Lily and the newborn Fire Kittens
On Friday 27th of June 2014, exactly on the due date, Lily (IC Northalla Peridotite) gave birth to two kittens: tawny and chocolate spotted boys. On the previous evening Lily showed still no signs of the approaching delivery, but in the night at 3 a.m. she delivered easily and quickly her two boys. Like her mom Tara, Lily seemed to be an excellent mother, very meticulous and caring. The kittens’ birth weights were 100g and 101g, very good weights.
Despite Lily’s good maternal instincts, it took a couple of days until her milk production really started. She could produce at least some milk right after the birth, for the kittens were sucking and didn’t complain. But the weighing of the kittens showed that they were not gaining weight as they should have, and for the first time we had to feed the kittens with cat milk formula. We chose to use nursing bottles instead of tube feeding, for the kittens were strong and brisk.
The boys were fed every 3-4 hours, 1-2ml of formula at a time, until the weighings showed that Lily produced enough milk for kittens to grow. Once Lily’s milk started to flow well, the growth rate of the kittens has been really good, about 20g per day. No wonder, since there are only two to share all that milk.
The weights of the Fire Litter
The kittens are now two weeks old, and everything is going well. The little ones opened their eyes at the age of one week and one day. Both are real lovely looking, with round heads and small ear flaps. After one more week, the ears canals should be opening, and then we shall wait when the boys start to explore outside the nest.
The theme of this litter is fire, as a natural continuation for our previous element themes (metal, wood, rock, water). We have chosen that the tawny spotted boy, a little more strong willed than his bro, shall be named Northalla Wildfire. The chocolate spotted boy shall be named Northalla Bonfire, as a compliment for the kittens great-grandfather Cardo (Halifax Bonfire). The nicknames are still under consideration.
