Knitten' Kitten!

So I'm working on a knitted blanket for the new baby in my family (any day now! Congrats cousin!)
and the kittens have been predictably excited about the yarn.

They've taken it in turns to sit at my feet and get themselves hopelessly snarled in the yarn and to annoy foster mommy until she makes them sit in the bathroom.

Today however I had an unexpected surprise. I sat down with the blanket to continue and my yarn pile WAS MOVING.... breathing.....shifting....

This is actually less disruptive than when he's trying to play with the yarn so I don't think I'm even going to move him. It's really cute!

Xiang has discovered the wonders of an HD TV!

Last night was hilarious!

Xiang suddenly realized that she could see the TV screen! She did a fantastic double-take and started batting at the screen and mewing at the moving objects.

I decided to have a little fun with her and found one of those "Cat TV" videos on youtube.

Through all of this Xeric has remained unamused and prefers to swat his sister's tail while she is otherwise engaged. Smart Boy!

It's time to play!

Kitten update: Xeric and Xiang

At 7 weeks old the kittens are looking so much better! Their kitty colds are gone and their eyes have almost returned to normal.

They've been putting on good weight and when they hit 2 lbs they'll have their surgeries and be ready for adoption!

These little fluff balls are going to find homes so fast! 

Xiang and Xeric - Gruel Babies!

At 6 weeks old Xiang and Xeric are past due to be eating on their own; kittens can be introduced to gruel as soon as their teeth come in which can happen as early as 2 weeks old. Xeric and Xiang both have healthy strong teeth but have showed no interest in eating solo.

Xiang has shown a little interest in gruel-on-a-plate but does NOT want to eat it if a syringe gruel meal is available. 

Now that both kittens weigh at least a pound I can start to try and convince them that they need to eat on their own. For both their 6am and 10pm feeding they will get syringe gruel since those are the meals with the longest time between Feedings. At 10am, 2pm and 6pm however, they will get only a plate of the gruel. I make a fresh plate for each meal and even sweeten the deal with turkey baby food. 

They will probably fight me quite a bit for the first plate meal and won't want to eat it, however once their midday meal is due they'll be hungry and more likely to try the plate gruel. 

(Note: this was a post-in-progress from Tuesday morning!)

UPDATE!

Both babies are eating off the plate right now! I was right about them getting more hungry after not eating off the plate earlier and with some gentle persuasion I got them both chowing down on their own!!!! FANTASTIC!

Xeric and Xiang; 1 lb GIANTS!

Both of the babies have officially reached a pound in weight. 

HOORAY!!!

To celebrate this milestone here are a few pictures of Xiang showing off her chubby little tum tum.

Xeric and Xiang in the pen

I posted pictures about a week ago that showed off the nifty little kitten bin I rigged up for Xeric and Xiang.

I LOVE the bin, and it's great to have a way to securely contain the babies overnight, but during the day they need a little more space to play.

Soooooo I rigged up a play pen!

Since I don't own one of those nice baby play pens I decided to use a readily available (and FREE) material. Cardboard!

I hopped in the car and checked out behind a few stores nearby and voilà! Cardboard boxes from large flat-screen TVs.

I made sure that the edges were tall enough that neither of the kittens could hop out. They have food and water, a small litter box, a heat source and some toys.

Play pen project success!