- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #21
I also have some more of the dilute torti. Here is 1 of 3.
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The cycle repeats
- Thread starter fuzzmom
- Start Date
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #22
2 of 3
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #23
3 of 3
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #24
Almost done. A couple of pics of the torti and calico. Neither would look at the camera at the same time.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #25
Last one...for now.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #26
Mom of 10 Cats - I may be biased, but I think they ALL got an extra dip or two in cuteness.
And they all should have the title of Princess (or Prince if any happen to be a boy).
Come on everyone, I need names for these sweeties. All I ever can come up with are the usual, mundane ones.
And they all should have the title of Princess (or Prince if any happen to be a boy).
Come on everyone, I need names for these sweeties. All I ever can come up with are the usual, mundane ones.
My rescue named a bunch of kittens after chocolate companies...Godiva, Lindt, Hershey, Nestle, Cadbury.
Katie
Katie
Awwwwwww sooooooo beauuuutifull!!! *DROOLS*
Your story reminds me of how my current household got so large. The first mom's daughter disappeared before I caught her and showed up the following spring with kittens. We caught what we could, some slipped away and had more the following spring.
It does become a repeating cycle. Had I known then what I know now, I would have been far more aggressive in trapping and neutering them when they first showed up. While we got most each year (kept the ones that we couldn't adopt out), enough slipped by to keep that cycle going. We now own a live trap to catch them as they arrive. If you don't want to wind up with a house full of cats, please get them neutered now (before they slip off)!
Your babies are gorgeous!!! Ours were named after their physical characteristics: Tan Foot, Blackie, Cross-eyed Larry, Cross-eyed Mary, Stumpy, Scarlett, etc. OK, so we're not too creative here.
It does become a repeating cycle. Had I known then what I know now, I would have been far more aggressive in trapping and neutering them when they first showed up. While we got most each year (kept the ones that we couldn't adopt out), enough slipped by to keep that cycle going. We now own a live trap to catch them as they arrive. If you don't want to wind up with a house full of cats, please get them neutered now (before they slip off)!
Your babies are gorgeous!!! Ours were named after their physical characteristics: Tan Foot, Blackie, Cross-eyed Larry, Cross-eyed Mary, Stumpy, Scarlett, etc. OK, so we're not too creative here.
fuzzmom...I agree...you should trap and fix all the cats and kittens now before the spring. If you need assistance, please contact this group:
http://www.secondchancefund.org/
Good Luck!!!
Katie
http://www.secondchancefund.org/
Good Luck!!!
Katie
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #31
Thanks everyone for your input. Sadly, this mom and her kittens are just the tip of the iceberg. The mom is the only one from her litter that comes to my deck. I know she has at least 3 other littermates, so I know that there are alot more cats out there. These cats are truly afraid of people so won't be seen by anyone, their existance must be so much harder.
That is why you must contact the organization that I provided a link to...groups that are familiar with feral cats will know when the best time is to trap them. If you want to help this cat and her babies and all the other cats...get them fixed so that they can enjoy a life free from having to have more litters.
Katie
Katie
Katie is so right. The life of unaltered ferals is awful. The males constantly fight and become infected with nasty diseases, the females slowly get the life drained from them because of continuous pregnancies and nursing. Females are also wounded and infected trying to fight off unwanted males.
It is not at all difficult to trap ferals. Most of us on this forum do it all the time. You are lucky that your state has an organization to help. Most of us have to figure it out on our own. Please contact the group right away so they can help you control your population before it becomes ravaged with disease and the problems that come from inbreeding.
It is not at all difficult to trap ferals. Most of us on this forum do it all the time. You are lucky that your state has an organization to help. Most of us have to figure it out on our own. Please contact the group right away so they can help you control your population before it becomes ravaged with disease and the problems that come from inbreeding.
Hi Fuzzmom! They are GORGEOUS creatures!!! There have been a few threads in The Cat Lounge where people listed ideas for names. Here's one of them: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ed+AND+name%2A
If you would like to learn more about the problems of and cycle of homeless cats, please visit www.straypetadvocacy.org.
It is so wonderful of you to love these kitties so much! They are so easy to love, aren't they? I never knew what I was missing in my life until that first stray picked us to care for her.
But feeding them without fixing them actually does more harm than good down the road. It is so wonderful to find people like yourself with such a big heart and a cat lover to boot! But without having them sterilized, unfortunately, especially providing them with nutrition and shelter - it just means that they'll survive to produce more homeless kitties.
We're here to help with tips, advice and resources to help you help them. Please use our knowledge and resources to really love these beautiful creatures.
D:
If you would like to learn more about the problems of and cycle of homeless cats, please visit www.straypetadvocacy.org.
It is so wonderful of you to love these kitties so much! They are so easy to love, aren't they? I never knew what I was missing in my life until that first stray picked us to care for her.
But feeding them without fixing them actually does more harm than good down the road. It is so wonderful to find people like yourself with such a big heart and a cat lover to boot! But without having them sterilized, unfortunately, especially providing them with nutrition and shelter - it just means that they'll survive to produce more homeless kitties.
We're here to help with tips, advice and resources to help you help them. Please use our knowledge and resources to really love these beautiful creatures.
BTW - that one stray led to our discovering the tip of the iceberg. We contacted our vet, borrowed a trap, and got to work. The iceberg might seem huge, but once feeding regularly, the ferals are really quite easy to trap. Especially if there is an organization for you to contact that can help, as lotsocats pointed out, anyone with any experience at all will be able to help tackle that iceberg. The only way to help the homeless cats is one cat at a time.
If you'd like to read the story of that one stray and how she helped us help so many other cats, please click on this link: http://savesamoa.org/html/booger.html
...and since then, we've relocated many of the ferals to become barn cats. We've set up relationships with local area vets, and they contact us when people call in for assistance with ferals. And as the ferals continue to show up here, we continue to trap them, have them sterilized, and return them. This way they can live out their lives but without creating more homeless cats in so doing.
There are many people out there like Gary and I. If you feel overwhelmed on your own, and you don't live in Worcester County - maybe they know of someone or an organization in your area that can help? Also, calling local area vets to find the "crazy cat people" that might be able to help often turns up someone - or people - like Gary and I.
And if you want to borrow a trap and tackle the project yourself, you can search for low-cost spay/neuter services by clicking on the link in my signature line. You can also ask local vets and shelters if they're aware of any low-cost spay/neuter programs. And if you need help trapping, we've got advice for you here...
Any questions you have or other help you might need, please just ask.
If you'd like to read the story of that one stray and how she helped us help so many other cats, please click on this link: http://savesamoa.org/html/booger.html
...and since then, we've relocated many of the ferals to become barn cats. We've set up relationships with local area vets, and they contact us when people call in for assistance with ferals. And as the ferals continue to show up here, we continue to trap them, have them sterilized, and return them. This way they can live out their lives but without creating more homeless cats in so doing.
There are many people out there like Gary and I. If you feel overwhelmed on your own, and you don't live in Worcester County - maybe they know of someone or an organization in your area that can help? Also, calling local area vets to find the "crazy cat people" that might be able to help often turns up someone - or people - like Gary and I.
And if you want to borrow a trap and tackle the project yourself, you can search for low-cost spay/neuter services by clicking on the link in my signature line. You can also ask local vets and shelters if they're aware of any low-cost spay/neuter programs. And if you need help trapping, we've got advice for you here...
Any questions you have or other help you might need, please just ask.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #36
Well, I'm happy to say that with the help of http://www.secondchancefund.org/ last night we trapped 3 of the 4 kittens and one adult male (possible father of mom and kittens). One kitten is adoptable as she is friendly and SHE turns out to be a HE. Oops!
She...I mean he is healthy and tested negative for FIV/FELV. So much for naming her (him) Peaches. Hmm, maybe Fuzz instead??!!
The adult male on the other hand tested positive for FIV. I'm not really surprised as he was always getting into fights. We're hoping to place him for adoption since he is friendly, but his chances just went down because of the FIV. There may be someone interested in an FIV+ cat as a companion to a current FIV+ cat they have. Keep your fingers crossed.
The other 2 kittens (orange and calico) will be released because they are too scared of people. I really hate releasing them especially now with the temperatures going back down, but I just don't have the room to accomodate them. If there is anyone near north central MA that would be able to help socialize these two adorable kittens, please let me know ASAP. I'm picking them up tomorrow morning at 8:30 am from the vets.
The mom of these kittens and one other kitten are still out there. Hopefully they will be trapped soon before the spring arrives.
So it's a mix of good news and not so good news. But at least it's a start.
Thanks again to everyone for offering such good advice. I know that their lives just became a little bit easier.
The adult male on the other hand tested positive for FIV. I'm not really surprised as he was always getting into fights. We're hoping to place him for adoption since he is friendly, but his chances just went down because of the FIV. There may be someone interested in an FIV+ cat as a companion to a current FIV+ cat they have. Keep your fingers crossed.
The other 2 kittens (orange and calico) will be released because they are too scared of people. I really hate releasing them especially now with the temperatures going back down, but I just don't have the room to accomodate them. If there is anyone near north central MA that would be able to help socialize these two adorable kittens, please let me know ASAP. I'm picking them up tomorrow morning at 8:30 am from the vets.
The mom of these kittens and one other kitten are still out there. Hopefully they will be trapped soon before the spring arrives.
So it's a mix of good news and not so good news. But at least it's a start.
Thanks again to everyone for offering such good advice. I know that their lives just became a little bit easier.
fuzzmom...that is GREAT news...3 less cats to have babies. Sorry about the one that is FIV+ but hopefully someone will want to adopt him. Also...since you live in MA...maybe you can help Brenda. She has a post on this board about some strays that she is keeping in her garage. Perhaps you can get her in touch with Second Chance.
Katie
Katie
Thanks so much for keeping us updated. I am so happy to hear the good news, and am bummed to hear about the FIV. I hope he can be adopted by an understanding cat lover.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #39
Well, Tom (FIV+) male is at his foster mom's house. He's sharing a room with another FIV+ boy and a few girls. He settled right in and actually began to fall asleep. Good sign.
The little kitten, who's been renamed to Mango (was Peaches because I thought he was a she), is enjoying the comforts of a home for the first time in his little life. He's with me until Sunday, though I may have found someone who is interested in him, otherwise he'll be heading for a no-kill shelter where they are confident he'll be adopted quickly.
I was letting him out of the bathroom last night and he began exploring the upstairs. He met my ferrets and wasn't quite sure what to make of them. They all sniffed noses (and butts) and said hello.
He came downstairs and started checking out everything. My cats just looked at him and hissed, but he could care less. They just watched this little squirt and left him alone.
I don't plan on letting him have too much freedom because I noticed something that perhaps occurs in ferals. When he had alot of room to explore he suddenly became afraid of me and would run from me if I walked toward him. He hadn't done that before and would always demand attention by rubbing against me and wanting me to pat him. So I just sat down on the floor until he suddenly decided that I was ok again and came over and rubbed against me and began purring. So I think it's best to confine him to small areas where he obviously feels more comfortable.
I've attached some pictures I took of him last night. Can you say cute!
The little kitten, who's been renamed to Mango (was Peaches because I thought he was a she), is enjoying the comforts of a home for the first time in his little life. He's with me until Sunday, though I may have found someone who is interested in him, otherwise he'll be heading for a no-kill shelter where they are confident he'll be adopted quickly.
I was letting him out of the bathroom last night and he began exploring the upstairs. He met my ferrets and wasn't quite sure what to make of them. They all sniffed noses (and butts) and said hello.
He came downstairs and started checking out everything. My cats just looked at him and hissed, but he could care less. They just watched this little squirt and left him alone.
I don't plan on letting him have too much freedom because I noticed something that perhaps occurs in ferals. When he had alot of room to explore he suddenly became afraid of me and would run from me if I walked toward him. He hadn't done that before and would always demand attention by rubbing against me and wanting me to pat him. So I just sat down on the floor until he suddenly decided that I was ok again and came over and rubbed against me and began purring. So I think it's best to confine him to small areas where he obviously feels more comfortable.
I've attached some pictures I took of him last night. Can you say cute!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #40
Showing his cute belly, a favorite position of his.
