All TEN kittens will be going to their fur-ever homes in two weeks from today! Can't believe it's almost here! Lúthien and Elbereth both had five kittens each this time around...it's been kitten madness around here lately Lol

The kittens had their wellness check and first round of booster shots today - all passed with flying colors! The vet said that they're all doing great and so beautiful :) They're a little woozy right now - sometimes that happens after they've had their shots. I have all kittens moved into the family room for the last couple of weeks. This will ensure lots of attention and socialization and give these little ones time to get to know each other (some will be mixed/matched from these litters and will be going home together). "Oli" was super friendly in the exam room and "Roma" acted extremely offended to have his temperature checked, Lol. "Schatzi" was hardly fazed at all, same with "Bucky" and "Emma".

Here are some photos of Lúthien's babies (they're just waking up from a nap - still groggy after the vet visit today). The first one here is of "Bucky", as he'll soon be called :) I have them in two large separate 3 tier "cages" at the moment while they acclimate to their new surroundings. Cages and carriers may seem restrictive and oppressive to us - but to cats especially they often feel safer when they're in a secure space. When I've had to give medicine, I'll wrap them up like a little burrito and they calm way down. Anyway, I'll let them out to explore the room soon but for now they're safer confined. :) They will also be able to see and smell the other litter without having to be physically close right away.

I know that there will be some growing pains this week as they've never spent time in the same space until now. (You can all expect that as well if you have existing pets in your homes that you're bringing the kitten into - expect a few days of stand-off-ish-ness and even hissing/growling.) My biggest recommendation is to play with them a lot and feed them within sight/near each other and make sure that your new kitten(s) has a safe place to retreat to if they need a break from the current pets in the house. Definitely make sure that your new little one(s) have their own litter box, though, please!!! Or, access to a litter box that they don't have to compete with existing pets to use. If they feel unsafe or crowded when it comes to their litter box, they may choose to turn to something else as a potty place - and we don't want that to happen!

I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of you (hint, hint! check your emails!) about what time you'll be coming to pick up the kitten(s) on Oct. 9. There are three folks left that I need to arrange times with, but the others are all set. I'm very excited to meet you all after so long of electronic communication! I'll be sending out information this upcoming week for my address/driving directions, and other last minute reminders for these current kitten adopters.

Galadriel is about 2-3 weeks from having her second litter! I think it's closer to the 2 week mark rather than the 3, but we'll see... She's waddling around, which is very cute :) I set up two approximate appointments at the vet (even though I don't have a date yet for her) just because she's so booked that if I don't set up potential visits now, it'll be hard to get in and I couldn't chance that for the kittens' sakes. They are wonderful people at the clinic and have been so great working with me and the cattery, but they (like so many other businesses in the US) are short-handed and it's hard to maintain their previous load of clientele and visits when you're short-staffed. It also doesn't help that there's a huge shortage of vets these days. Thanks to Covid, a lot of potential vets weren't able to finish their schooling/internships (etc.) on time, so that doesn't help the shortage. And, if people retire or move on to other animal clinics, it's hard to fill that void. Sadly, they told me that some of their clients have not been very understanding about the situation - well, when your staffing is cut, any business will not be able to operate as when they were fully staffed.... I say that to remind us all to be patient with these businesses who are doing their best to stay open and provide (whatever) service while under staffing constraints or other new developments in the past year and half.

Just a short update today - thanks for reading! I'll end here with a picture and message from "Schatzi" below - I wonder what she's trying to say?! :)