Gaia Chase the Rainbow

Skittles- Age 11 days old

Sabrina's Litter-black and white male

Gaia is Growing!

Cearra's kittens will be going to their new homes in a few weeks and the house will be quiet once again. Sabrina's litter won't be old enough to enjoy chasing each other and stalking catnip mice for at least a month, so the silence will be short-lived. I bred Sabrina to Trouble reluctantly, because Cearra was all ready pregnant. I am now glad that I did; especially since Cearra's litter consisted of all males. I had planned to keep a female to show and later breed, but that opportunity did not present itself until Sabrina's litter was born. I had almost given up hope for an additional female, but Sabrina managed to give me three males(not 100% certain about one of the males) and one little girl. I have all ready named her. She will be registered as Gaia Chase the Rainbow and will be called "Skittles". Pictures of the entire litter are available on www.planetdevon.com website, but I will post a few here.

Dusty Crosses the Rainbow Bridge

This morning, I discovered the preemie was cold and not very responsive. I tucked him under my shirt until I could set up the heating pad in a small box.
He seemed to be responding and I gave him a few drops of pedialyte. I gently rubbed him to keep his blood circulating. After two hours I thought he might be out of the woods, but he passed away at 11:10. I still tried CPR for 30 minutes just in case, but he was gone and my heart is totally broken. That little fella had so much personality, but was too bold for his own good. I could not keep him confined, no matter what I did. He would eventually escape and literally run across the room to me and climb upon my shoe and hold onto my pants leg, so I could take him for a ride. I could walk anywhere and he would hold on until he grew weary; then he would let go and climb down. I have never known an animal so tiny with so much heart and curiosity. I really believed that he would pull through, but he simply went to sleep and no matter what I did I could not revive him. Birdette is with him right now and I am going to have to take him from her. I hope she understands that he is gone. She has been a wonderful mother and kept him alive when I felt there was no hope whatsoever. I allowed her to kiss him before he passed away, so she would know. I have allowed her some time with him now that he has passed. This room is so very empty and silent now that Dusty has gone.

The Dust Bunny

Birdette also gave birth in July, but her litter was born earlier than it should have been. True to form, there was one lonely kitten. This one had no coat, and its skin was so fragile it was transparent. It looked exactly like a new born baby mouse. I thought it would not make it, but Bird stayed with it night and day until it was 'out of the woods'. The baby is now 3 weeks old, very vocal and demanding, headstrong and curious. It has learned how to escape the container where it sleeps
and Birdette and I both have spent considerable time searching for her one and only child. As small as it is, it can run pretty fast, especially when it suspects that I will put it back in its box. Its skin developed a dark blue pigment then its coat started to grow. Its coat is white and very curly and appears to have frosted the kitten's body I will post several of its pictures. I had it next to a small china teacup as a way to compare its size. These pictures were taken Thursday evening, so not too long agao.

Finally, Baby Devons

In July, Cearra delivered a litter of four healthy little Devons. There is a black male with white accents and the cutest little curled, white eyebrows I have ever seen. The three girls are each a different shade of Tabby with white markings. Ch. Gaia Mischief Maker ,Trouble, is the sire. This is a first litter for both Trouble and Cearra. Cearra is my little wild child who played nonstop up until only a few minutes before the birth of her first kitten. She has a vivid imagination and can make a toy out of anything she finds and has boundless energy but is not hyper. I did not know how she would react to motherhood tying her down since she is also a social butterfly. I was afraid she might neglect the kittens in order to run and play. Cearra never hesitated to put her brood first and is only now beginning to venture away from them for more than a few minutes. Cearra has been a constant source of surprises ever since Karen Hill sent her to me. She definitely loves life and is not shy when it comes to getting attention. She does not beg for attention nor even ask for it, yet she expresses such joy at being touched, held or petted. I sometimes refer to her as my wild child but to tell the truth she is a true free spirit and I feel honored to share my home with her.

Update

So much has happened since my last post. I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia the first of December and confined to bed. I missed a full week from work and really got behind in my graduate classes. Since semester tests and reviews were due the second week of December, I returned to work earlier than I should have. My students were so sweet. They treated me as if they were afraid I break, but at least I kept their attention and completed all the assignments I had planned, except the Gravity Races. One of the Facilitators for my grad classes was not agreeable to my making up the assignments I had missed so I had to drop both classes (they are taught as a block). I spent Christmas break recuperating but it was not until the end of February
that my doctor said I had recovered.

I took Pearl, Trouble and Cearra, a darling black female kitten from Karen Hill's Beautymus cattery, to the Birmingham Cat Shows. There were 9 Devons entered. I had never been to a show that had more than 3, so I was excited and nervous at the same time. Pearl and Cearra loved all the attention, but Trouble,who was grossly overweight, did not care for it at all. There were 5 kittens entered, 3 Open and 1 Ch. Cearra took BOB kitten in 4 rings, Trouble earned 4
winners ribbons toward his Ch and one BOB and Pearl won 4 BOB and earned all of her winners ribbons to become Ch. Gaia Spiced Pearl. I was thrilled to say the least!