He is still enjoying them. And they are growing fast :~D
However, close examination of them upon their 2nd vet visit yesterday showed that Pippin, the black one, is indeed, not a "she" as previously believed.
I hope it works out OK to have two toms (small 't' toms) in the house... The kittens will be fixed early next month, as soon as they are able :~D
As for the prodigal cat, no idea at all where he went, and he's not been gone more than an hour or two at a time since. I suspect it had something to do with the gypsy neighbors... he got trapped in one of their trailers or something while they were moving. That doesn't explain the scratched up ear necessarily, but I just can't figger anything else. He's too lazy to take off in the snow on adventures that are voluntary.
The bonus is, they won't spray either.
My big Siamese male goes through ALL the motions of spraying, including lifting his tail and quivering it while he treads with his back feet . . . but thank goodness he never actually delivers.
He was neutered fairly late because I was figuring out if he liked showing (he didn't.)