Well, I wasn't going to post a lot about my cat Church as I am rather ashamed of the whole thing.... however, it is driving me crazy not to be able to talk about it with other cat lovers.
It's kind of a long story.... but to try to sum it up, Church is a cat who was born in my house almost 2 years ago. Her mother was a cat that belonged to a woman who was going to drown her in the river. The woman was not right in the head at all, she wasn't sure if the cat was sick (big belly, skinny cat, woman obviously knew nothing about cats) and couldn't afford to take it to the vet and was going to drown her. Needless to say, I took the cat home, had her cared for medically, got her back into healthy shape and a couple of weeks later she delivered 5 kittens. We helped her raise the kittens, we made sure the mom and 4 of the kittens who had new homes were spayed and neutered, and kept one kitten. That kitten was Church. We ran out of money after all the vet bills in trying to do the best for these cats, and I had planned on spaying Church in a few months. One thing after another happened in our lives, everything from my car breaking down, my appliances kicking the bucket one after the other, I had abdominal surgery, we moved, vet bills for one of my other furkids, then xmas came along etc... it just didn't seem to end. Church ended up getting pregnant a couple of months after her first birthday. I am one of those who just can't bring myself to spay a pregnant cat... so I swore to myself I'd get her spayed as soon as possible after her kittens were weaned and gone to new homes. She had 4 kittens, 3 of which are spayed/neutered and have excellent homes. One of which we still haven't found a home for, he had a home lined up but the woman who was going to take him was diagnosed with cancer and asked me to hold onto him for a while until her treatments were done. I felt awful for her, and said of course we would, but he is 6 months old now and still here. We've been calling him Ben.
Anyway, I think because time flew by so quickly, and because Church still had a kitten here, when her kittens were only 4 months old, Church got out and became pregnant again. We found her under the deck with two male suitors, a flame point siamese, and a brown tabby and white long haired cat. I've been kicking myself about it ever since. When she went into heat I even made sure there were 3 doors separating her from the outdoors, she is not normally allowed outside anyway, but I knew how determined she could be, so I did everything I could think of to prevent it. She is such a determined cat though, I should have known better.... she got out around May 4th, so is on her 64th day now. This time her spay is paid for in advance, and as soon as her kittens are weaned she will be going in to the vet.
I just can't believe it happened... I raised siamese cats for years, I have done rescue myself for years, and am a huge advocate of spay and neuter.
Just goes to show you, no matter how good intentioned you may be, no matter how experienced you may feel, no matter how many precautions you may take.... the ONLY way to prevent pet overpopulation is to spay and neuter your pets!
Anyway, despite my guilt,. what's done is done, and I cannot help but feel joy for the little ones about to share our lives. I do love raising kittens.... and wanted to be able to share the wait for labor to begin, the experience of her having them, etc... but also felt a need to make a point.
One on hand, I of all people knew better... but things happen, and all we can do is make the best of it, try to do what's best for these new lives we've allowed to be born, and keep in mind how many are born that never get that chance. Spaying and neutering, encouraging your friends, family, coworkers to spay and neuter... donating your time, money, or effort to your local animal rescue or humane society etc... all helps.
I'm looking forward to raising these babies Church will soon show into the world, and wish everyone else expecting kittens the best of luck, healthy moms and babies, and quick recoveries after their cats spays and neuters!
Sorry for the long post, I've been holding all this in for 64 days!
It's kind of a long story.... but to try to sum it up, Church is a cat who was born in my house almost 2 years ago. Her mother was a cat that belonged to a woman who was going to drown her in the river. The woman was not right in the head at all, she wasn't sure if the cat was sick (big belly, skinny cat, woman obviously knew nothing about cats) and couldn't afford to take it to the vet and was going to drown her. Needless to say, I took the cat home, had her cared for medically, got her back into healthy shape and a couple of weeks later she delivered 5 kittens. We helped her raise the kittens, we made sure the mom and 4 of the kittens who had new homes were spayed and neutered, and kept one kitten. That kitten was Church. We ran out of money after all the vet bills in trying to do the best for these cats, and I had planned on spaying Church in a few months. One thing after another happened in our lives, everything from my car breaking down, my appliances kicking the bucket one after the other, I had abdominal surgery, we moved, vet bills for one of my other furkids, then xmas came along etc... it just didn't seem to end. Church ended up getting pregnant a couple of months after her first birthday. I am one of those who just can't bring myself to spay a pregnant cat... so I swore to myself I'd get her spayed as soon as possible after her kittens were weaned and gone to new homes. She had 4 kittens, 3 of which are spayed/neutered and have excellent homes. One of which we still haven't found a home for, he had a home lined up but the woman who was going to take him was diagnosed with cancer and asked me to hold onto him for a while until her treatments were done. I felt awful for her, and said of course we would, but he is 6 months old now and still here. We've been calling him Ben.
Anyway, I think because time flew by so quickly, and because Church still had a kitten here, when her kittens were only 4 months old, Church got out and became pregnant again. We found her under the deck with two male suitors, a flame point siamese, and a brown tabby and white long haired cat. I've been kicking myself about it ever since. When she went into heat I even made sure there were 3 doors separating her from the outdoors, she is not normally allowed outside anyway, but I knew how determined she could be, so I did everything I could think of to prevent it. She is such a determined cat though, I should have known better.... she got out around May 4th, so is on her 64th day now. This time her spay is paid for in advance, and as soon as her kittens are weaned she will be going in to the vet.
I just can't believe it happened... I raised siamese cats for years, I have done rescue myself for years, and am a huge advocate of spay and neuter.
Just goes to show you, no matter how good intentioned you may be, no matter how experienced you may feel, no matter how many precautions you may take.... the ONLY way to prevent pet overpopulation is to spay and neuter your pets!
Anyway, despite my guilt,. what's done is done, and I cannot help but feel joy for the little ones about to share our lives. I do love raising kittens.... and wanted to be able to share the wait for labor to begin, the experience of her having them, etc... but also felt a need to make a point.
One on hand, I of all people knew better... but things happen, and all we can do is make the best of it, try to do what's best for these new lives we've allowed to be born, and keep in mind how many are born that never get that chance. Spaying and neutering, encouraging your friends, family, coworkers to spay and neuter... donating your time, money, or effort to your local animal rescue or humane society etc... all helps.
I'm looking forward to raising these babies Church will soon show into the world, and wish everyone else expecting kittens the best of luck, healthy moms and babies, and quick recoveries after their cats spays and neuters!
Sorry for the long post, I've been holding all this in for 64 days!
