Hi all.
I'm new to this site but the last few days I have found it really helpful for me so I thought I would come and introduce myself. My name is Leah, I'm 24 and from Essex, UK.
I currently have three cats, a female called Buttons who is 4 1/2, and male called Max who is almost 3 (and is cross eyed), and a kitten called Ruby who is almost 7 months (her mum was a Maine Coon/Bengal cross so she's a big girl)
As I'm am a 'crazy cat lady' I also feed all the other cats in the neighbourhood and for the last couple of years I have been feeding a little black and white cat who is very friendly. Last year I noticed that she was pregnant then all of a sudden she dissappeared so I knocked on a few houses to see if she belonged to anyone and found out she lives three doors away from me and was told that she had had her kittens. A few months later she started coming back down to me again and would sit with me having a fuss for ages! I began to get a bit worried when I noticed that she seemed to constantly be outside in any weather however knowing how cats are I assumed it was probably her decision.....
Then i noticed she was pregnant again! I fed her twice daily and would sit outside fussing her (my female cat hates her so I couldnt let her in) and when she started getting really big and was sitting on my doorstep in minus degrees temperatures I decided to pick her up and take her down to the home she was from and just explain that she has been sitting on my doorstep and she is about to pop. The 'owner' told me that the cat never goes in as they have a big dog that she is scared of. She took the cat off me and said she would try to keep her inside and said that she has a bed set up for when she has the kittens. I lay there that night wondering if i had done the right thing...
I didnt see her then the next day so I assumed that she was tucked up indoors. Then the next evening I saw a little blurry face at my front door, I opened the door and there she was with her massive pregnant belly and a spot of frost on the end of her nose. I picked her up straight away and went back down to the house she lived at and the lady told me she had to let her out cos she was wrecking the door by scratching at it because she was scared of the dog. I held on to the cat tightly and told her that I will take her in and she can go in my spare room and have her babies in there as she cannot have her babies outside in this weather. She agreed and didnt seem too bothered. So that night I took her in, set up my spare room (which was already set up as a cats room from when my kitten was younger) and made a nice comfy room for her to have her kittens in.
On the 1st March she had 5 gorgeous kittens in a basket full of soft blankets in a lovely warm room... and she was amazing. She dealt with everything herself (although i had to pull the placenta of the third one out of her on the vets advice as it had got stuck!) and has proven to be an aazing mummy.
All kittens are healthy and I have since got in touch with Cats Protection who are going to help me out and rehome the mum and her kittens to good homes if I will foster them until it is time for them to go. I spoke to the cats 'owner' and we agreed that it was best that she was rehomed and we will also be going back for the other (un neutered!!) cats that she has which also all live outside.
So now I am the pround fosterer of a mummy cat (Pickle) and five 6 day old kittens and am enjoying every minute of it!
I'm new to this site but the last few days I have found it really helpful for me so I thought I would come and introduce myself. My name is Leah, I'm 24 and from Essex, UK.
I currently have three cats, a female called Buttons who is 4 1/2, and male called Max who is almost 3 (and is cross eyed), and a kitten called Ruby who is almost 7 months (her mum was a Maine Coon/Bengal cross so she's a big girl)
As I'm am a 'crazy cat lady' I also feed all the other cats in the neighbourhood and for the last couple of years I have been feeding a little black and white cat who is very friendly. Last year I noticed that she was pregnant then all of a sudden she dissappeared so I knocked on a few houses to see if she belonged to anyone and found out she lives three doors away from me and was told that she had had her kittens. A few months later she started coming back down to me again and would sit with me having a fuss for ages! I began to get a bit worried when I noticed that she seemed to constantly be outside in any weather however knowing how cats are I assumed it was probably her decision.....
Then i noticed she was pregnant again! I fed her twice daily and would sit outside fussing her (my female cat hates her so I couldnt let her in) and when she started getting really big and was sitting on my doorstep in minus degrees temperatures I decided to pick her up and take her down to the home she was from and just explain that she has been sitting on my doorstep and she is about to pop. The 'owner' told me that the cat never goes in as they have a big dog that she is scared of. She took the cat off me and said she would try to keep her inside and said that she has a bed set up for when she has the kittens. I lay there that night wondering if i had done the right thing...
I didnt see her then the next day so I assumed that she was tucked up indoors. Then the next evening I saw a little blurry face at my front door, I opened the door and there she was with her massive pregnant belly and a spot of frost on the end of her nose. I picked her up straight away and went back down to the house she lived at and the lady told me she had to let her out cos she was wrecking the door by scratching at it because she was scared of the dog. I held on to the cat tightly and told her that I will take her in and she can go in my spare room and have her babies in there as she cannot have her babies outside in this weather. She agreed and didnt seem too bothered. So that night I took her in, set up my spare room (which was already set up as a cats room from when my kitten was younger) and made a nice comfy room for her to have her kittens in.
On the 1st March she had 5 gorgeous kittens in a basket full of soft blankets in a lovely warm room... and she was amazing. She dealt with everything herself (although i had to pull the placenta of the third one out of her on the vets advice as it had got stuck!) and has proven to be an aazing mummy.
All kittens are healthy and I have since got in touch with Cats Protection who are going to help me out and rehome the mum and her kittens to good homes if I will foster them until it is time for them to go. I spoke to the cats 'owner' and we agreed that it was best that she was rehomed and we will also be going back for the other (un neutered!!) cats that she has which also all live outside.
So now I am the pround fosterer of a mummy cat (Pickle) and five 6 day old kittens and am enjoying every minute of it!