We've Come a Long Way, Baby

"Too tired, Lady.  Come back later."

The kittens are fighting a mild upper respiratory infection.  ((As if applying ringworm drops twice a day wasn't fun enough, we've added a syringe of liquid antibiotics... also twice a day, so double the fun!))  They had a sleepy Monday and didn't produce a ton of photo opportunities... but  that doesn't mean I don't have lots of important information to share.

1.  Four kittens in a carrier are h.e.a.v.y.  And if you put my four kittens in a carrier there are likely to be three sitting on top of Eloise.  And Eloise will not take such treatment quietly.

"Eloise demands private accommodations for the next ride, Lady.  Got it?"

2.  The sofa in the vet's exam room is WAY more interesting from underneath.  And if the vet would like to actually examine a kitten, you will need to move the sofa to extract them... over and over and over and over.  And Porter will always run to the center of the sofa, making it impossible to remove him unless you're willing to join him under there first.

3.  Kittens love to be weighed.  And if you have a kitten named Ben, he will jump onto the scale with each of his siblings.  And then he will laugh and point because they all weigh more than he does.  ;-)

4.  The vet throws in a free ringworm check under a black light with every examination.  Kitten #1 didn't glow.  Kitten #2 didn't glow.  Kitten #3 didn't glow.  Kitten #4 had one teeny-tiny, itty-bitty, pinhead-size spot glow.... and that's it.  I'll give you one and only one guess as to who glowed.

"Relax, Lady.  It's just an itty-bitty spot on my ear.  You didn't even know that one was there... did you?"

5.  The vet still wants us to medicate twice a day and bathe twice a week to chase the ringworm away for good.  Yippee.

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Babies Then and Now

In celebration of how very far we've come, I thought it might be fun to see how much our babies have grown during their time here.

Eight-week-old Eloise arrived here on July 2nd weighing all of 1 pound, 13 ounces.

Five weeks later, our petite princess 13-week-old Eloise weighs 2 pounds, 10 ounces.

Pardon the goopy eye.  We're working on it.

Eight-week-old Henry arrived on July 2nd weighing 2 pounds, 12 ounces... outweighing his sister by nearly a full pound.

Five weeks later, our wild child 13-week-old Henry weighs 4 pounds, 7 ounces... outweighing his sister by nearly two full pounds.

And still more concerned with the camera strap than whether or not you get a good photo of him.

12-week-old Porter also moved in on July 2nd weighing 3 pounds, 5 ounces.

He fought a war with the ringworm that his siblings seemed to mostly avoid.

Five weeks later, our gentle 17-week-old (4 months!) Porter weighs 5 pounds, 5 ounces... earning his nickname "Pork Chop".

The smudges on his cheeks are not ringworm... just a bit of leaky eye.  That face is perfect now.

Our Ben has only been here for a week, so growth is impossible to measure (at least until I get hold of his paperwork)  Our "Speedy Gonzales" is the biggest of the bunch at 5 pounds, 7 ounces.

I could have sworn he was MUCH bigger than Porter.

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Your Size Comparison

Ben and Porter tower above a Slurpee cup.

A bit of a blurry shot to compare the sizes of all four kittens.  Eloise (far left) on her tiptoes to grab the feathers.  Ben (far right) on his tiptoes to attack Porter.  

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Your Olympic Moment

Unfortunately, the kittens weren't much interested in performing on Monday.  We're working hard to get the medal round of the sparkle ball tournament on film for tomorrow.

If they can just stop yawning first....