Happy 2016

Wishing you and your furry ones the best of times in 2016!

It’s not been the easiest start to the year for us.  We have some quite needy felines with us at the moment, and because we want to do our absolute best for them, its meant we’ve been pretty stressed.  We love all the cats who come through our doors but can’t in all honesty pretend we love them all equally.  Our precious elderly resident Sooty has our emotions on a hairspring just now.  If he’s eating and happy then we’re happy, If he’s refusing food then our mood plummets lower than the deepest sea, and our anxieties rise above mountains.   Perhaps the happiest moment in the holiday was when he spotted we had a nice lump of double gloucester next to our Xmas cake.  It might be the only moment he’s asked for food without any prompting.  He had a bigger piece than either of us really want to confess to Dr Tim when we go back next week for a check up.

Much as it feels like it though, the world doesn’t stop at Sooty. for one thing there’s the little W Team to worry about. Wilma went off to be spayed just before Xmas and our vets felt she was feral and needed an outdoor home – how on earth to find one of those?   So we have her and her 3 little daughters who go down like stepping stones in terms of confidence. Little Winnie, much to my surprise, after a few days here stepped out from the crowd purring and wanting a fuss. She’s nervous around new people but a real snuggle bug here

Next in line is Wispa who is quite a bit more timid when it comes to cuddling … but is gaining lots of confidence with playing and grabbing treats.

Then there’s Wynter at the bottom of the heap. She gave the vets a run for their money when they came to microchip her. She’s gorrrrrgeous though. A little black kitten with a snowflake white spot on her chest.

The exciting … and surprising thing … though: As I was so distraught about Sooty just before Xmas, and didn’t know what to do with myself, his Aunty Jenny persuaded me to go to a local carol event at Strip the Willow They’re lovely people there so I agreed to go, despite the random and regular tears. To my surprise I spotted someone there whom I’d only met twice several years ago when she adopted a cat I was fostering for another rescue. I initially thought I’d not say anything because  I wasn’t sure I could have a conversation about cats (or anything else) without crying.  We ended up chatting though about Coco whom she adopted so many years ago – here she is with and without her kits

Oddly enough – before this meeting, Wilma and her 3 little black kits had reminded me very much of Coco and her 3 little black kits, and the challenge of remembering which ‘identical’ kit was which. So I mentioned Wilma and her predicament to Coco’s mum.   She said she’d ask around about finding Wilma an outdoor home.  Before we left the event we had a message from Coco’s mum saying she’d talked to her partner and they’d decided that they could offer Wilma the outdoor home she so much needed. It’s a slow process with lots of lovely people coming together to provide Wilma with a secure shelter until she knows where she’s going to be fed, and her having her vaccinations.  But watch this space!  I think we have a superb outdoor home for Wilma x

Let’s take a break from worrying about the W Team and have a think about the Gs.  They were very skittish when they arrived, and small for their age.   They gradually started to grow ….. and gain confidence ….. and then developed eye infections …. had eye drops …. lost confidence …. started to improve … gained confidence … gained weight.   They’re still small for their age … even the lowest age we could estimate them as having been when they arrived … but they’re healthy and full of mischief.

and cuteness

and love

Then of course there’s old Snowy.  He’s adorable, snuggle munchkin, but because he’s older no one has shown any interest in adopting him.  He’s missing his human who went into a care home over summer, and longing to find someone else he can snuggle on the couch with to watch TV.

He loves attention so much that he enjoys going to the vets.   He’s had quite a lot of teeth out, and the rest of them scaled and polished so they’ll not be bothering him for a long while.  He’s healthy and adorable.  Just needs someone to love him and a comfy sofa to live out his retirement years on.