Pardalis Ocicats

Uno is relishing his position as the ‘big’ kitten.  He’s only ten weeks older than Fizz’s kittens but he looks enormous against them! He loves to wrestle them and bounds towards them, knocks them over then grabs them in a headlock and nibbles their ears :-)  They squeak a bit if he gets too rough….. Fizz doesn’t seem too worried and just watches with a bemused look on her face.  She wasn’t too happy to find Uno still here when she first came downstairs with her kittens but from the looks of things she’s accepted him as one of hers!

Uno had a trip to the vet this week, to be neutered. He was starting to take an unhealthy interest in his mum.  So, while he’s still a little young to actually sire a litter, we weren’t going to take any chances!

Lexi’s kittens have all found their new homes now.  We made sure Lexi saw each one go into it’s carrier in the hope she’d have some understanding of where they’d disappeared to.  In some cases she got into the carrier first to make sure it was suitable :-)  All her kittens went to lovely homes and we’re looking forward to hearing how they’re settling and seeing photos of them as they grow.  One, Florence, a chocolate spotted girl, is going to be shown and will be at the Ocicat Club Show in October which will be very exciting for both the new owner, who hasn’t shown before, and us of course!

Uno is staying.  He’s our first born, a Classic boy, who we’ve recently discovered is in fact Cinammon and not Chocolate in colour.  He’s wormed his way into all our hearts and is now the responsibility of our eldest son!

Fizz’s kittens are now downstairs.  They started on solid food a couple of days ago and all seem to have got the hang of it really quickly.  We’ve even had some success with the litter tray so we’re really pleased with their progress.

Fizz’s four babies are very robust and getting quite tubby!  It makes all the difference having just the four to look after and plenty of milk.  They’re a good couple of days ahead, weight-wise, compared to the heaviest of Lexi’s litter at this stage.  We’ve decided to go for an Olympic theme when we name this litter but haven’t got as far as thinking of any actual names.  Well, except one that my son named when he looked to see what sex it was - Linford…. I don’t think I need to explain why :-)  I’ve a dreadful feeling that name’s going to stick!! Funnily enough he’s the noisiest.  I tend to leave him until last when I weigh and check them each day as he kicks up such a stink!!

Fizz kept pulling up the corner of her bed covering and I couldn’t understand why.  Then, after the first couple of days I realised she was making a ridge so the kittens didn’t wander away.  Since I’ve placed a towel or another blanket around her making a safe cocoon, she’s perfectly happy and hasn’t disturbed the bedding since.  They’re very active kittens and she was getting upset when one would insist on walking round behind her and squawking when it realised there weren’t any teats on her back!

Well, she might have kept us waiting but it was worth it in the end!  Having spent every night since Sunday sleeping with one eye open so as not to miss the happy event, should she pick some unearthly hour to give birth, Fizz finally had her kittens yesterday evening.  From early morning she’d been in and out of her specially prepared box miaowing loudly but she chose to wait until Graham was home from work and we’d had dinner before she went into labour (very civilised!)  She took her time, giving birth to the four over a span of nearly two hours.  Unlike Lexi, who shot hers out at a speed of knots!  We enjoyed this birth more as we had time to inspect and enjoy each kitten as it was born, and it was cleaned and dry before the next popped out.  The first born came tail first and took a while to free herself from the birth canal.  I was just contemplating getting out the rubber gloves and giving her a hand, when she finally slithered out herself!!  The remaining three all came out nice and easily, head first.  We settled the little family into nice clean, warm quarters and they’re all purring along nicely.

We’ve got 2 tawnies and 2 chocolates, all spotted, a boy and girl in each colour which will make identifying them easier!  So we know she carries chocolate but have yet to see, from subsequent litters, whether or not she does indeed carry the classic or dilute genes.

Fizz is due to give birth any day now.  We’ve been on tenterhooks since Sunday which was day 63.  She’s been spending the nights in our room for a while now and has been confined there since the weekend.  Needless to say we’ve not slept that well the last few nights, fully expecting her to into labour in the middle of the night!  Instead, she’s been purring in our ears and sitting on us - no fun with a belly full of babies, she weighs a ton! I’ve been spending as much time as possible with her, working from my laptop so I can keep an eye on things.  The suspense is killing me, can’t wait to see how many there are, especially to see what colours she produces as the potential is there for all 6 and she no doubt carries the classic pattern too.  Hopefully there’ll be a birth announcement very soon!

Fizz is growing fast, she looks as large as Lexi did at this stage so, as she was one of a litter of 8 and Curry sired 6 for Lexi, there’s a good chance we’ve got another large litter on the way.  So long as they’re all strong and healthy I don’t care how many there are.  She’s spent every night sharing our bed since Lexi’s litter was born and before I actually drag myself out to the shower each morning we spend some ’special’ time together.  I really enjoy that time when it’s quiet and no other cats demand my attention.  I’ve been giving her a short Reiki session each morning and I’m sure she knows it’s good for her, and positions herself so the kittens she’s carrying get the benefit.  She purrs like a traction engine the whole time.

Since Fizz got back from her ‘honeymoon’ she’s been non-stop miaowing. Poor little girl’s had a lot to put up with lately. She’s not allowed upstairs while Lexi and her kittens are there as Lexi is very protective. Fizz’s tendency to growl at Lexi since she’s had the kittens doesn’t endear her to Lexi either at the moment, so we’re keeping them apart until the kittens are older. Two females with raging hormones don’t mix well!

At the weekend we were sitting at our patio table enjoying the sunshine and Fizz was miaowing at us from the conservatory. We felt sorry for her and were saying we’d have her outside on our laps if we could be sure she wouldn’t jump down. I remembered a cheap harness I’d bought when we first got the Ocicats, the idea being we’d walk them to the garage playroom or outside run. I’d tried it on Lexi once when we first got her but she hated it and I never persevered. I thought it might be a good idea to try it on Fizz so she could sit outside with us but we’d feel happier knowing she couldn’t go far. She was an absolute star and just accepted the harness being put on. Needless to say she didn’t stay on our laps for long, there was far too much to explore! She rolled now and again when she remembered it was there, but was so engrossed in swatting flies and poking her nose into the flower pots that she was barely aware of the harness. It was lovely to see her enjoying the garden safely, and it probably won’t be long before she’s fetching it herself and demanding ‘walkies’!

There’s a short video of Fizz’s first garden walk here http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=H7KNqozBrRY

Lexi’s kittens are now 9 days old and all putting on weight at a steady rate, so far so good!

No eyes open yet though the little ears are starting to unfurl. I can just about tell them apart, the classic pattern does differ slightly between the 4 and 2 are boys which helps too I’m pretty sure the rest are all girls. The 2 spotteds look to have a lovely clear pattern though it’s early days yet.  One is slightly smaller than the other and has lighter spots so they’re not too difficult to tell apart.

Fizz went off to stud at the weekend, we chose Curry again as he proved a worthy suitor for Lexi She came off call pretty soon after so that looks promising! If she’s pregnant her litter will be due around 12th August so we’ll have 2 sets of kittens for a few weeks until Lexi’s leave for their new homes.

It’s been a pleasure to see Lexi and Fizz out in the specially built enclosure enjoying the recent warm weather, chasing flies and watching the birds. Graham made it as a lean-to on our shed using mostly old pieces of wood we already had and wire meshing. It’s in a nice shady part of the garden though it gets a little sun in the odd corner so they can choose to the sit in the sun or the shade. We’ve put walkways round 2 sides and a nice sturdy tree branch leading up to it for scratching on or climbing and part of a wooden bench we no longer wanted in the garden offers more sitting and watching or hide and seek places. At least when we’re in the garden enjoying the weather, they can be near us and see what we’re doing. It’s not as good as allowing them the freedom of an enclosed garden but our garden would be very difficult to make totally enclosed without chopping down a lot of mature shrubs, so it’s the next best thing. As it’s down the far end of the garden we pop the cats into a carrier to take them down there.  Though now they know what’s coming I only have to fetch the carrier and open the lid and they jump straight in! Once we’ve sorted out the shed and made it safe we’ll put a cat flap on so they can explore that too.

This one was in Stevenage so a nice, reasonably close one for us. Fizz got a 2nd in the Open and a 1st and a 3rd in her side classes. She was very grumpy and didn’t seem to enjoy the show which must have effected the judging which is such a shame as she’s a real sweety at home. Lexi, on the other hand, was in her element, much more relaxed than in previous shows, due in some part to the lack of loud tannoys this time and the fact that she was calling All those nice male cat smells ….. mmmmm….. After the show Lexi was taken to visit her stud, so fingers crossed for the pitter patter of tiny paws at the beginning of June!