Sheffield

We’re having a lot of fun at 8 Lives at the moment.    Our IT wizard  Alan has installed a web cam in the kitten’s bedroom.

The photo I’m uploading from it right now as I write this post looks pretty boring.  It’s going dark in the room and I think Tab & Mowse are off screen sitting on the windowsill,  the older lads are closer to the door playing football (I can hear them) and the younger ones are asleep in the nest.    It’s a bit experimental … and I don’t if the photo you’ll see when I publish this will be the same as I see now, or whether it will update.

Despite the dull grey scene I can see right now, this is really exciting.  I sooooo wish we’d had it before the ladies gave birth …. it would have been brilliant to have been able to check on them without bursting in on them every half hour.   The view I can get within the house is a constant stream of what’s happening up there.  It’s helped Simon to start to integrate with them which I think he needs in order to learn social skills.  If I just leave him in there though, I’m anxious about whether he’s ok.  If I stay in the room he often just sits on my lap … watching …. whilst I try to persuade him to go and play.  If I leave him and go back into the room he’ll come running to me because he’s attached to me.  Like thousands of ‘parents’ with a child at nursery I want to know how he is when I’m not there, whether he settles when I’ve gone or just stands waiting at the door for me to return.

simon in the nest

This shows us that Simon goes in the nest with the others and has been ok in there.   Tabs & Mowse have been lovely with him, and he seems to like to play with Timothy.   The tricky bit has been Simon, being possessive with the food bowl.  I and the other kittens looked on in horror as he spread his arms across the dish, eating and growling at the mummies as they tried to eat!

The stream also shows the family relaxed and playing

We’re working on getting a link to the website.    The web link will upload a photo every minute.  Apparently if you allow streaming  it opens up to hackers …. I think.  I’m slowly learning more about IT than I ever thought I would … but enjoying it.  During the day time the photos will be in colour … I’ve just taken stills in there this evening to   demonstrate.   The next thing I’ll need to learn is to either switch the camera off when I go in there, or not shuffle in in my crazy old cat lady dressing gown and slippers in a morning and have my image beamed around the world 😉

This week saw Tabbytha’s kittens becoming 4 weeks old and Mowse’s 3 weeks.  The age gap is closing rapidly.  When the little Ts opened their eyes at 2 weeks, the little Ms followed the next day at just 8 days old.

cot is very full

standing room only for tabs

The cot is becoming very very full, and although most of the time they still squash into there, I’ve also found Tabbytha taking the odd break and having some space.  Often during those times Mowse is patiently dealing with the little Ts smacking her in the face.  Mowse does appear to be the more maternal of the pair.  Tab rushes to the food at mealtimes while Mowse stays in the cot feeding the little ones.  Tabs does come back and help with cleaning and getting them into their pyjamas and ready for bed, but she’s not as much of a slave to them as Mowse.

tabbytha with kits

mowse with kits

A few days ago we had the first adventurings of Timothy…. first kit out the nest and looks like he’s going to be trouble.  He toddled out, up the ladder on the scratch post, and then wailed until Aunty Mowse came to get him down.

Timothy leaving the nest

starting to climb …

… and getting stuck

Notice that its Mowse who rescues him.  Tabs, his mum, joined in the conversation about what to do to sort the problem out … but ultimately it was Mowse who came and sorted it.   He she is smacking his bottom and sending him back to bed

The rescue is full, but when we got an email on Wednesday about a tiny kitten found alone in a garden …… well ….

Simon arrives

Simon is probably a wee bit older than Tabbytha’s kits – he’s able to feed himself and use the litter tray – though he’s a little smaller than them. He has a big purrsonality though.

He’s hoping to be an IT consultant when he grows up.   Apart from being a wizz at Candy Crush, he’s so far managed to copy and paste my messenger conversation with one person and send it to someone else, and reorganise my drop box files.   Uncle Alan came on Friday to do some work on our new website ….. so Simon discussed apprenticeship options with him

As he’s about the same age as Tab & Mowse’s kittens I thought it might be good for him to spend a bit of time playing with them.   It felt very much like going to playgroup ….. being eyed up by the other mummies and not quite fitting in. Simon looked like he wanted to play but sat anxiously on my lap for a while.   I persuaded him that Timothy looked like a nice little boy and maybe they could play together, and he toddled off, occasionally returning to my lap for reassurance.

Simon showed Tim what fun it was to play in the litter tray, while Tim showed Simon how to play with Tab’s tail (no photos of that … focused on being ready to grab Si if Tab took exception to it).  Huge respect to both Tabs and Mowse who took another kitten completely within their stride.  Mowse gave him a wash because she had her flannel out and was generally grabbing kittens to clean them. They sit there patiently whilst the kits smack them in the face, play with their tails and ears.

simon invited for tea

Timothy invited Simon back for tea ….but Si was a bit unsure about it and after going into the nest ran back to me. He wants Timothy to come and play on the computer with him tomorrow.

…… it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.”

Little  did  Charles Dickens suspect he’d give words to express where 8  Lives is right now 😉   We set up 3 years ago as a very small cat rescue (the rescue that is that’s small … not the cats … though some of them are).    With help from Voluntary Action Sheffield we established ourselves an an unincorporated charitable body.  We couldn’t register to be a ‘proper’ charity as we had less than £5k per annum income … and didn’t expect that to change.    We hadn’t bargained for our amazing fundraising team . .. who have now taken us over that registration threshold.

So now we need to register … like it or not.  Which we do … and we don’t.    It’s amazing to have this amount of funds …. though just to be clear: although we’ve had more than £5K come in this year, most of it has gone straight back out on food /litter and vet bills.   It’s wonderful though to be able to offer a rescue space to a cat without too much fear of the financial implications of any health issues s/he has.   It meant we could take in people like poor old Molly Mable who was found hiding in the bed a week after her human had died, Puddy a long term ‘stray’ who had been living in someone’s shed for years, fed by a kindly neighbour, and little Sage a stray who was ripping her fur out for reasons initially unknown.    Between them …  they’ve cost us about £800 at the vet.  They’re worth it of course, more than worth it.

molly

puddy

sage

Armed with coffee and cake three of us got together a couple of weekends ago to try to make sense of the charity registration process.  There was much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Sage would have felt well at home as we tore our hair out  trying to work out which forms we needed to fill in and plough our way through the legaleze.   Sage however was living the life in her lovely foster home and couldn’t give a cat’s whisker.

This week its starting to come together.    We’ve had a meeting with Keith at Voluntary Action Sheffield who was just as amazing and helpful as he was 3 years ago when we were first setting up.   There’s still a way go to, forms to be filled, meetings to be had, stuff to be signed … and signatures to be witnessed.  The good news is that we now have some idea what we’re doing.  I can’t praise organisations like VAS highly enough …. it actually feels like we might be able to do this now.

The story of our (semi) feral cats from Richmond, Tabbytha & Mowse, is proving quite popular.  They both arrived here a few weeks ago, both pregnant.    When Tabbytha gave birth last  week, we were stunned to see Mowse helping her.

I couldn’t  help but wonder how long that supportive bliss was going to last.  It’s been a birth like no other here.   The last one, Elsa, mum was very devoted for a day or so but then began to take more and more time out of the nest

Elsa & the ETeam

Prior to Elsa, Betty had her kits and within hours was thinking about what next and how soon they’d grow up and go off to school.

Betty & the B Team

Tabbytha & Mowse, however, have scarcely shifted from the nest since the baby Ts were born.  I know that they do come out because food is eaten and litter trays used,  but mostly they’re in there with kittens.

Of course one of the questions everyone was asking was whether Tabbytha would do the same for Mowse when her kits were born.   Just a week after the little Ts were born, we had the answer.  I went in to check them before bed, and Tabbytha was licking Mowse.   When I went back in the morning the cats were cuddled next to each other, with an extra collection of small heads between them.

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And then the other question everyone was asking was “how many kittens has she had?”.    That’s not an easy one to answer.   I think its 4 …but a combination of the fact that they’re mainly black/black & white,  and carefully hidden between two very protective semi feral cats still leaves a degree of uncertainly even 3 days on.   I think this may be all of them, but there could be an other/s not in this heap.

I’m mainly just trusting that all is well in there.   I value my fingers, and don’t want to need to hand rear rejected kittens.  I’m curious though as to whether there’s any recognition/preference  regarding which kittens belong to whom.    It’s difficult to observe very closely as the adults are so wary of humans.   However it seems the two are just caring for all the kittens as a group.    I’ve noticed at supper time that there seems to be some segregation of tasks with one mum feeding, and the other washing them and getting their pyjamas on.  Mostly though, they’re huddled together protecting  their little ones.  Heart breaking to think how many previous babies they will have lost, born outdoors and vulnerable to so many threats.

Writing this newsletter is a lovely opportunity to step back from the day to day trials of running the rescue and reflect on the highlights of the last few months – its been an interesting time.

Fundraising 

In March we had what we hope may be the first of many fundraising events at Stip the Willow .    It’s a lovely and rather quirky venue just off Abbeydale Road.    Our amazing fundraising organisers Jenny and Fiona planned and managed it all with help from various friends, family and Strip the Willow regulars.   Many of our wonderful friends and supporters attended and we had a fabulous evening.

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Our June event will be slightly different, but equally fabulous.    All the usual fun and quizzes . .. but also a live music session with Max Restaino .   I’d been a little to busy with cats to have heard of him before this year …. but he really is rather good 🙂

Arrivals & Departures

We’ve had quite a few comings and goings with feline visitors since Xmas.  Having a little bit of money in the bank has meant that we’re been able to offer help to some more needy cats than previously.   Whereas previously we’d had to be wary of taking in old or poorly cats because we couldn’t fund their care, now we have fundraisers and supporters we’re able to help cats in more desperate situations.   Cats like Molly Mable – a teenager who had hidden inside the bed base when her human died and was only found a couple of weeks later.

on arrival

settling in

in her furrrrever home

Molly was quite traumatised when she arrived and refused to eat.   Once she’d had a dental (£300) and worms and fleas sorted she began to feel better.  She’s gone to a lovely new home now, still quite shy and jumpy, but very loved and in time will recover.

And Sage who was found as a stray, busy ripping all her fur out.  Poor puss was bald on her tummy and insides of her legs, and continued ripping until she’d made bald patches on her shoulders and head.   She’s a little sweetheart but clearly itchy and stressed.  We’ve managed to get her into a lovely pet free foster home, and she’s currently being treated by our vets.

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I’ll not show photos of the next cats I’ll tell you about because of confidentially … but we were able to take in a couple of cats from a domestic violence situation, so that their human could be moved to safer accommodation, and another couple of cats who had been abandoned in a filthy house when their family moved out.    All of them now have super new homes … and were able to stay in the pairs they arrived in.    The other brilliant news for regular readers is that Wispa and Wynter (the more timid sisters of Winnie) have found themselves the purrrfect home.   A wonderful woman who is happy to care for them, and let them grow in confidence at their own pace.

The gorgeous Snowy mentioned in our Xmas news letter also found a fabulous home.  An older couple who wanted a feline companion, but needed someone in their own age group rather than a crazy kitten.  Snowy is delighted to be sharing his retirement days with them.

Our ‘big story’ this quarter

We took in a couple of pregnant cats a few weeks ago.   A kind man, living on the edge of a village in North Yorkshire had been feeding strays on his land for some time.   Sadly he’d become too poorly to continue to care for them .. and about 10 un neutered cats needed to come into rescue.  We only had space for two (the others have found care in other rescues) …. and on the morning we drove up there, they randomly caught two pregnant females for us to take.   

They were terrified when they arrived.   They’ve probably never been indoors before.   Gradually they settled and although not really handleable we’ve had the odd stroke and they’ll accept treats from my hands.    Whilst the original plan was to put them in separate rooms so they could have space having their babies, they were clearly close so we left them together, assuming that when kittens were born they’d find separate parts of the the room and give each other some space.

What actually happened was incredible.  I could hardly believe what I was seeing.  When Tabbytha was ready to give birth they both huddled in to the ‘cot’ that we’d prepared, snuggling and purring.   Mowse put her arms round her labouring friend, licked her head and tummy and under her tail, and stayed with her throughout the birth, helping to clean new born kittens (and Tabbytha and their bedding).   As I write, the kittens are 3 days old and the two adults have scarcely left the nest … laying together with the kittens between them all the time.

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We’re waiting to see what happens when Mowse has her kittens …. hoping that Tabbytha will be as good a friend as Mowse was to her.

Other felines in happy new homes

I think this is most of the other cats who have gone to purrfect new homes over the last few months – apologies if we’ve missed anyone

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Committee Vacancy

We’re looking for an additional one or two people to join our small, friendly team.   We’ve been recognised as a charity for tax purposes, and are on the edge of being able to apply to be a registered charity.   We need someone who is reasonably organised and not daunted by HMRC paperwork to help move us forward with this.   We meet 3/4 times per year and otherwise get on with things when we have time and communicate through email / facebook etc.    Payment is by cake at meetings, and the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve made a difference to many cats’ lives.   If you think you might be able to help please contact us at eightlives@outlook.com

It’s been a curious sort of week here. There was a post on the Cats in Danger group about a couple of older lads … living in a shed and one of them not very well. The story of this elderly mainly black tom cat who may have thyroid issues pulled all the strings about my precious Sooty … and on Tuesday evening I sped up to North Yorkshire to collect them.

Jasper

Puddy

They were at our vets the following morning.  Jasper is about 8 and is in good health … Puddy is in his teens and has bad teeth.  He had a blood test taken prior to a dental op … and that has revealed some issues …. we’re don’t know yet what’s going on and are awaiting results of further tests.   They’re very sweet lads who are settling in and scrubbing up well ….. so hoping for the best for them.

Then on Wednesday …. Tabbytha … one of the Richmond 2 gave birth.   The original plan had been to have Tabbytha and her friend Mowse in separate rooms, but since they’ve been very scared, and close to each other, we’ve kept them together.   We anxiously trusted that they’d be ok sharing a room when the babies arrived.   Our guess was that when the time came for one of them to give birth they would move away from each other and have some privacy.

What actually happened was something we weren’t prepared for at all.    They moved into the labour room together

Tabbytha gave birth 3 kittens whilst Mowse held her in her arms and purred loudly.  Mowse licked Tab’s head and tummy and under her tail.   She helped clean the kittens when they were born, and held the first borns whilst the others arrived.   The third kitten was a bit of a struggle …. Mowse laid next to Tabs …. hand on tummy …. checking under tail …… I swear she was a midwife in her previous life ……

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I feel out of this world privileged to witness this …… they’ve laid in the bed together for over 24 hours ….. kittens between them ……

Completely in awe of them ….. out of my experience ….. waiting to see what happens next.

Rightly or wrongly the clocks don’t stop for a bereavement, and time marches relentlessly on.   The residents don’t say a lot, but have clearly been affected by the loss.   Sleeping places have changed.   Whilst Sooty was alive, and clearly top cat despite his failing health, there was a competition for who could sleep in his little house/bed.   Now it remains empty apart from the fur ..

Jango, previously always upstairs in my bed, has taken to sleeping downstairs …… whilst Honey has taken his place on my bed.  Flipper, who was very close to Sooty has taken to snuggling up with Jango … I’m not sure how welcome this is.   Amber as semi feral always plays her cards close to her chest so we don’t know what’s going on for her bless her.

I was really touched by how many of our ex residents invited us for purrs and snuggles to try to ease the pain.  I didn’t want to go and soak their lovely fur with tears but the offer was very much appreciated.   Lovely Peppa even sent a card from her new home in America.

Meanwhile …… Jet and Jinja and Molly Mable are settling into their new homes.   Jet is the lovely snuggle bug she was here.   Jinja is proving to be a little monkey and full of life that she wasn’t able to find here ….. probably because she felt a bit intimidated by Molly Mable.   Molly Mable on the other hand is struggling a bit ……. she’s an older girl, almost a teenager, who had been settled in her home from being a kitten.  Her world came apart when her human died.  She might need a while still behind the sofa before she decides that life is ok again.

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The Ws and the Ys have also gone to their new homes in the last week.    The Ys are quickly getting over their trauma and settling well, one more confidently than the other, but I’m sure they’ll both be more than happy before long.  The Ws were always going to be a challenge … a challenge one intrepid woman decided to rise to.   Mostly they’re wedged behind the cabinet in her living room but do occasionally come out to eat and move things …… oh and take down the kitchen curtains.   Hey ho ….. we’re waiting on photos from there.    Let’s hope mummy’s motto of “it will be fine” holds up in the face of these little horrors.