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...

May 26 2011

A few more pictures from day #23

They are just moving all the time! :) Albert was assisting us during the yesterday’s photo session and got caught on camera.

The white boy: "Maumaumau"

Albert and the seal point girl, thinking...

The blue point girl: "Let me go!"

The white girl, thinking...

The seal point girl, again. That will be one long Siamese nose! It will grow and straighten as the kitten grows bigger.

The white boy, still has things to say: "Maumaumaumaumauuuuuuuu"

May 26 2011

Day 23

The kittens are very cute, but it is so hard to take pictures of them since they are moving all the time! In a week or so it will be easier, then they can be distracted and focus on one thing, now everything is interesting and new!

I like one picture that Jocke took today, which turned out a bit artistic; it was overexposed, but you can see those pretty baby blue eyes on the little white girl.

May 25 2011

Kittens in NO*Aceso cattery!

Albert became father yesterday for the first time, 1 year and 1 day old!

Four gorgeous healthy Siamese kittens were born in Aceso cattery in Oslo, Norway! Mom is a beautiful blue point Arwen that visited us in March.

 

Many warm congratulations from us! We are so happy that this litter is born. :* BTW, Leroy is now a great grandfather, only 4,5 years old! :D

May 22 2011

Almost 3 weeks old

Tomorrow, May 23 the kittens from the A-litter turn one year, and their little siblings turn 3 weeks! :)

The kittens moved to the nice big kitten house we bought from Germany, and Leroy and Albert love to sit with them. They sometimes sleep next to them, sometimes they lick them clean! The big cats are very enthusiastic about the hygiene. :)

The small ones started to be playful and are attacking and biting the big ones, but Leroy and Albert are very patient with them. They do not even try to discipline them yet, they seem to be aware of that the kittens are too small.

(It is never this bright in the tipi like it is on the picture. There are curtains in the room that shade the kitten house, but I moved them so I could take the photos without the flash).

"Stop licking me, grandpa!"

All of Jossan’s all-white children, one big and two small ones:

The individual pictures of the kittens, taken today are here: 20 days old.

May 15 2011

B litter, day #13

Here is a mom and her kitten! Jossan, the lioness.

We tried to take some individual pictures of the kittens today. It did not get better with time, Jossan still gets crazy when we take the small ones out for a photo session and make sounds with the camera and the flash… not a happy cat! We try to make it quick and not disturb the kittens and the mom too much! Here are the pictures and a little bit about each kitten.

Blue point girl

White boy

Seal point girl

White girl
May 14 2011

Albert wants in!

There is a reason that our cattery name is La Voix. Siamese in general are more talkative than other cats, and our Siamese are very vocal when they want something. Leroy especially has a very strong voice that almost all of his and Jossan’s offspring got. It is not like our cats are yelling or being loud often. But they do express their opinions loud and clear!

Albert loves to be close to the kittens. They are very small and have one room where they can be left alone with their mom. Other cats can come and join them when we are there, and they like to sit and watch the small ones.

When we get up in the mornings, this is where Albert is, telling us that he wants to go in and see his siblings!!!

Let me in!!!

And today he sat in there for a long time, watching his mom and the small wonders and then, very carefully and gently, he sat in with them in the tipi! He was there for a few minutes, then I took him out so that Jossan could stretch a bit. He was melting with love, he adores them!

Mom, I'm your baby, too!

We also have a big kitten house that we got from Germany, but it is too soon for them to move in there. They have to be better at crawling first. They must be close to their mom where it is warm, and she prefers small spaces with roof, she feels that they are warm and safe there. I’ve learnt a lot from my cat about what is good for kittens.

Bliss!

We are very happy with Albert’s temper and I hope that his future kittens will get it from him. He is almost one year old, fertile and very capable as a tomcat, but he is not spraying at all and he is seldom restless. He is very cuddly with us, especially with me. He can be upset and yell sometimes, but that is when we do something wrong.

May 5 2011

Day #4 (and why Siamese kittens are born white)

It is hard to see the gender of the kittens when they are this small, but now I think that there is only one boy, white or lilac, and three girls – one white, and two dark ones – seal or blue or chocolate. But we cannot be certain either about gender or color until they are about three weeks old.

In a few days they will start opening their eyes. For now they are just getting rounder. :)

Siamese kittens are born white. They may look all white and pink to you on the pictures, but you probably notice that some of them have started getting dark ear edges and nose tips. They will fully develop their point color as they get older.

The pointed Siamese pattern is a result of the partial albinism gene. The point restricted pattern is bound to an enzyme which, when exposed to temperatures above 37°C, causes the hair root to produce little or no pigment for the growing hair. That is why the Siamese kittens are born completely white – it is very warm in mom’s belly!

The neck and the body of the cat are warmer and don’t develop any or little pigment at adult Siamese. Their point color is restricted to the areas of the body that are cooler, such as the face, ears, legs, and tail. But, if your Siamese is a bit overweight, a layer of fat works as an insulator and the cat can become darker in its body also!