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One of the important lessons in learning to cat is how to attack and steal pens. Ideally, once you steal one, you should hide it under a piece of furniture. Gemma gets distracted before she can accomplish that part, but she’s young.

The notepad shows their weights for the past several weeks, recorded every Sunday. Each of the kittens gained about 5 ounces in the past week. They are now about two months old, and weigh nearly two pounds. Coda is the biggest, and is just over two pounds. They will go in to be spayed or neutered on Wednesday.

The kittens learn so much from their uncle! From their point of view he’s HUGE and strong and amazing. In reality he’s only a year older than they are, and extremely energetic, so he’s just like a bit kitten himself. He certainly is willing to play as long as they want.

Tex will bowl the kittens over when he’s experiencing uncontrollable zoomies, but he has never hurt them. He’s always careful when he plays with them, and will usually give up a toy if a kitten wants it.

The kittens love any kind of toy you can pull around for them, from feather toys to package strapping. So does Tex.

A very important skill you need to learn if you want to grow up to be a real cat is chasing your tail. Coda found himself in a waste-paper basket and, in the supportively round environment, discovered his tail.

We brought all four kittens out into the big room at once today for the first time. What a madhouse! Zoomies were the order of the day, and George and I didn’t get the planned weekend projects done – they were just too much fun to watch!

It was 10 pm before they were all tired out, and so were we. The two black kittens – Smoke and Gemma – were still exploring, but Coda was out cold on the top of the cat tree. Mia was settling in below him. So we scooped them all up and tucked them back in their own area. I’m pretty sure they’ll sleep well.

The kittens had little starter toys early on, but now that we’re bringing them out into the big room from time to time, we’ve realized that they’re up for more big-kid toys. Their vision has developed quite a bit, and they’re much better at tracking a toy. They’re also quite creative, and very willing to see the play value in everything around them.

It’s been a little anxious around here lately because of changes in feeding. On May 21 the kittens were five weeks old and no one had any interest in solid food. I fed Sylvie in their area, but they sniffed and walked away.

On Saturday, two days later, three of the four had decided that Wellness Core kitten food was the way of the future, and they were chowing down like pros. Gemma, however, remained unconvinced. She actually squinched up her eyes and made a face and turned away.

Mama Sylvie very quickly decided that they really didn’t need to be nursing much any longer, and started spending more time away from them. This left Gemma in an unfortunate position and she started losing ground. When we weighed everyone on Sunday she had just gained an ounce where the others had each gained three.

I upped the feeding schedule to four times a day, and I found a blander food that Gemma was willing to sniff at. With some coaxing, she started eating a little at a time. It has taken several days, but she’s gaining weight now, and getting stronger. This morning she chowed down with the others.

By now I’ve had three of the four kittens out into the big room, one at a time. I’m keeping careful watch, because Tex is a big question mark. He has mostly ignored the kittens, even when he has gone into their area to look out the windows.

But we need to find out how he will handle having them in his own area, because that’s a different thing entirely. And they’re going to outgrow their smaller space pretty soon. And they want very much to come out where the big kids are!

I didn’t know how Tex would react. I don’t know if he would feel territorial, and not want them in his area – and even if he likes them, he is big and strong and could play too rough. So I’ve been trying them out and keeping an eye on his reactions. Meeting two of the girls went pretty well, with no big problems.

Today it was Coda’s turn, and Tex’s reaction was definitely different. Even at 5 weeks old, Coda is definitely a boy, and Tex seemed to feel a little less happy about him being there than the girls. He followed him around and took a swipe at him once. Coda didn’t seem too concerned, nor was Mama Sylvie. I have hopes that they will coexist pretty well once they’re used to each other.

Food! The kittens are between five and six weeks old, and two of them decided it was high time they were eating solid food. Mia was the first to get interested in what Sylvie was eating, and wanted to push in and have some. Mom was not over-eager, so we brought in a separate plate. Pretty soon Smoke joined Mia and they were really chowing down.

I’m really glad they’re starting to get some nutrition from somewhere other than Mom. Sylvie has struggled to keep weight on, and has even lost some. I’m feeding her three times a day, with good-quality food and supplemented with goat’s milk, but it’s a tough job when she has to keep producing milk for kittens who keep needing more!

And then the kittens turn into whirling dervishes! Zooming around, believing they’re invincible. I’m the “fly on the wall” – or in this case the living mountain that they climb up and around and over. Mia discovered the joys of shoelaces, which is why my right shoe is untied.