Tuesday 14th February
Lily is still shouting happily around the house, when you have so many kittens around, it is funny how you don't hear it quite so much!! It kind of rings in your ears in the background, but you are not fully aware of it, a bit like a clock ticking.

Her kittens are becoming relatively self sufficient now, they are now sleeping on the bed settee in here in the day, they are becoming too big really for the kitten box, but I needed them in there for a couple of days to settle G down. As I type, the kittens are asleep between Tim and Rich, who are watching Winter Olympics ( curling, between Switzerland and GB, close match!!!!), and Lil and G are in the kitten box with the little ones. Nice for G to have her mum by her.

Lily's little hooligans were on form last night before bed. They woke up again at 12.30, just as I was trying to settle them down in their 'bed room!!! I didn't want to shut them in there while they were so full of beans, but they had been awake so much, and it looked like if I left them running around they would carry on all night. They seem to settle down quite quickly once I shut the door. I have included some photos of them last night, you can see one of them investigating a bottle of wine, the bottle was still corked at this point! There is a lovely one of little Spotty all on her own also. She is looking very caramel now.

Monday 13th February
Tigerlilly is most definitely calling. She has been going around the house making her presence very well heard!!! At least by settling her and her kittens in the bathroom at night, she does not keep the household awake either. She settles down and sleeps, saving all her vocal energy for the morning!!! She is such a naughty girl sometimes, and is back in baby moving mode, of which I will explain more in Galadriel's diary!! Needless to say that she is rebonding with G's kittens.

Her kittens are continuing to thrive. They are becoming very sociable, 2 of them are cuddled with Richard on the bed settee as I type, they are as happy for human cuddles as they are feline cuddles. They seem quite at home with Galadriel's babies. I did laugh last night, as 'Hooligan Girl' was washing the bottoms of the little ones, and she looked up with that look on her face, with her mouth partially open, that said,....what WAS that taste, it is horrid!!!! She went back for a second clean, and looked up with exactly the same look.

In the daytime, they have this room, the hallway and stairway. If I keep them in this area, G is less likely to abandon her babies. So for the time being, the landing and bathroom is only for late evenings and early morning, when I want them to have a good run around so that I can go back to sleep!! Most of the photos today, are of either all of them cuddled together in the box, and a couple of more individual shots while they are in the box. Thank goodness I am feeling somewhat better today, I have at last some energy in my legs!!!

Sunday 12th February
Well, Galadriel wants to adopt Lil's babies, and Lily is showing more signs of calling, is very agitated and runs around the house yelling her head off, stopping everyone else from settling. At one point this morning it seemed like a bit of a mad house! Kittens flying everywhere, Lily running up and down the stairs shouting, Galadriel doing her best to avoid her kittens, and her kittens squealing for her!!! Phew.

Lil's kittens are really growing now, the largest Tabby Girl weighed in at 776g last night. She is lovely, but has an appetite for anything and everything, lol . Their litter training is really so much better now, so I can let them in this room with G again, feeling more confident that my bed will not become a latrine!!! But when they are awake, they move with such speed and mischief. This litter has been very much easier to wean than the last litter. They are basically eating cod, chicken, biscuits and milky mixture. I do put down some kitten food from sachets, but they are currently looking at it in disgust!! Apart from my large Tabby Girl, whom we are currently affectionately naming Hoover Girl.

Tim is currently sitting with the kitten box, trying to make sure that the kittens are all where they should be. I feel sorry for both Tim and Rich, because I should be taking them out, for at least an hour, they have been so patient with me. At least we are starting to feel a bit better now, that is something.

Saturday 11th February
We are beginning to settle into more of a routine here now. The boys are feeling better, so I am able to use them again, so sit with the older kittens when they are awake, which releases me to sit with the little ones if needed, or at least concentrate on those mundane tasks such as keeping litter trays cleaned and cats/kittens fed. And when I get round to it, my poor children too. I am still fighting this virus, and slept on and off, in between chores, until midday today. Now I am trying to be more wakeful!!

Lily is now taking no interest in Galadriels kittens, she does not even come into this room very much, unless to use the litter tray. I get the feeling that the 6 of her own are hard enough work!! They are BIG now!!! When all 6 of them 'bundle' her with a view to feed, I feel so sorry for her!!! At least now they are not suckling too much from her, it seems to be more of a comfort thing before they doze off. Lil will let them run around for about an hour, and then she starts to heard them back to the sleeping place!!! She trys to heard them, but it is usually one of us that actually puts them there to settle.

The kittens are getting so much better with the litter trays now, putting the soft toilet tissue in has really made a difference. When I am totally confident that they have it sussed ( with the last litter it was at 7 weeks really) then they can have the whole of the landing and bathroom as well as the hallway here, all of the time. At the moment, I just let them have a run up there in the evening.

Hooligan Girl is settling down now, I have a Hoover Girl, a lovely Caramel Tabby girl, who seems to eat anything and everything!!! Young Spotty is growing into a very pretty little girl. The 2 Caramel Tabby boys are very sweet and soft, and the last little one, another Caramel Tabby girl, is a sweet little thing. I do wish they would show more respect with their claws though, my arms, hands, legs are showing signs of claw abuse of the greater kind!!!!!!

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!!

Lily has been calmer today, I think she did have a very mild call, lasting a couple of days, but today she has been back to her normal self, which is just grumbling when the kittens get too much, attack her or refuse to go to sleep when she wants them to. I know when she wants me to gather them up, as she starts her grumble, is is quite distinct. That, as I am beginning to learn, is my cue to gather them up, and put them on their little sleeping place that they have adopted, on the middle landing, on my fleece! They then eventually bundle in for the milk and settle down for a while.

They are beautiful little things at the moment, their eyes so appealing and innocent, they have such a look of , 'what, me?' about them, lol.

I have started to put some finely ripped up toilet paper in their litter trays, as some of them have not been so good at toileting where they should. They seem to be happier with something softer under their little bottoms, roll over Andrex puppy!!!! My kittens can advertise soft toilet tissue!!!!

I wont write any more now, as I wish to also write something about Galadriel, and as they are all quiet, more rest seems a good idea!!!

Thursday 9th February
Lily is most definitely calling. she hasn't really settled at all this morning, and has been running up and down the stairs having a good yell. I weighed her kittens last night, they seem so very heavy compared to G's little ones. Their weights are now:

672g, 646g, 642g, 640g, 596g and 576g

They are awake a lot now, as I type, 4 of them are scrapping on the stairs! When they are awake, I have to put the barrier to stop them getting into this room, this minimises the danger of the new babies becoming squashed!!! I am encouraging them to eat as much other food as possible now, as Lily really does seem to need a break from all 6 of them 'bundling' on top of her for milk! They are so big now, that when they do all try to feed from her, she almost becomes submerged!! Poor Lil. I am putting down cooked cod, chicken, dry biscuits, some milky mix and a small amount of 'wet cat food'.

The litter training has taken a bit of a backward step since the new kittens arrived, so we are now back on task. Some of them are very good, but we still have a few little accidents!! Lily is not in the slightest interested in teaching them, so it really is up to us to show them the way! Normally my 2 children would be sitting helping them, but because they have been poorly, with this nasty flu virus, I have kept them away from the cats. They have been in quarantine in the lounge!!! I shall be glad when they are well again to come and help!

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.

I think Lily is currently having a 'mild call'. She runs around the house a little agitated, grumbling away, and she is demanding lots of attention when she is awake, which is a sure sign that her hormones are unsettling her. She has started moving them over the barrier onto the landing, so last night, there I was at 1 in the morning, making sure the banisters were 'boarded' up to stop any little ones taking a long leap from the landing onto the floor below!!! i closed them in the bathroom again last night ( well, it was about 2 am in the end!) so that G could settle on her own with her babies. I knew that if I did not put Lil and her kittens back into the bathroom, I really would not get any sleep! They are starting to take more interest in G's kittens now, so I do have to watch that they are not in the box with them, unless I am around.

Jane was sat in here with them yesterday, while doing her knitting, I wish I had taken a photo of them all, but I just forgot to do so. They were fascinated by the little knitting needles clacking away, and the wool! It is hard to believe that they will be 6 weeks old tomorrow!

Tuesday 7th February
Lily seems to have downed tools when it comes to feeding her kittens, she will offer them a token amount of milk, but she seems to be leaving them very much to eat other food stuff now. They will be 6 weeks tomorrow, so I am not worried about this. I tried to put one of G's kittens on to her nipple last night, out of interest, and she was having none of it, so I wont try that again. I really think that she has had enough of all the feeding.

Her kittens are really growing now, they seem huge compared to G's babies, and are really developing characters. I can pretty much tell them apart now, except for the 2 Caramel Tabby boys, which is amusing, as that was the same last time. They are all quite crazy now. Hooligan Girl is still gorgeous, and the others are catching up with her on the hooligan stakes!!! Golly can they fight and move fast when they are awake.

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
I don't have time to write much this morning. Last night we took delivery of 5 kittens to Lady G. She is taking some time to adjust to the new arrivals, so I am somewhat busy! I also still have 2 children off poorly, so I am needing to cut myself up into too many pieces in order to deal with it all! Thank goodness I have Jane staying for a couple of days, she is currently sat by the cat bed, watching over all 11 kittens, L and G, so that I can write this.

Lil's kittens seem HUGE compared to G's new arrivals. They have shown little interest in the new babies, and were bouncing around the place while the new ones made their way into the world! They have currently crashed out, scattered around the bed, having rushed around for a long time this morning! If there becomes time later on, I will add some photos, but for now, I just wanted to write this small bit.

Sunday 5th February
I am sitting by the pc, in a kind of shell shocked state. No kittens yet from Galadriel, but the kittens I have got, are enough to put her off going into labour for good!!! I crawl out of bed at around 9am, I have been listening to Lily grumbling and 'swearing' at her kittens for ages, but I blocked my ears off, as I felt tired and really did not want to get out of bed. I am amazed that they have not yet cottoned onto getting onto/into the bed when I am in it!!!

When I stumbled out of this room, into the hallway, I can only describe a scene of total devastation...............cat biscuits were ALL over the floor, where kittens had been launching themselves into the cat bowls, cat litter trays are full, and all need clearing out, water bowls have been jumped in , resulting in soggy cat biscuits on the flooring also, kittens running around like demented demons.....You try to kneel down, to start to pick up the biscuits from off the flooring, and kittens launch themselves at you, at your feet, legs, arms, they have no respect, if it is there, they will jump on it.........and it HURTS!!! My hands are covered in scratches, protective clothing is a definite must if you do not want to look like a pin cushion!!!

Jane is arriving later on today, she is the mummy of Arwen from my last litter, and she is coming to help out for a couple of days. I have a feeling that poor Jane does not quite know what she is letting herself in for. More 'kitten fodder', i.e. more legs and arms for them to launch themselves at, will give me a break!!!!

Galadriel is nesting now quite a lot, which means that kittens are imminent, so I am going to crawl back into my bed, now that the resident hooligans are settling down, and my 2 children seem to be occupied and quiet. I will attempt to attach some photos now, providing my pc does not crash on me again, if it does, then I will attach the photos a little later in the day.

Phew, if I could have written a transcript of the dialogue that was happening here half an hour ago, I have a feeling it would have you rolling around on the floor in stitches laughing!!!

Oh yes, definitely, 2 Caramel Tabby Point boys, 2 Caramel Tabby Point girls, and 2 Caramel girls, Hooligan Girl and Spotty are looking very solid Caramel now.

Saturday 4th February
Hopefully I can write more today! It has been a busy time. My oldest son has been quite poorly with a flu virus, he is still not well, but I have isolated him upstairs, and he seems well enough to be on his Play Station now!!

We are now awaiting the arrival of Galadriel's kittens. They were due any time from yesterday. But I am having this feeling, that as she sits and watches Lily's kittens going completely crazy, she has decided they are better left where they are!!!! At least they are quiet there she is thinking, lol. I have the kitten box ready for her, and a little barrier to stop the kittens getting in this room when she has them. Lil and she would be able to come and go, as they can jump over it, but too high for little furry hooligans!!

I mean, when they are awake, you really do have to be here to really appreciate how crazy they get....you cannot capture it in photographs, as when they are running, they are RUNNING!! Lots of running around sideways, with tails fluffed up, when they 'fight' with one another.

They are eating a variety of things now, Lily's cooked cod, G's chicken, Royal Canin pouches of food for sensitive tummies, and Royal Canin Baby Cat biscuits. Twice a day I offer them the milky mix that they enjoy. I got up this morning, at about 8am, and ALL the bowls had been completely cleared, and I left quite a lot of food out at midnight!

I am having really problems with my camera soft ware at the moment. I have managed to transfer 3 photos this morning, so I will attach those. If I get time later in the day, depending on kittens and Galadriel, then I will try to attach more of them.

I must go now, as I need to grab some peace while they are all asleep, it wont last long!!

Friday 3rd February
My apologies for not adding a diary entry yesterday, we have all been poorly here, and both children are off school with me. I am going to attach photos that I took last night, as you can see, they are out of the kitten room and making full use of the stairs! My Hallway has been transformed into a kitten adventure play area!!!! I will try to write a fuller diary entry later on.

Wednesday 1st February
The kittens are 5 weeks old today, how fast that time has gone, I can hardly believe it! They are growing up so very fast now. when I woke up this morning, they all leapt out of their warm bed, swarmed around me, all squeaking. I think they wanted cuddles, food and toilet ALL at the same time, but they could not decide which was the most important!!! I decided that toilet was going to come first, so within the first 5 minutes of getting out of bed, I had 4 of them on the litter tray, the 5th managed it after breakfast. I have no clue where the 6th went!!! They seemed hungry this morning when I offered them something to eat. And this morning I actually saw one of them eating the cod with Lily! I think it was my large tabby girl, but it is not so easy to see when they have their little noses in the bowl! I took a photo of her sharing with Lil, so hopefully when I see to the photos in a minute it will have come out ok.

The other photos that I have taken, are very much ones of them playing/fighting together. I decided it was time that I represented the other side of their little personalities! Less of the cute, look at me aren't I beautiful, shots, but more of the, let me get in the bundle and have a good old scrap with my brothers and sisters!! They usually have a made 5 to 10 minutes of this when they wake up. And if poor expectant G is still in the bed, she gets embroiled to, much to her disgust.

Galadriel is continuing to grow, only days now until we have her kittens with us also. She has times now when she is getting very agitated. She is taking a great interest underneath the video cabinet in the hallway, trouble is, I don't think she can get underneath it. That is probably a good thing. I really don't want to come home from a school run, to find that she has delivered me kittens under there!!! When she gets agitated I try to put her in the warm kitten box and stroke her, it seemed to help with Lil, so I hope it will help with G.

They are asleep now, so by the time I have done this, they will probably be due to wake. They managed it beautifully yesterday. No sooner had I finished typing then they were swarming round my feet, with their little needles digging into my poor flesh!!! I have to go to my older son's school at midday today, for one of their annual reports. I just hope that I don't sit there yawning!!!!! Hopefully I will be able to engage in an intelligent conversation that does not contain the words, kitten,litter tray or OUCH! That was my food you just dug your little claws in!