Episode 3 Meet the Kittens

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ALL CATS MEOW

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Today, all 11 kittens are trying to get milk from Mum, Coco,

at the same time.

Coco has eight teats, so only eight kittens can be fed at one time.

The bigger kittens have barged in first,

leaving the smaller ones to wait their turn.

It's a real squash though.

Squash? Yeah. You try having 11 kittens lying on top of you.

MEOW

The kittens' eyes are now open,

but their ears are still folded closed.

Even if they can't hear,

they're curious about everything they see.

Ooh, what's this pink thing? It smells lovely

and warmy, like Mummy.

Hello, Mama.

Just giving you a kiss.

Thanks, darling.

-YAWN

-Oh, I'm full and sleepy now.

Me too.

SNORING

This kitten is so tired she's gone to sleep while crawling over her sister.

She's forgotten to lie down.

You can see now that the kittens who have fed are asleep,

so that lets the rest of the kittens get their share of milk.

Who's that?

Ah, Mum Cleo.

Where have you been?

Ooh, goody!

More fresh milk!

-Yummy.

-BOING BOING BOING

WHIRRING Suddenly, Cleo hears a weird noise

and Coco's heard it too.

-What's that?

-I don't know, but I'm going to get the kittens

and move them somewhere safe.

WHIRRING

Oh, look, it's just the lawn being mowed.

We know what that is, don't we?

But that's a frightening sound for the kittens,

so they are carried very gently into a new place under the stairs.

This is how all mother cats carry their kittens -

by the scruff of the neck.

It looks as if it's hurting them,

but it isn't.

And there they are,

safely tucked away in their new hidey-hole under the stairs,

where nothing can scare them.

The kittens are now three weeks old and twice as big

as when they were born. BOING BOING BOING

And now we're going to weigh them,

and one of the owners' children

is going to help,

but first they have to make sure their hands are completely clean

from any germs, so they use a special gel.

Now we can start.

And the kittens are going to be weighed...

in a bowl!

There are two reasons to weigh them -

the first reason is to see if they're growing properly.

Each kitten is brought across, one by one, to be weighed.

Oof, what's this?

A bowl, you silly-billy.

It's a funny thing to weigh us in, innit?

The second reason for weighing the kittens

is that they must get some special medicine.

The amount of medicine they get is decided by their weight.

Did you know all kittens are born with worms inside them

that could make them sick?

This medicine is good for both nursing mums...

and kittens.

-Bleugh!

-But it doesn't taste very nice.

That's one kitten done.

Number two.

Number three.

Number four.

Number five.

Can you guess which number is next?

-It's number six. Then number seven.

-Bleugh!

Oh, number eight.

Number nine.

Number ten.

And finally, number 11.

MEOW That's all the kittens done.

Even Coco has to take the medicine

because, if she gets worms, she could pass them on to her kittens

in her milk.

That was disgusting!

Cleo tries to run away.

-But, nope, she's got to take hers too.

-Yuck! Oh, it's horrible.

Now, here's some exciting news.

The kittens are trying to walk for the very first time.

KITTEN GRUNTS

They're a bit wobbly

because they haven't used their legs before

and they have to learn HOW to walk.

Their eyes are now open, so they can see everything.

And their ears have unfolded, so they can hear everything.

But, mostly, they still rely on their sense of smell.

Sniffing here... SNIFF SNIFF

..and sniffing there. SNIFF SNIFF

Mum Cleo is watching to make sure everyone's all right.

It's a big new adventure

and a bit scary!

Mum! Mum! Mum!

-Mum! Help!

-What is it, sweetheart?

-Mum! Mum!

-Mum!

-C'mon, you can be brave.

-Mum! Help!

-You just put one paw in front of the other...

-Help!

-..and then you're walking. See? Like me.

-Mum!

Watch out, Mum. I'm coming through.

Well, I think they're getting the hang of it.

Right, I think that's enough for today.

Let's get back to the hidey-hole. Oh!

You are getting heavy.

But, Mum...

I want to get out and walk some more.

All right. Off you go, you cheeky thing.

Oh, Mum? I've forgotten how to do it!

It's not as easy as it looks.

Aw, good luck!

And see you next time.

Having a kitten is a huge, time-consuming responsibility

and, if you want an idea of exactly what's involved,

check out the Meet The Kittens page on the CBeebies website.