Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tabby Tuesday...

Mama Coco is a Brown Patched Tabby, Cheddar looks stripey, but he is really genetically a Red and his stripes are 'ghost markings' and will fade some as he gets older, and Colby is a Red Mackerel Tabby. Did you know the word Tabby comes from Tabriz, a city in Iran where striped rugs were made.


Coco's doing great, and chubby Colby is gaining the proper 10-15 grams a day and now weighs 161 grams, he has doubled his birth weight--right on target.

But tiny Cheddar has been causing Teri to fret and worry. He has only gaining 1-3 grams a day and while he is eager and nurses readily, he may just not have the muscles and strength to stay attached to a nipple if Mama Coco moves or Colby burrows close.

All weekend, Teri watched him closely and he nurses well and she even woke him up to nurse and often has seen him nurse for almost 30 minutes. Finally today, he gained 10 grams in 24 hours. But he was 61 grams at birth, so should be almost 120 grams by now and he's just 81 grams!

She took 'The 3 C's' in to work with her today for check ups. She has never had to tube feed a kitten in all the years she has been breeding Cornish Rex, or even supplement them with milk replacer. Coco checked out fine, with normal milk production etc.

She hoped nothing is wrong with little Cheddar internally and our vet gave both kittens a thorough going over. Both checked out fine, no heart murmurs or problems with their mouths, nothing abnormal with their abdominal palpations. Teri relaxed a bit!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and Teri is glad she has us to love. We had fun looking at all our furriends blogs and seeing their Valentine cards and photos! And tomorrow is Teri's 59th birthday. She keeps thinking that when her grandparents were 60, she was 20. She said she would feel a lot younger if she lost 20# and had an eyelift, hahameow (well, the weight loss IS possible!). Here's a photo of Teri and Mike when they visited Cornwall England in 2000...



And 6 days after her birthday is the 4th anniversary of our daddy Mike's passing...this is kind of a hard time for Teri, but also hopeful, when she thinks of how we have helped her through those sad times, as well as the friends she has made here on the CB, and with the help of a therapist that understands what we cats mean to her. Grief does come in waves, but manages not to knock her down but 'The Day of the Heart' is a tough one for her to not be melancholy about...


Those of you who have been following us for a while know of the 'basement' that it used to be where Teri and Mike and us cats hung out a lot...then there was the flood caused by Mike's kitty turning on the faucet in the upstairs bathroom...and then somehow the basement became a catchall for everything to keep the rest of the house 'neat'.





It never ceases to amaze Teri how fast a weekend goes by! She has all these plans to get lots done, and well, she does get in some naptime with us but somehow it gets to be about 4pm Sunday afternoon and she disappears down to the basement to try and get a little clean up done so she can report in to her therapist on Tuesday that she's made a little bit of headway, at least...




Here's what it looks like now...not someplace we can play in yet! But soon! In fact, she has committed to working on getting the basement back in order before we have guests come to visit at the end of March, for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Today, her therapist said that means 3 hours each week...that's do-able!


Our guests? Why, the CB knows her as 'That Woman', Ms Stella O'Houligan's Momma Stacy, who makes those pretty CatNip Quilts and CatNip Birdies!

We are furry excited to meet her and her daughter and well, they are beside themselves with thoughts of meeting the oh-so-handsome Disco and seeing Coco's kittens, too. They are coming out for a week for the Cherry Blossom Festival and we will get together with Pierro and Miles' mom and Carol from Coffee, Cats & Yarn! We will have a real FunFest!

16 comments:

  1. How exciting to meet some bloggers! We think your Mom will have more incentive to work in YOUR basement with fun company on the way.
    We're purring for Coco and the kittens to continue to thrive and become big and strong.

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  2. OH that does sound fun. I hope that everything ends up okay for both kits. What a worry!

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  3. The kittens look great and so does mama... I love that photo of the cat grooming Mike's hair.. My Kalei does that to me too... As far as grief, tell Teri, I'm in that same boat too.. Its been almost 10 yrs. for me and somehow this month has hit me and no, its not because of V Day...

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  4. Go Little Cheddar! You've gotta put on that weight!

    It is so sad to miss people one loves so much...

    Teri, we got the scales and the lovely toys. Thanks! An envelope is on its way to you with the postage funds. We hope it gets there quickly!

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  5. So we need to organise for visitors to get mum to tidy our house? We'll have to follow that up. Coco looks like a very chilled out mum. We're purring for your skinny mini to continue with his weight gain. Happy Birthday to Teri :)

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  6. Happy Birthday to your mom! We will purr hard for Coco's babies.

    We love seeing pictures of your mom and dad so happy together.

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  7. We are purring for Cheddar (love those names by the way).

    Happy Birthday in advance Teri. Mom hasn't lost anyone like your Mike, but her heart breaks a little for you and we are sending you purrs and kitty kisses.

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  8. Me and Charlie are purring very hard for litte Cheddar!! What a sweetheart!! We hope he finds the strength to keep on nursing healthily and gain weight!! Hugs to mum Coco and gorgeoud Colby!!

    Thank you for sharing a little about mum. We are so sad to hear about Mike - so this is a lovely remembrance of him, thank you!

    We wish your mum a great birthday and are most impressed as to how the basement is turning out - it's looking lovely!! Yay! take care
    x

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  9. i hope that all will continue to be well for Chedder and that he will gain the weight and strength that he needs!

    lots of *hugs* to you during this hard time, Teri, and happy belated birthday!

    goodluck with your cleaning! :)

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  10. It is exciting to meet other bloggers so you can have a fun time together.We hope everything goes well for Coco and her kits.

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  11. Happy birthday headbutts to you, Teri! I hope you are going to do nice things for yourself over the next few days, because it sounds like this time of year is always a little sad for you. But it also sounds like you have some fun coming up soon!

    Paws crossed that Cheddar gets up to speed! It sounds like he is finally turning a corner.

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  12. oh dear; I arrived home to find all the lights off but there was an eerie glow from across the room. When I crept up on it I realized it was Ms. Stella; she was sitting in front of the computer screen; eyes all watery; staring and not blinking at all. There was tiny drops of drool on her fuzzy lips & a small puddle had formed between her wee front paws. I waived my hand in front of her face; she simply stared as if gazing in the middle distance. I looked at the screen and saw her beloved; all bellie up with his birdie she had crafted for him nad scented for him special. She just made a soft mewling noise when I turned the monitor off and told her she did need to eat and bathe. She is resting now; waiting for her turn to gaze upon the visage of her beloved once more.

    ahhhh
    true love

    xoxo
    That Woman

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  13. I love that first photo of the Mummy and her babies! So, so sweet! Hope they continue to do well and thrive. Have a lovely weekend and PS - glad you liked the Mr. W commercial! :0)

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  14. The basement is really making headway. Do you have to sumbit weekly photos to your therapist? or does she take you at your word??

    Mom should not have a therapist, she would make up things hahahaha

    We are excited about Stacy and her girlbean's visit, and mom is very excited to see Mommiecurlie coco too

    bonkers

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  15. Teri, (sorry I spelled it wrong last comment)
    I do think of you and Mike. Thanks for helping me with Wendell. It meant a lot.
    Hugs.

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