The Dustcart Kittens

01/05/2017

RIP Dusty - sadly got run over by a passing car outside the garden gate on 25-04-2017 :-( ###

23/05/2015

The mischievous trio!!

23/05/2015

Dusty... he likes his own company... he likes to sit and watch the world go by!!

23/05/2015

Phoenix.. now known as cuddles!!

23/05/2015

Rocket... a mischievous, adventurous cat he has grown into!!

23/05/2015

The Dustcart kittens are now no longer kittens!! Although they still get into plenty of mischief..
They are now over two years old and have grown into great cats... each with their own personality.
Dusty being the quiet one that likes his own company.. stays out of trouble.
Rocket is the adventurous one... always getting into trouble including jumping from a wall that was much to high to jump from and breaking his leg!!
Phoenix.. now named Cuddles by my children... well... the name says it all!! He loves his cuddles and is happiest when sitting on someones lap!!

31/07/2013

The kittens are growing by the day now and becoming more curious and wanting to explore their surroundings.

31/07/2013

The 'Dustcart Kittens' are 8 weeks old today. If I'd been thinking about finding them homes I guess now's the time I would be doing it! But I'll not be finding them homes.. I'm going to keep them all together here with me. They get on well with the dogs and our other cats and I just wouldn't be able to part with them now. They truly have become a big part of our family. When I found them in the Dustcart, I honestly didn't think they would survive... but they proved me wrong! They are little survivors and great kittens!!

29/07/2013

This was a funny moment!! Dusty was playing with our dog Tess's tail. Moments after taking this photo Tess decided she'd had enough of her tail being used as a play thing and got up and walked off. Only trouble was... Dusty decided to hang on and Tess walked from the dinning area into the kitchen with a playful kitten hanging on to her tail... wish I'd recorded it instead of taking photos because it did look so funny!!!

26/07/2013

The winner of 'The Fight for the Sunny Spot' is.........

Dusty, Phoenix and Rocket all fight over what is seemingly the best spot for relaxing in the kitchen! None of them are willing to share this spot with their ...

25/07/2013

Once upon-a-time there was three little kittens 'The Dustcart Kittens' and one sunny morning Rocket found, in the corner of the kitchen, a lovely sunny spot to lay in. But... Phoenix noticed that his little brother was having a relaxing time in the sun and wanted to join him. Rocket wasn't having none of that... he wanted this lovely warm sunny spot all to himself!! So... Rocket fought Phoenix for his right to stay in the best spot in the kitchen... but sadly Rocket lost the fight and runs off leaving Phoenix to settle down in the warm sunny spot. Feeling pleased with himself Phoenix licks himself & smooths down his fur after it being ruffled in the fight. But... Oh no Phoenix... look who's spotted you.. Dusty!! Once again Phoenix is fighting for the sunny spot... and fight he does, claws out, ears back he tries to defend his spot!! But Dusty sneaks around the back of him... now Dusty has the advantage and pushes Phoenix out of the favoured spot!! Poor Phoenix.. after such a good show of claws and fur flying, Dusty claims the much desired sunny spot!
Dusty feels very proud of himself, licks his war wounds and settles down in the sun to relax. But... oh dear Dusty.. who's that coming towards you?? Look out, it's Phoenix back again!! Phoenix was not about to give his spot up was back again to claim it as his... and so the fight begins.. again!! All the noise attracts Rocket back again. Now.. he was the one who found the sunny spot in the first place, so he joins in the rough and tumble also!! Three little kittens fighting for a sunny spot... but who do you think won???

24/07/2013

I didn't realise how kitten 'unfriendly' my home was until today! Seems the kittens have found their feet and enjoying the freedom of running around the whole house!! Pots have had to be moved, ornaments moved and this afternoon they found my plastic bags! So they will now have to be moved also!
It's great to see them playing... but they really are going through the house and getting themselves into a lot of mischief!!

23/07/2013

It looks like a map of the UK that Rocket has on his side?? Spooky.. a reminder of home for me! :-)

23/07/2013

The Dustcart Kittens are now 7 weeks old and into EVERYTHING!! They can now climb over the door I made for their room, so they now have the run off the house and go back in their rabbit hutch to sleep and eat. They are all now fully weaned, although Dusty and sometimes Phoenix have a bottle before bed, or late afternoon. I think they want it more as comfort than because they are hungry and as I still have half a tin of milk left.. I give in to their meows for milk!! They truly are becoming little characters... and a handful! They're like a little gang going around the house to see what mischief they can cause!! Great fun to watch them though and make us laugh with their antics.

06/07/2013

I grew up with cats and dogs. When I was knee high to a grasshopper my next door neighbour had 21 dogs.. Bless her heart... she loved every one of those dogs and her whole day was spent in walking them! She was a lovely lady. 21 dogs and goodness knows how many rabbits! Her pets lived in every room of the house except the kitchen.. and that's where she lived.. in the kitchen! My parents got our first cat, a guaranteed mouse catcher, because Mrs Alan.. our neighbour, kept the newspaper for the rabbits cages and their food down in the cellar and mice migrated from her cellar into ours. I left home and got my own cat.. a little black kitten I named Pip Squeak, whom lived until he was 21 years old. Since he died I've had quite a few cats and kittens (not to mention dogs, rabbits, gerbils, mice, fish, fancy rats and even snails!!) but never had to raise any of them like I have done with these 'Dustcart Kittens' and it's an amazing feeling! Even though they are so young, they are more 'attached' to me and more loving then any cat I have ever owned. It's been tiring work being a 'mummy cat' to them.. but wow... it's so rewarding! I feel sorry for the little guys not having a proper mum to snuggle up to.. I feed them, give them cuddles, stroke them and play with them and so I guess they think of me as their mum. When I have to leave them alone though, they get upset and meow for me to go back to them and now if they hear my voice they'll meow for me... and purr when I do... which is kinda sad, but I can't snuggle up with them all day like a proper mummy cat would!! I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I'd have to raise two week old kittens.. I thought my days of bottle feeding were well and truly over!! But I'm so pleased that I found these little guys, they are now giving me the most wonderful & rewarding experience I've had since the birth of my own children! I thank you Dusty, Rocket and Phoenix for coming into my life (turning it upside down slightly!) and adopting me as your mum.. you are all little fighters & the cutest little kittys ever! ###

06/07/2013

The kittens love to play after they've had their dinner.. and even though they have a whole room to themselves now.. still want to play either on my lap or by my side. That's me hiding under the blue towel! It's pretty hot here and being near playful kittens in shorts & t-shirt is not very safe!! So I cover myself in an old towel for protection!! :-)

05/07/2013

The kittens have out grown their indoor rabbit pen.. so now have their own room to play in! They'll go back in their rabbit pen of a night though so that I know they are safe.

05/07/2013

The kittens are now becoming much more active and have been wanting to get out their rabbit pen to 'run' around and explore a lot more. Well... I've found out that my place is really not very kitten proof and I have kittens trying to explore under the fridge, under the cooker and disappearing into bedrooms! I have no doors on any of the rooms here apart from the bathroom, I have curtains up at all doors and no doors on cupboards either... curtains are used there also. (Can't wait until they start climbing up those!!) So... as soon as I take my eyes of them they're either climbing over my jars of sauces, exploring in my saucepans or just generally getting themselves into mischief!! So today I made a... kitten room!! The guest room now has a kitten bed, litter tray and kitten toys in it and a barrier up at the door... so any visitors that want to stay with me had better be cat lovers!! :-)
I have now started to introduce kitten food into their diet.. I think they get more over their face and paws then they do in their mouths.. but they do take a small amount and seem to enjoy it. They still prefer their milk and cuddles to solid food though!

29/06/2013

The Kittens are now three and a half weeks old and are doing so very well. I have now got all three of them using the litter tray.. at first they thought it was a new bed to sleep on! But now they all use it as it should be used.. so that's good news for me and not quite so much work for me to do now! Little teeth have started to break through.. so my next step I guess will be to start introducing solids into their diet. :-)

26/06/2013

26/06/2013

Well... It's a week today that I found the kittens in the dustcart and they are now three weeks old... you wouldn't recognise them as being the same kittens! They are doing really well and each developing their own little personalities. Rocket is very outgoing.. loves to investigate and I think is going to be the most mischievous one of the three. Phoenix is the greedy one.. wants food all the time and is the more loving of the three. He's content to roll up on your lap after a feed and purrs away when you stroke him. Dusty is a little more shy, but also loves to be stroked and also purrs. It can sometimes still be difficult to get him to feed.. but what he doesn't want to have in one feed.. he'll make up in the next! They now use to the litter tray.. so that has given me less work to do and fewer wash downs for the kittens. When I first introduced the litter tray to them.. they thought it was a new bed and slept in it!! I'm really pleased I found them.. they are hard work, but well worth it!

24/06/2013

Yipppeeeeee!!! No messy kittens this morning! I think having a wash down in the sink must have taught them not to do their messes all over each other! I doubt that... but this morning all the little messes were in one corner. Up until yesterday I've had to encourage them to do everything. Time to get a litter box I think and hopefully.. with a little encouragement.. I can teach them to use that now :-)

23/06/2013

What a morning I've had! At sometime between 4.00am and 7.00am one of the kittens did a little (or should I say big!!) mess! Trouble is, it went over all three of the kittens. Phoenix the worst, followed by Rocket with Dusty getting a slight amount on his back and front paw. Feed them first as they were hungry... then tried getting them clean with a damp cloth... it would not come off so I had to fill the sink and bath them. Didn't really want to get them to wet for fear of them getting cold.. so held them and sponged them down with warm water. Took awhile but they now all clean. Dusty was actually the hardest to get clean even though he had the least on him. His fur is much longer and thicker than the rest and it was stuck in solid and matted. Did think I was going to have to cut it out.. but eventually managed to soften it enough to pull it free!! Hands up to all the mummy cats out there with kittens... you do an excellent job at keeping your kittens clean!! Feed time again now... it seems never ending this morning!! Housework is put aside again.. but... its more rewarding looking after kittens than doing housework!! :-)

22/06/2013

What an improvement in these little guys since Wednesday.. when they just lay sleeping and I had my doubts as to whether they would survive! You wouldn't think they were the same kittens. Well done Dusty, Rocket and Phoenix.. You had a bad start in life but you're little fighters and looks like your going to grow big and strong!! :-) ###

22/06/2013

This is the reason I now feed them one at a time..