Saturday 25th February
My darling Galadriel, has come so far in the last 3 weeks. From still being a 'little girl', who worshipped her mum and her new young 'family', to being a lovely mother herself.

Her babies, are moving around a little bit in the box now, and when G sees them moving around, I can see that look of 'panic' that Lil has, when her babies first start to move around. she stands there, in the middle of them, and grumbles. I am sure she is telling them to be still and go back to sleep!! Poor love, she is going to need that reassurance that Lil always has needed when they really start to run around!! 3 weeks old tomorrow!! It has been a long 3 weeks, I have to admit. I have had to work really hard to make sure G stays with them, to feed them properly, especially in the first week. I was so totally grateful to Jane for being here those first 3 days, I don't think she will appreciate how much of a difference that made. Just having that moral support to keep the little ones latched on, and just having an extra body to keep an eye when all 11 of them were in the box together. Not to mention the fact that I had 2 children off sick with flu!!!! I shall remember this litter I think!! So it is with great pride and happiness that I look at them now, growing up.

I am in love with the little boy. I love the way he comes wobbling towards me, squeaking his little head off, when I sit in the box, he is soooo incredibly cute.

Their weights last night were: 320g, 326g, 336g, 340g and romping in the lead is the large girl at a staggering 386g! So they are doing alright at the moment.

I will now go 'into battle' with my pc and endeavour to attach the photos for today!!!

Friday 24th February
My little girl is asleep with her babies now. She has been a little unsettled this morning, being a bit of a fidget. But after a little run out with the others, she has settled down now, nicely.

The little boy in this litter has won my heart. He comes staggering to me, talking away, when I go to into the box, ahhh, and I am getting some cuddles. They ARE growing up now. The largest girl, still squeals heaps when I pick her up, so she is getting lots more 'pick ups' to get her used to it. I just love it, when you hold them securely, so the are facing you, they are not quite so cuddled then, and their little ( or not so little) mouths open, and they YELL!!! It does make me laugh to see their little mouths opening and such a loud noise coming out. I hold them like this, just to keep a check on their eyes each day. I do love their little faces.

I will leave them all asleep and share the photos that I took last night with you.

Thursday 23rd February
She is tucked up in the box with her babies as I type, which is the best place to be, while the snow is falling outside. It is real hibernation time at the moment!!

It is nice to see the little ones responding to my voice now. When I come in and talk to them, their little heads look up, and the little boy especially, they start to move towards me, squeaking like crazy. I am sure this lot are a lot louder than Lily's litter were. The largest girl......phew she is LOUD!!!!! and VERY strong!! She is growing quite a lot bigger than the others now.

I am still a little way off being able to say their colours yet, I am hoping that by next week, I will have a little more idea. The one thing I am sure of is a few little chocolate noses.
I am very fond of these little ones, and I feel very protective towards them. And I am very proud of Galadriel for being so good now. She gives me such lovely hugs and purrs in the morning. We have bonded much closer throughout all this. Before she was very much Richard's little girl, but because we have spent so much time together in this room, it has brought up closer together, which is really nice.

Wednesday 22nd February
As I have just mentioned in Lily's diary, I have been feeling poorly again, so I am writing short pieces today, so that I can lay down again. How I hate this time of year, even my 2 children look low when they go to school. Tim, my youngest, told me how lucky I was this morning, because I could go home and he couldn't. I had to agree with him. He is such a help when he is here, that I miss him when he is at school. He took the photos of the growing sausages last night for me.

They are becoming bolder now. I have flattened their bed out, so that they can move around more freely, it was a bit 'hilly' for them before!!! G likes to go and play for half an hour when she hears the others awake, and when they are all running around, I keep them out of this room, it was proving impossible to keep guard all of the time, and I did not want the wee ones to get squashed. But I am so pleased to see, that after G has eaten, watched the bigger ones for a while, she stands by the door and asks to come back in with her babies. She jumps into the box, and is greeted with lots of loud squealing, it is very sweet. They really do have loud voices!!!

Tuesday 21st February
The little ones are slowly growing, and slowly looking more like little cats, and not those little pink sausages!! They are becoming more vocal when they are awake. If G is having one of her jaunts with the bigger kittens, they will wander around the box, calling for her. They approach me now to come and say hello ( if they are awake that is!). Their little faces are really sweet, and I love the shape of their ears. There is definitely one of them which is lighter in colouring, so there will probably be a lilac/caramel baby from this litter also.

My diaries are a little short today as I am expecting Tesco's to arrive with my shopping any time now, and I slept for too long after the school run!!!!!

Monday 20th February
Galadriel has spent all morning in with her kittens. As they get bigger, she seems to be relating to them more and more. I am looking forward to when they can run around in the hallway with the others, then the fun will really begin! It is nice that she is now settled, because I get to sleep without being disturbed now, ad things are much more relaxed. We are into our 3rd week now, which is amazing. Not too long before I can start to teach them to lap other milky foods, and then the joys of litter training. I have to confess that I dislike that part!!

I am making a point of picking them up more and more, and their squeals are getting less. I try to sit in with them, and stroke them, while in the safety of their little box. At least G does not try to move them, so much easier when I am not always wondering where I will find them. Although Lil did try to 'make off' with one last night, right under our noses!!! Little monkey.

Sunday 19th February
Ahhh, my little G, she is keeping me awake and very tired, I have to keep checking what I have written this morning, to check for typing errors. I think you can determine my levels of tiredness, depending on my typing/spelling errors, or sometimes bizarre sentence structure! I read over yesterdays last night, and cringed, as the old teacher in me was thinking, Oh....that sounded so bad, worded like that!!!

Now G. I must have spent, most of yesterday evening sitting in the box , making sure that Lil's kittens were a/ not squashing the sausages, b/ not stealing G's milk c/ keeping G IN the box so that they got fed properly d/ keeping an eye on Lil, who seemed to have 'ants in her pants' as my nan used to say, and kept disturbing everyone!!! I sat through winter Olympics, skating on ice, Rosemary and Thyme, .......my poor legs were so stiff! But I just wanted to keep everyone happy and settled. I want my babies to grow up, having been surrounded by as much love and contact as possible. Tomorrow the children are back to school, groan. That means getting up early and doing the school runs etc. I shall shut G in this room on her own with her babies while I go, and let Lil have the hall and landing and upstairs bathroom. My only concern is that if she tries hard enough, Lil can open this door.........hopefully she does not do that, otherwise she will have to go into the bathroom again while I am our, so fingers crossed.

The not so little sausages, are more active, they have reached that stage where you notice changes daily ( G has just leapt out of the box, she has been in it for 20 mins, so will be going in search of Lil and her babies, cue me to pick up the large girl, who can shout mega loud, and I will let you know how quick she comes back..........bless her, I went and put my head round the door, she was stood just outside the box where Lil is, she looked at me, and came running, purring, we had a cuddle, and then I picked one of her babies up, it squealed very quietly, and I cuddled it to her, so she has lain back down with them again.)

They are 2 weeks old today, it has been a long 2 weeks, just making sure G feeds them, and constantly being aware that they are safe. With Lil's litter, I was able to leave them to sleep and feed at this age, but it has not been that easy with these, as their mum is in conflict between wanting to be with them, and her mum and older babies. still, we are getting there!!

I am becoming quite attached to these little sausages, some of them have the sweetest faces. I am so hoping that the larger girl, may be a Choc Tabby. She has a definite Chocolate nose, and I can definitely see the formation of stripes in her tail. I think she would give Lily a run for her money on the being vocal and noisy in the house ......offerings of ear muffs gratefully accepted!

One of the other girls is definitely paler, so I may well have a lilac girl, lilac or caramel, but I am sure she is not chocolate.

I managed a few photographs last night, as I am taking them at the moment, I hope they are up to Timothy's standard!!!

Saturday 18th February
Well, my little girl seems to be feeding her babies good milk, because despite the fact that she spends most of the morning away from them ( currently playing tag with her mother), they have put on good weights in the past 24 hours. It is good to see G and L playing together again like this, Lil has just run in with her tail all fluffed up!!!!! It is good to see them both looking healthy and full of life. I will get her to settle with the babies soon. It is very easy to get her back in, to settle with them, even if for a short while. I gently pick one of her babies up, it obliges me by YELLING very loudly, and G comes flying into the room, in a flash and blur of white fur.

Looking at the kittens, definitely 4 girls, and 1 boy. Most of them have Chocolate noses, although I am wondering if one of them is looking more caramel/lilac. It seems paler than the other, with a paler tail. I am crossing my fingers, that the biggest ( and noisiest) one is a Choc Tabby, if she is, then she will definitely stay here.
They are definitely much more alert to their surroundings, when I look into the box, I can see lots of eyes looking at me, sweet little eyes.

Their weights this morning were: 260g, 264g, 268g, 282g, 316g

They are all asleep at the moment, and I will leave them that was until I have sorted out photos, and then I will get them to 'call for their mother' to come and feed them.

Friday 17th February
Galadriel was very good last night, she is very accepting now, that bedtime means in here, with me and her kittens, and Lil and her kittens go elsewhere. I even managed to sleep on the bed settee, rather than on a makeshift bed on the floor in front of the box. I couldn't believe how comfy it was, compared to quilt on floor for mattress!! She didn't even ask to go out of the room until I got up either, so I was very impressed.

The sausages are much more alert today, I need to try to make their bed area a little firmer, as the pet bed is a little soft for them to walk around over, they keep falling over!! It is quite funny to watch them. Their eyes are all awake and alert now.

We had another sausage moving venture this morning. I went onto the landing, to see Lily being swamped by her kittens looking for milk, and did a second take as I realised there was a small sausage also crawling over her tummy looking for milk!!!! I don't know who moved that one, but it seemed quite happy. Because the sausages are getting bigger now, and their coats whitening off more, it did not show up quite as much, I nearly missed it!!!

Last night they were weighing: 228g, 238g, 238g, 260g, 276g.

I only weigh them once a day now, usually at night, when G is running round the house with all the others, as she does like to play with them when they are all awake ( Lil's kittens that is).

I am going to attempt to attach some photos now, but I am having real problems with my camera software, and I may take till this evening to make it work, so please bare with me. Also, Tim is out for the day and Richard is in Aberdeen staying with a friend for the weekend, so I am having to do all this on my own!!! My little helper has gone.

Thursday 16th February
Galadriel just loves to play with Lil's kittens, it makes me realise that she really still is a little girl at heart too, she just loves to chase them. When they are up and playing, she just cannot resist joining them.

Her little babies are becoming a little more aware of the world around them, their eyes are open a lot more, it wont be long now before I have to put the box extension on to stop them from wandering around this room and getting squashed!!! I am really excited to see how their colours develop, as I have not done this mating before. I am so excited that I may have a Choc Tabby, and even a little Choc point. I was looking them over carefully last night, I am becoming more sure that I have 1 male and 4 females, but I will keep checking them. They are 11 days old today, it has been a tiring 11 days, but thankfully G has got into a routine with them now. They have HUGE voices on them now!! when I check them over before bed, check eyes, check they are ok and their weights, golly can they squeal!!! They are so cute, when I hold them up, their little mouths open so wide, and out comes this HUGE noise. Especially the larger one, a big girl, phew, she can out squeal Lil's kittens.

Sometimes Lil's kittens go into the box to cuddle them, which is sweet. I keep an eye on them, to make sure they are ok, and don't leave them alone together. Hopefully this time next week, they will be big enough for me to stop worrying so much. I can't wait until they are wandering around and into mischief.

Wednesday 15th February
I was just about to write how much better G has become, settling with her kittens, and being a good mum, when she has just got out of the box for the fourth time, to go and cuddle Lil and her kittens. Rich has just put her back in, with instructions from me to sit down by her next to the box. She does love them, and if they squeal, she does come running like a bullet. She was much more relaxed last night, or maybe I was just so tired I didn't hear anything!!

The little ones are gradually growing up, they are moving a little bit more, and their eyes are often open and looking, All eyes are open now, and they have the cutest faces. Their little bodies seem darker than I remember Lil's being, which also indicates to me that they will be of darker colour. I am still crossing my fingers for that Chocolate Tabby. There is one that definitely looks male, the others I am not sure of, and am suspecting may turn out all to be female. I would hope to have more idea by this time next week.

It is more relaxed in the house now, the older kittens know they are there, and like to give them a cuddle from time to time, Lil likes to clean them, G loves them, and it is lovely to have them all integrated downstairs here together. It is a rich house hold indeed with so many lovely little bundles of fur/love and menace!!!

Tuesday 14th February
The 'sausages' have just had a weigh in and an eye wash, part of their morning routine. As their little eyes open, and are just open, it helps to keep them clean, as you have to bear in mind, G is washing their bottoms and their eyes, so a little extra washing from me does not do any harm. By golly they squeal though!! Poor Lil and G go crazy, when all I am doing is wiping their little eyes gently and quickly weighing them while in the hat. Lily almost made of with another kitten while I was doing this. I have found a 'sausage' protector, for when all the kittens are awake, to stop Lil's larger kittens from accidentally leaping onto the small ones. It is the top of a cat carrier, it gives them plenty of room, keeps them safe, and the front has an opening so that G can look in and check on them. G is being much better with them now, I think that as they get bigger, she is recognising them more for being kittens than the little squeaking things at birth!!! Their weights this morning were: 210g, 212g, 226g, 226g, 246g.

I have to be honest that it is difficult to tell some of their sexes at the moment, I have definitely recognised one male and one female, but the other 3 are a bit 'unsure'. They are definitely looking quite chocolate at the moment, but as I remember from Lil's litter in the first few weeks, their colours can change quite quickly, I thought all of Lil's were lilac at one point!!!

Monday 13th February
Well, I am pleased to say, that after my worries yesterday when I wrote the diary, things did improve significantly. There really was no other thing for it, but to encourage Lil's kittens back into this room, with Lil in tow. Once Lily's kittens were playing around down stairs, and some of then belting around this room, up and over the bed settee etc, she was happy to go into the box and tend to her babies. That was such a relief, and I have to say that she hardly moved from the box until bedtime. It did mean however, that somebody needed to be in here watching them all, most of the day, well, all of the day. I had to make sure that the bigger kittens did not squash the smaller babies. I have affectionately named them my little 'sausages', because they look like little pink sausages compared to lily's big kittens!! So in this house now, they are termed the sausages. Timothy is currently sat by the 'sausages' making sure they are ok while I write this.

I had a little worry this morning. by 8 am, G was howling nicely, i.e. Open the door mummy, so I let her out, let Lil and her kittens out, and all hell let loose. There were mini elephants running everywhere. G went to join them, leaving her babies here. I thought they would be safe while I went to let Percy outside and make myself a cup of tea. On returning to the room, I discover that there are now only 4 kittens.......or 4 little sausages. Deep sigh, and I go upstairs, to find Lil and G sat by a little squealing sausage on the landing.....LILY!!!!!! Why does she have this compulsion to move kittens, I really don't know. G shows absolutely no sign of moving them, only herself!!!! I have decided that Lil is just a naughty girl, who likes to scare me witless early in the morning!!

anyhow, they are in the box now, and when I have finished this, I must sit with them for a while, to check that they are all getting a feed. I weighed them last night, and they had all doubled their birth weight in the week, the smallest one, only just, the largest one, and a bit more!! So despite her absent wanderings, so far, G seems to be keeping them fed enough.

They are getting cuddly now. They move around more, so I can let them curl around my hand, so small and sooooo sweet.

Sunday 12th February
It has been a very busy start to the day! Galadriel stayed in this room with me overnight, until about 9 this morning. Since then, it has been hard to get her to stay with her kittens.

She just kept going straight back to Lily and her kittens like a little homing pigeon. I have found that quite difficult. I did try shutting her back in here with Tim, while I got dressed etc, but found that she had only been pacing the room, and not settling with them at all. She then went straight out, and sat in with Lil's kittens, offering them her milk!! OK, enough is enough, these little kittens need their mum. SO plan F, or something like that. I now have G settled in the box, alongside Lily's kittens, and Lily. Every now and then G makes a move to go to Lil's kittens, but I just move her back!!!

Apart from this little battle of wills, G's kittens are very sweet, a week old now, and becoming more mobile. Quite a few eyes are open now, and when they squeal they have very loud voices! I will try to keep them all together as much as I can in the day time, but if I am out, and most definitely at night time, I will separate them. I think it is going to be a very much play it by ear each hour situation. She was settling so very well, so her agitation today feels like a backward step. Thankfully I have Tim to sit with her for a while now, this gives me a break!

Friday 10 th February
I have struggled to get to the pc to write anything today. We are weighed down with this nasty virus, and this morning it really was a case of prioritising. The only important things were to make sure children and animals were fed and comfy and warm. Apart from that, I have slept when I could. There really was no one to say 'help' to, so it was a case of gritting teeth and getting on with it!!

Well, I think I can say, that over the past 24 hours, G has been making more progress with her maternal skills!!! She does now realise that these are her babies, and does at last come running if they squeal for her. She still leaves them when the others are awake and running around, she really does not want to miss the party going on in the hallway, and I still have to go and get her sometimes is she sneaks off to sleep with them. But she is getting much better, and as the kittens seem to be putting on weight well, they are obviously getting enough milk at the moment.

The first one is beginning to open up its eyes, and they are starting to move around the box a little bit more now. They are just so cute at this age to watch when they are feeding, their little pink hands kneading away at their mum's furry tummies.

It is quite an experience having the 2 litters on the go. When they are all awake, going from one room to the other, to keep check on them both. I do keep the big ones away from these at the moment, I have found that by keeping them as a separate unit, G settles better with them at night, because she is used to the others not being in here with them. Hopefully as these grow bigger, we will be able to integrate them more. It really is a balancing act keeping them all happy. I just watch them, follow their lead, and by understanding what they want, I can try to tweak things to fit them into a situation that I am also happy with.

Thursday 9th February
I had a wakeful night last night. I thought that G would have been more settled, but she really did not want to be separated from her mum! She tried to sneak in the bathroom again with Lil and her kittens. In the end, I resorted to sleeping with my head on a pillow in the box, snuggled under the duvet. That way, she settled better with her babies. I don't think I had realised what a 'little mummies girl ' she was.

For my peace of mind, I have been topping the little ones up at least once a day, and their weights seem to be going ok. This morning they weighed in as follows, 120g, 120g, 130g, 154g, 160g.

They are currently curled up with Galadriel, in the box, while 4 of Lily's kittens are rampaging around the hallway, and 2 of Lil's kittens are asleep close by to G. I don't think G has quite got the hang of being a mother, LOL, I like to describe her as a reluctant mother!!! She needs me to hold her paws!!!

I am still suffering with this flu virus quite badly, so you will probably have noted the slightly flat tone in my diary entries recently. I at least have one child back at school now!!!

Wednesday 8th February
It has been a long and busy 24 hours since I last wrote. Just how much work can 11 kittens create!!! I don't think that you can quite prepare yourself either, for the anxiety that watching these little ones grow and develop causes. I know I certainly worry all the time, just worry, I suppose, the same way that a mother always worries about her children. As I am having to work quite hard at the moment, still with one child home poorly, my diaries may be short, or sometimes just photographs, until things settle down. But I will always try to write as much as I can. But sometimes it is just more important to sit and monitor the babies at this stage.

Galadriel is slowly but surely getting the idea that these are her babies. her milk has come in, and she has learnt how to lay herself out, and let them have access to all the nipples. It has taken her a while to grasp how to do these things, and it has been a lot of hard work for jane and I, sitting with her, encouraging her, checking all the kittens are getting the chance to latch on. Jane goes home later today, so I really may not get the time tomorrow to write much, it really may just be photos. last night, after the last feed, in the early hours of the morning, just before I had shut the door to Lil and her babies in the bathroom, I find G done, and going upstairs, I find her tucked up in a kitten carrier, snuggled up with 3 of Lil's kittens!! She was most dischuffed when I took her out, and brought her back down here!!! I think that she thought her work was done for the night. She did settle then though, until 4.30, when she decided she wanted to leave the room again. But the door being closed, she got the message and went back in with her babies. She is getting much better now, and she is coming back to them to check on them, and responding much better when she hears them squealing. 2 of them last night, managed to steal a bit of Lil's milk!!! There are 2 of them, which are quite a bit bigger than the others, and they are quite little bullies when fighting for the milk!!! And golly can they squeal if they do not get the one they want!!! Their current weights are, 106g, 110g, 119g, 139g, 146g.

Tuesday 7th February
Galadriel is getting better at settling with her kittens, although I do have to spend a lot of time, sitting with her, making sure the little ones are getting latched on. She will not settle with them if Lil is not there, or Lil's kittens, and now that her milk is coming in, I have to make sure that Lil's bigger kittens do not sneak in! Jane has been monitoring my weight chart, and the little ones are slowly gaining in weight. I would prefer it if G would just stay with them all the time, as lil did, but she has just left the box to go and sit with Lil, so all the babies are asleep together in the kitten box. Last night, it became obvous that G was not going to stay with her babies all night, as soon as she had fed them, she was off to the part of the bed where her mum and bigger kittens were. At gone midnight, enough was enough. So I cursed inwardly, the rest of the house being asleep, and took Lil and her kittens up to the bathroom, with tunnel, beds, food, litter trays etc, and locked them in there ( I have to lock the door, because Lil can open it up! And when she hears the key go, she seems to accept that she has to stay there!!!). That meant that she was quiet, and G settled thankfully with her kittens for the rest of the night. OK, there was lots and lots of squeaking, so I did not get much sleep, but there was no way I could have left the room, G would never have accepted to stay in here on her own. Anyway, we keep on working, watching and plugging away, and we will get there in the end!!!!

I will need to make this brief, as I am having to work quite hard to make sure G settles with her kittens and that they are all latching on and getting milk. The beginnings of today's diaries will be the same, so apologies for you having to read the same twice over!

To make a general comment, children still off school, thank goodness at 9 and 12 they can be a little bit more self sufficient, as there is a limit to have many places I can be at one time!!! I confess that I have not managed to get dressed so far, there seems to have been a constant stream of things needing doing, around children and cats/kittens/rabbit, that as is often the case, mums come last!!! Fortunately Jane is here, I shall miss that adult company when she goes tomorrow afternoon, it has been hugely helpful to have her here. I do hope she does not go home thinking that this is a complete mad house!!!!!!

Monday 6th February
Last night, Galadriel gave birth to 5 kittens. This was a shock as we were only expecting 3, 4 at the most!!! She was so laid back about it all, she almost seemed to push them out in her sleep. I almost did not realise she was having them. It was only Tim alerting me to the fact that he thought one of the kittens had been sick, that took me to look in the bed. I panicked and thought one had a runny bottom, when the penny dropped and I realised that it was the beginning of G's birth. she had obviously been having small contractions throughout the day, without me realising. 3 arrived, and she really was not that interested, Lily ate all the placentas and cut the cords, G just looked bemused and was more interested in cleaning herself up! We had a feeling there were more to come, as she still seemed to be straining from time to time. It took us an hour to get the first 3 latched on. I found this really stressful, as I was worried they would never latch on. By this time I was getting quite worked up, and was so thankful for my 2 helpers who took over for half an hour.

At this point I was called, and told another was on the way. Having delivered that one, we settled back thinking they were all there, and then to our shock, she started pushing a fifth one out!!!!!!!!!

It was a difficult night, G found it hard to settle,she wanted to be with Lil and her kittens. eventually, in the early hours, I settled her in the kitten box, shut the door, and just ignored her when she howled to be let out. Eventually she came back to the kittens, where she stayed for the remainder of the night. I slept with my head on a pillow inside the box, to keep her calm and keep her there. So not really any sleep.

By the morning, she wanted out of this room. She is now with her kittens, in the kitten bed, with Lil and her kittens. It has been a very hard morning, getting her to settle, getting kittens latched on. I have 2 children upstairs in bed, where I have told them they must stay if they are poorly, as this is their 3rd day off school.

I will sign off for now, maybe photos later, I am exhausted, and so very very grateful that Jane is here, sat with them.