Marlow's and Sasha's neighbors

diggerled

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I just got back from a visit to a house down the road. Bob lives there. Bob is about 85 years old, widowed for 20 years, and is retired from the local electric utility.

I suspected that a cat who has been frequenting my yard lately might live at Bob's house. She does. I was surprised to find that four other cats live there too. A one year old and three kittens born August 9. The cat who comes around my home is the mother of the other four. All are adorable I might add.

Bob took on feeding the mother when she was a young kitten. That's great. But the young mother, only about two herself has now had two litters. One of two kittens in the first litter died in a nursing accident according to Bob. Very likely as the mother was young and inexperienced. Now she has had three more.

When I asked what were his intentions, he said he would just keep them and feed them till they moved on. He said he will never allow any of them to come indoors. I explained about getting them fixed, the mother and the older kitten immediately. He seemed open to it but because of his money habits I don't think he will do it. He very likely has plenty of money. He never spends a dime though.

Background:
Some years ago I found out Bob was warming water for bathing on the stove because he was afraid of what a new water heater might cost. He had never priced one, he was just sure it would be more than he could bear to spend. As a neighbor who is also plumber, I helped him back into the 20th century.

I think I may have to help finance the operations and associated care. I think if Bob were faced with the cost of providing real health care for all five, he would opt for a "second amendment type of solution".

In my opinion the two older cats would be be fixed and would stay as outdoor cats.

I'm not so sure what should be done with the kittens. They are somewhat friendly but Bob has never had any play interaction with them or actually picked them up. When I tried to engage them with leaves and blades of grass, all were curious and two came to interact. One even playfully bit my fingers a couple of times. I am worried that after ten weeks they may be past the point where they could be the kind of pets most people want to adopt. If they go to the shelter they will be in competition with much friendlier and more adoptable kittens.

They all seem healthy. Eyes and ears are clean and clear.

Comments?
 

minouloveblue

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Are you close to a shelter? The ones near me take kittens readily because they are very adoptable. I have taken two liter from the two females I will try to trap with the drop cloth. It broke my heart with one because she kept circling the area and crying for days. But I know those kittens have homes - nearly all were adopted and they are black and black and white, supposedly the hardest to adopt. Bob doesn't sound like he going to do anything.
 

kailie

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I would absolutely try to catch/socialize the younger kittens. I have successfully socialized and adopted out kittens/cats much older than that and although it is harder when they are older, it is far from impossible. At 10 weeks, they still have lots of time.
As for the Mom and the older kitten, are there any TNR organizations in your area that you can contact to see if they can help out? Good luck!
 

ldg

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I don't remember if there are low-cost spay/neuter options in your area, but I would definitely just go ahead and pay for that myself if he's open to someone else managing it.

And since his opinion is that he's just caring for them until they move on... I'd take the kittens to socialize them if they're 8-10 weeks old (confine them to a room in your home) while looking for a shelter or foster network to take them.


You can google low-cost spay/neuter for your town/county, and you can search for shelters/foster networks at http://www.petfinder.com
 
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