Merry Christmas!

The Holiday season is a fun, but busy time. I wanted to take time to post a little update about what is going on at Little Apple.

Sweet Pippin our new King, son of Emma and Crispin, is growing more and more every day. He is huge! He is such a strikingly beautiful boy and so sweet. We can't wait to see what his kittens will be like. We hope to have some kittens by him during our spring litters, so watch for them in the next few months.

Gala's kittens are huge! They are fun to watch run around the house and they love to play with Pink Pearl's kittens that are about 4 weeks younger than them. It's a really funny sight - the little kittens look very small next to Gala's.

Pink Pearl's kittens are about 7 weeks old now and are starting to run the whole house. These kittens are super sweet and fun. They are taking naps on our laps and following us around the house already!

Holiday Time

This is the time of year when it really feels like we couldn't get busier, but we love it. We have three litters of kittens right now at very different stages.

Emma's kittens are only here for a little longer. They sleep with us at night, play with us during the day, get involved in everything we are doing, and are a joy to have around. We will miss them when they go to their new homes.

Gala's two little ones are still in the fun stage where they are learning all about our home. They made it to the kitchen for the first time today. It was fun to watch them discover the rug and see them jump when the bread machine turned on. Everything is new and fun to them.

Pink Pearl's kittens are just starting to walk out of the nest. Their legs wobble and they look like they won't make it too far...and pretty soon they are all the way across the room. It's amazing how fast they can move. They are already starting to purr when I pet them. So fun!

New Kittens!

Our last fall litter of kittens arrived this morning by Pink Pearl. The kittens are big and doing very well!

New pictures

Emma's kittens are growing and changing daily it seems. I think that her boys this litter are some of the biggest we have ever had! They just look huge. We have new pictures of them on our kitten page so you can see how much they have changed. They are so much fun right now. Their favorite toy is the pipe cleaners. I finally put 5 of them out this morning and all 5 kittens were playing with them at once. It was hilarious. They have also started to sleep in the bed with us. It's so much fun!

Fall Fun

Fall this year has been really beautiful in Manhattan. The leaves are changing colors on the trees and the prairie grasses are turning all the beautiful shades of gold, pinks, and browns. The weather is cool and the sunsets are beautiful. All of our Little Apple cats and kittens have been enjoying the seasonal entertainment - leaves! They love to watch them fall from the trees, blow across the patio, and when the occasional leaf gets in the house...the real fun begins!

Anyway, Bailey's kittens are almost ready to go to their new homes now. We will miss them when they go. They snuggle with us in bed, they play at my feet while I'm cooking and cleaning, they sit on my lap while I'm at the computer, and they are just a joy to have in our home. They are also enjoying Emma's kittens, who are now litter trained and exploring our whole house. It's fun to watch them learning about new things. Yesterday, they were running from the heater...and today they are attacking it ;-).

Gala's kittens are about 2.5 weeks old now. They are huge! Of course, there are only 2 of them, so plenty of food is available ;-). Their eyes are starting to open and they are starting to walk around...very wobbly, but cute :-).

FloppyCats.com Visit

I wanted to let everyone know about a wonderful website -

http://www.floppycats.com/

Jenny has a lot of great information about all sorts of things on her website. She loves Ragdolls and it shows :-). I found Jenny's website years ago when we had first started breeding Ragdolls and have visited it on and off through out the years. It was a nice surprise and an honor when she wrote me recently asking if I would be willing to have her come and visit our cattery. We love to have visitors, as our customers who have been able to come visit us know very well :-).

So, of course, I was happy to have Jenny come and she brought her mom as well which was fun for my mom and I. Jenny had a lot of wonderful questions. I could tell that she is trying to learn as much as she can about breeding in order to better help those she serves on her website. We spent hours talking and had a really good time. Anyway, in case you are interested here are a few of the articles she posted about her visit -

Pre-Visit Announcement

Interview

Article about the Visit

While you are at her site, make sure to take time to look around at the other articles!

Gala's kittens

Gala had her kittens today! Both mom and kittens are doing very well. These kittens are some of the biggest we have ever had.

Fall

Fall is in full swing here and we are enjoying the beautiful weather! It's a busy time of year with trying to get outside projects wrapped up and lots of other activities. We are enjoying the kittens and just today I realized I'm severely neglecting the blog!

Bailey's kittens are a lot of fun right now! They are maturing into very sweet boys and girls. We often wake up in the morning with 6 little ones tucked in around us and between our legs. They purr as soon as we touch them and love to be involved in what we are doing.

Emma's kittens are entering the funny toddler stage where they are starting to play with one another. They fall over and toddle about. It's sweet! Emma is being a good mother and is bringing them toys from all over the house...feather teasers, stuffed animals, balls...even a very heavy battery operated toy! She wants to make sure they are entertained apparently ;-).

And soon - any day now really - Gala should be having her kittens. More on that when they are born, hopefully soon!

Anyway, that's all for now, I will try to be more faithful in keeping the blog updated. But I have so many pleasant little things holding my attention - and playing with my shoes, and my pant legs ;-) - I might forget again. Oh well!

Growing up

Bailey's kittens are growing up so fast, it seems! They have been running the house now for a little over a week and it's a lot of fun to watch them exploring. They have already started to climb up on the bed with us at night...but right now it's more to play with our feet than to snuggle down to sleep with us! Still it's a lot of fun. They are finding all sorts of new and interesting things: reflections, shoes (and shoe laces), doors, and rugs. Everything they encounter is fun to them. They love to dive into little spaces so they can jump out at me when I walk by. They love to attack the broom when I'm sweeping and the blankets while I'm making the bed. There is never a dull moment!

Emma's kittens are 2 weeks old now. Their eyes are open and they are starting to crawl around and purr when they see us. I'm enjoying them at this stage, and soon they will be running around just like Bailey's :-).

Emma and Crispin's last litter

Emma had her last litter of Crispin babies yesterday. Emma and babies are doing really well. Emma is very happy, purring constantly and kneading the air with her paws :-). The babies are big! We will have more information on them as they get older.

Over due

That's what this update is, way over due. We have a lot going on here.

Gala's kittens are starting to make their way to their new homes. They are so much fun, I'm going to miss them! Thankfully we will still have Pink Pearl's kittens around for a couple more weeks. All the kittens are so sweet and cuddly. It's fun to wake up with a kitten all snuggled by your side in the morning. Or to fall asleep with one purring away as they snuggle by your head. They also love to play and I'm enjoying their help with my chores.

Bailey's kittens are almost 4 weeks old now. I can hardly believe that much time has passed since I last wrote. They are huge! In fact one boy passed the 1lb mark at 2 weeks of age (this is a typical kitten's weight at 1 month..hehe) and the others aren't too far behind him. We call the big boy "roly poly" right now ;-), to bad there isn't an apple with that name! Anyway, we have 3 boys and 3 girls in the litter. We hope to get pictures of them in the next couple of weeks and will start taking reservations soon after that. Let us know if you want to be on our notification list to be in the group of people that see the pictures first.

We are also expecting kittens from Emma in the near future. She is due early next week, so look for that announcement soon!

Baby Kittens

Bailey had her kittens this morning. Both mom and kittens are doing well. Bailey is such a good mom and does everything she needs to for her kittens. She loves to have her belly rubbed, even now...so it's fun to see her laying on her back with her feet in the air so I can rub her belly, while her kittens are nursing off to the side. She is very content and purring constantly.

There's no place like home

Summer is a time for vacations and we decided to take one this year. My sister came and stayed with our kittens, so that she could play with them and keep socializing them. We had a great time on our trip, but I always miss our cats and kittens. So, like a parent away from their kids, I called every day to see how they were doing ;-). It's a little silly, I know, but oh well. It was fun to come home and see how much they had grown while we were away. We are enjoying their kitten stage and the funny things they do. These kittens have decided it's fun to untie my shoe laces, while I'm wearing them! They are the first to take up that little trick. They also enjoy attacking the broom while I'm sweeping and attacking the sheets while I make the bed. They have started to sleep with us and cuddle with us on the bed, which is always sweet. We are enjoying them and their distinct personalities. So, while getting away is always nice - I really think Dorothy had it right, there is no place like home!

Going where no kitten has gone before...

Gala and Pink Pearl's kittens are starting the great exploration. They are litter trained and starting to roam the house. It is funny to watch them learn about new sounds and new places. They prance around the house loving all the room to run and play. Carpet is a new experience and it is funny to watch them roll around on it. The bigger kittens and Pippin think they are fun to watch too.

Lots of little things

We only have about one more week with Emma's kittens, so we are enjoying them all we can. They are sleeping with us almost every night now and during the day they love to be where we are. We can't wait for them to meet their new families.

It's fun to have two litters as close together as Gala's and Pink Pearl's. They are almost at the same stages together (Gala's are a little ahead of course!). They occasionally get play time together and they really enjoy it...and so do I :-). It's fun to watch them running and playing together. Soon they will be running the whole house!

Summer Fun

We are starting to say goodbye to some of Bailey's kittens as they make the move to their new families. It's a little sad to see them go, but it's so fun to hear back how they are doing!

Emma's kittens are also getting close to going to their new homes, so we are enjoying all the kitten fun. They are always doing funny things. We just bought some new balls with bells in them. They think it is really fun to carry them up the stairs and then knock them down, chasing them the whole way. Then they carry them back up the stairs again and repeat for lots of noisy fun ;-). They have also started to discover the bed at night and I will often wake up with one or more of them snuggled up next to us. They are sweet.

Gala's kittens are starting to run around and play. They are so funny as they toddle around, losing their balance as they try to chase a ball across their play area. They love to be held and are super floppy!

Pink Pearl's kittens are just starting to emerge from the little kitten stage. They are starting to interact with us when we spend time with them. They look up at me and mew sweetly, wanting me to hold them. They love to be held and a couple of them even already purr as I pet them.

Lots of Updates

This is a busy time of year here at Little Apple and there's so much to share.

First, we can't help but share our joy in Sweet Pippin! At 7 months he is already over 12 lbs and he is so beautiful. Here is a picture we took of him watching the kittens play earlier this week. He loves the little ones. He grooms them, plays with them, sleeps with them, and even will let the occasional kitten try to nurse off of him (which we think is hilarious!). He is very sweet and a total lap cat. He will sit on our laps for hours if we let him. We are greatly looking forward to having kittens from him in 2011.

Bailey's kittens are getting ready to go to their new homes soon. They are so fun right now and we can't wait for their new families to meet them. They purr constantly, in fact at their last vet appointment the vet couldn't get them to stop purring ;-).

Emma's kittens have the whole house explored now and they are starting to find new things, like the top of the bed and the bathtub. It's fun to watch them learning about their environment. Their favorite things are the cat trees and the little crunchy mylar balls. They go crazy over them and carry them all over the house.

Gala's kittens are growing up so fast. I can't believe how big they are! Their eyes are open and they are starting to walk around the nest and play with each other. We have some beautiful markings coming in on the girls and we can't wait to see what they will look like as they continue to mature.

Pink Pearl's kittens are also growing fast. I love looking at their little round bellies! They are still too young to do much. They sleep and eat and look like a little white pile of furr ;-).

Pink Pearl's Kittens are here!

Mom and kittens are doing very well. Here is a picture of Pink Pearl right after the kittens were born, they aren't even all the way dry yet ;-). We will have updates and more information later!

The great explorers

Emma's kittens are exploring every new space in our house. They have been running the house now for about 2 weeks and are a lot of fun to watch. They are learning about stairs and dishwashers and all other kinds of household items. They like playing with the broom, but the vacuum is still a little too scary. They have fun climbing on the cat trees and love to lay in front of the windows to look out at all the birds. They also love to play with the older kittens and we often find them curled up together taking a nap. It's very sweet!

Baby Kittens

Gala's kittens were born today! She has 8 little ones. Both mom and the kittens are doing very well.

Sweet and Cuddly

Emma's kittens are about 5 weeks old now. They are toddling all around and starting to play with each other. They are learning about toys and are very funny to watch. They lift up their paw to bat at something, then lose their balance and fall over. They are all very sweet and cuddly. It's fun to start seeing their personalities emerge.

They are pretty popular around here with all the other cats. Bailey's kittens think that they are fun to play with and are often found sneaking in to be with them. Pippin likes the little ones too. He grooms them and takes care of them like he's their mom. It's kind of funny to watch :-).

The joys of childhood

Bailey's kittens are in the fun state of childhood. Everything is a toy and everything is fun. They play hard and then sleep hard. Some of the more fun things in the last few weeks:

1. They have learned that when they want us to pet them, all they have to do is jump on our laps. So they are seeking us out now, rather than waiting for us to pet them.

2. They have learned to untie shoe strings...now if I could just teach them to tie them again ;-).

3. They are learning to run to the door when we come home, in order to greet us.

4. They have discovered our bed and we hope will start sleeping with us soon.

5. They found the baby kittens (Emma's) and are very curious about them.

And last, they are growing more and more beautiful everyday. Here is an updated picture to show just how much they have changed. We hope to add more pictures to the kitten page soon!

Sweet Pippin

Pippin, our youngest male, is a little over 6 months old now and growing so big. He is already well on his way to 10.5 lbs. He loves to cuddle and is a total lap cat. He also loves to play and is very close to learning to fetch, he just likes to play a little in between each throw ;-). He is a joy to have around!

Little kittens

Emma's kittens are 3 weeks old now, so they are entering the fun age. They are starting to walk around and look at us when we play with them. They are playing with each other, which makes taking pictures interesting :-). And they are starting to enjoy being held and even purr when we pet them. They are all very sweet!

So tiny, yet so big!

Emma's kittens look so small, but don't let their tiny size fool you...they are big kittens :-). They are doing really well and some of them are starting to open their eyes.

Emma's new kittens!

We are excited to announce that Emma had her kittens today. She was kind to me and had them in the middle of the afternoon :-). She has 5 beautiful babies. We will post updates as we have more information about them.

Kitten Update

Bailey's kittens are two weeks old today and we are excited to announce that we have 3 boys and 3 girls. The kittens are growing fast and their eyes are opening. We look forward to seeing what their colors and patterns will be, but we have another couple weeks to know for sure.

Sweet Pippin's First Show

Sweet Pippin went to his first show this weekend. He did very well! He finaled in 3 of the 4 rings...with a 3rd best, 5th best and 10th best kitten. This was out of 27 kittens. He also won best of breed and best of color in each ring. You can see his awards in the picture below.











We spoke to every judge about him and all thought he has a great career ahead of him. He did great all day and was very good for all the judges. One judge even laughed and said that Sweet Pippin liked everything about showing. He purred whenever we picked him up. He played with every toy put in front of him. He let us carry him around like a baby and let everyone pet him. We could tell at the end of the day he was getting a little tired and ready to go home, but then, so were we :-).










To the right, Pippin's trying to catch a nap in his show shelter.

And away they go...

Nala's kittens are starting to make the trips their new homes. It's always sad for us to see them go, but it is fun to hear back how they are doing with their new families. Nala is officially retired and so these are the last of her kittens. They are so big and beautiful! I've included one last picture of one of her boys for you to enjoy.

Bailey and her kittens are doing very well. I can't believe how big they have grown already! They are just starting to get a faint dusting of color on their ears and noses. They are very sweet and already started purring!

Baby Kittens

Bailey had her kittens today! She had them in the very early morning and is very happy to be done :-). She has 6 little ones. We will be posting updates later, but everything is going really well so far.

Pitter patter...

is the sound heard all around our house these days :-). I love it. The kittens are running around and playing with everything. They climb up on my lap while I work on the computer or nap at my feet. They follow me from room to room as I do my chores. They play in the kitchen while I'm cooking and play on the bed while I'm going to sleep at night. They cuddle with me on the bed in the morning and then start playing with my feet as I wake up and move around. It's fun to have the daily interactions with them. They have only a few more weeks at our home, so I'm enjoying them all I can. I'm excited for them to meet their new families!

Bailey is doing really well and is huge. We can hardly believe that she still has 1.5 weeks before her kittens are due. It looks like she will be having another BIG litter of kittens. We can't wait to see her kittens and will make sure to post as soon as they are born!

Running and playing and growing...

That's what Nala's kittens are doing a lot of right now...and sleeping of course :-). They are very fun! The toddler stage is over and everything is an adventure.

And Bailey is growing bigger and bigger too, in another way. She is expecting her kittens the middle of February and it definitely shows. We can't wait to see how many she has!

The cat ate my paper...

I have a lot of excuses for why I've not written in almost a month, but none of them are very good ;-). Our house has felt a little empty with all of Emma's kittens gone to their new homes. Nala's kittens are growing fast and are starting to run around a lot. They are still litter training, though, so they aren't running the house yet. I can't wait until they are!

We've been working a lot on our website lately. You probably haven't noticed many changes (since most of them are organization and behind the scenes changes), but we have added a couple articles with more to come in the next week or so. Here are the two that are currently posted.

1. I'm going on vacation - What should I do with my Ragdoll? This article goes through some of the possibilities of how to handle vacation.

2. Behavior Changes - Signs of Illness - We are hoping through this article to help people learn a little how to read behavior changes in your cat. Especially changes that mean your cat could be struggling with an illness.