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The kittens are less than a month old, and today one of them used the litterbox like she’d been doing it for years. Smoke may not be the strongest or biggest, but her instincts put her at the top of her class! She had: 1) never been in a litterbox before, and 2) never peed before like a grownup cat.

Mama Sylvie sat near the litterbox and all the kittens got pretty excited, and three of them went into the litterbox for the first time. They hadn’t been big or strong enough yet to get over the sides. Mia and Gemma just went in and climbed back out again, but Smoke could tell by smell what she was supposed to do – so she did. I love dogs as well, but this sure beats housebreaking puppies!

Introducing “Twinkletoes” – who really needs a better name than that! Of the two little black kittens, she is slightly darker than her sister. She has a white spot on her chest, and one on her lower abdomen, AND she has white back toes! So cute!

Do you know how hard it is to capture tiny white toes on camera? This morning she was playing with all four feet in the air, so I tried. She’s pretty cute, but my first attempts were not successful.

Success! Not the ideal photograph, but you can definitely see the white on her right, back toes, and also the white on her left, back foot.

Who has a better idea for a name?

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.

Tex just joined our foster family! He is Sylvie’s brother, and the farmer described them as “inseparable,” so we felt he should stay with her. He just arrived today, and is adorable!

He was brought from the farm, neutered – and quarantined for a couple of days at a different house because he had lice. Now he and Sylvie have both been treated, so he’s able to join her.

He is also very strong and athletic! George tried him with the Cat Dancer and he went nuts! He was bursting with pent-up energy and was thrilled to have a game to burn some of it off.

He seems to understand about a lot of things: what toys are for, what doors are for, and that you should be gentle with humans.

So Sylvie is in the Jiro Palace, and Tex has the run of the big room the Palace is in. They can talk through the bars, and when I’m in the room I open Sylvie’s doors so she can join him – but so far she has just watched.

I believe Sylvie is quite young, and she is very playful. She seems very familiar with people and toys for a kitty who lived on a farm. Someone must have spent quality time with these kitties. I wonder if the farm family had kids. Anyway, someone did a wonderful job, and I’m very grateful!

The kittens are making progress!