Duchess and the Kittens - Week Two

Below is the weekly update on Duchess and her kittens from foster mom, Jackie. As you will read, baby kittens develop very quickly. These little guys are already finding their legs and attempting to escape the nest, at 2 and 1/2weeks of age.

Week Two
We chose names for the kittens this past week: Toulouse, Marie, Berlioz, Spooky, Mittens and Lily. I refer to little Berlioz as Bear because the first time I held him in my hand he looked to me like a little teddy bear. Most of the names of the kittens came from “Aristocats” the Disney cartoon and somehow they suit each kitten perfectly. All of their eyes are now open and bright. Spooky was the last to open his eyes and one seemed to not open as fully as the other. I wondered if he was going to have problems with the one eye, but, it soon because as clear and as blue as all his brothers and sisters.

All seems to be going fine with the Aristocats Family. Duchess is nursing and bathing the babies and we are all excited to watch and see the changes happening right before our very eyes. Lily, our adventurer, was found on the edge of the laundry basket climbing her way to freedom. She was quickly scooped up and placed back in the nest with her siblings. I didn’t expect to see them getting up on wobbly legs for yet another week or so. Here they are all trying to get mobile and Duchess just lounges and takes it all in. Kittens are pretty dependent on their mothers for the first few weeks so she too can recover from their delivery and not have to chase them all over kingdom come. Can you imagine a litter of 6 kittens running helter skelter and Duchess not healed from their delivery? She would be exhausted trying to wrangle them all into bed and for feeding time. Nature allows kittens to develop quickly in such a short amount of time.

Each day starts the same in our house. We get up, get ready for the day, and then start to feed our extended fur-family. In our house we have three resident cats, Oliver a foster cat, Duchess and her litter of 6, a dog, and three fish all to get fed for the day, don’t forget the two young girls ages 4 and 2. We manage by feeding the animals that have the run of the house first. While the animals are all busy eating in the kitchen I sneak off to feed Duchess. I open the door quietly as to try and let the kittens sleep. Duchess climbs the bars of her kennel and greets me at the door. I set the food down outside the kennel and she begins to eat as I do our daily cleaning. We remove the food and water from the kennel and sweep the litter Duchess has managed to kick all over the place. Litter even has found its way into the nest with the kittens. After we sweep we lift each kitten, checking their eyes and noses for any signs of a cold and place them onto another towel as we change their bedding for the day.

I had a bit of a scare this week when I went to check on the kittens. Toulouse was lying in the nest and appeared to be sleeping. I picked him up last and he was limp in my hands. I thought I had a kitten emergency until he yawned and looked at me as if to say “what’s the big deal interrupting my sleep?” It is not uncommon for a foster family to lose a kitten. They appear healthy and one day you look into the nest and they are not alive. We have been lucky so far that all the kittens are healthy and thriving in our care.

Duchess now has freedom during the day to roam the room she is staying in and she loves to join us on the bed for story time. She greets us by brushing up against your leg and a twirl back to do it a second time. If you take the time to pet her, and scratch behind the ears, she flops down for a belly rub too. The only thing that disturbs Duchess from her love session is the cries of her babies. She is quick to check on their well-being and settles into the nest to calm anyone who is in close vicinity. We spend many a night watching in fascination the wonder of parenting in the cat world.

Stay tuned for updates on Duchess and her kittens.

Jackie Kruger
Foster Mom