Aug 6 2011

Balthazar is back

Balthazar is back and he has been here for two days now. It turned out that the girl who bought him is allergic to cats.

We drove to her and got Balthazar home Thursday night. (We wanted to spare him from the stress of travelling by bus, so we had to drive there in the middle of the night after we got a late call. We were back at home around 2AM).

Balthazar was out of here for two days only and he is so young so I think he will forget fast that he moved. He was so happy when he got back home to his mom and sisters.

Balthazar

This was so unexpected and saddening. We’ve never experienced anything similar, and we hope that it will never happen again.

We wish only permanent loving homes for our kittens. We are very careful with who gets to buy our kittens. But sometimes unpredictable things happen. Luckily this move lasted for a short time, and we hope that Balthazar will forget it fast.

I think he has almost forgotten it. :)

Cute!

Aug 3 2011

Albert is neutered. The kittens turned 13 weeks and started moving out.

So much has happened lately.

Albert is neutered.

He will be fertile for a few more weeks, but his spaying is an irreversible process. It was not an easy decision to neuter Albert. He did not spray, and he was such a dream to have as a stud, but he got interested in Jossan and having him fertile would mean that we would have to keep him and Jossan separated during the time we are not at home. That is not an option. Physically it is possible, our house is big, but we do not want our cats to live lives like that. Pets come before breeding.

And he did get two litters of gorgeous kittens; four kittens in Oslo and five in Åkersberga, close to Stockholm.
So, he is neutered; our happy cuddly white cat.

B-litter turned 13 weeks

And they learned how to fly:

I can fly!

Belle and Blanche playing nicely

Blanche barks at the toy, and Bea aims to kill it, silently.

Belle, Blanche, Balthazar

Continue reading →

Jul 18 2011

11 weeks (part 2: reflections)

The kittens were curious about the table in the guest room. They were a bit surprised with their reflections. Earlier there were stuff on it, so I guess they did not notice how funny it actually is.

The kittens saw mirrors before, and they were a bit excited about other cats back there. :)

Beatrice, 11 weeks

Balthazar (front) and Blanche

Belle

Balthazar (front) and Blanche

Jul 18 2011

11 weeks (part 1)

The kittens turned 11 weeks today! They are so big now. Next week they are getting their second vaccine and in two-four weeks they will be moving to their new homes. The feelings are mixed. They are all moving to very good homes and we are looking forward to see how it goes for them in the future.

This is how the beginning of our evening with the kittens looked like (it is Stockholm, and summer, it is still not completely dark yet).

In the living room, Leroy was sleeping on one of his sheep

While in another room, the kittens were slowly waking up from their afternoon nap (Bea, Blanche and Jossan is behind them)

Balthazar and Belle, on another highest part of the cat tree

"You were saying?"

Jul 13 2011

A great day for Albert

He is healthy! 

Thank you everyone for your wishes for Albert’s fast recovery. They helped! Albert was well since we came back from the hospital. Completely well, like nothing has ever happened.

Here is our white boy with huge jowls (kindpåsar på svenska) (those enlarged cheeks that make a tomcat look more attractive for female cats. I think it looks silly, but apparently I have no clue what makes male cats irresistible!). He is back from the exam and feels victorious.

Albert (and his jowls, a Foreign White almost 14 months old)

Today we went for an ultrasound of all the organs of the abdomen (after not eating for 12 hours! Albert was a bit hungry, but quite calm). They shaved his tummy and put tons of gel on it. He did not fight, but he complained and talked to the veterinary and the nurse during the whole examination.

“Maumaumaumau…”

“Oh, a Siamese! A white Siamese! He is adorable! He is gorgeous!”

People found him charming. Cats know when you admire them and they like it. Albert does not despise attention, and although he thought that having your tummy shaved and lying on the back is far from good, still, attention is nice…

And – he is fine! No tumors, signs of diseases, nothing. There was a sign that he had a bad tummy (slightly enlarged spleen), but everything looked nice, his kidneys were perfect, the liver and colon were fine, too. Albert is pretty on the inside, too!

Albert became a father again!

And – great news! Albert became a father again today, this time in Sweden, in Viska’s cattery!

Bäckbykatten's Dixie The Great, picture by Monica Lindgren

This morning Dixie (Bäckbykatten’s Dixie The Great) gave  birth to 5 healthy kittens that are right now nursing cuddled to their mom! We are so happy! We told the staff in the hospital that Albert became a father today for the second time, and he got even more compliments, admiration and praise for being so nice and gorgeous boy.

He has no clue why everyone is treating him like that, but it is in his nature to accept petting and compliments as something he deserves by his sheer existence. He is a cat. And – a Siamese one.

Jul 12 2011

B-litter; a photo session that went wrong

We tried to take some photos of the kittens today. They turned 10 weeks and all of them weigh over 1kg!

Here is a number of photos we took today.

And this is how it looked most of the time (one of their favorite toys is on the picture, it is made to look like a real dragon fly and we cannot leave them alone with it because of the plastic parts. They are crazy about it. The big cats adore it, too):

It's mine!

Jul 11 2011

Albert feels fine

Albert feels well, and behaves as usual, except that he is much more at my side. Last night he slept in our bedroom and we closed the door so the other cats would not disturb him. Leroy was a bit upset, he protested for 5 minutes from the other side of the door.

Albert thought that all the attention was very nice. He cuddled and slept next to us all night.

I started working again today, but Jocke is at home with the cats, he has one more week of vacation. Albert ate this morning and he seems fine. And he is so happy. He is not weak or anything like it, he is moving and behaving as a strong healthy cat. The whole Friday drama feels so unreal.

Jul 10 2011

Albert was sick

We had a tough weekend.

Friday

Albert got suddenly sick last Friday. He threw up violently six-seven times until there was only saliva left and refused to drink and eat. He screamed loudly in pain when we tried to touch him close to his tail root and on tummy and dragged his back legs while walking. He did not have fever but something was obviously wrong. We called the animal hospital that is always open and they told us to come with him immediately.

Continue reading →

Jul 1 2011

Beatrice is a seal point Siamese!

I’ve just received the result of Beatrice’s DNA test. She is a seal point, (and a carrier of chocolate and dilution). What contrasts! Amazing. The contrasts between points and body color like she has are not so common for seal points (in the US the seal point Siamese in general have better contrasts than here).

She will darken with age, even in her body (all Siamese except for the white ones do) but you can see already this early which cats will have better and which worse contrasts.

Beatrice, a seal point Siamese

The kittens got their first vaccine and exam today at our veterinary dr Buba. They did not yell at all in the car, and they were not that scared at the vet. Leroy was in the same soft cage as they were and he is the best nanny ever. A big, calm, confident and caring cat. Leroy. :)

Now they are fine, a bit swollen at the places they got the vaccine. Bea is sleeping a lot, I think that she got a reaction to vaccine that I hope will go over the night. She ate and drank some water. The others are running around, but they are a bit less enthusiastic than usual. It is their first vaccine and the first trip outside the house. It is not easy!

One more picture of Belle, the blue girl:

Belle, a blue point Siamese

Jun 28 2011

8 weeks

Today we tried to take some pictures of the kittens. The light was nice, and Jocke and I were enthusiastic about a photo session, but it is so hard to take their photos! They glide, jump and turn around all the time.

There is one picture where we have three kittens looking in one direction and Beatrice sniffing at something. That is the best we got! But we’ve got some nice individual pictures here.

La Voix B-litter, 8 weeks old; Belle, Blanche, Balthazar and Beatrice

Beatrice is an action cat:

Beatrice, always in movement

Belle is thinking…

Belle is cute

Jun 23 2011

7 weeks pictures. And the tree.

The individual pictures from the Monday photo session are now uploaded here.

And the cat tree… it was so much fun for the small cats to get the whole new tall furniture! We did not put anything that tall in their room earlier since they are small and not scared of anything, but yesterday we bought them the furniture with a lot of funny parts, 165 cm tall. We padded the space around it with a lot of pillows. The kittens went crazy, climbing, jumping and behaving like little monkeys. Jossan was not happy at all. She gave us that look – ‘Are you completely insane!?’

In the morning we found all the kittens sleeping in the cat house with the pillows put over the entrance. Jossan lured them in and dragged the pillows and blocked the small ones from exiting the tipi! :D Jossan is such a clever cat and a good mom. She never ceases to impress me.

Jocke took a cool video of the tree, seen from a kitten’s perspective:

More pictures from yesterday and today:

Belle peeking

Beatrice, boldly going where no kitten has gone before

Your tail! My tail? Wait...

Jun 22 2011

Beatrice and Belle, 7 weeks

Two more pictures of the chocolate and the blue girl, in the cat ‘tree’ we bought them today. They are very excited about the big cat furniture. More pictures coming tomorrow, I must sleep now.

But look at our pretty girls! No one can make such a shocked face and their eyes as big as Ada (the blue girl from the first litter) could, I thought… until we got Belle. :)

I wonder if Beatrice is chocolate, since her eye color is more lilac/lavender deep blue. But her nose is almost black.

Jun 22 2011

Chocolate or seal point?

We are not sure if Beatrice (the dark girl) is seal or chocolate point Siamese. I’ve sent the DNA- color test to UC Davis in California. That is the only way for us to know for sure.

The Siamese come in many colors, but the traditional four ones are:

  • seal (black that looks like dark brown on Siamese, the most common color),
  • blue (diluted black, looks like cold gray with a bluish tinge, like our Miii),
  • chocolate (milk chocolate, lighter and warmer than seal point) and
  • lilac (diluted chocolate, pinkish gray, like Jossan and Leroy).

When the kittens are small, their points are not as developed and  they are lighter than as they grow older, so sometimes it is hard to distinguish seal from chocolate (and blue from lilac). I am curious, and since different breeders had different opinions about Beatrice’s color, I had to test! I believe in science. :) It is easy to take a DNA sample, it is a simple swab test.

Here are some pictures from yesterday’s photo session when we tried to take pictures of the paws on the masked kittens. Belle is blue, we are 100% certain about that, and right now I believe that Beatrice is chocolate. Look at the pictures. And – no, I am not torturing them!

The blue paw and the chocolate (or seal?) paw, 7 weeks old Siamese kittens

Belle, blue point Siamese girl, 7 weeks

Beatrice, chocolate (or seal?) point Siamese girl, 7 weeks old

Jun 14 2011

6 weeks

The kittens turned 6 weeks yesterday! They are not so small anymore and they have the playpen always open and only for fun; they are in the whole room even when we are not there. We tried to make it as kitten-proof as possible.

Last week we had a visit from Tjabo’s (Antoine from A-litter) owner Agneta who was in Stockholm and came by to see the kittens. I had to count them when she was leaving. :)

Rest time

Sleepy

High five!

The blue girl

The seal point girl and Albert. And the blue girl peeking.

Jun 12 2011

Albert fetches a toy

Jocke filmed Albert this morning.

Albert is still playing like when he was small. He is nervous occasionally, because he is fertile, but he has a wonderful temper that didn’t vanish in spite of his raging hormones. We will probably neuter Albert soon, and then he will stop thinking about ladies and only play and be content.

Jun 8 2011

B-litter 5 weeks

Here are some individual pictures taken two days ago.

The kittens are having long running sessions few times a day. It is funny to watch them running like crazy, while the big cats sit still and just observe the small spinning balls of fur. Sometimes the kittens run into things since they cannot stop!

Blue point girl, 5 weeks. "I am dangerous!"

"I am confused. And cute."

White boy, 5 weeks

"Look, I'm a lion. Mini or not, A LION! Respect my authorita!"

Seal point girl, 5 weeks

"I am pretty. And sweet. And first with everything."

White girl, 5 weeks

"Not in the mood for posing today! I always look gorgeous anyway."
Jun 8 2011

5 weeks photo session

We took a few pictures of the kittens two days ago. Jossan wanted to be a model as well.

Seal point Siamese kitten, 5 weeks old and her lilac point mom

The kittens have very long legs; disproportionally long legs, and that looks really funny. Here is one picture of the white boy, a bit blurry, but you’ll get what I mean with ‘very long legs’…

More pictures coming soon.

May 31 2011

4 weeks pictures

The kittens are playing more and more, seemingly trying to kill each other. I get very scared sometimes from these little killer claws going for the other kitten’s eyes… but somehow they do not end up hurting each other.

Come on, if you dare!

Down with these ears. You are a Siamese, not a bunny!

I said 'down with the ears'!

They did not starting eating other food yet. We tried, but they want only Jossan’s milk. They like to jump into whatever I give them on a plate and make a mess. That is fun. :)

It wasn't me!

May 28 2011

Playful kittens, day #26

We took some pictures of the kittens today. Now they meow back when we call them and run towards us. They are wrestling and jumping around a lot. They are quite clumsy, but simply adorable!

A little boy and his blue sister are wrestling:

Talk to the paw!

What is on the other side?

 

Should I go out of the house or go back and nurse some more? Decisions, decisions...