Debut

Getting good photos of sixteen-day-old, dark colored kittens is nearly impossible, but video is a little better medium. So here they are, Gigi and Gandalf, for all you kittenphiles out there (you know who you are!).

They are just beginning to resemble kittens and not something from the rodent family. Gigi is the tortoise shell and Gandalf is the little black hurricane. 

Isn't Gandalf's recovery remarkable? You'd never know that she was on death's doorstep just four days ago. Her survival is unbelievable and the closest thing I've ever seen to miraculous. She has proven to be quite a fighter and is secretly my favorite (don't tell Gigi).

Milestones this week include sitting up (a little), using their tails as a rudder, and starting to groom themselves. Let me assure you, you haven't seen cute until you've witnessed a sixteen-day-old kitten try to groom herself. And their tiny kitten purrs are one of the sweetest things in life. 

Hopefully there will be much more to come!

*Edit

Several of you saw this post and asked me, "But where is the other kitten? I thought there were three." I posted the following on my Facebook page on June 2nd, but neglected to post it here because, frankly, I didn't want such a sad post archived. But since some of you only see the blog and don't visit Facebook often, I'll copy what I wrote there, in the interest of reducing confusion...

June 2, 2015

"Today our little kittens turn two weeks old. I was hoping to have good news to report but, as it sometimes goes with such fragile little lives, I am sad to say we had a rough week.

Gandalf crashed on Sunday only to make a miraculous recovery, the likes of which I have truly never seen before. But her long-term prognosis remains guarded. And then, after struggling nearly since birth, little Geiger passed away shortly after 9:30 this evening. I petted her gently and solemnly wrapped her tiny body in a white linen napkin.

Tomorrow I will take the kids to pick out something beautiful to plant over her grave. And tomorrow night, after Bradley gets home, we will bury Geiger in our garden. In the meantime, I continue to nurse the remaining two kittens around the clock, marking each new day they survive as a little victory. With each week that passes they grow stronger and their chances of surviving increases exponentially.

I hope to have happier news next week. Thank you for all your love and support."