Reuniting two feral cats

So happy this turned out so well for ALL of you!

Just read the thread and congrats. Good that those two found you.

Much belated update here, and lots to tell you.

Bottom line up front: Both of them are fixed now, and they're getting along SO well!

Aladdin and Cookie always hung out together as strays, but now that they are in a home together they have really blossomed. Here's a few photos I've snapped. I have video of them cleaning each other as well, but can't post right now.

 
  
Also a few pics to show Aladdin up close, since he's a little less camera shy now.



Cookie went into heat again a couple weeks back. As soon as she was "out" I took her to the vet for spaying so I wouldn't have to deal with that warbling anymore. I had only put it off before because Aladdin's procedure was very expensive and I wanted her to help him get adjusted to his new home and life before I put her through the surgery. But the time was finally right and the surgery was done yesterday.

When I went to pick her up, I learned something very upsetting.

The doctor who operated on her came to talk with me about something unusual he found. When he prepped her for surgery he noticed she already had a scar, and wondered if she had already been spayed. He has seen cases where someone did an improper spaying and left some part of the ovaries still inside, posing grave danger to the cat. Going off of my notes that she'd just been in heat, and because the scar was not exactly in the right place for proper spaying, he decided after some deliberation to go ahead and open her up. Sure enough, she had a full set of organs in there, fully functional....which I knew because she had been in heat at least 3 times in the 2+ months I've had her inside.

Here's where it gets weird. He determined that the old scar was the result of a Cesarean Section...and not a very good one at that. He also determined that she was not much more than a year old...at most he estimates a year and a half.

I've been taking care of her since the beginning of June, so if she's a year and a half, that means she was 14 months when I met her. That means sometime in the 8 to 10 months prior to that she was pregnant and someone removed the babies by C-section.

I don't even know what to do with this information. Was she always a street cat and she got pregnant and had a difficult birth, so some good Samaritan took her in and had this risky, serious, emergency medical procedure performed on her? And then set her loose without actually spaying her to prevent this from happening again?

Or worse...was she someone's pet? And they allowed her to get pregnant because they never got her fixed? Then had this C-section done and put her out on the street? You'd have to see my area to understand. There are no houses or condos with yards around me. Only apartment buildings. If she was ever someone's pet they had to deliberately leave her outside. After a traumatic surgery. On her own. While she was really just a baby herself.

I'm shattered to think anyone could do this to this sweet baby girl. 
Now back to the good news....

Apart from Aladdin's tail (which has now been dealt with), and her butcher-job C-section....they are both in PERFECT health. They tested negative for all the normal illnesses and maladies inflicted on strays and ferals. They are now both healthy, both fixed, both vaccinated, both microchipped, and settling in to be spoiled rotten little darlings.

I'm still really upset about what she's been through, can't shake it off my mind. I know she's better off now and I'm especially thankful I got her inside before she got pregnant again. Still very distressing....

Just reading this whole thread.  Kudos to you for rescuing them both.  Obviously, they've each been through h#11, so you are a true angel for all you have done.

Here's to years and years and years of a happy life together.

Well it's been awhile so I thought I'd post a little update. I was on vacation for 2 weeks in October and left Cookie and Aladdin under the care of my apartment building manager. He knew them from before because they came from outside our building, so they were used to him. He went by my apartment twice a day to feed them and play with them. We stayed in touch the whole time I was gone, I got updates (usually with pictures) every 1-2 days. He was so worried about taking good care of them that he overfed them....so they gained quite a bit of weight in my absence. LOL

Now that they're back on their normal diet hopefully they'll shed the excess weight. I did pay a price in terms of my progress with them for leaving them for 2 weeks. Cookie pouted with me for a day, and then returned to her cuddle-bug ways. Aladdin....I was knocked nearly back to Square One. He is playful and energetic but less trusting of me than before. He doesn't really tolerate petting, but does yell at me for food.

Then....I noticed a couple days after I got back that he joined us on the bed while I was sleeping. He started off on the far corner of the bed...as far away from me as he could be while still being near (such a cat!). Then over the last several days he has inched closer. This morning I woke up and found him zonked out and half curled up with Cookie right by my feet. So that's progress. 
I've mentioned that Aladdin is slightly cross-eyed, which I find completely adorable. It's hard to get a picture of that because when his pupils are dilated it's not as obvious. I finally managed to get a great picture of him though where you can kind of see it. I just love his face! 
Here's Cookie 2 days after I got home, back to normal:


They've got more toys than FAO Schwarz now, and they've suddenly become picky about their food. Whereas before they would gobble up whatever I set before them, now they only like certain flavors of SOME brands. You'd never know that just a few months ago they were living on the street scrounging for meals. 

You have done such a good job with them, they both look very relaxed in their new home. It must feel very rewarding that all of your hard work has paid off

What a wonderful update! 

It's excellent you have such a good catsitter... just a bit of retraining when it comes to the feeding.

Mani said:

 
What a wonderful update! 

It's excellent you have such a good catsitter... just a bit of retraining when it comes to the feeding.

Click to expand...

The thing is....not only did I show him exactly what to do 3 separate times, I also left printed instructions complete with pictures (picture of the cat + this dish + this dry food + this wet food). He was also feeding my outdoor ferals, though, and I have different food for them. So rather than referencing the instructions I left, he thought he was supposed to give all the cats all the food 2x a day. So they were eating 2 types of dry food in generous portions and double helpings of wet food. I'm sure they ate more of the dry food out of boredom, too.

I can't really complain too much.....English is his 2nd language and I couldn't explain it in Arabic if I had to. As I said....at least they didn't go hungry!

What a great update! Alladin's crossed eyes indicate he has some Siamese in him. There is a Siamese rescue near me that will take any cat with crossed eyes, regardless of their color or markings.

They are both such lucky kitties!

Thanks everybody! I appreciate all the encouragement. They make me super happy, it's so much fun to have them around. 

It is so sad to think someone did a hatchet job c-section and STILL didn't get her spayed to prevent it happening again. I wish I could say it shocks me - but it doesn't. Too many people don't think things through. And many people -sadly!!!!-still believe a cat should go through one pregnancy or "she's missing out" (soooooo untrue! So much healthier to not put them through it).

The great thing is you gave them this amazing life -together!!!!! They look like they're really loving life - all thanks to you! Give yourself a hearty pat on the back!!!!!!