More Wildcat Kittens

 Kendra, one of our female wildcats, has given birth to a litter of kittens sired by McTavish.  They are now approximately two weeks old, and I first announced it during the wildcat conservation talk during our members evening on Saturday.

This is obviously great news, and is our second litter of kittens here at the Centre this year. Kendra has bred and raised kittens successfully in the past, so hopefully she will continue on this good form as her youngsters may have an important role to play in Scottish wildcat conservation.

 Although not so much of a risk as they are in our main enclosure, and Kendra has them safely tucked away in her den, I'm afraid the usual rules apply... please respect the stand off barrier. It is there for a reason!

I will keep you updated on their progress...

 Now, I don't want to bore you with more photos of our wildcat kittens, but... I'm going to! Above is one of Iona's kittens, now about 9 weeks old. Below are just a few recent photos of how they are doing.

One of the youngsters is a bit of a loner to the other two, and very bold! It spends a lot of time stalking dad and pouncing on him... much to his annoyance. He is a good dad though, and just ignores it and lets them get on with it.

Above is Macavity stalking through the long grass, meanwhile below one of the kittens climbed up the small log in the centre of the enclosure.

Patiently waited till dad passed by, and then pounced on him!

I didn't get the "impact" shot I'm afraid as I was too busy laughing!

I have to say, I have seen many kittens born and raised here in the past, but this litter really has been something else. I think it is because they are in the slightly more open enclosure, so we are seeing them grow, develop and play more intimately then usual.

OK, you have suffered enough. I will try (although no promises) to hold back from more kitten photos until I can update you on Kendra's litter... they probably won't start emerging for another four or five weeks.