Tibetan Kittens
11th January, 2012
My first entry of the new year, for Our Tibs, will also be my last. These little monkeys are going to be 12 weeks of age on Friday and are ready for their new homes. Zhari, has in fact, already gone. She left yesterday for her new home in Shrewsbury. Sakya and Tingri will be staying on a couple of extra weeks as they both going with kittens from the Winter Litter. Yushi, or Lush Yush as I call him, is staying here with ME!
Last Friday the Tibs went off for their final vaccination and microchip. Zhari and Tingri were neutered at the same time and bounced right back to craziness the same day! When I collected them the vet's waiting room was filling with cooing, gushing people who could hardly get over their stunning looks. :-)
My first ever Tibetans have been the most adorable litter as well as big, healthy babies. I find the breed quite addictive and I plan to repeat the mating to have more of these little rascals. Well they are just too adorable not to. They are such loving, confident kittens full of the right attitude, absolute stars. I hope you have enjoyed watching them grow. Indeed this litter has been watched by people from all over the world with great interest. I hope you all join me in wishing Our Tibs a wonderful happy future.
This tiny basket which usually hold paper and pencils has been taken over
31st December, 2011
Well it is the last day of they year and I've finally got round to editing and uploading the Christmas video. Our house is in a bit of a state with my girls moving furniture, cushions and so on to make their dens and as for the tree... it is looking rather worse for wear. Still we've had a wonderful Christmas and the kittens have helped make it so much fun.
Our Tibs are now 10 weeks old and getting bigger all the time. They have changed colour too. I initially thought that all the kittens were smokes (silver) but two in fact are not. Sakya and Yushi are regular natural mink without silver.
They go for their final vaccination, microchip and neutering next week (for those being neutered) so will soon be ready for their new homes. They look much too big to still be feeding from their mum and mooching round at our house. So for those of you waiting for your precious kitten, it won't be long. For now enjoy them on our latest video, there is more of the Tibs towards the end. Click on the link below to watch.
19th December, 2011
On Saturday morning, with unusual bright sunlight in the house, I filmed the most gorgeous video of all 11 kittens from the two litters playing together. I have just discovered that I accidentally deleted it from my camera, thinking it was a photograph. I'm so annoyed with myself. I shall attempt to make another video in the next few days.
Last Friday they went to the vets for their first vaccination. Our vet, Sarah, was so taken with them. They were all super calm and well behaved and all given a clean bill of health.
I have since put up our Christmas tree. We had a living tree for quite a few years that was quite spikey so the cats were put off climbing it. Unfortunately it died in the Summer and this year I've gone for a kitch, white, artificial tree. It looks so cute but is a major kitten magnet and has already been on the floor once. It is looking so dishevelled now and I've lost the will to keep tidying it up as they are at it constantly. Still they are so cute I can't stay mad with them.
Here they are.
Tingri
Zhari
Yushi
Sakya
11th December, 2011
Seven weeks old and the Tibs are lovely big kittens. Next week our playful, adventurous, cuddle-monsters will be going for their first visit to the vet for a health check and vaccination. It's gone by quickly, I think because they have been so easy. They really are such lovely kittens. They are all over the house now and often under my feet. They have conquered the stairs, the lounge curtains, all the furniture, what is left? Oh yes their new owners' hearts.
Their eyes are starting lighten up now and the first glimmer of green can be seen as they change from blue to turquoise. Sakya, is a quite a bit darker than the others so I think she is not a smoke but just a natural mink.
They are all very naughty kittens and so very confident. Because they are handled by my little girls all the time they are really 'broken in' when it comes to handling. They are all such lap cats. They love to find a human to sleep on. So sweet.
We don't have our Christmas tree up yet and to be honest I'm dreading it. It will be a constant battle to keep the kittens off it but I suppose it will make some nice festive photos.
Zhari
Yushi and Sakya on my lap
Another one of them
Zhari again
Tingri
Tingri and Sakya tucking into their lunch
3rd December, 2011
Click on this link to watch our Tibetan kittens in action.
25th November, 2011
Gosh 5 weeks old already, how the time flies and how much these little guys are coming on. They have been so adventurous this week and actually spend very little time in their box sleeping. Instead they climb and scamper everywhere and hide in all nooks and crannies.
They started to toilet in one corner of their house, so once I realised I put a small litter tray there for them. Next problem they started to eat the cat litter. Why?? Anyway no big problem I just covered it over with newspaper so they couldn't get at the litter so easily. After a couple of days I was able to move the litter tray out of their house and it into a corner of the room and they followed it... so that seems to be litter training well under way.
Next - munchies - I usually find that my kittens don't start to wean until they're around 6 weeks old and I never try to rush them into it. Yesterday, however, I went in to them in the morning to find two kittens at a bowl of dried food. I was so surprised to see these little kittens crunching away. I think they are trying to tell me something.
They are getting more and more gorgeous see:-
Sakya at the back, Tingri at the front.
Yushi, who is staying with me.
Sakya and Yushi, how cute?
Sakya, looking serene, which couldn't be futher from the truth. She's a little minx.
Daddy Phoenix snuggling Zhari.
Tingri left and Zhari right.
Sakya back, Yushi front (getting mad with the hammock)
Zhari under the chair.
16th November, 2011
Only a few days since my last update but I just couldn't wait to post the latest photos of our babies. I needed to get some really nice shots for a magazine ad and these were the best. Can't believe how playful our Tibs are now, so licky-bitey and cuddly. Not to mention adventurous! - Adorable.
11th November, 2011
To look at I don't think our Tibetan babies have changed much since last week, though they are of course bigger. Developmentally they have changed quite dramatically. They can now walk, not just crawl, and are up and about on all fours exploring their cardboard house. They are just as keen to explore when we bring them out of the box into our lounge too. This is just too much for their poor mum, Lhasa, who tries, quite pathetically, to keep them all together whilst taking one at a time back to the nest. They are a lovely lively little bunch who are just starting to see the point of humans ;-)
Our cute big girl, Zhari.
Our cute little girl, Sakya
My gorgeous boy, Yushi
A couple of kittens sneaking some milk.
5th November, 2011
Our precious babies are 15 days old today and coming along beautifully. They are each developing their individual features so I can tell them apart a little more. Sakya is more dainty and Oriental looking than her siblings and Yushi and Tingri have quite different eyes.
They still squeal whenever they are picked up but by this time next week that will have stopped as they start to accept human handling. They get lots of love not just from us but from the other cats too. Dad and Uncle are regularly found snuggling with them. I think they'll grow up to be the most loveble cats.
Sakya and Zhari
(left to right) Yushi, Zhari and Tingri
Lovely Lhasa
She is such a relaxed mummy
31st October, 2011
Here is a picture I took last night of Dad, Mum and Babies... with Uncle Flash, lying underneath them all.
29th October, 2011
At last, on the 21st October 2011 our very first, and the UK's only, Tibetan kittens arrived here at Puddha's Palace. Lhasa gave birth without any assistance while I was cooking dinner. We have four beautiful healthy babies, two girls and two boys.
They are all the same colour - Natural Mink (and probably smoke). This means that it is unlikely that Lhasa carries any other colours and therefore all our Tibetan babies born from her will be this colour. They start out a pale fawn colour and darken, particularly at the points, as time goes on.
Here they are at just one day old.
They have grown at an astonishing rate and are now really fat and chunky. Today at one week of age they are just begining to open their eyes.
Their pedigree names will all be based on places in Tibet so the girls will be called Sakya and Zhari and the boys will be Tingri and Yushi. To be honest I can't tell them apart at the moment :-)
More photos and updates here as the weeks progress.