Hello 
I am a twenty-one year old, living with my boyfriend. The neighborhood we live in seems to be the residential 'pet dump', as we have cats show up at our house all of the time who have obviously been socialized and love, but now apparently have no home. We moved into my current house almost 3 years ago, with two small kittens [a brother and sister, Lupin and Luna- both fixed] and my dog. About 4 months later, a small calico female [looked to be about 3 or maybe 4 months old] showed up at my house. She was COMPLETELY wild, but so enamored with Lupin that she stuck around. I fed her and tried to coax her near me, would sit outside for hours at a time with treats but she would not come. This went on and on. One day Lupin disappeared and never returned, which saddened me since he was one of my first pets. All of our cats are indoor/outdoor, they have a catdoor for 24/7 access. Some people may not agree with that, but that's what they enjoy and love and I won't keep the outdoors from them. About a year after we moved in the calico female [who I named Muffin] had a litter of kittens in my shed. Three girls and one boy. Sadly, one of the females died from a heart attack caused by stress after being treated in the vet for a severe case of worms that she had contracted from her wild momma. I found a home for the male after giving him his first set of shots and deworming, and ended up keeping the other two females after not being able to find them homes. One is a grey, orange, and white calico named Stella. The other is a black and white tuxedo kitty named Onyx. I had them both spayed. My boyfriend's mom then had a wild white cat have a litter of six kittens under her porch. The mom abandoned three of them and refused to take them back. We attempted to supplement and bottle feed them, kept them wrapped up and on heating pads. Two died within 48 hours, the other one lived for about 2 weeks but was so, so small and weak he sadly passed away as well. The other three grew to be HUGE, one was my cat- Maynard. He had one eye from an infection when he was a kitten that had caused his third eye to grow together, and eventually the skin grew over it. We had him for almost two years, until one day he, too, disappeared in August of last year and never returned. He was also neutered. The other two, named Lady and Junior, reside with my boyfriend's mom and are both fixed. About two months later a random tabby female showed up at my house, looking for food and with a HUGE belly, obviously pregnant. I set up a crate for her and the next day woke up to her asleep in there with four babies. The babies were doing fine until 6 weeks old, when I woke up and checked on them to find 2 of them completely cold and still and on the brink of death. I tried to do everything to bring them back but could do nothing. I immediately began to supplement the other two, one of them who was very large and obviously getting the nipple that was producing milk on the momma. The other one was very tiny and had started losing function on half his body and was having a hard time standing up/walking. I nursed the small one and within a couple hours he was back to running around normal. The large kitten now lives with a loving family who sends me pictures of him frequently, the small kitten is now named Bo, I had found him a home with a friend who had Cystic Fibrosis, but she sadly was hospitalized and asked me to take him back, and then passed away soon after. So Bo now lives with my boyfriend's mom. He was recently found about a month ago in front of her house with a broken back leg- someone had ran him over and left him there. We took him to the vet who thought it would have to be amputated, but was able to place metal rods in his leg to support it and help it heal. He is just now at the end of his 2 month long healing process and confinement in the bathroom, and was SO happy to see outdoors again. The mother of these two was taken in, fixed, released, and comes back maybe once every few months to make an appearance. Muffin [the wild calico], had her second litter on 4/20/11 under a neighbors porch. We tried to find a way to them, but there was nothing but the tiniest opening. So week after week, I grew tired and eventually gave up the idea of ever being able to reach/tame them. One night almost 8 weeks later I heard my cat door swing, and turned from my computer to see a cute little Tabby kitten sitting under my kitchen table. About 5 minutes later another kitten came, and then two more. 3 males and 1 female. Muffin brought them all inside of my house. They were VERY scared and skiddish. I placed them in a carrier and fed some wet food, tried petting and socializing. It became apparent the kittens were sick and we treated them all for worms, fleas, as well as a parasite they had received from their mom hunting rats and birds. We gave them their first shots, and I found homes for two of the males. I could not find homes for the other two- as they were much more wild than the others and had a much harder time socializing. They stayed with me, and still shrink away from touch and sometimes run. Tiva is the female. Indy is the male. I sometimes wonder if the neighbor maybe traumatized them when they were little. After she brought her kittens in she got used to me a little, let me pet her some, and I caught her and took her in to be fixed. After she returned home she will not let me come within ten feet of her anymore- and it's been almost a year now 
After Maynard disappeared last August, we were pretty devastated. While sleeping on a warm fall morning with the window open, I swore I could hear little 'mewing'. I went outside in my pajamas and searched, but everytime I went outside it would stop. I figured it was in my head and some sort of psychological distress from missing Maynard or something, but everytime I lay my head back down on the pillow I would hear it start again. I went back outside and saw my cat Onyx in a frozen position, staring at something in the corner of our yard. I walked over and found what couldn't be older than a 6 week old kitten sitting under a bush, covered in cobwebs and his eyes stuck shut with goop. I took him inside and cleaned him up, and he immediately started licking me on the lips over and over, giving me kisses. This little guy came to be know as Monster, and was the most unique cat i've ever had. He loved to carry socks around in his mouth, sneak attack you around corners, wake you up in the morning with loud mews outside your door, announcing himself with a crazy trill sound as he came through the catdoor, and his trademark- tons and tons of actual kisses, which i'd never received from a cat before him. He came to us beginning of September, and sadly was taken from us in February this year. We left to visit family and came back two hours later to my poor baby in front of our house, he had been hit by a car. We gave him a proper burial and miss him every single day. About 9 months ago a large, long haired orange female showed up in our driveway. It's obvious she's been socialized, she's very affectionate and loves to play and be pet. We fixed her and she is now known as 'Wild Thing'. She spends her days outdoors but comes in at night. Tiva, the semi-wild female, is now pregnant and due any day. I had made an appointment to get her fixed, and that morning I placed her in the carrier. She had never been in one before so she began to FREAK OUT intensely, so hard that she somehow pried the top part of the carrier from the bottom and escaped. She wouldn't come near me for weeks, and then a few weeks ago I noticed that her belly was swelling. I honestly have no idea about abortion in cats, I know when you spay them early on in pregnancy it's not a big deal, but i've heard when it's further along it can be much more harmful and affect the mother. So I didn't pursue that course, and am now waiting for kittens. She is a small cat, so i'm hoping she will only have two or three. I have one reliable home already arranged for a kitten with my step-sister, and am hoping I will be able to find some other responsible parents for these babies. Tiva will then be getting fixed, and be the last female in the area [that I know of] that needs it. There is also an all black male who is obviously NOT neutered who has been showing up maybe once every 2 weeks for the past 5/6 months or so. He's very friendly and I am planning on taking him in to be fixed as soon as I can afford it [Tiva is my first priority to be fixed]. I've noticed he has a ring of hair missing from his tail with a couple small scabs on it. He doesn't itch it that i've noticed, and it doesn't seem like it's bothering him- but i'd like to know if anyone has any idea what it is. I'll try to take pictures of it. And there are also pictures of most of these cats i've mentioned in my default album. My dream is to one day open a non-profit, no kill animal shelter, for both cats and dogs. Taking care of the strays in my neighborhood is just the first step. Thank you all for taking your time to read this
I am a twenty-one year old, living with my boyfriend. The neighborhood we live in seems to be the residential 'pet dump', as we have cats show up at our house all of the time who have obviously been socialized and love, but now apparently have no home. We moved into my current house almost 3 years ago, with two small kittens [a brother and sister, Lupin and Luna- both fixed] and my dog. About 4 months later, a small calico female [looked to be about 3 or maybe 4 months old] showed up at my house. She was COMPLETELY wild, but so enamored with Lupin that she stuck around. I fed her and tried to coax her near me, would sit outside for hours at a time with treats but she would not come. This went on and on. One day Lupin disappeared and never returned, which saddened me since he was one of my first pets. All of our cats are indoor/outdoor, they have a catdoor for 24/7 access. Some people may not agree with that, but that's what they enjoy and love and I won't keep the outdoors from them. About a year after we moved in the calico female [who I named Muffin] had a litter of kittens in my shed. Three girls and one boy. Sadly, one of the females died from a heart attack caused by stress after being treated in the vet for a severe case of worms that she had contracted from her wild momma. I found a home for the male after giving him his first set of shots and deworming, and ended up keeping the other two females after not being able to find them homes. One is a grey, orange, and white calico named Stella. The other is a black and white tuxedo kitty named Onyx. I had them both spayed. My boyfriend's mom then had a wild white cat have a litter of six kittens under her porch. The mom abandoned three of them and refused to take them back. We attempted to supplement and bottle feed them, kept them wrapped up and on heating pads. Two died within 48 hours, the other one lived for about 2 weeks but was so, so small and weak he sadly passed away as well. The other three grew to be HUGE, one was my cat- Maynard. He had one eye from an infection when he was a kitten that had caused his third eye to grow together, and eventually the skin grew over it. We had him for almost two years, until one day he, too, disappeared in August of last year and never returned. He was also neutered. The other two, named Lady and Junior, reside with my boyfriend's mom and are both fixed. About two months later a random tabby female showed up at my house, looking for food and with a HUGE belly, obviously pregnant. I set up a crate for her and the next day woke up to her asleep in there with four babies. The babies were doing fine until 6 weeks old, when I woke up and checked on them to find 2 of them completely cold and still and on the brink of death. I tried to do everything to bring them back but could do nothing. I immediately began to supplement the other two, one of them who was very large and obviously getting the nipple that was producing milk on the momma. The other one was very tiny and had started losing function on half his body and was having a hard time standing up/walking. I nursed the small one and within a couple hours he was back to running around normal. The large kitten now lives with a loving family who sends me pictures of him frequently, the small kitten is now named Bo, I had found him a home with a friend who had Cystic Fibrosis, but she sadly was hospitalized and asked me to take him back, and then passed away soon after. So Bo now lives with my boyfriend's mom. He was recently found about a month ago in front of her house with a broken back leg- someone had ran him over and left him there. We took him to the vet who thought it would have to be amputated, but was able to place metal rods in his leg to support it and help it heal. He is just now at the end of his 2 month long healing process and confinement in the bathroom, and was SO happy to see outdoors again. The mother of these two was taken in, fixed, released, and comes back maybe once every few months to make an appearance. Muffin [the wild calico], had her second litter on 4/20/11 under a neighbors porch. We tried to find a way to them, but there was nothing but the tiniest opening. So week after week, I grew tired and eventually gave up the idea of ever being able to reach/tame them. One night almost 8 weeks later I heard my cat door swing, and turned from my computer to see a cute little Tabby kitten sitting under my kitchen table. About 5 minutes later another kitten came, and then two more. 3 males and 1 female. Muffin brought them all inside of my house. They were VERY scared and skiddish. I placed them in a carrier and fed some wet food, tried petting and socializing. It became apparent the kittens were sick and we treated them all for worms, fleas, as well as a parasite they had received from their mom hunting rats and birds. We gave them their first shots, and I found homes for two of the males. I could not find homes for the other two- as they were much more wild than the others and had a much harder time socializing. They stayed with me, and still shrink away from touch and sometimes run. Tiva is the female. Indy is the male. I sometimes wonder if the neighbor maybe traumatized them when they were little. After she brought her kittens in she got used to me a little, let me pet her some, and I caught her and took her in to be fixed. After she returned home she will not let me come within ten feet of her anymore- and it's been almost a year now After Maynard disappeared last August, we were pretty devastated. While sleeping on a warm fall morning with the window open, I swore I could hear little 'mewing'. I went outside in my pajamas and searched, but everytime I went outside it would stop. I figured it was in my head and some sort of psychological distress from missing Maynard or something, but everytime I lay my head back down on the pillow I would hear it start again. I went back outside and saw my cat Onyx in a frozen position, staring at something in the corner of our yard. I walked over and found what couldn't be older than a 6 week old kitten sitting under a bush, covered in cobwebs and his eyes stuck shut with goop. I took him inside and cleaned him up, and he immediately started licking me on the lips over and over, giving me kisses. This little guy came to be know as Monster, and was the most unique cat i've ever had. He loved to carry socks around in his mouth, sneak attack you around corners, wake you up in the morning with loud mews outside your door, announcing himself with a crazy trill sound as he came through the catdoor, and his trademark- tons and tons of actual kisses, which i'd never received from a cat before him. He came to us beginning of September, and sadly was taken from us in February this year. We left to visit family and came back two hours later to my poor baby in front of our house, he had been hit by a car. We gave him a proper burial and miss him every single day. About 9 months ago a large, long haired orange female showed up in our driveway. It's obvious she's been socialized, she's very affectionate and loves to play and be pet. We fixed her and she is now known as 'Wild Thing'. She spends her days outdoors but comes in at night. Tiva, the semi-wild female, is now pregnant and due any day. I had made an appointment to get her fixed, and that morning I placed her in the carrier. She had never been in one before so she began to FREAK OUT intensely, so hard that she somehow pried the top part of the carrier from the bottom and escaped. She wouldn't come near me for weeks, and then a few weeks ago I noticed that her belly was swelling. I honestly have no idea about abortion in cats, I know when you spay them early on in pregnancy it's not a big deal, but i've heard when it's further along it can be much more harmful and affect the mother. So I didn't pursue that course, and am now waiting for kittens. She is a small cat, so i'm hoping she will only have two or three. I have one reliable home already arranged for a kitten with my step-sister, and am hoping I will be able to find some other responsible parents for these babies. Tiva will then be getting fixed, and be the last female in the area [that I know of] that needs it. There is also an all black male who is obviously NOT neutered who has been showing up maybe once every 2 weeks for the past 5/6 months or so. He's very friendly and I am planning on taking him in to be fixed as soon as I can afford it [Tiva is my first priority to be fixed]. I've noticed he has a ring of hair missing from his tail with a couple small scabs on it. He doesn't itch it that i've noticed, and it doesn't seem like it's bothering him- but i'd like to know if anyone has any idea what it is. I'll try to take pictures of it. And there are also pictures of most of these cats i've mentioned in my default album. My dream is to one day open a non-profit, no kill animal shelter, for both cats and dogs. Taking care of the strays in my neighborhood is just the first step. Thank you all for taking your time to read this 
