Unfortunately it became apparent, a few hours after being born, that one of Audrey's pups had a cleft palette. This is where the roof of the mouth, for some reason, hasn't fully sealed, meaning that the pup is unable to suckle properly. Although it is possible to try and repair this, it is highly risky and has a poor chance of success, so I had to make the heartbreaking decision to have him put to sleep.
One week on and the rest of the pups are flourishing, all are growing well and are nice and chunky, though a couple of Spirits are a bit on the small side. Audrey is however happy to help out and give the tiddlers top up feeds. The two mums are quite happy to share the living room, Spirit is not worried if Audrey wants to say hello to her pups, but the same cannot be said if Spirit approaches Audrey's babies, I suppose being top dog affords you certain privileges.
Two of Spirits black boys and two of Audrey's black boys are still available.
Just to add to the mix, Miss Tibbs is pregnant and I suspect that Bob is also expecting. This may sound crazy, but I think I have the timing just about worked out. The pups should be leaving home just prior to the kittens reaching an age where they want to start exploring. I have tried condensing things a little this year as I need to allow some fairly clear time over the summer holidays to spend with my two legged family :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment