Eight is Enough

Refiner

Big two-legged kitty mom
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A big furry hello from Washington State.

I've been a long-time cat "owner" though I question who owns who with every cat. Kitties find their way to me and right now, the latest three are curled up behind me purring contentedly.

I grew up on a subsistence farm with all kinds of farm animals, cats included. I can pull out any family photo album and look back at all the kitties who have graced the farm's days. I am currently living at the farm and looking after my aging father, who is now in the most recently recognized "stage 4" of dementia (previously late stage 3).

Kitten 1
Last year, one of the caregivers adopted a kitten that didn't fit well into her household. She didn't know what to do with the kitten, but her first thought was that I would certainly know what to do. She arrived with the kitten in his cardboard carrier, a bag of kitten food, and an aluminum pan with litter. Of course, my kitty-loving heart knew what to do, and certainly couldn't turn down a kitty baby.

Tracking back, it's been quite awhile since I had cats in my household. My late husband developed an allergy, so he and I created an outdoor kennel for the two I had. Those two eventually had a really nice kennel in the barn at the family farm for their "retirement." Even my folks had not had cats here since those had long been buried in our pet cemetery.
Except one. Dad did adopt a beautiful ginger tabby for mom. But between mom trying to let the cat out all the time and dad not knowing where she was, the cat ended up outside one night alone. She was familiar with the farm as she'd follow dad on walks, but she wasn't familiar with farm life. Particularly wildlife, in the form of a hawk. Anyway that was around 7 years ago and no kitties until August last year.

When I took the kitten in, I had to introduce him slowly to the beagle-mix dog I have been caring for. I gave the kitten time to establish his "safe spots" before allowing them to sniff noses. Now he's a big beautiful 13.7 lb sweetie that takes no nonsense from the dog.

Kittens 2 & 3
A month later I was expecting a male ginger and white tabby to raise with the first kitten. The owners decided to keep him (named him Hobbes) and sent two litter mates instead. They were nearly all black with tabby face markings. After their adjustment period, all three kittens played and bonded. The two black ones are now big beautiful black classic tabbies. The male is 14.7 pounds and has golden undertones, and the female is 11.3 pounds and has silver undertones.

After their first birthdays, a sibling from a litter after the black tabbies gave birth to 7 babies - 5 dark color and 2 light color. The caregiver had been successful with introducing this momma cat and her brother as kittens. The male had suffered a lifer threatening injury when they were 5 months old. And during the last few days of his life, the female had snuck out. They had both been scheduled for neutering at the time. Of course her spay had to be delayed until after kittens were weaned.
When it was time for the kittens to be born, she called me and I talked her through the process as she'd never witnessed kittenbirth before. I have baby pictures and videos of these kittens.

Kitten 4
This same caregiver, who is an animal lover herself, had some strays (apparently a litter) near her house. One decided he didn't want to be homeless anymore and approached her after she'd offered food to all of them. Again she brought this kitten out to me after she had him examined for a chip. Since he was already used to outdoor living and I have 3 inside already, he'd be a good candidate for an outside cat. He spends his unsupervised time in the greenhouse with all his amenities. He follows me (or I carry him) around to do outside chores. He's now a 7 month old grey mackerel tabby with strong Maine Coon features (semi long hair and large size). Within on week of arriving, he'd visited the vet for vaccinations and neutering. He's a real love-bug.

Kitten 5
Now I had been expecting to get two babies from the litter of 7. At 7 weeks, a grey spotted tabby female arrived; her light colored brother was still nursing.
Out of the 7, one was very dark and showed almost no tabby effects (possibly agouti). Two were close in color to their aunt and uncle here, although they appear to have mackerel pattern. Two were grey tabby like their mother, who has a mackerel pattern. And the two light colored ones began showing their points just after a month old. The female was adopted by another caregiver and is showing lynx-point with her lilac color point markings. Their father has been determined to be a siamese in that neighborhood, and the others are potentially fathered by a large grey and white tomcat.
The female I received was the lightest colored of the grey ones. During her adjustment period, she would come through the gate in the hallway to see her older family members who were less than enthused by her presence. But she's quite the go-getter. She won the hearts of all three and they all play together.

Kittens 6, 7 & 8
The day before the momma cat was finally due to be spayed, I was to get the little male. As the caregiver was preparing to bring him out, one of her neighbors asked her to find homes for two kittens her momma cat had given birth to just a week after these had been born. The caregiver hurriedly placed all three into her carrier and sent me a text "be careful what you wish for" then asked if I could meet her at the driveway as she needed to make it quick in order to take care of other tasks before her shift that night. Apparently they adjusted quickly to each other, from the hissing she heard all the way out. When I picked up the carrier from her passenger seat, they weren't even hissing. And never have since.
These are the three I share in the polydactyl/ bobtail post. Since the large grey and white tomcat is clearly father to these two, there's a potential family relationship between the newest grey and white kittens to the color point and his grey tabby sister. All will be neutered, regardless. And there's plenty of room on the farm for 8 kitties. But unlike mom (who often had 11-13 cats here), I say "Eight is Enough"

I'll share stories and pictures in the future.
~Ref
 

tabbytom

Happiness is being owned by a cat
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Refiner and kitties, on behalf of The Catsite community, a warm
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to all of you.

So glad that you’ve joined this wonderful site and you are in the right place for all things cat and this site is loaded with tons of rich resources and you’ll find friendly and helpful cats around and many of our cats are very knowledgeable in cat related stuffs.


You have a heart truly for kitties and thank you for taking them in :clapcat: Do post photos of your kitties for us to see! :camera::camera::camera: and what are their names?

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Enjoy your stay and see ya around :thumbsup:
 
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  • #4

Refiner

Big two-legged kitty mom
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I have to crop the pictures to upload. My phone takes them too big for here.

Names are as follows
Kitty 1: Grey and white shorthair came with a tentative name of Thomas. I asked around for some suggestions, and one of my friends said, "I like it, Thomas O'Malley the Alley Cat." So he's officially "Thomas O'Malley." He was a rescue at about 2 weeks of age and was fostered until about two months old, when he was neutered, tatooed, and adopted. I received him a few days after his adoption and he's been in my care ever since. He's now a year and a half old, and very handsome. He's my self appointed sentry.

Kitties 2 & 3: Black classic tabby shorthair. I had been playing a mobile game, Snoopy's Town Tale, when they came to me at 2 months of age. I named the Linus and Sally. Linus has since earned his middle name, so he's now "Linus Houdini" for his knack of escape. They are a year and 4 months old.

Kitty 4: Grey mackerel tabby, with possible Maine Coon genetics. His name is Cosmo, and he responded to it almost immediately. He was between 5-6 months when he arrived, and is now 7 months old. And he's already as big as Linus and Sally were at one year.

Kitty 5: Grey spotted tabby shorthair. Since she's a niece to Linus and Sally, I stuck to Peanuts theme and named her Eudora. She's a bit like her namesake in freaking out over little things, but she acts like a grown up cat in a mini size at just over 3 months old.

Kitty 6: Lilac colorpoint shorthair. Eudora's brother, and another Peanuts theme name. Schroeder. Due to his delayed growth and extended nursing, he isn't quite as big as Eudora. Plus the Siamese genetics produce smaller, more slender cats.

Kitties 7 & 8: Grey and white shorthair. Since they are potentially related to Eudora and Schroeder due to their momma cats being neighbors and giving birth a week apart, I selected two more Peanuts theme names, Roy and Ruby.

Schroeder, Roy and Ruby are in my "nursery" area at least for the winter, pending improvements in their litter box behavior. They have all been with Cosmo at various points before and after their arrival here, so I will continue to allow them contact with him. The balance of the first 4 kitties is too delicate to upset with 3 more in the house.
I may try to keep Ruby inside if possible. The one clawless dewtoe is tender, and may remain a soft spot as she grows. I'm sure she'd make a great huntress, although I'm not sure she's a good outdoor candidate.
I will be building an outdoor enclosure come spring to rotate kitties in and out of, so everyone gets a lot of fresh air, feathered entertainment to chatter to, and insects to catch.

Currently, Thomas, Linus, Sally, and Cosmo are up to date on shots and are chipped. Eudora and Schroeder go in this week for first shots, and Roy and Ruby go in next week. Schroeder and Roy may be getting neutered by Christmas, but Eudora and Ruby will be spayed around January or February. I was hoping that Eudora and Schroeder could be reintroduced to each other, but Eudora wants none of it. Thankfully I have multiple carriers so they won't have to ride in the same one.
 
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