On June 15, 2023, Etta of MacLeod gave birth to a litter of six kittens, 2 of whom have been rehomed. From this litter there are 2 males, Pongo and Patch and 2 females Polly and Pickle still living with me.

The kittens and their mum spend the first 6-7 weeks of their lives in isolation, this gives the queen time to settle in with her kittens and we are better able to monitor their development. Once the kittens wean, their litter training begins and they can leave the kitten room to join the other cats and free roam the house.

The kittens are vaccinated for the first time between 9 and 11 weeks of age depending upon the size of the smallest kitten and 3 weeks later receive their second set of vaccinations. If the male kittens testes are fully descended they can be neutered and micro-chipped one week following the second vaccination. If not descended then the kittens are kept until 16 weeks and neutered.

The kittens are handled daily making sure not to over handle and cause upset to the queen. They are introduced to the older cats and our shetland sheepdog gradually.  The older cats all work to make sure the kittens are well behaved, they play with them and put them in their place when needed. It is fun to watch at feeding as most of the older cats will sit back and watch the kittens eat before going to their own food bowls.  The kittens generally are a little shy of the dog at first, however, they quickly realise that he is not going to cause them harm and they become more and more curious about him, eventually playing with him or sleeping on him.