Hello fellow cat lovers!

HI everyone.
My name is Nan and I am a big cat lover. I have been for many many years now.
I am glad I found this site as I love to talk with others who have and love cats as I do.
I have a small cat sanctuary in my home where I care for many abandon, sick, and abused cats and kittens. I also care for quite a few feral kitties who through no fault of their own seem to be hated and just generally outcast.
I think all cats both great and small are simply exquisite creatures.
I took in a mama kitty about a month ago and she just gave birth to 5 wonderful and beautiful kittens-3 girls-and 2 boys. She is a sweet and adorable tortie cat. She had one tortie kitten and 4 black kittens. I am so grateful they are all right. About a month ago one of my cats had 5 kittens and they all died within 2 days of birth. They came too early and were not quite "done" yet. I do believe they were all little girls. They were all just beautiful little ones too. But it just wasn't meant to be. I was sad to lose them. But now I am feeling better to see the miracle of life unfold before my eyes again. One just can't help but to rejoice. It is a celebration of life. I will post pictures of the babies as soon as I get some developed.
Love and Life,
Nan

Nan welcome to the board-

I too rescue the strays and ferals that need TLC the first thing I do to show them I love them is get them spayed and neutered so that there will be no more kittens in the world than there already are. I take in the orphaned kittens and bottle raise them, find them good homes and make sure they also get spayed and neutered. It is a very important aspect of rescue to not let the backyard cats breed. You talked a lot about kittens, but I would hope that you also spay and neuter your cats when it is safe to do so.

And thanks for the welcome.
Yes! I certainly do spay and neuter all that I can.
My new mom cat was abandon by a neighbor that moved. I have many such kitties at my house. She definitely will be spayed as will her kittens. I had to let her have her kittens. I cannot kill them when they are that close to being born.
I had one cat spayed when I knew she was pregnant and I still feel really bad about it. But it was a case of inbreeding and along with that there was severe birth defects as well. It just wasn't fair to us and to the other kitties to let those kittens be born. The cost of caring for sick cats and kittens can be staggering. And this particular momcat had already had 2 litters with 7 out of 8 kittens with severe health problems requiring surgery and ongoing medical care.
I am proud to say that despite all the setbacks I have been able to make a sizeable "dent" in the cat overpopulation in my neighborhood. I guess-timate that I have prevented several hundred unwanted kittens coming into the world. As of 2 years ago my estimate was about 300. It is more now but I have not had the time to sit down and do some figuring. I have help with the spay/neutering too. A place called the Pet Advocate League has agreed to spay/neuter all the kitties I can bring them for free. I am thankful every day for them. My goal is to stop the kittens. If I can do that I will have accomplished something great for the kitties and for mankind as well.
Love and Life,
Nan

That is so wonderful what you do, and I am pleased to hear that you have spayed and neutered all of them, and plan to do so with these kittens! We all love pictures so post as many as you want!

That's great to know Nan- thanks for explaining the whole story.

Thanks Meagan too,
Are those your kitties?
They are all just gorgeous.
I have many many pix of all the kitties that have touched my life.
Many of the kitties where I live are diseased with leukemia and FIP.
There are also a few momcats that I have been unsuccessful in catching. I have been more successful in catching their kittens though. Unfortunately due to the inbreeding most of them die before their first birthday.
I do know only too well that the last thing needed in this world is another stray kitten but it is still heart breaking to lose one. I just lost a very precious one that I hand raised from the time he was only about 3 weeks old. He had just turned 9 months old when he died. His mother happens to be one of those elusive ones that I cannot catch. She had another litter of 4 since Pippin and I was able to catch all 4 of them. I nursed them all back to health just to have them all euthanized due to leukemia and FIP and inbreeding respiratory problems.
I lost 14 cats and kittens last year and so far this year I have lost 6. And there are more. One of my other kitties that I rescued from outside(I got his mom and dad spay/neutered)has cancer and is dieing. He is still feeling ok so for now things are going good. It is like this every day in my world. There is such extreme joy at the birth of healthy babies only to turn around to heart wrenching saddness as another kitty is diagnosed with something terrible. Does anyone else have experiences such as this? And if so..how do you deal with it? I have a really hard time sometimes. My daughter told me that with Pippin that I had him for "today" and that is all we can really ask for. It helped when he was here but now he is gone. I miss him so much. Sometimes I wish I could turn back time and just spend a little while longer with him. But then I am glad he is no longer suffering as he did in the end. I buried him today. He has been in the deep freeze since the ground here has been frozen and I could not dig a hole for him. I feel better that his remains are at peace now.
Well, thanks for listening. I am looking forward to meeting everyone and hearing about and seeing everyone's kitties.
Love and Life,
Nan

Welcome To TCS Nan

Hi Nan and welcome to the site. So pleased to hear you've helped so many kittys, and also to have them spayed/neutered.

Looking forward to seeing your fur babies.

Susan

Hello and welcome to TCS. Keep up the good work.
Very sad about Pippin but your daughter is right - keep the thought
yjat you did right by him while you could

Hi and welcome. I also rescue and work with United Humanitarians in which we TNR alot of ferals. Keep up the good work!!

Welcome to the site! I'm going to move this to our official "Welcoming" and introduction forum, New Cats on the Block.

I would highly recommend you check out our Caring for Strays and Ferals for tips of trapping the un-trappable cats in your neighborhood, and also invite you to post a tribute to your Pippin in Crossing the Bridge. Either place would be a good place to ask how other rescuer deal with the heartbreak of losing their rescues.

Hello Nan, welcome to the site from a fellow Ohioan!! I am proud of you for helping those poor abandoned cats. It makes me sick to think people can move and just leave their cat friend behind. God bless you for what you do

Welcome Nan! You are an angel for taking care of all these babies! Do you live in a rural area?

I can relate to much of your story! I too lost a number of cats last year to leukemia and predation. It simply breaks your heart and I have no advice other than keep doing what you are doing. I can also relate to those elusive females that continue to breed, and have resorted to trapping the entire colony and locking them in my garage until I trap the one that always gets away. And in my area, the pregnant females tend to bring their young to me after they are born.

I look forward to hearing your stories.

Originally posted by Nan
Thanks Meagan too,
Are those your kitties?
They are all just gorgeous.

Click to expand...

Yes these are my babies, and thank you very much! I would tell them you said that but they already think they are the best! lol

Welcome to the neighborhood! Enjoy all the great company!

Welcome and thank you for taking care of all those cats who needed help. You are an !

Welcome to TCS Nan and a big thanks to helping those less fortunate.