The story of our (and Denmark's) fifth German Rex litter |
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Mating Jerry Lee Rex in 2008
Although Jerry's first litter was only 3 kittens, they were good examples of the breed so we were quite happy to let Jerry and Gerd mate again after a year. Her pregnancy developed well and we hoped for a similar litter. It was difficult to tell as Jerry is a small cat but we hoped. On the Thursday night she was obviously getting close but settled down to sleep after her supper without any apparent anxiety. I had a look at her during the night and she was still quiet. On Friday morning I got up early to check on her again but could not see her at first. Looking around I found a kitten in the sleeping box where Jerry had been, but alone. I picked it up and found its fur was damp and cold. I then found Jerry lying on a mat a few feet away with another kitten. I dried the first one and put it with Jerry in a proper bed so she could clean and feed both together. My assumption was that she had given birth but did not like the place so wandered off to give birth again without going back for the first kitten. The first kitten was a girl who we named Wriggle and the second was an all black boy we called Manky Jack. Jack suckled happily but Wriggle was too weak to do much and later that day I felt she could not survive took her to the vet for a checkup. It seemed that she was not properly developed and died because of that. Although we don't know how Jerry came to abandon her, her natural instinct was right. This photo was the first good one I got of mother and son about two weeks later. Black cats and cameras don't mix. |
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We again used names from The Wild Road books but
from later in the story. Jack was curly and developed well,
but as Jerry is a female with 10 nipples, and Jack was an
only kitten, he got far too much milk! After a month he got
severe constipation and had to spend a night at the vets to
clean him out. I took Jerry there to keep him company
overnight but she was furious about that and didn't give
him any care at all. Getting them both home the next day I
kept them together in a cat carrier and she settled down
again with him. Jack did recover and grew into a much bigger
cat than his mother! Here is the "whole" family six weeks later. |
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Jack grew well but rather stout. He was a happy cat who
fitted in well with the others. Unfortunately we could not
mate him with Perletot as she didn't like him much. After
she died we had to neuter him but as it was rather later than
usual, and he had some residual problems with his bowels and
bladder, he developed a spraying habit which gave us some
problems. Not really bad, but he had to be watched! (Score,
one sofa and two chairs.) Sadly it recurred throughout his
life and he had to have treatment to keep his bladder
emptying properly and the last time that happened he died
when coming out of the anaesthetic. A suspected bladder
tumour. He died when he was almost 11 years old on 23rd April 2019. |
