Ki-Ki is back

Saturday morning and we are feeding round. Ki-Ki was put in with Secrets in reception so that she will settle down better. Secrets makes a wonderful mother. Ki-Ki is very shy and we can't find her as she is so frightened, we can hear a little squeak now and then so we know she is there.

Sunday morning feeding round and we catch a glimpse of Ki-Ki without searching for her. She is still very frightened and confused, but she seems to be OK with secrets so we are pleased we made the decision to put them together.

Monday morning feeding round and Ki-Ki has eaten, so worry over as far as feeding is concerned. We know that its Ki-Ki that's eaten as secrets doesn't like that meat we put down for Ki-Ki. Ki-Ki isn't confident and so we are looking for a home with lots of patience to take her for a family pet. She is a real softie and shows no aggression at all, so she will eventually bond with a family once she learns to trust them.
Jacky
www.pureblissbengals.co.uk

Friday 26 Sept

6am - early start today.
7am - Drive Tim to Railway Station to catch train to Glasgow. He is picking up a Bengal kitten we sold as a pet a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, due to no fault of the kitten they can't keep her any longer. Its very sad when people have to give up their loved pets, but we are pleased when we are able to help in the rehoming of them. She will come and live with us at Purebliss until we can find her a new pet home.
1.30pm - a phone call from Tim tells me that he is on his way home with the gorgeous female Bengal Kitten. Although she was a little confused at first she is getting used to being in her carrier with all the strangers around her.

Meanwhile Katey is being marvelous managing to clean all the pens and litters herself, whilst I've fed and watered everywhere. I'm an hour behind with the lunchtime feeds, but they are all shouting loud so that i don't forget any of them HA HA!

Izzy's kittens seem to be shouting loudest and I'm not the one feeding them. I've had a word with Izzy to tell her to hook her kittens on and feed them a little sooner. She is now cuddled up with all 6 of them purring madly.

Jacky
www.pureblissbengals.co.uk

visit to breeder

am - ran round making sure all the kittens and mums were OK before setting off to see Sara.
11am - finally managed to start on the road to Norfolk. I've been promising to visit Sara for so long now, it really is time I made the effort.
What a wonderful place to live! Looking out onto that gorgeous green with the ducks and their pond.
Walked in to be greeted by not only cats and kittens but a wonderful cuddly teddy bear that I'm told is a young puppy. then to be introduced to the adult dogs was a real pleasure - what huge gentle giants.
Sara had made us all a much appreciated lunch, many thanks Sara!
Then the best bit, to look around all her cats - Selkirks and Bengals - gorgeous!
Time just flew by. Many thanks to Sara and family for a wonderful day.
Jacky
www.pureblissbengals.co.uk

puncture

After feeding and watering the kittens and mums this morning I decided to go to the cash and carry.
Katey (daughter) came along with me to help with the carrying. thank goodness she did!
we were half way there and we had a puncture. I don't have the strength to loosen those wheel nuts. But Katey jacked up the car, loosened the nuts, changed the front tyre and we were back on the road in less than 15 mins. What would i do without her, she is wonderful and I'm very grateful to her for being her.
We purchased everything we needed from cash and carry, then bacon butties all round from the burger van to take home.
pm - time for a play with Devil, our new snow girl from Kelly and Sara of Kelsar Bengals.
Jacky
www.pureblissbengals.co.uk

Izzy's kittens are well

21 Sept
my apologies for not signing onto my blog yesterday with updates of Izzy and her kittens for you wonderful people that have sent your good wishes for them.
Izzy and her 6 gorgeous blue eyed snow Bengal babies are doing well. Izzy loves her Bengal babies and is now inseparable from them. They are all feeding well and growing by the day.
we have both spotted and marbled Bengal kittens and they complain loudly if Izzy doesn't feed them enough, so she makes sure she does. We are still topping them up 3 times a day with an appropriate mothers replacement milk, although the two largest babies aren't that interested in it now, so today we will only give two top up feeds, and see how they go.
Jacky
www.pureblissbengals.co.uk
www.pureblisssavannahs.co.uk

Izzy and her kittens

19 Sept
we left Izzy with her kittens last night as we thought she was settled with them. How wrong we were. When we awoke at 6am the first thing i did was to check Izzy and her kittens. they were all cold and one was on its own at the other side of the birthing box - he was more than cold, he was dead. How very sad.
We immediately set about confining Izzy and her Bengal babies. They are now all safe in a pen in our dinning room where she will learn to bond with her babies. We will check on them every hour and rub her scent over them to make sure she bonds with them before tonight.

The day when our first cats go for the HCM screening is drawing near. The sooner the better, unfortunately there is a lot of unpleasantness about HCM and Bengal cats.
All breeders should work together for the care of the cats. its the cats we all care about and its the cats that should come first.
We need to educate the public and other breeders about HCM. I knew nothing about HCM until this year when the gossip started about a breeder i had know for years. I attended a seminar this year which included HCM, and there is lots of information regarding HCM in cats to read. Try the FAB site as a start.
Being a breeder is more than producing kittens, its about producing kittens that are as healthy as possible. With selective breeding we can eradicate hereditary HCM. But unless we all work together and with open results we cannot eradicate deceases in our breed.

midwife

18 Sept
1.45am - Contractions are becoming stronger with Izzy so we pull out a clean quilt for her onto our bed so that she can stay with us if she wishes to.
2am - first two kittens come out very quickly but no placenta. Izzy had no intention of feeding or cleaning her kittens. So when Tim goes to put the kettle on, as it looks like it will take all night if the placenta is staying inside, he also makes up some feed for the kittens.
3.15 - another kitten, but still no placenta but lots of liquid.
4am and its time to pull out another clean quilt for Izzy as she decides to move from our bed into her birthing box, so i need a quilt to lay on next to her. Time for another cuppa i think! Izzy has decided that she doesn't want her kittens so we need to feed them. Whilst Tim is downstairs making the tea he makes up some mothers replacement milk for the kittens. They greedily suck the milk from the syringe.
6am - finally after lots of massaging we get the placenta from 3 kittens, followed shortly by another kitten and its placenta.
6.50am - another snow spotted girl followed quickly by another snow spotted little boy. These two are very small but with lots of rubbing they are doing well and breathing normally.
7.15am - Tim brings up breakfast, and as we enjoy our toast and marmalade, Izzy enjoys her cooked chicken. The kittens enjoy their milk, greedily sucking from the syringe.
Izzy seems to settle well after this although she still has a kitten inside, so i take the opportunity to have a couple of hours sleep.
It must have been about 9.30ish when Izzy wakes me up with a cold kitten hanging out still attached to the placenta. i don't have time to look at the clock, all my attention is on getting that kitten warm and breathing.
Warm towel, hot water bottle and lots of rubbing brings the kitten round. there doesn't seem to be any congestion so we keep rubbing the kitten on top of a hot water bottle covered with a clean towel.
The kitten is breathing OK and Izzy accepts all her kittens. They are all cuddled up and contented.
I lay massaging Izzy and out comes another placenta. Its as if she doesn't care if its there or not, so i take it away. I get some warm water and a soft towel and clean Izzy up, she seems to really enjoy the warm water gently washing her down.
what a lovely sound - Izzy purring away as her kittens suck on her teats.
Happiness.
Jacky
http://www.pureblissbengals.co.uk/