kittens

we interrupt our holiday photos to bring you the latest news

Posted on November 28, 2015 by accidental fosterer

We had a lovely quiet first week (not quite a week) home from holiday. Well … “quiet” if you ignore the harsh reality of return to work, and the normal chaos of our resident cats and the little E Team. There had been a few messages whilst we were away about cats looking for rescue places, but things seemed to have settled down. Then last Friday we had a message about 9 kittens needing to come into rescue. They’d been mentioned whilst I was away, but seemed to be sorted out, and now they weren’t and it was “urgent”. So between appointments at work on Friday I was messaging about them and arranged to collect early Friday evening. Rushed to supermarket after work to stock up on kitten food, got the room ready for them. Minutes before I set off to collect them and I get a message to say they’d been given away. One person had taken 4 and the other taken 5. It’s not easy to think that they’ll be safe and neutered and cared for … but nothing else really that we could do.

The E Team

So we had a room ready for kittens who weren’t going to arrive, and moved on to the next priority scenario: Snowy had messaged us whilst we were away to ask for a rescue space. His elderly human had sadly had a stroke and gone into a care home, and he was all at sixes and sevens not knowing quite what to do with himself. He was being fed and could access his home still so he hadn’t been top priority, but now that the kittens who were outside didn’t need the space, he was offered it. He got back to us saying that although he’d been looking for help for a few weeks, he now had someone who might offer him a furever home … so thanks … but he probably no longer needed us.

Snowy before coming into rescue

So then when another lady messaged to say she’d been living in a garden in S8 for quite a while, needed to get in out of the cold, and was off to the vets on Monday to check if she was chipped and had a human out there (though she doubted it) we said she could come and stay with us after the vets if she had nowhere to go.

And THEN Snowy messaged us, pretty gutted, to say that his dreams had crashed, his potential adopter didn’t want him after all, and could he please come in. We had to say “no” because we’d offered it to the lady who was going to the vet on Monday.

But THEN, Monday came and went and the S8 lady didn’t get back to us. If she had we’d have picked her up from the vet on our way home from work and she’d be here and safe. Because she didn’t, we went back to Snowy and re-offered him the space. I hate this kind of chaos… but so often people contact rescues wanting “urgent” rescue space, then resolve the problem in whatever way, and then never bother to reply to rescues offering help. With so many cats needing care we just have to move on to the next one.

We went out to pick Snowy up on Tuesday evening. He was obviously anxious, and had let himself go a bit since his human had been ill. He got out of his carrier, cleared off and hid behind the chest of drawers in his room.

Then later (LATE) that evening we had a distressed call from a friend about a mum and her kittens who had been living rough. A complicated discussion had occurred on facebook earlier, and a botched rescue plan which had left mum and kits trapped in a small carrier for several hours. We were able to arrange to get the little family safe overnight and I went up to collect them the following evening (Wednesday). They arrived quite traumatised and terrified. Sadly there is a fourth kitten who is still at large out there as he couldn’t be caught … so we’re still waiting for him… and will obviously need to slot him in if (please god) he is found.

THEN the S8 lady who had been living in the garden got in touch with an update of her vet trip, revised to Friday this week. Heartbreakingly I had to say “no” to her and suggest other options.

THEN on Thursday we had a message about mum and 6 kittens living rough in another garden. The finders planned to adopt the mum but needed rescue for the kittens. My immediate response was to think “no”! But as rain lashed against the window of my office and I turned the heating up … and thought of tiny ones living outdoors. Another 6 would only take us up to the 9 I was expecting last Friday, and maybe more confident kits would help the terrified ones. So we offered a space but then the finders didn’t seem to be proactive in responding / arranging to get them here. I set a 10am deadline for Saturday after which we would cancel their rescue place. And since we’d been thinking that we could fit another 6 kittens in, maybe we could use that space to bring in the S8 lady who was living outdoors. The deadline passed, various other “urgent rescue space” messages flashed through (two 10 year old cats about to be put to sleep because “owner” had had a baby; 3 young cats (one of them disabled) … being given their marching orders because “owner” having another baby all considered … these are just the local ones) but we decided the best option would be to offer to the S8 lady. I was on the edge of writing to her when the 6 kittens messaged to say they were now 5 and could they come tomorrow?

It’s still touch and go whether the “6 now 5” kittens arrive, but the S8 lady has revised her vet trip while Wednesday. I’m writing this not to criticise anyone … we all have pressures and limitations and lives outside of cats (um … well most people do) …. but just to give you an idea of what sometimes goes on behind the scenes with rescue. I try to do the best I can with the ones who get here, and not think too much about the ones who don’t. If I did I’d go completely crazy 😦

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a change is as good as a rest (1)

Posted on November 21, 2015 by accidental fosterer

You might have noticed it’s been quiet around here for a couple of weeks. That’s because we’ve been away visiting our friends in Singapore.

It was lovely to meet them again. Last time I saw them was just over a year ago, the day they were adopted from SPCA

: at the SPCA last year

Both as gorgeous as ever though lovely to see that she has grown so much in confidence, whilst he … well his legs have growed and growed … he must be one of the tallest cats I’ve ever met 😉 They’re very lucky kitties to have been rescued by SPCA and have found such a lovely furever home.

One of the first holiday activities was to go with this young lady and her adoptive parents to see a specialist vet about her eye condition. She’d had cat flu when she came into rescue, and it left her with a sore and runny eye. She’d waited a while to get her appointment so didn’t want to miss it, but was concerned it was a bit of a buswoman’s holiday for me. Not at all! Fascinated to visit the vets thousands of miles from home where things are so different whilst also so much the same. Similar displays of quality dry food for sale, and posters about pet health. Very similar looking scenarios of families clustered round loved pets in waiting room. It could have been our usual weekly vet run had it not been a cool 30C and most of the faces Chinese.

thanks to adoptive mum Jo for this lovely photo

Much of day to day life with cats in Singapore seems pretty much as it is here. Eat, sleep, litter tray, play. Some things though are quite different: there’s no snuggling up infront of the fire or draping your fur over the radiator, and somehow sprawling in front of the aircon isn’t as attractive. However the in house entertainment is more fun – with lizards racing across the ceiling/walls. When it comes to food and drink most of the same foods are available, however mosquitoes and ants and heat come into the equation. Still water is a breeding ground for mozzies, so water fountains are safer. Ants are quick to sniff out any food left lying around (whether that be cat or human food), so the amount of time that food is left out has to be limited.

There appears to be more emphasis on keeping cats indoors than there is in the UK … one rescue describing allowing them outdoors as “a death sentence”. These two live in a pretty safe contained area so are allowed out to explore for brief periods. They’re kept in on certain days when “fogging” is scheduled … that’s when people come round and spray the area with chemicals to deal with the mosquitoes. It’s a necessary exercise but not something you’d want on your cat’s lungs. Another consideration has to be what wildlife might be lurking in the bushes – there is potential for them to drag something much worse than a half dead mouse home with them.

The other different thing you might be interested to know about Singapore moggies is that it’s typical for them to have a knot in their tail.

I got the impression that the knot made them less attractive in terms of adoption … however I was on holiday as opposed to doing any serious research so I could well be wrong. My subjective experience is that it looks cute, and makes them who they are … however the natural (for me) stroke of head start .. down the neck … along the body … and up the tail is a little thrown by the knot. My human Singapore friends (who have previously been used to UK kitties) assure me that you simply get used to k/not doing this manoeuvre.

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The return of the N key … and other short stories

Posted on October 30, 2015 by accidental fosterer

We’re very relieved to have had a new N key (plus hinge) arrive through the letter box a couple of days ago, and expect our readers are too! The little E Team are still very keen on following the IT module in their kitten socialisation course … but since Elijah’s little accident have been asked for form an orderly queue on my lap and take turns on the keyboard.

Their mummy is doing well at Sheffield Cat Shelter and is advertised for adoption on their website. I think she’s enjoying having some space, and her little ones are definitely coming out their shells much more now they’re not being slapped by mum every few minutes. The older kittens have welcomed them into their gang for playtime, and cuddles, and my adult residents (normally a grouchy lot) have been there to mother them a bit when they’ve needed. Thanks especially to Honey, our only resident who has been a mum for stepping up to the line on that one.

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Readers with good memories and considerable stamina will perhaps remember the series of cat flap saga posts, as we switched between the pet porte microchip cat flap and the sure flap dual scan flap (with a diversion into the pet porte ridiculous sized all singing and dancing flap along the way). We thought it had all been resolved a few months ago by having a hole put in the other door of the patio doors and having both installed, one in each door … the Pet Porte one permanently locked so our old lad Sooty could be kept indoors, but available as a safe entry that our semi feral cat Amber would trust as she’d been terrified of the sure flap when we installed that. Whilst the Sure Flap one would allow out just the cats we’d scanned to be allowed outdoors. In effect it became a bit of a one way system as no one seemed to want to use the Sure Flap to come in.

It all worked pretty well until one morning when I got up and Flipper wasn’t home. I always get them in when it goes dark and lock the cat flap so they can’t go back out. I was certain they’d all been in before I went to bed … I can’t settle to sleep without knowing they’re all home and safe .. but thought perhaps she’d slipped out when I’d opened the door to call Amber in, or maybe even that I’d mistaken Amber’s tabby stripes curled in an igloo for Flipper’s … but it seemed a bit unlikely. They were all home the next night so I put it to the back of my mind. However later in the week it happened again. Flipper was out when I got up. This time I was 100% sure Flipper had been in when I went to bed, but only 90% certain of my sanity. I tried pushing on the flap when it was locked and couldn’t see how she could have got through it without breaking it. I started looking for none existent windows that I’d left open, and imagining holes in the wall or the floor that I’d not previously noticed.

rather grumpy residents locked in for the night

In the end I wasn’t sure whether to contact Sure Flap or a psychiatrist. I opted for the former. I was surprised to get a very prompt and helpful reply saying that: “We do know that a very small percentage of extremely clever and persistent cats have been able to ….. hold the grey catch down and simultaneously claw the door open inwards.” Much as I love her, I’d not really had Flipper down as “extremely clever” but I will give her “persistent”. Customer Service took the serial number of the flap we have and assured me “Our design team have developed a solution to this which we would be happy to send out to you”. I waited for the arrival of some sticky tape, or something to put across the front of the flap so it couldn’t be pulled inwards. However a week later a complete new cat flap arrived with the legendary label “thumbproof”!

Let’s see what the little monkey makes of that!

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Not an easy week

Posted on October 17, 2015 by accidental fosterer

It’s been a mega stressful week this week. Elsa started her time here as a rather timid and hissy cat a couple of months ago, but settled and was a lovely attentive mum to her four little boys.

E Team 9 days old

She’s been a really good mum, but in the last week or so it’s all got a bit much for her. Between caring for her kits, looking to defend them from the other cats she can smell (though wouldn’t actually be allowed anywhere near her and her little ones) in the vicinity, and hormones ebbing and flowing (she’s mostly likely coming into season again already) it’s just overwhelming, and she’s started attacking her little ones. There are always going to be some scraps and frayed tempers at this stage … sharp toothed kittens, x4, still wanting to breastfeed … most mums would lash out, and being in rescue cooped up in one room isn’t ideal … though it is better than trying to protect kittens living out in the open, unfed and at risk from foxes etc.

Unfortunately its gone beyond the usual slap around the head for nipping her, playing with her tail, or not keeping still whilst she’s washing them. Elsa has been really kicking her kits, and hard … sometimes quite unprovoked … and pursuing them when they run away from her. After discussion with our vets we’ve concluded that she needs to be separated from them … and just given some supervised contact time.

On one level that’s seems fine … the kittens are safe, Elsa has some space. On another level, the question as to be asked “what space?”, and “how will she and the kittens cope?”

The answers are:

a) The space she’s got is the room we’d been using to keep Shadow and/or the I Team separate from our adult residents (and me) overnight so we could have a little peace to sleep. So now these three older kittens are free-range day and night, chasing each other, diving on the bed, and generally bothering me and the residents. No sleep and that’s affecting my day job 😦

b) Elsa isn’t coping well with it. Although she clearly didn’t want to be with her kits, being away from them, but within smell and sound range, is not good either. She howls 80% of the night and rips at her bedroom door and the laminate.

c) The kittens are kind of coping. They were quite subdued whilst she was sharing a room with them, but have started to come out of themselves a little now. It’s been a steep learning curve with the weaning though

We’ve had bottles of kitten formula, kitten formula with baby rice, formula with mashed up cat food, and chicken slices. All with variable results.

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hi .. have you got your bed back yet?

Posted on October 3, 2015 by accidental fosterer

I find it amusing that the above has become one of the most regular greetings from people both socially and at work.

The answer is “YES! … kind of” As of a couple of weekends ago, the little J Team went off to their new homes – here they are settling in

jasmine & joseph

jacob & joshua

Shadow had moved into Maya & Gertie’s room when they moved out, but once the J Team left went into their bedroom, and then Elsa and the E Team moved into what had become Shadow’s room … and then finally we had our bedroom back.

I say “kind of” because of course its not actually “my” bed … This fact is pointed out to me frequently at 3am by a multitude of starfish shaped cats, sleeping at right angles to each other. Apparently its “our” bed, but since they spend more time in it than I could possibly commit to, then really its “their” bed.

This fact was played out today when I wanted to change the bedding. Being a fair and reasonable human being, I tagged them all in a facebook post, alerting them to the fact that the bedding would need to be removed at some point in the next few hours and could they please MOVE!

Honey refused, despite the pillows being taken away, and the wash basket waiting for the duvet cover. Jango on the other hand reluctantly agreed to shift, but removed himself to sleep half way down the stairs making the rest of the cleaning operation rather awkward.

I checked back every half hour or so, waiting for Honey to move. Eventually she did …. However, she’d been replaced by an immovable Jango.

This isn’t entirely unusual. What made me laugh though was that he was just as reluctant to move when I started remaking the bed.

Even to the point of sitting tight whilst I tucked the sheet in …

Things got more interesting when Shadow bounced in – I’m hoping it works to follow the link

At this point … the point a few seconds after the end of the above clip .. Jango slumped out from under the sheet and slunk off downstairs. Shadow however continued to help with “Project: bedding change”

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Its been busy … (1)

Posted on September 19, 2015 by accidental fosterer

There hasn’t been much time to update the blog recently … its been a bit crazy here. First the gorgeous Elsa had her kittens:

elsa with new borns

Quite a blur of ginger gorgeousness. It’s going to take a while before we can easily identify them each individually … though they are all different versions of ginger. It’s like Elsa only had one crayon to use whilst colouring them in … but has managed, using light and shade, to make each one beautifully and perfectly different.

E Team 9 days old

We’re full and over full of course … However a couple of Sunday mornings ago, as I was dozing off for a nap after a bad night on the couch, facebook pinged asking if we could take two young kittens with no mummy. Within 30 minutes I was in the car going to collect them … from the other side of Doncaster. Things with rescue tend to happen quickly … but when its kittens who aren’t weaned and have no mummy it has to happen even faster … faster than I can logically think about where we can put them…. but hey ho …..

My mind going ten to the dozen about how to manage regular bottles once back at work the following day, I was hugely relieved once I saw them, to realise that they were old enough to be eating a bit for themselves and wouldn’t need to be coming to work with me all week! Still very needy and clingy and wanting milk though …

I can’t help but envy/admire Elsa and the ease with which she seems to manage her babies. A snuggle, a purrrrrrrrrrrrrr, a swift lick and all seems to be well. Meanwhile we’re boiling endless water to sterilise bottles and make up feeds, having the washing machine on almost constantly to deal with little furry accidents, and facing the challenge of kitten bathing.

Sadly little Indie (and his brother to a slightly lesser extent) were so horribly stinky that we had to brave the bath. I got it all prepared and braced myself for low flying kittens. Put Indie in the kitchen sink in warm water … fulling expecting all hell to break loose …… but he just stood there. I wet his fur, lathered him in shampoo …. and he stood there. I scrubbed a bit and then rinsed him off …… and he stood there. I picked him out, toweled him .. and he stood there. I started to blow dry him … his coat puffed out like a dandelion head … but he just stood there.

towel

and then blow dry

His brother Inky was more or less as good …but wasn’t so keen to pose for photos

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I dream of my bed

Posted on August 30, 2015 by accidental fosterer

A couple of weekends ago I was really excited about the prospect of sleeping my in own bed again. You may remember I lost rights to my bedroom when we took in the D Team a couple of months ago. Two of the B Team had gone to their new home the weekend previously …. and very happy they were too

Then on the Saturday I took the three other B kittens to their new home ….. I do hope their mummy realises what treble trouble is going to be like

button buzz and boo

On Sunday morning I prepared to take mummy Betty to her lovely new home, happily running through in my head the order I’d do things in to get the B Team’s old room cleaned, move the D Team into there out of my bedroom, clean up my bedroom and get settled back in my own bed by the evening. Taking Betty to her new home went to plan … here she is blissed out with her new found freedom from motherhood, an hour or two after arriving in her new home.

The rest of the plan was … not so good. As I was setting off to take Bet to her new home an email arrived about a mum and kits. I’d heard about them earlier in the week, offered help, but not got a reply, so thought they were sorted. They weren’t 😦 So after Betty was settled in her new place I came home, cleaned her room and went to collect the people who became the J Team.

They settled into what was the B Team’s room …… the D Team stayed put in my bedroom …… and of course I stayed put on the sofa. Not to worry though because the following weekend mum and one of the D Team kits were off to their new home, so maybe then we could manage the other D Team kits downstairs and I could have my bed. We already had Shadow staying downstairs with the residents so it could be a bit of a grouchy squash. Um ….. did I mention Shadow before? She arrived on her own a few days before the J Team. She’s no trouble at all so long as you have nerves of steel and don’t value your curtains.

Anyway …. back to the story. It kind of got better because the other two D kittens had an offer of a lovely home and last Saturday was filled with taking the D Team to their 3 different homes.

Sunday was all about cleaning …. and blessedly reacquainting with our bed

It was comfy, it was blissful ..

It lasted three days … or rather nights ….

Then on Wednesday we had a call from the vets. There was a very pregnant cat, obviously stray, not micro chippped, very desperate for a safe place to have her babies. Scrambled home from work, dismantled bedroom and remade bed on sofa, bedroom turned into mother and baby unit, and then went to collect Elsa. (*mega thanks to aunty Jenny for helping with the quick turnaround)

Some people would say I’m crazy … giving up my bed for stray cats and their babies. It’s true I lose a lot of sleep by not having my bed. It’s not easy sharing a narrow sofa with all the resident cats

some of

the many people

who share the sofa

My thought is that I could never sleep knowing that there’s a cat out there giving birth in a field, that I could have helped, if only I hadn’t been so precious about my bed.

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Summer Newsletter

Posted on August 14, 2015 by accidental fosterer

TwistedWhiskers

Bringing you all the latest mews from 8 Lives Cat Rescue
Summer 2015

Welcome to our Summer newsletter. Time flies when we look at the year in quarters, despite seeming to stand still at the time. All the lovely cats we were anxious to find homes for in our last news letter have found super homes, including our beloved Jack. Here he is, with his cold and miserable allotment exchanged for his new best friend’s princess pink bedroom.

One born every minute – three tails of un planned pregnancies

Our saddest tail this quarter in some ways is Maya. She arrived with us, very pregnant, very poorly, and very very scared. Our vets worked hard to find a way of treating her without harming her babies. Sadly the babes were born premature and Maya wouldn’t even look at them. One died at birth, however little Max put up a fight and we tried to hand rear him. Sadly he was just too tiny, and too premmy, and broke our hearts a few days later.

maya feeling poorly

tiny max with his teddy

Thankfully things have improved for Maya … she’s well again. Her illness seems to have been nothing serious as such, just years of pregnancies and inadequate care. She’s slowly gone from strength to strength … her health improving and then her confidence. It’s a slow process, she’s clearly had a horrid experience of humans in the past. We’re slowly getting there … there’s a sense now that she sees humans as having the potential to be good.

looking for me for her supper

more confident

We’re hoping someone with a love and understanding of cats will offer her a forever home, someone able to let her grow her confidence at her own pace. We’re sure she has the potential to be a lovely companion for someone. She may never be a lap cat, but she’s full of character … and a real little sweetie.

Things were very much better for Betty. Although she also found herself pregnant and homeless, she landed on the home of a couple of lovely young women who have done their absolute best for her. Here she is, hanging on to their door, asking for help.

determined to get herself a home

They found her a space here in rescue where she could safely have her kits. We’re pretty sure they’re her first litter …… unlike Maya, she’s only a very young cat. She got into rescue 10 days before her kits were born, had some good food and a safe space to have them. Although rather bemused by what was happening with the birth and arrival of kittens, Betty quickly got her head around it and has made a lovely job of raising her little ones. We’re delighted that she’s now going back to the women who found her for a furever home.

Daisy’s experience was somewhere in between Maya’s nightmare and Betty’s lucky escape. Another youngster, barely more than a kitten herself, she ended up pregnant and giving birth in a shed. She and her kits were discovered a few weeks later by a curious dog and his concerned human.

Daisy in her shed

with kittens

We didn’t have any space here really, but went out to scan her just to see if she was microchipped, which not surprisingly she wasn’t. It’s one (not entirely easy) thing, to reply to an email requesting help, and say “I’m sorry .. we’re full”. It’s quite another to see a young mum and three kittens in a shed, at risk of foxes, further pregnancy, and simply of boxes falling on them, and say no. So of course they came home with us. In a crate in the lounge because there was nowhere else .. they refused to eat or use the litter tray for 24 hours. The only option was to move out of my bedroom, move the D Team in there, and sleep on the sofa.

This seems to have worked well for them …. though its been a bit tricky for me and the residents who normally like to share my bed.

And then there’s our little miracle – Gertie

Gertie was a bit of a surprise arrival. I was at work and a friend messaged me to say she’d been to visit her cat who was an inpatient at her vets. Whilst there she’d seen Gertie who had been brought in as a poorly stray a week ago, and now her time was up. Unclaimed and blind, Gertie was to be put to sleep. I tried to ignore it and think of something else … focus on work ….. but it was hopeless … I couldn’t concentrate with the idea of a cat we may be able to save, dying because no one could be bothered. Somewhat recklessly I agreed to collect her from the vet on the way home from work, and then spent the gaps between appointments frantically googling for info about how to care for a blind cat.

I was stunned by how beautiful she was when I picked her up, and relieved by how easily she managed to find her food and litter tray once we got home. The next day we went off to our own vet for a check up. Gertie walked around in circles in the surgery and then crashed into the wall. However, Claire, our lovely vet, said she thought it could be high blood pressure causing her illness and blindness, and that if treated she may regain her sight. Our vets are fab and I trust their judgment …. but really?! Nevertheless Gertie stayed overnight and through next day having her bp checked, was diagnosed with hypertension … and sent home with medication. Within a couple of days there was a huge difference … her pupils were responding to light and she was no longer walking into things.

Gertie is looking for an indoor home with humans who will snugggggle her lots and help make up for the horrid time she’s had so far in life.

2016 Calendar

Some of you will already have seen our lovely 2016 calendar … put together through help from our local photography group and some excellent photographers from our adoptive families, and a wonderful local business who have funded the printing of them. Each month features one of our gorgeous 8 Lives cats: there’s some of our permanent residents, plus Jak, Domino, Sugar, Jack, Molly, Dorothy, Dave and Ralph and supporting photos of Alfie & Aslan, Lenny & Lily etc. Please buy or more .. for stocking fillers at Christmas? Help us to keep our funds at a level where we’re able to help the more needy cats like Gertie as well as some of the more average guests 🙂

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keeping on ….. keeping on

Posted on August 1, 2015 by accidental fosterer

You may have noticed that since the D Team arrived, its gone rather quiet on the blog. I can assure you its not been so quiet off line.

We had a little panic with the B Team when Betty went off to be spayed. Despite being over 7 weeks old at that point, no one other than Billy had shown any interest in being weaned. I’d assumed when I booked the op they’d be eating for themselves by then, and then when they weren’t, hoped that a few hours without mum would prompt them reconsider their options for filling their tummies. Spaying is a very quick and straightforward op and there’s very rarely any problem. However Betty’s wound didn’t settle well initially and she ended up staying at the vet overnight. The B Team had to have a crash course in eating: out came the blender and the kitten formula. Thankfully within 24 hours Betty was home and recovering very well, and her kits were eating.

The D Team are estimated to be a couple of weeks younger than the Bs, though maybe because there’s only 3 of them, they’re already the size of the Bs. They’re also a little slow with thinking about weaning. I suspect its first time mums being quite indulgent. Daisy is only a baby herself really, less than a year old, so this will be her first litter too. The mums we’ve had where we know they’ve had previous litters are more likely to point the kits towards the Felix and retreat to a high shelf and let them get on with it.

Meanwhile the Zeds found themselves a young couple with nerves of steel who were ready to take on their crazy hyperactivity and are settling in nicely. When I took them to their new home they’d been there 10 minutes before young Zebedee wriggled behind a bookcase we thought he couldn’t get to the back of, shuffled along until he was between the wall and the wardrobe and then started wailing .. which resulted in part of the wardrobe being dismantled to release him. Poor Zacchaeus tries to be a good boy, but its tough when you have a brother with ADHD. I spent the first week half expecting a text saying that the boys had been put on the bus to come back to us. Nevertheless, here they are, in their smart new collars and looking like butter wouldn’t melt …….

Zac

Zeb

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New arrivals – meet the D Team

Posted on June 30, 2015 by accidental fosterer

Ok, so we’re full …… we know we’re full. It’s chaotic around here with the Zeds bouncing around, and the two oldies, and Betty trying cope with kittens who are deeply reluctant to being weaned. Not to mention the residents with Sooty needing to be kept in still, and Flipper collecting wildlife. And my goodness its hot, don’t know what we’d do without our Flat Cat screens to allow us to open the windows some of the time at least.

B Team refusing to grow up

However at the weekend we got a message from a lovely woman who was trying to help a mum and three kittens whom her dog had discovered living in their shed. All the other rescues were full too, she’d rung everyone ….. and finally found us on a google search. I ended up going out to check if mum was chipped. On the one hand it was a perfectly sensible first step in trying to help … on the other hand, I knew it was fatal. It’s one thing taking a deep breath and replying to an email saying “I’m sorry but we’re completely full …. here’s a list of other rescues to try …. ” It’s quite another actually seeing a very young mum in the corner of a shed doing her best to protect her babies. The woman had been doing her best to care for them, had started feeding them as soon as she knew they were there, and done her utmost to protect them and get help, but the little ones were at risk of being taken by a fox and mum at risk of being pregnant again. This lady had her own difficult personal situation to deal with and couldn’t do any more than she was doing.

mum with kits in shed

The half formulated plan to leave them there but fund mum’s spay and sort out rehoming from there just dissolved. It just wasn’t safe for them to stay where they were. We brought them home and put them in a crate in the lounge.

A day later mum hadn’t eaten or used her litter tray … too stressed with the Zeds bouncing around and the residents grumbling about the seemingly endless stream of new arrivals. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so Daisy and the little Dots are now settling very happily into my bedroom whilst I settle on the sofa.

She’s the most beautiful little girl …. gorrrrrrgeous pale green eyes and a lovely gentle nature. Vet thinks she’s not a year old yet, poor little thing. Her kits are adorable …. and thankfully arrived in rescue early enough to learn to get used to humans.