Lyra&Caesar: The Tuxie Twins

Sunday Papers and Odds&Ends

2008-02-10T15:10:00.000Z

Reading the Sunday Paper with my dad, what's in the news?

That's my kind of reporting!

A box, some string, what more could I want out of life?

Kitten in a basket there is nothing cuter.

I'm innocent I tell ya!

"Thbbbt!"

We got laser eyes

Are your heads exploding yet?

Something for Saturday and Awards

2008-02-09T10:05:00.000Z

The kittens grow so fast. Its hard to believe that only a few weeks ago they pretty much fit in one hand and now Caesar is huge, its becoming difficult to pick him up with just one hand.

Caesar weighs 1.6 kilos and Lyra weighs 1.15 kilos.

They also move around so much and so quickly its getting harder and harder to get decent photographs of them where they aren't sleeping.

Caesar is definitely on the skittish side. When the toast popped the other morning and he was in the kitchen he nearly tore the lino off the floor trying to make a run for it. Any loud noises always make him jump and sometimes he tries to hide, but we try to get him out of hiding right away and show him there is no danger. I don't want him to be a hidey cat everytime there is an unexplained noise.

Lyra doesn't very bothered by most loud noises, although when someone was drilling upstairs she did get spooked and got off my lap to go to the safety of her tree. The funny thing was that even though Caesar was alert to the noise he didn't try and hide that time.

They spend a lot more time chasing eachother now and they do this funny CopyCat thing where if one of them gets up to go get some food or water the other one, even if in the deadest of sleeps, perks up and has to follow. So that is another one of their nicknames the CopyCats.

I'm going to be home some more so I am going to try and make their first vet appointment since we got them. They were checked by a vet before we got them. Its probably getting close to the time to discuss spaying and neutering as well.

They will try out their new harnesses this weekend. Just to wear around the house to get them use to them. If I can successfully train them to walk on the harness then perhaps vet visits will not be so traumatic. Although I will still need to get a pet carrier as we do not have a car so whereever they go it will be on public transport.

Lyra got accepted into Cats In Boxes: Little kitty in a big box

I bought some salmon temptations, they only have the small cat head shaped packets at our store, but the kittens seem to like them so I am hoping they will be a good training tool. I read on one website that some people experienced the same problem with the catberry treatums. Their cats were turned off by the smell initially but then they tried them again later when the smell had died down a bit and the cats actually liked them. I've stuck them in a drawer for now, we'll drag them out again in the future and see if there is any result.

We made some Awards, Lyra and Caesar wanted to express their gratitude to all the grown-up kitties who stop by the blog and give us advice and praise. We're going to try and do this quite regularly.

The first award is to Abby, a lovely Tuxie kitty who is grown up but tiny like us. We promised Abby a special picture of us so she and her momma could pretend they had some kittens of their own.

We adopt Abby as our first Big Cat Sister to help us grow up right.

Our next award is to Mickey, a lovely all black kittty who always has some good advice for us. We made this award so Mickey and his momma could oooh and ahhh over us all the time :)

We adopt Mickey as our first Big Cat Brother to help us grow up right.

Here are our photos for today....

These be my shoes now human!

Hello, I'm cute

Our cute sleeping makes momma's head explode

A little cuddle with dad

Looky at what I got in the mail momma!

We can't has no cheeseburger

2008-02-07T19:01:00.000Z

Hello people and kitties in internet land

Lyra watching the birdies

The birdies, those weird parakeet mutations that have taken over the uk. They've forced out the magpies and the wood pigeons from their favourit tree.

I'm given Caesar a bath while he sleeps.

Sometimes we fall asleep on momma in very strange positions and then she can't move.

Someone asked about our scratching posts, this is the big one its part of the tree that momma got before she even got us.

This is the one dad got us. It has a nice comfy seat so we can curl up together next to momma and watch tv.

Gee that burger sure smells good dad.

Maybe if I am realy quite they will give me some burger unlike Lyra who cries and tries to snatch it off them.

Dad didn't give me none of his burger so I climbed in momma's sweatshirt for a cuddle.

Then I forgave dad and we had a cuddle too.

Hey I wasn't gonna chew that wire, honest!

Oops!

Hey momma you been back here all this time? hehehehe

I'm sorry momma, can I come off punishment now? Look how cute I am.

Curled up in our big tree for a little nap.

T'ings

2008-02-06T14:09:00.000Z

Caesar had a little accident yesterday but he's fine. I had been in the bedroom (we're still trying to kitten proof it but its hard because we don't have much storage) for most of the day, I don't think he realised I was in the living room and I heard him squeeking in the hallway outside the bedroom door as he does when we're in there and he's not allowed in.

I got up from the couch to show him I was in the living room and then I heard a bit of crash and ran to the hallway to find that the ironing board had fallen over and Caesar was trapped under a towel that had been draped over it. At first I was really worried as I once had a peice of MDF (chipboard) furniture fall on a cat and give it minor internal injuries. I don't think the ironing board actually fell directly on him. He of course had darted off after wriggling out from under the towel and was hiding just behind the sofa with his back to me.

I didn't have any regular treats so I had to coax him out with a bit of cheese. I looked him over and he seemed fine, no broken bones or blood anywhere. Later on he cuddled really close to me right under my chin (which he never does) so I guess he was a bit frightented but he seems otherwise alright. It really gave me a fright though.

Their nails are really sharp and I am going to have to start cutting them. Caesar is generally good in not using his claws on us but Lyra just scratches if she wants food or toys or is trying to climb up us. Sometimes when they are chasing eachother they end up running over me and I've got tons of tiny claw scratches all over my arms. I did see those soft claw things that you can put over a cats claws but I'm not sure that I feel its right to do that to them although I guess its far better then declawing them.

We got our PetPlanet delivery today. Two massive bags of CatSan litter which I hope will last at least a month. I have a bad back so I can't really carry cat litter up and down the hill from the grocery store anymore, by ordering it we could get tons and also save some money I think.

I ordered their harnesses as well but I won't break those out for another couple of weeks till their b-day. I also got some organic treats called Catberry treats but they litterally wrinkled their noses up at them. I assumed that the treats would have some sort of meat flavour but actually they are cranberry! What cat likes cranberry? what a waste of money. However, I did discover that our local waitrose has two kind of Temptations so we'll be getting those next time we go shopping.

The kittens will be 3 months old soon and we're thinking of doing a special contest for all the kitties on t'internet to celebrate.

Today's pictographs...

Are you insuating that it's NOT a good idea to sit on my sister's head?

Momma's legs make a nice hidey hole on the couch

You can't see me momma!

Cuddling my momma after my accident, poor little me

We like to play with dad

Give me that micey dad!

I said, give me that MICEY!
(she is a little demon when it comes to her toys and she not only crawled up Bryan's leg but stayed there even after he dropped the mouse. Luckily he is wearing his claw proof jeans)

I think the micey go in here
(Caesar likes to drop his mice in Bryan's sneakers and then hunt them out)

Oops! Caught in the act of wire chewing.

I'm innocent as always momma.

Would you kindly stop interrupting our telly time with that noisey red box?!

Our Nicknames:
Monkees
Hooligans
Vandals
Momma's little angels

PS thanks to everyone for suggesting blogrolling. I had installed it before I posted but when I previewed it I didn't think it was working. Seems to be working fine now :)

Tuesday Toes and Construction Site

2008-02-05T15:09:00.000Z

I've changed the blog layout for feb. and so have had to delete all my link boxes etc. I've put back a couple of the widgets, but its too labor intensive making all those links to everyone's blogs even though I really would like to link to all the kind kitties who link to us and whom we like to visit, so I'm on the hunt for a widget that can do it for me as I plan to change the blog design frequently. I get bored easily :)

I bought a new camera yesterday, its a Kodak V something digital. I just really needed something that took better pictures not only of the kittens but for my make-up artist portfolio. I can't afford to spend a lot so I used all my saved up Boots points. One of the best things about moving to the UK is Boots points. At least now I have a lot more options when taking photographs. Although they gave me the wrong instruction booklet in the box so I still haven't figured it all out.

It would also be good to find an easier way to import all my pics into the blog. I use Picassa to load them onto the computer and give them a little touchup. It works quite well without having to drag out photoshop. It does have a feature you can use with blogger to import photos, but it will only do 4 at a time and if you want more it create a new post for each set. I haven't figured out how to then compress them into one post, so basically I am just uploading one at time.

On with the pics...

Caesar cuddling with Bryan, or rather sleeping "as if dead"

Hello my adoring public (amazingly he stayed in Bryan's arms and didn't run away as he often does when he wakes up to find himself involved with a human)

Momma says I'm realy purrty.

hmmm that smells interesting (I found this very funny because she hates the smell of diet coke in the glass but when the glass was empty she couldn't get enough)

Brothers make good cushions.

Some kitten toes, who be who's?

Happy Tuxie and Toesie Tuesday.

Sunny Days

2008-02-03T13:13:00.000Z

Saturday was another big day for the kittens. But before I tell all the "tails" I just wanted to say that I've been enjoying writing this blog for them. Its been helping me through a difficult period. Just having the kittens in general has helped me tremendously and lifted my spirits a bit. Focusing on their development and enjoying their company helps to improve my mental and I think even my physical well being. I also have to apologise for the typos. I tend to type and think quickly and sometimes they don't match up and I then I don't bother to correct myself.

I've also really enjoyed reading all the other kitty blogs. Some of the kitties (and their people of course) are really creative and very funny. They are all very special in their own ways. Bryan doesn't think the kittens should blog for themselves, but I think that very soon they will be old enough. That is of course, after I teach them to use a computer :)

The kittens are about 10 weeks old now.
Caesar weighs 1.45 kilos
Lyra weighs approx 1 kilo

We received two awards and I'm very proud.

The first is from Wrigley and Cobalt, the kitten's twins from America who were born around the same time and adopted at the same time as Lyra & Caesar. I met them on a cat community just as I was starting this blog and they got their own blog not soon after. Hopefully we'll be able to share many years of happy stories back and fourth together. We would like to give this award to Chance Bond because his antics always make us smile.

The next award is from Faz, a very naughty and humorous cat who also lives in the UK. We thank you Faz and you're pretty special too. We would like to pass this award to Daisy, a very lovely and professional model of a cat who always has something nice to say to us.

Here are our pictures:

People are comfy to lay on.

I always looked wide eyed with wonder.

Like I said, people are comfy.

A spot of saturday morning telly.

I prefer napping in the sun, especially after the indignity of being bathed and then made to wear this silly collar. Don't speak to me for a few hours.

Maybe if I hide back here I won't have to get a bath and a collar too.

Can you see my stripes in the sunshine?

I'm still not speaking to you.

Actually, I'm pretty handsome in this thing aren't I?

Better get ready for our guests.

I'm pooped from all that cleaning.

I really could use a tan my belly is soooo white.

Visitors are okay but I prefer sleeping.

Couldn't quite make it back into the cave...oh well.

Alright, I'm ready for play time.

I love humans and they love me.
(Sarah with Lyra after we did Sarah's make-up. Caesar helped by standing under my feet the whole time)

Human Furniture and the Kittens who love them.

I prefer to eat their shoes.

I claim this chair in the name of me...king of all the good places to sleep.

A little powernap after the company has gone.

Hey, what's this?

eek! it spins, and with me in it!

Okay, enough with the people the playing and the pictures, time for sleepies.

They are nearly too big to sleep in the flat tree together now.

Frolicking Friday

2008-02-01T21:54:00.000Z

Bryan was home with us today and we had a bit of fun.

As a rule they aren't allowed in the bedroom yet, however, we've been letting them in for a little bit at a time with us. The room isn't really kitten proof yet so we don't want them wandering in on their own. Caesar doesn't like it when we go in the bedroom and close the door and will often come looking for us and do his best squeak outside the door. They will also lay in wait and dash in when we open the door.

At first they would just go into all the nooks and crannies and ignore us completely. We tried keeping them just on the bed but there were more fun things to explore down below. Today they actually got up on the bed themselves (its pretty high for little kitties). Caesar is quite strong and can pull himself up by halves, Lyra still requires a bit of help. We piled all the blankets and towels around the bed as a fun mountain but they more interested in roaming around the edges.

Lyra, of course, manages to always put herself right underfoot, or in this case right under butt!

You can really see how tiny she is as that is our normal sized desk chair, not any bigger then a standard office chair really.

After the big bedroom adventure, there was some more play in the living room and then it was nap time. Lyra had managed to get all the way in the back of the cat cave so I couldn't get any photos of her but Caesar, even though he often looks at me as if he dispairs of the constant photography, was on hand.

Sometimes when they are asleep on me I hear a sort of smacking noise. Today I was able to see Caesar's face as he made the noise and realised he was suckling in his sleep. It is very cute. I tried to give him my pinky but he didn't want it. Later Lyra did the same thing and ended up suckling my shirt a bit as she slept.

Then Bryan and I went out and came home and played some more with the kitties and both had naps as well. We're in our mid 30s and have finally discovered the brilliance of naps. Until recently I wasn't able to really nap without it messing me up for the rest of the day, now it does actually revive me to a certain extent. Although not having to go to work for two weeks helps too :)

Before dinner we watched telly and so did Lyra and Caesar.

Bryan was watching a repeat with the deaf signing person on it. I think they were attracted by the movement as they were both watching so intently.

Then they watched me.

After dinner it was time for play again. Bryan got some rafia and its their new favourite toy.

Lyra couldn't decide between the mouse or the raffia so had a handful of both. They are destroying the new mice just as quickly as the old ones by the way.

I'm tired of raffia let's play house!

C: I can make the toys come to me
L: Hey that looks like fun

L: Gimme that
C: Back off!

Rarr! Its psycho upside down kitty

Here sweetie you can play too.

Nah let him have his stinky old toilet roll I've got raffia!

That's pretty much it for today. Tomorrow they will get more visitors as Sarah is coming over again with her boyfriend Jim. Jim is very allergic so we're doing everything we can to make sure he'll be ok. The kitties will get another bath tomorrow morning and of course the sucky monster will come out to scare them.

Cat Chat

2008-01-31T23:30:00.000Z

Check our new chat box on the right hand side bar. Now we can chat with all the cats!

Chat Times: We're in the UK which is 5 hours ahead of the East Coast in the USA i.e. if its Midnight here its 7pm in New York.

I'm never sure when I'll be online but please leave a message if I am not here.

Presents, Visitors and more Sleeping!

2008-01-31T21:31:00.000Z

We had a very busy day today. First there were presents!

I bought them each a kitten collar on ebay. The arrived very quickly, practically overnight in fact and with two packets of catnip treats. The packaging was also impeccible, so I was very impressed.

First Lyra's. It was very girly just right for my little angel.

Red cherries on a pink background with a silver cat face break-a-way clasp. I was very please to find collars small enough for kittens with a break-a-way clasp. Even though they will be mainly indoor cats, I've never really had cats with collars before so I wanted to make sure I got safe ones. There is also a tiny silver bell.

She did fight me a bit when I put it on her, as neither she nor Caesar have had a collar on them before. However, I want them to get used to wearing things because in a couple of months we'll start with harnesses and leads to take them outdoors. However, her neck is really tiny and I had to pull it really tight using up most of the extra strap to get it on and it was still pretty loose.

Caesar's is a little more manly. There were tons of cute and girly ones but my Little King is a bit dignified for all that so I got him a pirate one. He does act like a little hooligan sometimes, afterall.

White scull and crossbones on black with a black cat face break-a-way clasp and a silver bell. I probably don't have to tell you that he was not very impressed and kicked and scratched at it furiously.

They both went a little nutty although it wasn't as bad as I predicted it might be. I did take the little bells off though as I think the noise was making them more frantic and it was also annoying me too. Again, being indoor cats they don't really need bells. However, I soon discovered that Caesars was far too loose as he managed to get it caught on his jaw and freaked out. Luckily with the break-a-way clasp I was able to get it off of him quickly even though he was panicking. He was slightly traumetised but I think forgot all about it soon enough. I was afraid of choking them by making it too tight but their necks are still really small so the slides need to be pushed practically to their ends.

I tried again later when they were snoozing. I gave Caesar one of the cat nip treats before and after and he was a lot less reactive and accepted his collar better. I was shocked and amazed.

He really loves the tiny catnip treats. Its their first ever cat nip anything. It did make him a little wobbly on his paws at first though.

Lyra didn't even wake up when I put hers on. She is far more adaptable I think and just accepts things in her stride.

Then there was a visit from my friend Sarah. This is their first visitor since they got home to Kent. They were really un-phased by all the hub-bub at Dave and Jo's house so I thought they were pretty well socialised already. However I think being alone with just me and Bryan and eachother for company has altered Caesar a little bit. At first he was a bit timid and hid when Sarah came into the living room. He then got closer and slept in the cat cave, which I moved to the centre of the room facing Sarah. The Cat Whisperer book had suggested putting cats either in their carrier or their favourite hidy place like our soft cave and putting it in the centre of the room. I think this helped as later on he was a bit more sociable, especially after they had been given their favourite treat of mashed sardines to keep them from eating our pizza.

Caesar even settled in with Lyra in the crook of Sarah's knee to give her a little bath. He's been bathing Lyra a lot more now. I guess it makes up for the fact that he pounds the life out of her for most of the day.

Of course after all that excitment they were tired and and curled up together in the cat cave.

And because I can't resist them when they are sleeping or snuggled up here are some more pics from last nights middle of the night photo raid. Please excuse the giant rip in the sofa material, they always pull the cover off that hides our hideous furniture.

Its not Tuesday but here are my toes anyway

I'm getting kitten love and a Meme

2008-01-30T14:18:00.000Z

I am home for two weeks so I get to spend loads of time with the kittens. They sleep a lot more then expected during the day. In the mornings now they are usually up and full of beans, running around and chasing eachother. Then late morning they settle down for a long nap, usually on me, and then midday get up and have a bit of play, pester me for my lunch and then settle down for the rest of the afternoon for a long nap until Bryan gets home.

Caesar is sleeping on me quite a bit now. Sometimes he solicites it when Lyra is settled under my chin he'll drop onto my lap from out of nowhere. Othertimes if he looks like he is settling down for a nap I'll pick him up and he'll generally plop down on me and start purring. I don't want to force him too much but he's been a bit anti-social with Bryan lately and I don't want him to end up spending his whole day alone.

He did his first boo-boo out of the box this morning. I think it was only a protest that the box wasn't as clean as he would like it so I change the litter right away and he seemed happy. We got these Cat San/litter liner kits. The litter comes in this kind of disposable cloth bag with some sort of absorbend material in the bottom. You lay it in the pan and it opens up so that the cloth part goes around the lip and the litter is already inside. They are quite good and with it you do not have to add any additional litter just keep scooping out the poop. The urine filters to the bottom part without messing up the litter too much. However, the litter at the bottom does decrade into a fine grey sand instead of large white chunks. We thought there was still plenty of the good litter at the top but I guess not. Anyway, it lasted much longer then using any other type of litter without having to keep adding more as you take it away and it also means we can go about 5 days before changing the whole thing, instead of having to dump and then clean the tray entirely every 2-3 days.

Lyra's meow is still really high pitched and ear peircing at times, she really knows how to cry out. Whereas Caesar's is usually nothing more then a squeak. However, this weekend when Bryan was giving them their de-wormer he had put Caesar in the hallway and closed the door so he could do Lyra first. Caesar cried his little heart out. I was really surpsied. Then Bryan switched and put him the living room with the door closed and he with Lyra in the hallway. I went into the livingroom to check on him and he was sat on the side table nearest the door making his silent meow plea.

He really doesn't like to be seperated from her at all.

I think they are teething which is why they like chewing on the box, but also I catch him chewing on all sorts of hard objects. Even really tiny ones. He doesn't try to swallow them thankfully but the really small stuff he could by accident so I always try and get it off of him. I've read drinking straws are helpful for kitty teething so I might throw some around the floor. At the moment I just try to distract Caesar with his mini mice which seems to work.

Bryan got some dental treats which Lyra likes but Caesar won't touch. I was able to use them to distract her when I gave them their first bath, well whipe down with the allergy whipes. At first she wriggled like anything but once I gave her the treats and started brushing her she sat pretty still. Caesar will tolerate the brush but he is not really impressed by it. Luckily they did not use their claws too much when I tried to wash them but they sure did wriggle quite a bit to get away.

Caesar often has dry snot in his nose. His nose is never runny and the mucus is white not any funky colour. His eyes are not runny either so I do not think he has a cold but he's always got a little white plug in one nostril and I gently pick it out for him. He does sneeze at least once a day so I wonder if he has some sort of allergy or maybe the house is too dusty for him.

We were tagged for the same Meme by Derby and Tybalt

In this meme you have to tell everykitty 3 things that are new with you! Link it back to the kitty who gave it to you and Tigmuthep and pass it on to 3 more kitties you'd like to know more about!

1-We had our first bath...yuk!
2-We had our first at home de-wormer, it was nice with the Sardines :<}
3-We've discovered the chairs under the dinning table make a nice hidy hole.

The Three Kitties we tag are...Samantha and Tigger Captain Jack and Dante and Parker

The pics...

They were being very quite this morning so I looked over the side of the couch to see where they were and this is what I found...too cute for words.

A short break from biting eachothers tails

One of their new favourite play spots. We had to move this chair to a lone corner of the living room because they were using it to climb onto the dinning table. Now they use it jump on the curtains, but they also just love to jump all over it and chase eachother on it.

Caesar often looks like he is sticking his tongue out at you, but he is just so lovely.

Asleep face to face. I think Lyra is the one on top. Sometimes they look like they are smothering one another in their sleep. I found Caesar hanging out of the cat cave the other night and looked inside to see only Lyra's two little back feet sticking out from under him. He was covering most of her body including her head. I don't know how they breathe like that!

This is just too adorable, Ceasar with his paws wrapped around Lyra as they sleep.

Too cute in the blanket with one of their favourite toys.

And of course the proud pappa with his little angel. She often plunks herself on our faces like that and goes to sleep. The other night she was sitting up on my chest with her nose pressed against my cheek and was completely asleep.

2 Weeks In

2008-01-26T16:10:00.000Z

Well we've had them for two weeks now. They are about 9 weeks old. We just got them pet insurance. Even though they will probably remain indoor cats and be leash trained, so they won't to out on their own, we still felt it was important because Cats can still do themselves an injury inside, especially when they are so young. They can also still develop all kinds of health problems as well so we wanted to make sure we would be able to take care of them no matter what.

Caesar now weighs 1.2kg and Lyra just around 850g. They grow so quickly and I am a bit photo happy about them at the moment. I just don't want to miss anything and want to make sure I document every moment so that we can look back on their development.

Its quite interesting also watching them find new things to entertain themselves. When we first brought them home we made several snuggly places for them to curl up in but they've completely ignored them for the most part until now.

Here is Lyra in a cat cave/bed Jo gave us, which they've ignored since we brought them home. They've only used it to climb on top of to get to something else but would never go inside. We moved it around the living room a bit but they never took interest in it so it ended up down the side of the couch and then last night I caught Lyra inside of it and then of course wherever Lyra goes Caesar follows and later Bryan found him curled up in it to.

Lyra is more explorative then Caesar to a certain degree, she definately has a head for heights and Bryan caught her on the dinning table one night. She had cleverly used a few objects as a mountain to gain a vantage point. We had move everything away from the table so she couldn't do it again. She also tries to scale the cabinets in the kitchen to get to the counters. Luckily she is still too small for that but eventually they will figure it out.

She always has such a wide eyed expression on her face and she is so sweet when she comes to sit on my chest under my chin. She really does enjoy affection.

Caesar is just too handsome for words, he will be a real heartbreaker, If they had cat shows for non-pedigree Tuxedo's I am sure he would win.

We decided we wouldn't buy them too many specially made toys and stuff, although we want to keep them entertained and their little brains engaged while we are out all day. We don't them to become bored and frustrated. So, we made a few home made toys and activity centers for them. Afterall Cats can't tell the difference between something bought and something made and will wreck whatever it is anyway.

This is just a plastic basket we had around the house. First we put a soft blanket in it thinking they would use it to sleep in but they haven't. Then we took the blanket out and they started jumpin in and out of it. Caesar has become so heavy that if he leans on the edge with his paws it topples over. He got caught underneath it last night and looked like a large blue turtle with no head.

We've put their balls and mice in the basket and the holes are just large enough for them to get their paws through. Lyra managed to get all the mice out through the openings. They also love to get in the basket and play with the toys and then other will try and grab them from the outside.

This is Bryan's best invention, the toilet roll on string. They never get bored with this.

Of course Caesar never gets bored of pouncing on his siter either

Sometimes he knaws on boxes, I hope he doesn't become a book eater (i had a cat that did that, all my books had little teeth punctures on the edges). I don't know if its agression or something to do with his teeth.

They also love a good game of peekaboo with eachother. When we first thought we would get a cat I looked at all kind of litter boxes. I really wanted one of those self cleaning electronic Litter Maid's they have in the US but we don't have those here in the UK. The Omega Paw rollnclean is as close as it gets. I got the "small" version and had read reviews online with people who have kittens who said that it was perfect for them, but when it came it was so huge I couldn't believe it. They were just too tiny for it. So even though we have it we are still using a regular kitten pan at the moment until they get a little bigger. Caesar is getting a bit too big for the pan now but I don't think Lyra will be able to get in and out of the rollnclean as the doorway is kind of high. I'll give it a couple of more weeks before I use it.

We got the mice they love from Ebay and they didn't even have to be prompted to play with them.

How many do you think there are Caesar?

Let Lyra have a go at counting them

Still not sure? Try counting them together.

Caesar has to make sure they are all still there.

And once again, just in case any went missing

Lyra got to play with at least one. I love the expression on her face here, almost like she's talking to the mousey and telling it to curl up with her. Of course later she bit its nose off.

Caesar's bolt hole is under the dinning table. There is a shelf there which was full of books and videos but they managed to pull them all down and now love to clamber over all the rubble. The living room floor is also covered with debris and bits of carpeting off their trees and envelopes and peices of paper they knock off the side tables. We decided we'll just tidy up at the weekends and vacuum really well but otherwise its pointless to continually clear up after them.

Their favourite activity is still chasing eachother and wrestling whenever possible. Sometimes it seems like Caesar is bullying Lyra but then I've seen her stalk and attack him just as much.

I do get worried when I hear her cry out but then I see them snuggled up together later and I know its alright.
They've discovered our floor to ceiling windows now and today they spent most of the day curled up together in the sun.

Caesar has also discovered that pulling my socks off the washing tree makes for a comfy bed. He doesn't cry anymore before he goes to the toilet so I think the person who said it may be from his toilet training when he would call for his Kitty mom to wash him was probably right. They've also been pretty adaptable as we have to change their little a couple of times. We couldn't find the brand of litter they were trained on and then I had bought some clumping litter previously which we tried but then Bryan read that if they ate it, it would hurt them so we had to get some other litter from Tesco. Now I've discovered Cat San and it works pretty well. Even though its more expensive we seem to be wasting less of it when we scoop out and it also means that we don't have to clean the pan as much. I was worried that with all the changes they would become disgruntled and start going where they shouldn't as sometimes cats do but they've been real little troopers and consitantly use the pan no matter what.

Finally, Bryan has a fetish for wrapping them in blankets at night. Here is Caesar all tucked in on top of one of the cat trees.

We also started their de-worming treatment. We were told they had to have it every two weeks as kittens. At first Caesar didn't want the food with the treatment in it but then he saw Lyra eating hers and went straight for it. He's so funny the way he'll do anything if she does it first.

I bought a brush to groom them with as well. Lyra love it when I use it on her but Caesar is not impressed. He doesn't hate it but if I use it on him he'll start to walk away. I think she sees it as affection and he just doesn't care for it. Perhaps some other type of brush will entice him.

Tomorrow they get the allergy whipes as our friend Jim is coming over and he's allergic. I hope they work for him.

We love mice

2008-01-25T12:55:00.000Z

So on Wed night, I got home to find Bryan trying to play with Caesar over the side of the couch. Lyra decided she wanted to be with him so climbed onto his back and basically he was stuck there. Its too cute.That's our wedding photo by the way, which they always nock over. In fact they have nocked all the other photos that were on that table onto the floor. They also like to decapitate Bryan's Dalek egg cup (its two peices in porcelain) which also sits on the table.

Finally they had a little rest. This must have been after they ate a bit. They now like to run around and play and then eat and then they will come and lie on me for a bit of sleep and a pet before getting up to do it all over again.

Someone said they wanted to kiss their noses...so here they are.

Then it was play time again (Caesar with mousies). Caesar has gotten very possessive of the mice. Whenever Lyra is playing with one he has to have a go too. I found somemore of the same mice on ebay and got two packs, that way they will each always have one to play with.

Then there is the new box fascination. They've been climbing all over this flattened packing box for days now. If its propped up against stomething they will climb it and if its laying on the floor they will chew it.

There is also a large empty box in the hallway which some kitty stuff came in yesterday. Lyra likes to jump all over it but Caesar freaked out when I put him on top of it. Perhaps too many memories of being trapped in a box on the long journey home?

And a parting shot from Lyra. Their expressions are quite strange sometimes, for instance here she looks almost forlorn but I know she is perfectly contented lying on Bryan's back. Her eyes often look a bit boggly as if they are too big for her head. She is still much smaller then Caesar. He is growing rapidly while she has only grown a little bit.

Their eyes are changing too. Hers are becoming golden and his are green. You can still see some of the blue tint around the edges though.

Thanks for the love

2008-01-23T09:55:00.000Z

First of all, thanks to all the kind kitties and their "beans" for posting lovely and helpful comments on the blog.

We have gotten Lyra to calm down a bit, first with a bit of mashed Sardines when we had our weekend fry up and then by adding food to their bowl around the time we eat. Sometimes they are very interested in our food and sometimes they barely take notice. I think it depends on what we eat. Chicken Pasta Pesto with Broccolli had very little interest and only mild curiousity from Caesar. Whereas Chicken and Mushroom Risotto was very snifferific.

Lyra doesn't cry quite so much during dinner anymore and although she will show interest in the food on try to get to it, she isn't climbing me or Bryan and scratching us a new hide.

Now it seems to take longer for them to realise that there is people food about once they've been munching on their own stuff.

She definitely let me know she was hungry last night when I got home as the bowl was pretty much empty. They are certainly eating more. I've been reading about feeding them a lot lately and I do want to switch them onto wet food eventually but I'm not sure what age would be a good time. At the moment it is advised to feed them quite frequently and as we are out all day we fill the bowl when its empty so they always have food. Supposedly at 3mos they can start eating a bit less but I think we'll still have to fill the bowl in the morning and then let it run down. Obviously, dry food is optimal for this sort of feeding as it won't dry out or congeal which I know puts kitties off. Plus having stale or rotting food lying around isn't very hygenic for them.

Caesar lay on me last night. Sometimes I worry that he is being anti-social with us. He plays with Lyra constantly but then doesn't demand attention from us like she does. He will come up to me in the morning and stand in front of me for a little pet, or when I come home. Last night he did the thing where he sits over me on the couch when she's on my chest and he'll let me pet him. First he lays down and sleeps and I pet him above me then slowly he'll inch his way forward until he's practically lying on my face. Then he'll suddenly wake up and decide that I would be more comfortable and finds the most inconvenient spot, usually right ontop of my arm so I can't move it. Then he'll sleep for a while and purr. If something disturbs him though he'll get up immediately and go away. Usually if he hears Bryan coming from the other room or thinks Bryan is getting food ready.

I feel like he is testing me before he thinks its ok to lie on me like she does.

They are quite funny and they teach other things. Lyra has learned the proper way to pounce on her mouse from watching Caesar. Bryan thinks he's teaching her to wrestle. He's learned to purr from her doing it constantly and also to meow when he wants attention. Unfortunately his meow is often silent or only a squeak so you miss it if you are not careful.

They love the tiny mice, the black one and the white one. I want to find some more like that as they often lose one or the other and then fight over the one that is left. They had a big furr mouse as well but they managed to pull the tail off and are never really that interested in it. I think the tiny ones are easier for them to subdue and threaten to eat. Amazingly they haven't pulled their tales off yet.

They also really adore the hanging mouse from the tree Bryan bought them and the bead filled furry ball inside the tree that I bought them. The two mice have rattles as well. I think they dig the sound.

Lyra played handball with me in the hallway. I discovered if I rolled the ball so it bounced off something she would then bat it back and try and keep it going.

One of the cats in the Tuxedo Gang Hideout, Adan, got a kitty kimono the other day and I really liked it. I would love to get some for Lyra and Caesar. Bryan doesn't like the idea of dressing them up, but I think every once in a while it will be real fun. Especially as I've decided that Thanksgiving is their birthday and they will dress as little indians :) come on how cute will that be???

The First Night

2008-01-22T10:38:00.001Z

Some pics from the very first night they came home with us to Dave & Jo's on 13 January 2008

Kitten Love on Becky's lap

Lyra's favourite place

Lyra and Amy the dog

Caesar floppy sleeping

Caesar curled up asleep after the big adventure of new people.

The Great Hallway Mousecapade (with a break for dinner)

2008-01-21T22:04:00.000Z

This is just a picture update really. Bryan had taken some pics of them playing in the hallway last night and I took some more of them playing with their favourite tiny mice and of course Bryan and Lyra.

Lyra and a ball

Caesar thinks the welcome mat is better then a scratching post

psst! you distract him with your cuteness and I'll bite his toes when he's not looking.

Peekaboo!

submit human!

Where's my dinner?

See how much bigger he is?

Mouse-a-holics

Mouse envy

I love my mouse

I'm going to eat you!

The First Weekend

2008-01-20T20:46:00.000Z

First of all weight...

Caesar is now about 1kg and Lyra is 700g. He has grown significantly and you can really see it when they are sat next to eachother (especially from behind) he is so much bigger then her now. I'm a little worried that she hasn't put on as much weight but I'll give it a couple of weeks to see how it progresses. I think she is getting enough to eat and she certainly goes and gets food whenever she wants to.

We decided to let them explore the house in stages. So for the first week they were confined to the living room and kitchen. Today we allowed them into the hall. Actually Lyra has been making runs for the hallway all week. When we come into the livingroom she is through the door like a shot before we have a chance to close it.

We left the door open and there didn't seem to be any interest. We put them at the entrance and then walked into the hall and tried to tempt them out with some of their toys but it took a while for either of them to show any interest. I guess now they are allowed they don't care.

We took some pictures of the first encounters....

Caesar in the hallway

Lyra in the hallway

Lyra has calmed down quite a bit. She's stopped kneading furiously and now just comes to lay down on me or Bryan quitely without too much fuss and purrs at regular intervals. Its really nice.

On Friday night Caesar did cuddle up on me with Lyra a few times but the past two days he hasn't really be interested in sleeping on me, although he did a little on Bryan. He doesn't seem to mind if we go over and pet him whereever he is though and he has learned to purr. At first it was really low and barely audible but now it can get quite loud and he even made the chirrup sound today.

Bryan tries to keep him engaged with loads of play as he seems to be going into the double tree we got them quite a bit to sleep on his own or lays on top of it unlike Lyra who always wants to be on me or on the couch I generally sit on.

They still play with eachother quite a bit and of course playfight, they also enjoy cuddling up together. If Caesar is asleep on top of the tree and I take lyra from under my kneck and put her next to him they will curl up together quite happily.

And we even catch them doing it of their own accord, for instance in the tiny space between the couch and the radiator where its a little bit like a cave and very warm.

We probably seem a bit sad spending the whole weekend doing nothing but watching them and playing with them and cuddling them but I felt since they had only been here a week and they are so young we really want them to bond with us. Plus they are just too adorable to take your eyes off really and actually make far better entertainment then anything else we could think of.

Bryan, who insisted we were not to spoil or pamper them too much and told me specifically not to buy them too many toys or special accessories etc. decided on his own and in secret that even though I had bought them the two tiered tree with a scratching post attached that Lyra needed one of her very own. So he bought one on ebay (see the top picture on the right). Its different in that its just basically a seat ontop of scratching post. Of course being cats they don't really understand the concept of mine and yours and whatever they see is for their use.

I just thought it was a bit cute though as he pretends to be tough but really he is a big softy inside and loves them just as much as I do.

Continued

2008-01-18T10:50:00.001Z

Last night when I got home they had eaten all their food for the first time. I had been filling the bowl every morning but generally only half would be eaten in the evening and there would still be a good portion left in the morning.

They were completely different then they had been the previous night. Possibly due to husband getting home on time last night before me and he played with them quite a bit. He had bought some string and tied it to empty toilet rolls and they loved it.

They are also playing in the cat tree of their own accord now. I think they just need to be shown something a time or too and then they get the hang of it. They are also using the scratching post which is a very good sign because I do not want them to learn to do it on the furniture. Caesar does it a bit on the carpet when he is stretching.

Lyra went mental again when we ate dinner. This and the eating all their food possibly means they are adjusting to eating solid food finally and now craving proper meat (we had pork chops) I read a very interesting web site all about Cat nutrition and it advocated tyring to feed them 90% meat in their diet. This does make sense as they are naturally carnivores and they do not have the proper digestive systems for vegetable material (there is actually quite a bit in dry cat food, I didn't realise) and most dry foods are largely grain/carbohydrates which is not natural for them either.

I do know from experience that cats can develope problems with their kidneys and urinary tracts from only eating dry food. We are discussing how to progress their diet as they get older so they get the protein they require.

However, I'm not sure what to do about the crying and the nearly violent behavior at meal time. Lyra cries her head off and tries to clamber all over us and even jumped in my plate several time and tried to carry off one of my pork chops.

Caesar was pestering as well but he doesn't really make any noise and you can push him away from the plate better then you can with her. We ended up locking in her the kitchen with her howling, so we could eat our dinner in peace.

I didn't like doing it as its not her fault, its only instinct but we've got to figure out a way for us to eat that won't make her go mental and we don't have to punish her.

The First Week

2008-01-16T11:01:00.000Z

After being brought home on a very bumpy and exhausting journey from Bedforshire to Kent, the kittens were still playful and a bit friendly although Caesar had a bit of strop with me because I kept him the dreaded box all that time and ignored his cries to be freed.

I noticed right away that he had a strange toilet habbit which I still can't figure out in that he will cry a bit when he is digging. I am not sure if it is that he wants you to watch him go and praise him or that he's just annoucing that he's in the toilet and should be left alone. Some cats do not like to be watched when going to the loo but at the moment they do not seem to mind. He does like to dig though.

Lyra continued to be as affectionate as she had been at Dave and Jo's and the first night curled up under my chin. However, the next night she started kneading furiously and attempted to suckle my neck. The very next day I read in my Cat Whisperer book that this is not uncommom but should be discouraged immediately. So I've been pushing her gently away and saying no and blocking her access to my neck but is really persistant and will not give up. Last night though she would jump off me and run to the food bowl when she wasn't successful. She did this several times.

Caesar started the suckling thing too on Tuesday he had a small go at it and wed he tried it a bit more but he is easier to make stop and he'll give up pretty easily. I am not sure if he is having the same biological drive that Lyra has or he is just copying her.

They seem a bit fixated with eachother at the moment i.e. they watch eachother intently if one is sitting and the other is playing or eating. Caesar pounces on Lyra constantly but she does fend him off and yells at him frequently.

At the moment her cries can be quite loud and peircing. She went into a frenzy when I had a burger and fries last night and tried to climb me many times whilst I was eating. She really dug her claws in too. I kept putting her on the floor but she would not desist. Caesar tried it to but he was easier to push away and was not quite so frenzied and violent about it. Again I think sometimes he just goes along with whatever she is doing and isn't really sure what he's meant to do so gives up much easier.

Lyra is really fixating on me I think so I am trying to refuse her cries a little bit so she doesn't become so dependant on me that she doesn't enjoy her own kitty existence.

last night was really strange though because they were both hovering around me, she trying to suckle endlessly and he sitting over me on the couch watching from above, which was a little creepy.

I tried to get them interested in the cat tree and some of the furry mice we were given. They never seem interested in very much when we are around, just us. Although Caesar does kind of wander around on his own a bit more, chases his tail and chews the telephone wires but Lyra stays on the couch with me or Bryan most of the time.

I managed to get them each to play in the tree a little with the hanging ball and the mice. I probably just need to get them playing more when we are around and tucker them out so they don't get manic about affection.

I think Caesar is ok really and its Lyra's behavior that eggs him on more then anything, otherwise he wouldn't try to suckle either.