Saturday 8th April
Gollum just keeps on eating, and eating and eating.......he is becoming one big kitten, which is quite something, when I think how small he was when he was first born. Until he discovered that there were other things in life to eat, other than his mother's milk, he was quite a wee thing. Then he discovered the Royal Canin Baby cat biscuits, and he just went from there, almost with a mission to grow the biggest kitten ever!!!! He is a love though, although he appears from no where to launch himself on poor unsuspecting other kittens. He cares not for the victim's size!!! He will attach G, Lil, Fluffy, or the smallest kittens. He does not go to hurt them, only boy full playing, but sometimes he just wears you out!!!

Little Choc, has been eating much better, and I can see her filling out before me, which is good. In fact so much so, that when they are not together, it is not quite so easy to tell which one I am holding! this almost caused a problem last night, when I was giving them their 3 days worth of worming. I was looking for Tari ( big choc) to worm, and then realised that it was in fact her that I had just done, and the one wrecking my bedroom at the time was Mini. So I make sure I have them next to one another now if I have to be able to tell them apart. Vaccinations on Tuesday, so I had better make sure I am on the ball then, a wee bit of food colour will be dispensed with, before we go out.

Lily and G are sharing the feeding of the kittens now. They will be found with a variety of kittens attached to them. This is not helping me get Lil's milk to dry up. But she just loves to be snuggled up with lots of kittens, she is such a natural mum. Jasmin, Gollum and Mini are lying together behind me, on the box in the sunshine, and the others are in the wicker basket. It is that lovely time of day, when they snuggle up and like to sleep. I get the pleasure of being able to just look at them, and admire how cute they are!

I took a few photos last night, but again, it was when they were settling down, I will take a few now, to show you how they are, when they are laid back and relaxing. I am also going to post a couple of Fluffy and Spotty on Lily's diary page, you will find this under the follow up section in the diaries.

Friday 7th April
Well, her babies seem to fit into 2 distinct groups at the moment, you have Tari ( big choc) and Gollum ( getting bigger by the day) and then the 3 smaller ones, Jasmin, Cari and Skinni Minni as we call Mini Choc at the moment! Gollum likes to pick fights with the 3 older kittens who are still with us ( Bilbo leaving us Good Friday), he is a little terror, and when he is awake, he likes to run around the house, yelling, making sure everyone knows that he is awake.He is currently behind me with his nose firmly buried in the fish bowl!! He is a guy that likes to dine that is for sure.

I took some photos last night, just before I went to bed. You will see that G had decided to bed down with her mum and one of the older kittens, Fluffy I had to peel off Tari, as Fluff had decided Tari made a good pillow, on top of the scratching post. Tari is a good size, but Fluffy is a right porky little thing!!! So I decided that I needed to re address the balance and put Tari on top instead.

I took some photos last night, just before I went to bed. You will see that G had decided to bed down with her mum and one of the older kittens, Fluffy I had to peel off Tari, as Fluff had decided Tari made a good pillow, on top of the scratching post. Tari is a good size, but Fluffy is a right porky little thing!!! So I decided that I needed to re address the balance and put Tari on top instead.

I am sitting here at the moment, Gollum is lying with me, looking to attack anything that moves, I have just clicked the camera, so you can see how he is sitting at the moment.

Last night, I had an e mail from the lovely new family that are now looking after Nia and Frodo , I will copy some of what they wrote to me, and put it under Lily's diaries, it made me laugh a lot as I was sitting here, settling them all down at about 12.30am ( I have just had to peel Gollum off Skinni Minni, she keeps sitting on my lap and he keeps launching himself at her!!! She is a tad smaller than him! He is now scrapping with Tari, who is more his size!!! My scratches are mounting as they have all chosen my lap as a fighting arena!!!

Thursday 6th March
It is a lovely sunny morning, so the cats have sought out the front room, where all the sun is. They are like little magnets where the sun is concerned.

When I woke this morning, I am getting up later at the moment because of school holidays, I could hear sounds outside my door, which were quite alarming. Large amounts of thumping around, banging noises.......it was with trepidation that opened the bedroom door. I was greeted by, what can only be described, as a crowd of white fur.......eyes looking in my direction, and eager little tails wagging, waiting to do some mischief. There was an outbreak of yelling at me, I can only suspect they were saying hello to me, about time too, and how about filling up our food bowls AGAIN!!!

I took a photo last night of the food bowls, I mean how much food can you leave out for them at half past midnight! The bowls were dutifully totally empty again this morning. So I trotted downstairs to the kitchen, wondering just where to start first.....And then there was Percy, sitting patiently by the kitchen door, in the conservatory, with a look of, I am not moving till food is put down! At the same time my tummy is rumbling. Needless to say my tum comes last, as it makes the least noise!!!

Well, those chores had been seen to now, all that is left to do, is get dressed, put bunny outside,and by the time I have done all that, the kittens will have woken up, and will be demanding lunch!!!!!

Phew, I am going to sort out today's photos now. I took them last night, some of the hallway as I leave it when I go to bed, with all the food bowls etc. It is proving hard to get many close up, as they are far too mobile at the moment!!!

Wednesday 5th April
Well, things have settled down nicely here ( I hate writing that sentence, as it seems to tempt fate!!!), I left them altogether last night, no separating using the bathroom, which meant that I have my bathroom back, apart from the scratching posts and litter trays that are still in there.

Although, when I say I left them altogether, this is not strictly true, as I discovered half an hour ago. Tim came and asked me why I had left Fluffy and Spotty in his bedroom last night! It appears the little terrors had snuggled up under his duvet, and I had assumed they were snuggled up with their mum in the box!!! Tim said he was woken at 6.30 by something warm and furry crawling over him, so he let them out. He said that after closing the door, Lily opened it again, and they all started to have a merry play in his room!!!!!

well, it made life heaps easier for me this morning. Because when I opened up my bedroom door, I was not greeted by 8 kittens, desperate to let off steam. They had been doing that for a while, and all they wanted was their breakfast, as their bowls had been licked about as clean as they could possibly be licked! They had plenty of biscuits out, I always make sure they do not run out of them. So I moved quickly between them, and Percy and bunny, and after an hour, all seemed fed and happy, and now they are settled down in the front room,where the sun shines. I just have to write this and then take my 2 legged 'animals/children' out for their daily exercise. They would happily sit in front of pc's and play stations if they thought they could, so I have to enforce some fresh air and exercise upon them!!

Since they have been downstairs, I have noticed Gollum and Tari, being much more adventurous with their food, they seem to be trying different things now. Mini Choc and Jasmin, and Cari, I am still making sure that I have seen them eat. But all 5 of them are running around like crazy things when they are awake, it amazes me that they put on any weight at all!!!!

With the photos that I am posting now, you will see a mixture of G's little ones and Fluffy, Spotty and Bilbo, ( he is leaving us in just over a week now). Although I am aware that the 3 older ones, do tend to stick together more. I will often find the 3 of them up to mischief somewhere. I think that now they are older and bigger, they can reach places the younger ones cannot.

Gollum is a little monkey, and can manage to get into the kitchen, and he is persistent about it. Kitchen's are scary places, as there are too many dangers for kittens so young, so I will have to resort to closing the kitchen door now, to prevent any nasty accidents. But I am always aware when Gollum is awake, he is everywhere, naughty but very lovable.

I sort out the photos now, then check on all the cats and kittens, to make sure all is safe and well for them, before going out for a few hours.

Tuesday 4th April
Now that Lily has lost 3 of her kittens, she is taking a great interest in G's kittens. Lil just loves that mothering bit, and G's kittens are beginning to cotton on to the fact that Granny no longer hisses at them, but is in fact nice and cuddly, and usually there is milk on offer, whereas their mum, really does not want to know too much any more. g just wants to play, be made a fuss of, and her attitude seems to be one of , well, they are old enough now to look after them selves!!!

Mini Choc and Jasmin ( Lilac girl) have not quite cottoned on to the new feeding arrangements down here, so I make sure every 2 hours, that I sit with them to ensure they are eating. Big Choc( Tari) and Gollum, are happy as larry with the feast that is laid out down here, and Cari is a little in between the bunch. Tari is growing almost as big as Spotty now I think!!

The little ones seem to have adjusted to the litter tray using down here ok, mind you, I have about 10 litter trays on the go around the place!!! anything to prevent those little accidents when they forget where they are, lol.

I have booked then in for their vaccinations a week today, I can hardly believe they have reached this age!!! I am looking forward to showing them off at the vets when i take them in though. It will be their first trip in the car, so it will be interesting.

They were all down here at midnight last night, and I was hovering on letting them all stay together.......but in the end, I just was not brave enough, and put the little ones, with a protesting mother, in the bathroom. I think that by tonight I will have given that up, and let them all just mingle. Lil seems happier now when she has a large brood around her.

I am no longer worried about G missing her kittens when they go, however, I think that Lil might feel it, bless her.

They are all tucked up in various places in the front room now, so I will look at the photos to see if there are any good ones for today.

Monday 3rd April
Today I have the boys off on holiday for the Easter break, so things are a little more busy here than usual. The good thing is that I do not have to get up early in the morning!

Now that 3 of Lily's kittens have left us for their new homes, things are different in the house. It is surprising how much difference it makes when 3 kittens leave you, the whole house feels different. G's kittens are now downstairs with us during the whole of the daytime, but I still separated them at night time last night. Call me a silly old worrier, but I felt happier tucked up in my bed ( eventually, it was 1.30am before I got there, at 11pm I was still putting bins out and cleaning out bunny!!), knowing that G and her kittens were tucked up together, with plenty of food, with no danger of larger kittens squashing them. LOL, Fluffy is a big girl and she thinks they make a cosy pillow ( Fluffy is currently trying to get the food of Rich and Tim's plates!! There seems to be little control in my house sometimes!!).

There seems to be little control in my house sometimes!!).

When I opened up the bathroom door, they all broke out, and were racing up and down the stairs like crazy things, I think they must have slept all night, as the litters trays had not been used and little food eaten. However, once I was up and they were all out, everyone was in the trays at once, and I then spent a good half an hour trying to keep on top of keeping them clean!!! And no sooner did I put out a full bowl of food, then it seemed it was empty and I had to fill it up again!!! Phew, just how much chicken and fish can such little things eat!!! When I go through the tills at Tescos my basket is full of fish, chicken and cat food! I have taken to going through the self service till, as that way I don't get enquiring looks from the people at the tills, lol Fluffy is having a crazy half hour, while the others are sleeping!!!!

The pictures that I am hoping will be posted today, were taken by a lovely family who visited yesterday, and who will be offering a new home to 2 of the little babies, so I hope that you enjoy them. They are mainly of Mini Choc and Gollum, with a very unflattering one of Fluffy in the background!!!!

Saturday April 1st
Today we saw the third of Lily's kittens leave, and it has made a big difference to the household. G's kittens have now moved in downstairs, pretty much full time, although I think I will still keep them separate at night time for a few nights longer, while I keep an eye on them.

They have been playing quite boisterously on the kitten box, in the sunshine, and being little menaces. After Saffi had left us, I thought I would try to sit down for half an hour. The boys had gone out on their bikes with their dad, so I thought peace might be on the cards..........WRONG.....4 little terrors had other ideas. They were fighting one another all over my legs, leaping on the other kittens that were asleep, including their Grandmother, which I decided was quite brave, so in the end, I decided to try to put them back upstairs, so that those sleeping could carry on sleeping!!! WRONG again. Despite a double barrier at the top of the stairs, I sat there, listening to them beavering away, and after about 10 minutes, down them came, bounding down the stairs, feeling very pleased with themselves!!! Fortunately they decided to sit down and sleep , peace at last........or so I thought. Because at that moment, in came my 2 children, with all the stealth and grace of a rather large herd of elephants, and guess what, everyone is awake AGAIN!!! This left me feeling a bit grumpy, and tired.

Things have quietened down a bit now, apart from Lily, grumbling in the lounge. It is obviously going to be one of those days where there is no peaceful interlude.

I took a couple of photos of G and a couple of kittens, in the new carrier that is here for Tari ( big choc) to go home in. (LOL, Fluffy, from Lil's litter has just had a scary event. She was allowed a run in the lounge, without us knowing that Percy was in there. She apparently ran round him, not realising it was a cat, until Percy looked up. LOL, she has just emerged from the lounge rather fluffed up and her eyes as wide as saucers, Percy on the other hand has gone back to sleep)

I also took a photo of a couple of others asleep in the tunnel of the scratching post. It is not so easy to get close ups any more, as when they are awake, they are leaping around, and when they are asleep, they are all curled up!

Friday 31st March
I find myself sitting upstairs on the landing, trying to fend off 5 little kittens, who are trying to jump on the key pad.

They have had a good run downstairs this morning and now I am trying to settle them down a little before going to collect Timothy from school.

The photographs that I took, feature Gollum in the little cosy part of the downstairs scratching post , and a couple of Cari and Spotty ( Spotty still likes to be with the little ones) on the top of the post. And there were a few of Jasmin ( little Lilac girl) running around by the kitchen door. Mini choc and Tari ( large Choc) were still asleep upstairs.

Tari's new mum came to see her a short while back, so she was able to have a cuddle of a sleepy Tari for a short while. When she is in amongst the larger kittens, she still looks a good size, so she is going to be a big girl. Like our Fluffy. Fluffy just does not suit our little girl anymore, as she really is sooo big!!! She is starting to look better now, after her little allergic reaction.

Nia and Frodo are leaving us later on this afternoon, never an easy thing to do, that uncomfortable saying goodbye to the little ones you have loved for 13 weeks. But I wish them a happy life with their new family, whom I know are really excited about collecting them. With 2 larger kittens less running around tonight, these little ones will notice a difference. I still don't let them run freely amongst the older kittens, because I do still fear, that in their boisterous play, the older ones may accidentally hurt one of the smaller ones. Tomorrow, Saffi leaves us also, so with just 3 of Lil's kittens with us, maybe then I will give these younger ones much more of a free run of the place. I will see how they go. As with so many other times, I will watch, and play things by ear. Things do seem to have a habit of happening naturally, especially when g's babies managed to climb over the barriers themselves! They are almost there.

All has gone quiet now, except for the sound of purring as G feeds 4 of them in the bathroom, and the sound of Richard munching mini eggs behind me, which Cari's new mum bought for him! They are very tasty thank you Liz, as I have just pinched one!!! I will attach the photos now, and then I need to prepare myself for saying goodbye to Nia and Frodo…….

Thursday 30th March
G's kittens have been spending most of their day time down with the older kittens. They love having all the stairs to run up and down now, and have mastered the climbing post in the hallway with no trouble at all.

I tucked them up into the bathroom at bedtime, as that way I know that G will be calm and quiet, and the kittens will probably sleep better. And most importantly of all, I know that they are safe. Lil's kittens are wonderful, but they are growing large now, even Spotty, and their play can get boisterous, as my dear Fluffy knows!!! And I would feel dreadful if one of the smaller ones was to get hurt in the night. So they are tucked up in the bathroom, with scratching post, large climbing mouse, box with bedding and plenty of food. G is still grumbling, as she is coming to the end of her call, which means she is not very relaxed.

Sometimes it can make you crazy, because you have her kittens all nicely asleep and settled, and then she will go into the room, and yell her head off at them, and before you know it, they are all awake again, and demanding fuss, food and attention in abundance!!!

Cari made us laugh last night, as I got the mirror out again. She did a wonderful 'Spotty'. She looked in the mirror and got herself all worked up with a huge tail. I wanted to take a photo, but the camera was upstairs, and I knew that if I went past her to get it, I would have disturbed her.

Spotty is sat on my lap at the moment, I think that she loves the little ones, and given half the chance I think she would rather be tucked up with them of a night!!

Wednesday 29th March
G's kittens are almost ready to scale the barriers unaided, but while they cannot, it does give me a little control over when they are allowed down here, and when I want to settle them down. At night time, they do all realise when it is time to settle down.

They were all down here last night, and sitting here, surrounded by 11 marauding kittens, was quite an experience. When a few of the older ones start to leave us, the idea is to let them all down here full time, and hopefully by then lil will be more relaxed about it all. Lil is much better with them now, but she just gets a bit stressed when there are so many of them running around at once.

We have a couple more names sorted now. Little Caramel Tabby girl, will have a pet name of Cari, little Lilac girl will have the pet name of Jasmin. We have Gollum and Tari, the large chocolate girl. Mini Choc, for the moment, still seems to stay as Mini Choc for the moment. We like the name and cannot think of a more suitable one at the moment.

G has been calling big time, and our ears are all ringing!!! She has not shown much interest in feeding the kittens, so they have been pretty much relying on my for food. The chicken has been devoured upon taking it up, so has most of the milky mix. Jasmin is most partial to the milky mix. I leave them also a nice selection of biscuits, which they are starting to eat. And I am also really proud of how good they are with their toileting. I am just letting them down for a run now, as they are squealing like crazy upstairs, having just woken up, so anytime now I will be invaded. They have just worked out how to get past the one barrier, so in order to keep them up here, I need a double section!! And for a change Gollum is not with them, and appears to be asleep, this time the girls seem to be pat of all the mischief. They love my lap top, because it has lots of wires!!!! i have the front room with a barrier, so that Lil can have some space if she chooses. She is currently asleep. Dear Spotty is here with the little ones, being the only one awake from her 'gang', and they are almost as big as her how!!!

With the photos today, you will see them climbing up the scratching post in an effort to get to their mum for some milk. I think G likes to play this game, to see which one can get to the milk first, or maybe she is trying to make it as hard for them as possible, thinking that if she sits up high they wont get to her.....as you can see, at least one did!!

I will finish this diary now, as there are furry bodies flying everywhere, and it is becoming a little unsafe to sit her for much longer, especially as I have a sleeveless top on!!!! I will go and attach today's photos for you now.

Monday 27th March
G's babies are happily hearing it around the bedrooms upstairs, and are currently sleeping on my bed, with their mum, who is now in full call. Poor G. I hate it when they are calling, it is so frustrating for them, and there is little I can do to help them. this will be her first call since having the kittens, but she is VERY noisy. This added to the mayhem while trying to catch Lil's kittens for the vets this morning.

They are still such a cuddly bunch, and it is very hard to realise that they are 7 weeks old already!! 3 of them have met their new families now, which is nice, and I know that they are all going to be spoilt rotten. This makes me feel happy when I cuddle them, knowing that they are going to be safe. They are mixing well with the older kittens now, and I don't worry about the difference in size anymore. Lil is beginning to get used to the fact that they are getting big. There was a funny thing the other day though. Lil was sitting on the stairway, and Mini Choc, who is quite wee, came tearing up the stairs, and then stopped and looked Grandma straight in the eye....Lil looked for a second and then turned and ran away with her tail between her legs....silly old thing, she had allowed her self to bwe frightened by the tiniest little cutie.

That was few days ago though. Little Caramel Tabbies girl's new mummy and daddy came to see her yesterday, and I am pleased that they are happy with her, becuase she is such a cuddly little thing. Her pet name is going to be Cari, so I will refer to her as this from now on. we had, as one point, all 11 kittens on my bed, plus Lil and G. Lil had spent a while sitting amongst the teddy bears, trying to decided if she was brave enough to join everyone else. In the end, she decided that she did not want to be on her own any more, and now that these little kittens were not running around, they did not look so scarey, so she jumped on the bed and joined everyone too. She even cleaned a few for G. We took some photos of them all lying there. Little Cari's new mum joked about it being a harreem of cats, which I thought was a pretty good description of them all, lol.

I have just tiptoed up stairs, as I am in this room with Lil's kittens at the mo, trying to keep the separate for as long as humanly possibly after their vaccines, and it sounded like they were all settled together in the box in the bathroom, rather than my bed. I did not want to put my head round the door, because as soon as G or the babies saw me, they would all heave leapt out and come yelling to me. I have left them my portable tv on in my bedroom, so that they have constant noise, all part of trying to get them ready for the big whide world when they leave me.