First to the Bowls

The heroes of last night’s adventures were Allegro and little Largo. The latter decided to try drinking. He appeared to have mastered the idea and lapped up some fresh water I had placed in a shallow dish. Is it instinct that tells a newborn to try his tongue on this liquid? There seems to be no precedent for a conscious effort of that sort, and yet, if instinct, then it takes a while to develop.

You’ll note that in the first photograph, Largo has his paw in the dish. He clearly knows that water runs, so for drinking, it needs to be kept in place…

Then, Allegro tried his hand - or tongue, rather - at eating. I served up a creamy mousse for them to taste, and it seemed to be to Allegro’s liking. He ate quite a bit - for a five week old kitten.

To celebrate - and to burn off all those calories he sucked back - he decided to go climbing, and scaled Literary Ridge.

So far, I have one kitten who will drink but not eat; one kitten who will eat but not drink; three others who neither eat nor drink. But we’ll see who is next to discover the delights of non-matronly nutrition.