I haven't blogged for weeks and this is why /// Part 3 of 3 - Kittens!

Well, at this point (writing the final part of the 'Why I haven't blogged...' series) I actually have blogged during the past few weeks, obviously - so this refers to the latter part of July through to mid-August. The final reason for my lack of blog-updating during this period was a very happy one indeed: two little bundles of fluff came into my life.

Their names are Issey and Ruby, and when they came to live with us on Saturday 23rd July they were just 8 weeks old - very tiny, and very cute. Initially we were told that Issey was a boy and so I named him Isaac. For two weeks we lived with what we thought was a little boy, but when the kittens went to see the vet for their first check-up, she examined Isaac and had some news for us: he was in fact a she! So she was renamed Issey, which is kind of a unisex name just in case the vet was wrong.

Issey when she was Isaac.

It was really hard to adjust to calling him a her, and I was so used to saying "my little boy", but finally it's feeling a little more normal now. As anyone with young kittens will tell you, they take up a LOT of your time and energy - especially if you have two because they can excite each other into a frenzy when they're playing, and if one is investigating something new, the other has to follow just in case they miss out on something.

Ruby and Issey are of course sisters from the same litter. Apparently there was a third kitten but it died soon after birth. :(

Issey and Ruby's mother was a very beautiful black and white cat called Roxy. She was so placid when we went to see her, and the kittens were sitting with her, cuddled up next to her. We actually felt guilty taking them away from their mother, but we were happy to be able to keep them together and give both of them a home.

Ruby is the more adventurous of the two, I guess you could call her a daredevil. But she's also very maternal and caring, and she likes to clean Issey. She'll often use her two front paws to hold Issey's head while she licks her to within an inch of her life!

Ruby also has an almost perfectly symmetrical 'mask', which makes her look a bit like Batman.

Issey has more white on her in general, plus one partially white ear and a little goatee beard. She also has three black dots in a triangle on her nose, which I call her little constellation.

I took this photo of Ruby sleeping on the landing this week. It shows off her 'mask' perfectly! The kittens are now 12.5 weeks old.

Recently they've been allowed out into the garden, but only when we're there to supervise them. I love this photo of Issey taking in all of the new smells.

So there you have it! Kittens take up a lot of your time and energy (and boy, can they wreck furniture when they feel like it) but we feel so lucky to have these lovely little creatures in our lives, especially after the death of our beloved 18 year old cat Barney at the end of March. Issey and Ruby are both extremely loving and will happily fall asleep on our laps, chests, or even shoulders. They also 'talk' quite a lot - Issey tends to be the more vocal of the two - and they now come running to greet us with their tails up if they haven't seen us for a while. I'm looking forward to sharing more photographs with you as they grow up.

Natasha x

Comments

[Ersi Marina]

I'm looking forward to more photographs too! It seems having five cats at home is not quite enough :) Your kittens are gorgeous -and I'm sure they know it!

[nicky]

You haven't blogged because ... you've had kittens lol!

[Zoe {Conversation Pieces}]

So cute! I can see why they're a distraction! :)

[Becca]

This post is such a light relief after the previous two 'I haven't blogged...'posts! So glad this reason's a cute & fun one! Sorry to hear about your horrible troll man - no matter how much you tell yourself that you can't be everyone's cup of tea, it still hurts when someone tells you they hate your work, and to have someone persistantly attack you like that must be awful. The few nasty comments I've had always left me feeling weirdly shaky, so I can't even imagine how you must have felt under that barrage. I hope he gets bored of you soon! Also, best wishes to both you and Leon, I hope he gets rid of his cancer. x

[Natasha]

Thanks Ersi, Nicky, and Zoe! They are a huge distraction, but a nice one. :)

Thanks Becca, I appreciate your comment and kind words. Actually, now I think about it, not once did he say he hated my work - it was mainly a barrage of insults about me and my career, and assumptions about my life, rather than disliking the work. Anyway, I haven't heard anything else from him and even if I did, somehow it wouldn't hurt me now. While I was writing the blog post it made me realise just how ridiculous he is! xx

[Erika]

They are sooo cute, Natasha. You're right, they sure can tear up stuff - just last night Chester tore up my son's science project. They grow up fast too - Chester is already 4 months old!
I know you're enjoying your kittens. It's so much fun watching kittens play together.
I love the profile shot of Issey taking in the smells.
Glad the bully is leaving you alone!

[Su]

They are so adorable. When mine were little they used to race around the house and then suddnely flop and fall asleep exhausted! Mine are now 6, and one still like to try and climb curtains, but now it has even more disasterous results!

[Fiona]

They are just beautiful. Will we be seeing cats appearing in your art now?

[Hazel]

They are adorable! The fact that they take up time and energy doesn't lessen as they get older. I have two cats, a brother and sister, they're nearly four years old now. They still chase around the house and make a mess, and they bring us 'gifts' of recently departed small animals... but I wouldn't be without them. They really make our house a home (and I can't even get mad at them when they wake me up at 4am).
I love Ruby's mask.... superhero kitten! :O)