Author: annagoebel

Sylvie and the kittens are in the Jiro Palace, which is a big corner area that is secure, so she and her babies can feel safe and be safe. Tex has to live outside that area, so he has the rest of the office, which is quite large. I don’t believe he’s a threat to the kittens – he seems totally uninterested in them – but male cats do sometimes harm babies, so we’re erring on the safe side.

When I’m in the room, however, I open the doors to the Jiro Palace and Sylvie can come out. That’s her chance to explore the rest of the room. This morning she went up on the cat tree, noticed that the top cupboard was slightly open, put her paws up, nudged the door open further, and hoisted herself up. Tex saw her go up, and decided that he could just do the same thing in one jump. He was mistaken – he hung briefly by one paw, but then dropped – safely on a bag of kitty litter.

Sylvie came down, after exploring the back of that cupboard, festooned in cobwebs. In the evening she explored up there again, and came down even more gloriously bedraped.

I swear the kittens have doubled in size since yesterday!

…they’re getting stronger and stronger. The kittens are now nearly two weeks old, and it seems like they’re getting bigger every day. They’re getting noticeably stronger and more coordinated. If they tip over, they right themselves faster and more confidently (see video below).

And their eyes are open! All four have their eyes open now, all the way. I really don’t know how well they see at this age, but they’ve taken the first step. The cuteness has gone up a notch – big, round eyes really push the cuteness buttons.

And they’re fierce! I’ve seen at least three of them hiss when they catch my scent, or if I put my hand near them.

Sylvie has finally decided it’s safe to come out of the Jiro Palace. Since we moved her here, she has chosen to stay in the cage, where she feels safe, even when the doors are open. Especially since Tex came, since he is a rather overwhelming force.

Today, when her doors were opened, Sylvie watched for awhile and then jumped out to join Tex and to explore the room.

I was interested to see how Sylvie and Tex would interact, since they are brother and sister, and the farmer had described them as inseparable. They had greeted each other through the grate of the cage, and talked to each other, but they hadn’t been together.

When Sylvie came out, Tex watched her, but mostly let her get on with her exploring. He did spend some time following her, but if he got too close, she whipped around and hissed at him. I believe it’s because she doesn’t feel safe in this space yet, and didn’t want to be distracted as she explored potentially dangerous areas.

Tex turns out to be super affectionate. He loves when you pet him and fuss over him. When you first enter the room, Tex is not interested in food, not in play – the only thing he wants is for you to pet him. Preferably sitting down so he can be on your lap, and you can be petting and rubbing his head with both hands, and telling him what a sweet boy he is. This is heaven for Tex.

Cats run the gamut from very aloof to very social, and Tex and Sylvie are way towards the social end of the scale. And these two were taken from an environment where there were many other cats, and people also paid attention to them. They’ve adapted very well, but they really miss their friends! We’re doing our best to be a good substitute as they adjust to their new life.