For all of you who are patiently waiting a kitten (or two!) for pick up day on October 9, 2021, the countdown is at 503 hours, roughly! (Depending on how quickly I write this post...Lol)

Here are some recent photos of Lúthien and Elbereth's litters! (The pic below is of Lúthien's girls - who are groggy from napping. One of these girls will be named "Emma" and another "Schatzi" by the new owners. The lighter girl here is likely a platinum, but if I'm wrong, then she's champagne.)

Lúthien's only blue kitten, who will be named "Bucky" by the new owner:

(I caught them just as they were waking up for this one - and not all were fully awake as you can see!). All of Elbereth's kittens are sables! Some will be slightly lighter than "traditional" sable, but I think that only applies to one of hers this time around. Some of the new names for these babies include Roma and some variation of "Olive".

Updates

Lúthien and Elbereth's kittens will be going to their forever homes in three weeks! ah! I wasn't sure how it'd be with having multiple litters born at the same time (remember that these two litters were three days apart), but it was an experiment of sorts. There have been aspects that I've liked - having them all the same age means that they all get their nails cut the same day, all get their de-wormer the same day, all start being potty-trained/etc. the same time, and all get vet visit and first shots at the same time - rather than trying to keep track of "which week/stage are we in with ___?"... However, that being said, the downside with 10 kittens all at the same stage and needing the same things at the same time - is that they're all at the same stage and needing the same things at the same time!!! :) I think, as far as I can influence things, that I will aim to stagger litters in the future a bit more. When they're at certain stages they need less from me than at other stages, so it's easier to manage my time better that way and give the older kittens more attention when it's not split between an identically aged litter. Of course, nature cannot be controlled, so I cannot guarantee when the girls will get pregnant or any of that, but I will aim to influence it a bit going forward.

The kittens are doing really well. They are playing, with each other and toys (they love the laser!). This week Elbereth's have had some growing pains with litter box issues (no, scratch that - I have had some pains with their litter box issues! They don't seem to be bothered much by my cleaning up after them...). Lúthien's this time around, on the other hand, have done beautifully! So weird... Removing all "temptation" of towels and blankets seems to work perfectly for Lúthien's kittens. Elbereth's this week have had some accidents. They still use the litter boxes in their house (they have two boxes), but they've also been using some towels that were in there, too. I'm confident that they'll learn what's-what in the coming weeks, but this is the non-glamourous part of breeding - lots of cleaning up and hand-washing :)

I'm very grateful that all seem very healthy and no tummy issues - I believe that the homemade wet food, probiotics, and the de-wormer help tremendously with keeping their little systems functioning properly (I just with they would consistently use the litter box! Lol but they're just now 7 weeks, so we can allow some 'toddler accidents' still.) I may put a little bit of pumpkin in their wet food this week, just to make sure they're getting proper fiber.

Next week I will take all ten of them (!) into the vet for a wellness check and their first shots. A reminder that the killed virus type of vaccinations are always the better choice - especially when they're young like this. Sometimes the modified-live version can cause issues, even severe, and there's not much that can be done to correct it once the damage is done. You can read more about this topic and a suggested vaccination "schedule" on my "Now what?" page. Anywho, taking all ten into the vet will be very interesting next week! My vet was kind enough to block off the last visit of the day to accommodate so many :) She and her staff are amazing; I'm very blessed to have found them! After they get back, I'll be bringing all kittens into the main house for their final weeks before they go to their fur-ever homes. This way, they'll have plenty of socialization and get to know each other before leaving (there will be several mixed pairs of kittens from Lúthien and Elbereth going home together, so I want to be sure they adjust to each other before going into a new situation.) On that note, all the kittens from these litters have been claimed and confirmed. For those of you who are confirmed for this round of kittens, please let me know what names you've picked out if you've not already done so, and I'll put that on the kitten's "baby books" that they get from the vet. Some folks like to wait to name the kitten(s) when they bring them home, which is totally fine, but some of y'all have had a lot of time to think and plan and know what name they'll have :) (I was the same way - having names picked out way ahead of time.)

Here is another (groggy) shot of Lúthien's kittens all cuddled on my bed - they have "Mr. Moose" with them here.. I got him for Lúthien to play with when she was a tiny kitten still, and she will bring him to the kittens to play with even now - so cute! Burmese like to carry things around - even big things! One of my previous kittens I'm told has carried pillows, iPad, etc around the house to "bury" in places. They're so unique!

Another of Elbereth's girls - "Olive" or "Oli"?

Final thoughts: For those of you not getting a kitten this time around, I thank you for your continued patience as you wait for a future precious little one(s)! On that note - Galadriel is getting bigger and bigger!!!! I'm not sure if she has three weeks or four weeks left of her pregnancy, but it's coming up soon!!!! More to follow when I know more.... (she looks mad here in the below pic, but I don't think she is hehe.) Lastly, I will be reaching out to the families picking up kittens prior to kitten pick up day to arrange a time and to give you my address and all those little details. A reminder that your remaining amount for the kitten(s) is due in full on kitten pick up day - money order or cash, please. If you're getting one kitten, then that would be $1,000. If you're bringing home two, then $2,000. Most of you don't need that reminder, but better safe than sorry - I'd hate to have you drive here and not be able to take your kitten home with you from forgetting this detail! I prefer money orders over personal checks for the final payment because, well, there's little chance of that cashier's check bouncing (this deceptive behavior likely doesn't apply to any of the folks on my list, as you all have seemed to be very trustworthy people, but my breeder colleagues have run into this where it's been done on purpose to get out of paying in full, and it's not a situation I want to be in, for either party concerned. So, saying cash or money order keeps us both safe from that unpleasant scenario.) :)

Thank you for reading and have a great weekend!