Orchard

The Orchard planted in my kitten room the same day Jigsaw officially left. Since Jigsaw was pre-adopted and spent a lot of time with my parents, I felt like I didn't have a foster litter, so I was thrilled. This bushel was bottle raised by another foster who named them after the Teletubbies... but I couldn't not associate their genders with the Teletubbies names, so I got permission to rename them. Apple Cider is my Fall Favorite- and so The Orchard was one of my fastest, easiest litters to name.

Their first night they were more interested in their environment and new toys than me, though they had no objections to being picked up for forced love. They'd calmly submit to an endless supply of belly kisses and chin scritches, sometimes settling in for a little cuddle and sometimes scampering off to play some more.

Fuji, the gray boy, was particularly needy- his bottle foster told me they were trying to deter him from a desire to nurse on their mouths... so when he attempted it on me I did turn my head... ending up with a tiny kitten nursing on my eye or ear. I took a video before detaching him- but he kept coming back for more. (Ha! Fuji knew I was typing about him... he just climbed up my bare leg, up my chest, and gave me several kisses on the mouth).

But in the morning, they were ready to pop out of their kennel to play on their new playground.... ME. I covered my recently healed up legs with a blanket and enjoyed feeling them pounce and play around until they wore themselves out and settled where they had played, all over my very happy self.

The hubby thought Braeburn (green collar) was "shy", but he just doesn't spend much time with the babies. Braeburn is food motivated, but begins chomping if he smells food, regardless of whether the food is in front of him or not. My arm discovered this fact when it was too close to his mouth when I offered his sibling some smelly pate. But after he eats, he has the best food coma!!

Honeycrisp has a more discerning palate, and turned down some snacks to play. But Crispin stuck his head into the treat packet bag, requiring lots of grooming.

So I started bringing them into the bedroom where they took over the cat wheel without any prompting. Ambrosia was first- but the track was off the base and it took me a few attempts to get it back on. By then, Wicket was tired of waiting and ran her off the wheel.