Mother Cordelia has finally settled down into her new role. The first 48 hours were a little time consuming as she didn't want me to leave her for very long. Each time the kittens feed (and they feed like every 30-40 minutes) she would look concerned for they would take awhile to find the teats.
By today – Day four (they were born midday on Sunday) – we are all in much better shape. The kittens are finding their teats much more easily and Cordelia is acting like a pro. She has regained her appetite too and eating constantly. (Kitten food which has lots of good nutrious stuff).
The "Nursery" has moved to the Den which is right next to the Kitchen and Bathroom where food and litter box are – so Cordelia is never out of earshot of the little ones. Its fascinating to watch the interaction between her and the kitties. And to already see the development of each kitten's personality.
And oh dear they are very cute. I try to analyze what is it about seeing these little bundles curled up sleeping or eating and why I react such… right now the Gray One is sleeping with its little head turned sideways resting on its paws. Oh no, now Gray One has turned on its back and is cuddled up against Cordelia's head and C has her paw on her. Sigh.
I guess its the maternal instinct coming out – and its hard not to – especially when they mew… its a sweet little noise.
Of course there is a lot of mewing during the hourly cleaning rituals by their mom… one of the black ones (Smaller Black One) especially doesn't like to be cleaned and protests loudly (well, as loud as a little kitten can).
I know that these first weeks while they are still tiny and in the basket will pass quickly and then, oi vey, it will be lots of fun with three little kittens playing around – I will have to get one of those baby proof doors to close off the front of the apartment (luckily its a railroad) and confine them to these back rooms until they are much older – no need to have a kitten lost in the loft bed or in the piano!
Knitting has not progressed as much due to the kittens. But the shawl is moving along. SPRING KNITTY came out yesterday – I just happened to click on my link and there it was – even before the email came! A good strong issue and Laminaria is already moved to the top of my Ravelry queue. Along with Agatha which looks so lovely as knitted recently (and of course quickly) by Wendy.
The other major activity this week was setting up my wireless network. I found an older laptop that I thought was dead but voila it's not. Also found a 7 port USB hub online for good price – so when that was delivered and I had to reorganize all those usb devices (two external drives, ipod dock, camera cable, Lyra wireless Speaker terminal, oh and the CueCat scanner) I figured I would set up the wireless network as well.
You know how it goes – you think it will be easy and yet by 3 in the morning I finally called Verizon – and actually got someone who actually listened to my explanation and quickly resolved the problem (he had to reboot my router remotely to get a new MAC address from my wireless router) and voila! I was set to go.
I had set up a wireless network in my Brooklyn apt and already had a Linksys wireless router and a booster card for my laptop… so after updating the laptop with over 100 MS updates (that was all day yesterday) tonight I was able to sit on the sofa and watch my semi daily fix of Gilmore Girls and surf and continue to set up the laptop.
And the other good thing? I am sitting right next to the "nursery" basket so Cordelia has been very happy. She occasionally jumps in my lap for a good cuddle – which she deserves!
Oh and Aunt Katie has been quite the quiet cat – she has come up and looked in the basket a few times but not ventured to poke herself in – Cordelia has only hissed once (when she was eating). To help Katie not feel left out of all the attention, I found a new basket for her and lined it with her favorite item (a wool knitted bag) and she has been getting extra treats.
BTW that is not the NEW basket in the photo but a tray which I use on top of the sink for makeup etc, for as you can see there is no counter space in my tiny bathroom. As you can see it rests on the "we try to disguise this" litter box.
Katie had started spending time here awhile ago – I am not sure what it's about – although she can look out into the kitchen (the bathroom opens off the kitchen) so it must be a good vantage point for her. She is a sweet quiet cat who keeps to herself – she does NOT like to be picked up and rarely lets me pet her – although she loves to eat cooked chicken or tuna etc from my hands.
a southern gal in the north 