.
If you have any questions, please let us know. We try to protect our babies as best we can when we do find something like this out.
January 20, 2013
It very recently came to our attention as we were doing some research, that the litter our Cattery was using, Fresh Step, contained crystalline silica. Our very recent research indicated that silica could cause cancer. There are numerous articles on the web about the toxicity of silica to cats and their owners. We have used Fresh Step Cat Litter at our Cattery for years without knowing this. We had used Fresh Step due to it being highly effective in odor control. Our Cattery is now working hard at switching over all our adult breeders to a pine pellet litter, similar to Feline Pine Pellets. Our current litter of kittens have already transitioned over to the pine pellet litter with no problems. These kittens used Fresh Step for less than a week. They were on Feline Pine clumping from the time they first started using a litter box. We feel blessed that this information has come to our attention and we can offer litters that do not cause any harm to our babies or mothers.
When a cat urinates in a pine pellet litter box, the pine pellet turns to sawdust. We are using the pine pelleted litter with the Tidy Cat Breeze Litter Box (Not their pads or mineral litter). We use a 1/2 of a puppy pad in the bottom tray. The litter box filters the sawdust down to the bottom tray for removal. The sawdust can be used as mulch in your gardens and is totally natural. You just remove the dry solids from the top of the box and throw those away. We usually put about 2 to 3" of the pine pellets in the litter box so that the cats and kittens can scratch and cover up like normal. The Breeze litter box comes with a scoop that can be used with pelleted litter. If you choose to use pine pellets, please make sure they are kiln dried. We are very happy with this system and it seems to be working well. By using the pine pellets with the Breeze system, you are actually using less litter. A 40 lb bag should last a long time. The pine pellets are used by cat breeders throughout the United States.
For your consideration, attached are two links to information that our research uncovered.
Article on Toxic Cat Litter
National Institute of Health - Household Products
We highly advise that if you are using one of the litters that contain silica, a cancer causing material, that you switch to a natural cat litter.
If you have any questions, please let us know. We try to protect our babies as best we can when we do find something like this out.
The Newest Jed Adventure
January 17, 2013
Sweet and Innocent Jediadiah, Cream Persian
For some of you who have been reading Our Cattery Blog for a while, know all about our very SMART boy named Sweet Jediadiah, nicknamed Jed, from Primrose's 2011 litter. Fay, Jed's mother, is great about writing in about the last adventures of Jed. We usually are laughing and can picture Jed doing all those very smart and crazy things. When Jed gets something in his mind, he is unstoppable and so it is the case with his newest adventure. He knows what he wants and nothing is going to get in his way. He loves to outsmart his parents, Faye and Jake. Just as a reminder of one of Jed's adventures from October 2012 that Faye recounted to us: "I've got to tell you Jed's latest before I get busy unpacking and washing clothes. Jake has a side table by his chair that has a door in the bottom and a drawer in the top. He keeps all the treats in that drawer. It's a heavy oak piece so the drawer doesn't slide easily. I had seen Jed trying to pull on the drawer if it was even open a tiny crack. I told Jake he needed to make sure and close the drawer. One morning recently we got up and Jed had opened the drawer - chewed open the cat treats and helped himself -- since he didn't want the dog treats he just turned them into toys. After that Jake made sure he shut the drawer. Last week I was working in the kitchen and noticed Jed sitting directly in front of that cabinet -- just looking at it. I didn't pay much attention and next thing I knew Jed had opened the door on the cabinet, crawled inside, turned over on his back and was trying to push the treat drawer open from the bottom. Is he smart or what?? Think of the level of reasoning it takes to go through all those steps. What a Jed!"
The one of a kind Jed and his newest adventure as recounted by his mom just the other day: "Jake put weights in the snack drawer to keep Jed from opening it up during the night and helping himself. I told Jake I wouldn't bet against Jed if I were a betting person and sure enough -- I got up the other morning and Jed had somehow opened the drawer enough to stick his paw in -- grab the plastic bag and then chewed a small hole in the bag so he and Andy could use it like a dispenser to get one or two treats at a time. We've had smart cats before but Jed is the smartest!" and one more note from Faye: "Jake keeps trying to make a lap cat out of Jed but no such luck. Jed has such a busy mind he is always thinking about the next thing he is going to get into. He is such a sweetie though and loves his morning hugs and petting but then is off to the next thing!"
Thanks Faye for sharing with us Jed's adventures and bringing a smile to our face and a laugh to our insides.
The one of a kind Jed and his newest adventure as recounted by his mom just the other day: "Jake put weights in the snack drawer to keep Jed from opening it up during the night and helping himself. I told Jake I wouldn't bet against Jed if I were a betting person and sure enough -- I got up the other morning and Jed had somehow opened the drawer enough to stick his paw in -- grab the plastic bag and then chewed a small hole in the bag so he and Andy could use it like a dispenser to get one or two treats at a time. We've had smart cats before but Jed is the smartest!" and one more note from Faye: "Jake keeps trying to make a lap cat out of Jed but no such luck. Jed has such a busy mind he is always thinking about the next thing he is going to get into. He is such a sweetie though and loves his morning hugs and petting but then is off to the next thing!"
Thanks Faye for sharing with us Jed's adventures and bringing a smile to our face and a laugh to our insides.
January 15, 2013 - JUST SO MANY UPDATES
Wow. The last seven days have been wild at the Cattery. There are just so many things going on. So here we go with the news:
During the week of January 6 to January 13, 2013, both The Perfect Peony (Tortie Point Himalayan, Chocolate Carrier) and The Perfect Pansy (Tortoiseshell CPC Persian) went in to heat and were bred to CH Willie Wonka, Chocolate Point Himalayan. If these breedings are successful, both girls will have their babies around the middle of March, 2013. It will take three weeks from their breedings to determine if the girls are pregnant. We will start checking for pregnancy confirmation around January 30th. Peony is a Chocolate carrier and Willie is a visual chocolate, so we are hoping to have some Chocolate Himis from this breeding. Pansy's litter last time with Willie produced us some nice Seal Point Himalayans and Black Persians, extreme face and the traditional doll face. There will be no dilutes of Blue or Lilac from these breedings since Willie is not a dilute carrier. So please stay tuned for further updates on the girl.
On Friday, January 11th, some of our gang took the long 3 hour trip down to Wilmington, North Carolina to visit The Sound Cat and Dr. Williams. First up was Benjamin for his annual heart ultrasound. Benjamen's heart was great. The scarring from his Grade 2 heart murmur was unchanged. With consultation with the Vet, Dr. Rosemary Williams, we thought it was best for Benjamin to be put on 1/4 of an alenotol pill a day to relax his heart and prevent it from thickening. He will remain on his 1/4 of a baby aspirin every third day as a preventive measure. On the alenotol, Benjamin should live a normal life with normal life expectancy per the Vet. We were so pleased with the results from his appointment.
We also brought down The Perfect Pansy, Tortoiseshell Persian, for her second heart scan. She was only 8 months old when she got her heart ultrasounded last year. For our own peace of mind, we had her scanned again. The Vet said that her heart was perfect. So much so that she made the statement that Pansy would never have HCM. Pansy had been sitting on the Vet's table waiting for her scan while the Vet talked to us about other things. When the Vet went to do the scan, Pansy had almost fallen asleep due to the head massaging of the Vet Technician. The Vet was pretty amazed that Pansy had almost fallen totally asleep. She saw a heart on the scan that was nice and very slow. We laughed about it. Not to many cats would be that comfortable in a Vet's office to fall asleep on the table. We were so pleased with the results of her heart ultrascan.
Then came The Perfect Peony, Tortie Point Himalayan. Since Peony had not gone in to heat since her infertility treatment in 2012 and had just gone in to heat in the last week, we brought her to the Vet to have a reproductive ultrascan done. The Vet could find nothing wrong on the scan. We did have an progesterone test run to make sure she is not low on progesterone. So there should be no reason for her not to get pregnant. The follicles and eggs were all there and the lining of the uterus looked good. We again were very pleased with the results of the ultrascan.
Then Saturday came, and boy was it a fun day for everyone at the Cattery, including the kittens. Dave and Lila came to visit Solomon and their professional camera came along for a visit. Dave took 700 pictures while they were here. Of course, many pictures were taken of the babies, but special photo time was spent with Willie and our girls. The girls, Peony and Pansy, were in their heat finery. They were twilling and rolling around for the camera. We even were able to get a group shot of the girls, including Primrose. Of course, Peony was hamming it up for the camera as a prima donna. We can't wait to get glimpses of Dave's beautiful photography. Dave is working on going through the pictures at his leisure. 700 pictures are a lot to go through. We will make his special pictures available for all to see so please stay tuned.
So if that was not enough good news, there is more. We got a call about 2 weeks ago from a lady who had lost her 13 year old Himalayan to cancer. She happened upon our website and saw Benjamin and Joseph. We think we have found a loving forever home to our special and very sweet boys. Benjamin and Joseph will be leaving our Cattery for their forever home this Saturday. We are extremely happy for them but it will be so very hard for us to part. Benjamin and Joseph has become such an interwoven part of our lives. They are just the sweetest boys. Joseph just loves to play father to all our new litters and Benjamin loves playing with the babies. So stay tuned for more news on our boys.
So for our last bit of news ... Primrose's kittens ... they are doing great. These kids are so healthy and large. These are the largest kittens we have ever had at the Cattery. Pansy's kitten, Dianthus, was the largest kitten we had ever had at the Cattery prior to Primrose's litter. So here is a comparison, weight wise, of Primrose's kittens to Dianthus at the same age (We measure kittens in grams for a more precise measurement): As of January 14.
Dianthus - Day 76 - 1445 Grams (Pansy's Litter)
Samson - Day 76 - 1630 Grams
Solomon - Day 76 - 1535 Grams
Sweet Annie - Day 76 - 1440 Grams
Nathaniel - Day 76 - 1340 Grams
Delphinium the smallest kitten of Pansy's litter weighted in at 1085 grams on Day 76. In fact, the other two kittens in Pansy's litter (Dahlia and Daffodil) weighted less than Nathaniel did on Day 76. So you can see, Primrose's kittens are large. They have been on Kitty Bloom VM 900+3 vitamins for several weeks now and are loving it with their wet food that they get in the morning. This week, besides being moved to our Main Cattery room, getting their first full bath and going to the Vet, they meet Joseph, Benjamin and Pansy. Next week we will introduce them to our two dogs, Daisy and Sweet Pea. Stay tuned for more information on the kittens.
Wow. The last seven days have been wild at the Cattery. There are just so many things going on. So here we go with the news:
During the week of January 6 to January 13, 2013, both The Perfect Peony (Tortie Point Himalayan, Chocolate Carrier) and The Perfect Pansy (Tortoiseshell CPC Persian) went in to heat and were bred to CH Willie Wonka, Chocolate Point Himalayan. If these breedings are successful, both girls will have their babies around the middle of March, 2013. It will take three weeks from their breedings to determine if the girls are pregnant. We will start checking for pregnancy confirmation around January 30th. Peony is a Chocolate carrier and Willie is a visual chocolate, so we are hoping to have some Chocolate Himis from this breeding. Pansy's litter last time with Willie produced us some nice Seal Point Himalayans and Black Persians, extreme face and the traditional doll face. There will be no dilutes of Blue or Lilac from these breedings since Willie is not a dilute carrier. So please stay tuned for further updates on the girl.
On Friday, January 11th, some of our gang took the long 3 hour trip down to Wilmington, North Carolina to visit The Sound Cat and Dr. Williams. First up was Benjamin for his annual heart ultrasound. Benjamen's heart was great. The scarring from his Grade 2 heart murmur was unchanged. With consultation with the Vet, Dr. Rosemary Williams, we thought it was best for Benjamin to be put on 1/4 of an alenotol pill a day to relax his heart and prevent it from thickening. He will remain on his 1/4 of a baby aspirin every third day as a preventive measure. On the alenotol, Benjamin should live a normal life with normal life expectancy per the Vet. We were so pleased with the results from his appointment.
We also brought down The Perfect Pansy, Tortoiseshell Persian, for her second heart scan. She was only 8 months old when she got her heart ultrasounded last year. For our own peace of mind, we had her scanned again. The Vet said that her heart was perfect. So much so that she made the statement that Pansy would never have HCM. Pansy had been sitting on the Vet's table waiting for her scan while the Vet talked to us about other things. When the Vet went to do the scan, Pansy had almost fallen asleep due to the head massaging of the Vet Technician. The Vet was pretty amazed that Pansy had almost fallen totally asleep. She saw a heart on the scan that was nice and very slow. We laughed about it. Not to many cats would be that comfortable in a Vet's office to fall asleep on the table. We were so pleased with the results of her heart ultrascan.
Then came The Perfect Peony, Tortie Point Himalayan. Since Peony had not gone in to heat since her infertility treatment in 2012 and had just gone in to heat in the last week, we brought her to the Vet to have a reproductive ultrascan done. The Vet could find nothing wrong on the scan. We did have an progesterone test run to make sure she is not low on progesterone. So there should be no reason for her not to get pregnant. The follicles and eggs were all there and the lining of the uterus looked good. We again were very pleased with the results of the ultrascan.
Then Saturday came, and boy was it a fun day for everyone at the Cattery, including the kittens. Dave and Lila came to visit Solomon and their professional camera came along for a visit. Dave took 700 pictures while they were here. Of course, many pictures were taken of the babies, but special photo time was spent with Willie and our girls. The girls, Peony and Pansy, were in their heat finery. They were twilling and rolling around for the camera. We even were able to get a group shot of the girls, including Primrose. Of course, Peony was hamming it up for the camera as a prima donna. We can't wait to get glimpses of Dave's beautiful photography. Dave is working on going through the pictures at his leisure. 700 pictures are a lot to go through. We will make his special pictures available for all to see so please stay tuned.
So if that was not enough good news, there is more. We got a call about 2 weeks ago from a lady who had lost her 13 year old Himalayan to cancer. She happened upon our website and saw Benjamin and Joseph. We think we have found a loving forever home to our special and very sweet boys. Benjamin and Joseph will be leaving our Cattery for their forever home this Saturday. We are extremely happy for them but it will be so very hard for us to part. Benjamin and Joseph has become such an interwoven part of our lives. They are just the sweetest boys. Joseph just loves to play father to all our new litters and Benjamin loves playing with the babies. So stay tuned for more news on our boys.
So for our last bit of news ... Primrose's kittens ... they are doing great. These kids are so healthy and large. These are the largest kittens we have ever had at the Cattery. Pansy's kitten, Dianthus, was the largest kitten we had ever had at the Cattery prior to Primrose's litter. So here is a comparison, weight wise, of Primrose's kittens to Dianthus at the same age (We measure kittens in grams for a more precise measurement): As of January 14.
Dianthus - Day 76 - 1445 Grams (Pansy's Litter)
Samson - Day 76 - 1630 Grams
Solomon - Day 76 - 1535 Grams
Sweet Annie - Day 76 - 1440 Grams
Nathaniel - Day 76 - 1340 Grams
Delphinium the smallest kitten of Pansy's litter weighted in at 1085 grams on Day 76. In fact, the other two kittens in Pansy's litter (Dahlia and Daffodil) weighted less than Nathaniel did on Day 76. So you can see, Primrose's kittens are large. They have been on Kitty Bloom VM 900+3 vitamins for several weeks now and are loving it with their wet food that they get in the morning. This week, besides being moved to our Main Cattery room, getting their first full bath and going to the Vet, they meet Joseph, Benjamin and Pansy. Next week we will introduce them to our two dogs, Daisy and Sweet Pea. Stay tuned for more information on the kittens.
January 14, 2013 - Petunia's Forever Loving Home
At the end of December 2012, Petunia, our first retired breeder went to live on a temporary basis with Tommy and his two neutered cats who are our former sires, Chester and Camelot in their home in Tarboro, North Carolina. Petunia and the boys, including their dad, Tommy, adapted so well together that in early January, 2013, Tommy asked to make Petunia's adoption permanent. Petunia loves her daddy, Tommy, so much and you can tell she is very happy in her new home. We will post pictures and comment updates as we get them. You can see pictures and videos of Petunia throughout our website, but especially in our Photo Gallery and in our 2011-2012 YouTube videos. She has made beautiful babies for our families. We are so happy for Petunia being with the three males she has known for most of her life. She will still be available for heart scans in the future to ensure that our lines continue to carry no HCM.
January 4, 2013 - And The Ball Goes Round and Round Video
The incredible hulk named Samson is at it again in a new funny video. He is now 9 weeks old and appropriately named Samson for his size and strength. We just reintroduced this toy in the video to our Toddler Room after a 3 week absence. Watch Samson as he goes to town on the toy that he just discovered. You can watch the video in Our Nursery, YouTube Video page or on our YouTube channel called "weloveourkittens".
The incredible hulk named Samson is at it again in a new funny video. He is now 9 weeks old and appropriately named Samson for his size and strength. We just reintroduced this toy in the video to our Toddler Room after a 3 week absence. Watch Samson as he goes to town on the toy that he just discovered. You can watch the video in Our Nursery, YouTube Video page or on our YouTube channel called "weloveourkittens".
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE VICTORIAN GARDENS CATTERY GANG
November 17, 2012 - Day 20 of Primrose and Willie's Kittens
Well today is Day 20 of Primrose and Willie's Himalayan kittens lives. They sure have grown. They are still sleeping and nursing more than anything else at this time. But we do expect that to change in the next week as they get more sure footed with walking. They are already out of the birthing/nursing bed, preferring many times to be on the lambswool bed and their blankets which they love. We have taken a new video today of the babies. It is available for viewing in Our Nursery, or our YouTube Video page or directly at our YouTube Channel "weloveourkittens". Enjoy watching then as they grow up and start seeing the world.
Well today is Day 20 of Primrose and Willie's Himalayan kittens lives. They sure have grown. They are still sleeping and nursing more than anything else at this time. But we do expect that to change in the next week as they get more sure footed with walking. They are already out of the birthing/nursing bed, preferring many times to be on the lambswool bed and their blankets which they love. We have taken a new video today of the babies. It is available for viewing in Our Nursery, or our YouTube Video page or directly at our YouTube Channel "weloveourkittens". Enjoy watching then as they grow up and start seeing the world.
A bed full of precious love.
November 16, 2012 - Day 16 Photo Shot of Primrose and Willie's Babies
This is the third time today that we have blogged, so make sure and catch all the entries today including precious new photos of The Perfect Calla Lily and The Perfect Dahlia below.
Today we had our Day 16 Photo Shot of Primrose and Willie's babies. The Photo Shot is available for viewing in Our Nursery. These babies are huge, cobby, fat and adorable. The ear set is looking very good. It appears that we now have confirmed three Flame Point boys. Now we have triple trouble as soon as they start their running around. These babies are about 3 days ahead of Pansy's babies weight wise. Our one extreme face boy we are watching carefully for CFA show potential. If he develops with great potential, he will either be staying at our Cattery as a future breeder and show cat or will go to a home that will show him at CFA shows. Hope you enjoy the photos.
This is the third time today that we have blogged, so make sure and catch all the entries today including precious new photos of The Perfect Calla Lily and The Perfect Dahlia below.
Today we had our Day 16 Photo Shot of Primrose and Willie's babies. The Photo Shot is available for viewing in Our Nursery. These babies are huge, cobby, fat and adorable. The ear set is looking very good. It appears that we now have confirmed three Flame Point boys. Now we have triple trouble as soon as they start their running around. These babies are about 3 days ahead of Pansy's babies weight wise. Our one extreme face boy we are watching carefully for CFA show potential. If he develops with great potential, he will either be staying at our Cattery as a future breeder and show cat or will go to a home that will show him at CFA shows. Hope you enjoy the photos.
November 16, 2012 - The Newest Photos of The Perfect Calla Lily
Thanks to Heather for tagging us on Facebook in the latest photos of The Perfect Calla Lily with her constant companion, the very handsome Alex. Boy, are they love birds trying to fit into a kitty bed for one. They are pictured in their lion cut haircut. Alex is actually related to Lily, as Alex has the same mother and father that Petunia has but from a different litter. Calla Lily was born in our first litter at our Cattery in August 2009. Her mother is Petunia and her father is Lord Chesterfield the First. She was the first Flame Point we have had till Primrose's litter this year. You can read more about Lily and see additional pictures of Lily in our Adopted Kittens page. Don't forget to see the newest photos of The Perfect Dahlia (Coco Puff) below.
Thanks to Heather for tagging us on Facebook in the latest photos of The Perfect Calla Lily with her constant companion, the very handsome Alex. Boy, are they love birds trying to fit into a kitty bed for one. They are pictured in their lion cut haircut. Alex is actually related to Lily, as Alex has the same mother and father that Petunia has but from a different litter. Calla Lily was born in our first litter at our Cattery in August 2009. Her mother is Petunia and her father is Lord Chesterfield the First. She was the first Flame Point we have had till Primrose's litter this year. You can read more about Lily and see additional pictures of Lily in our Adopted Kittens page. Don't forget to see the newest photos of The Perfect Dahlia (Coco Puff) below.
November 12, 2012 - New Video of Primrose and Willie's Babies
We have just published a new video of Primrose and Willie's Babies on Day 13 of their new life. You can find the video in Our Nursery, YouTube Video page or at our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens. The babies are just starting to walk. Their eyes are completely open now. This is the first time that they have been out of their birthing/nursing bed. You will see in the video how delighted Primrose is to be a mother again. She absolutely adores these babies. Enjoy.
We have just published a new video of Primrose and Willie's Babies on Day 13 of their new life. You can find the video in Our Nursery, YouTube Video page or at our YouTube channel "weloveourkittens. The babies are just starting to walk. Their eyes are completely open now. This is the first time that they have been out of their birthing/nursing bed. You will see in the video how delighted Primrose is to be a mother again. She absolutely adores these babies. Enjoy.
November 10, 2012 - Update on Primrose and Willie's Babies
Primrose and Willie's babies are sooo big now. On Day 6 of their lives, two of them doubled their birth rate with the other two doubling theirs on Day 7. On Day 8, three of them were already weighting over 200 grams. We thought our last litter with Pansy and Willie was the largest we had ever had but we now have another record breaker for us in Primrose and Willie's babies. Just as an example, Pansy and Willie's babies did not reach over 200 grams till Day 10 and that included Dianthus, our big boned girl. All we can say is wow. This litter is as carefree as you can get. It is such a breeze since Primrose is totally taking care of them. We just weight them a few times a day to make sure everyone is gaining weight. Primrose is an excellent mother. She gets a full can of wet food four times a day. That's right, she goes through 4 cans of wet food a day. Three of the Himis have yet to give us a hint as to their colors. The last born with the larger head is now showing an extreme face. What a beauty he is. In fact, they all are beautiful. They are all starting the process of opening their eyes, with the second born actually having one eye completely open. It is so nice to see those pretty blue eyes. We will try to get a new video or photos on the website this weekend. This next week the babies should start to completely open their eyes and we hope they take their first steps on the floor. Several of them are already playing with themselves. It is adorable when they do that. We were finger playing with one today. Totally adorable they are.
Primrose and Willie's babies are sooo big now. On Day 6 of their lives, two of them doubled their birth rate with the other two doubling theirs on Day 7. On Day 8, three of them were already weighting over 200 grams. We thought our last litter with Pansy and Willie was the largest we had ever had but we now have another record breaker for us in Primrose and Willie's babies. Just as an example, Pansy and Willie's babies did not reach over 200 grams till Day 10 and that included Dianthus, our big boned girl. All we can say is wow. This litter is as carefree as you can get. It is such a breeze since Primrose is totally taking care of them. We just weight them a few times a day to make sure everyone is gaining weight. Primrose is an excellent mother. She gets a full can of wet food four times a day. That's right, she goes through 4 cans of wet food a day. Three of the Himis have yet to give us a hint as to their colors. The last born with the larger head is now showing an extreme face. What a beauty he is. In fact, they all are beautiful. They are all starting the process of opening their eyes, with the second born actually having one eye completely open. It is so nice to see those pretty blue eyes. We will try to get a new video or photos on the website this weekend. This next week the babies should start to completely open their eyes and we hope they take their first steps on the floor. Several of them are already playing with themselves. It is adorable when they do that. We were finger playing with one today. Totally adorable they are.
