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Bramble came to us yesterday, after  us following her on free and cheap pet sites on facebook right through Christmas.   There’s a whole ethical and emotional roller coaster ride to be had from following these kind of pages.   That’s maybe a post for another day.  What got me was that Bramble looked like my Midgecat …. what I could see of her … the photo that was posted was so blurred it wasn’t easy to tell.    I saw her offered to everyone who said they wanted a cat … on lots of different groups …… her price gradually decreasing ….. until yesterday I could bear it no longer.

My feelings towards the family who were advertising her, and not even providing a decent picture of her, changed a little when I met them.  I’ll not go into detail, that’s not the point here.

She’s a little sweetie …. but ……. I can see why they didn’t manage a decent pic of her!  I must have taken well over a hundred in the last 24 hours … and can I get a decent one?  Every time, just as its about to fire, she moves!  She’s a very pretty kitty, but she’s not going to let anyone know it.

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It’s been a mixed sort of year.   The cats at the start of 2013 were fosters from another rescue, then a collection who for various reasons came through the local cattery, and then after August the cats who came were 8 Lives Cat Rescue cats.  Amidst all the angst and upheaval of the year, there are a couple of things that remain constant:

•  There are a frightening number of cats and kittens out there who need help
•  There are a surprising number of very lovely people who are willing to offer the above cats spaces in their hearts and homes.

Here are some of this year’s cats chilling in their new homes

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Some are photos of when they’ve first arrived, others of when they’re more settled.   Panda and Dunlop went to their new home in January this year, they didn’t stay hiding under the sofa for long.  Jak and Jenny went to their new home only a few days ago – we hope they don’t continue to look this worried.   It’s been lovely seeing photos of our kits getting to know their new older brothers and sisters, feline and bunny, and to see them relaxing, being spoiled stupid with toys and treats, and knowing most of all that they’re now loved and cared for.

What’s coming up at 8 Lives for 2014?   Well, for one thing …. Leo is!

This Xmas’ heart throb arrived yesterday.   Because he came at Christmas Sooty wanted to call him Cheeses, Flipper wanted him to be Rudolph, I’d vaguely entertained the idea of Santa or Claus …. but when it came to it, we called him Leo, the name the lovely lady who brought him into rescue would have given him had she not been afraid to name him in case she couldn’t part with him.   She’s a fantastic person who helps lots of strays in Birmingham, and spotted Leo living amongst them when he was only quite a small kitten.  She took him in and cared for him but hasn’t had any luck re homing him.

leo arrives, greeted by honey and flipper

We met half way at a service station, he had a narrow escape from being called Donny as a result of that.   He slept most of the way home.   In fact he was so quiet that by the time we got to Chesterfield I was wondering which vets might be open at that time on a Saturday.

I needn’t have worried, he hopped out of the carrier once we were home, and after a brief interval of being overwhelmed by the other cats and hiding under the shoe rack, he bounced out and was fine.   I wasn’t going to bother with putting the tree up this year, but with it being his first Christmas and all, I trudged up to the loft to get it.   Leo took on the challenge of helping to assemble it very calmly.   Flipper feigned indifference, “been there, trashed that”, and sat on the scratch post supervising him.

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Today he looks like he’s always lived here.   Jango is clearly his super hero and role model.  You won’t go far wrong having Jang as your role model …. indeed you won’t go very far at all!   He’s happily finding all the best places to sprawl himself out.

Leo is going to be just such a catch for some lucky person / family.   He’s about 6 months old now, used to living with cats and dogs.  His keyboard skills aren’t brilliant … though for an excited youngster they’re not bad.  We’re also concerned he may have a slight alcohol problem ….. but hopeful that in the right home he’ll be able to work through that.

Some of my readers are aware that along with my love of cats, I’m also passionate about theology. It’s a tricky subject in a household where everyone other than me sincerely and simply believes that THEY ARE god. However, we muddle along, and over the last couple of days we’ve been revisiting the story of the prodigal son.

Facebook friends might well be aware of where this is going, as celebrations of Mog’s return began yesterday afternoon.

Mog has had a long hot summer on the allotments, and hasn’t been home since Easter. She’s managed to wind a lot of lovely lovely people around her little finger, so instead of looking like a poor stray living rough, she’s had more the appearance of Six Dinner Sid throughout the whole time. However, its getting cold, and dark early so difficult to go to see her after work, and then a neighbour told me about her cat who had been bitten by … well we don’t know what by, another cat, dog, fox.

six dinner sid

Aunty Moggie (who tells me she doesn’t like cats … but nevertheless appears to have a soft spot for Mog) donated a lovely warm kennel for her to have on the allotment, so on Friday morning I went over to deliver it. I was horrified to see that Mog had a puncture mark by her ear, and signs of another set of teeth lower down her face. I’d been trying to make the best of a bad job with her living on the allotments, but something snapped in me when I saw that, and I decided she had to come home. Getting her into the carrier was one of the most scary things I’ve ever done. It’s not about my fear of being scratched or bitten, but fear that I only had one chance at it. If I didn’t manage it she’d be off into the allotment that I didn’t have a key for and would probably never trust me again. Visions of sitting up all night on a pitch dark, deserted allotment waiting for her to go into a trap. It wasn’t dignified but I stroked her, and then scruffed her and rammed her in the carrier.

Just to make it worse, we went home via the vets. Her booster was due and over due, and I needed the wound checking out. Tim at Vets4Pets was brilliant as ever and we got her sorted.

And so back home … my Mog … home for the first time in over 6 months! Into the spare bedroom that Meg vacated last week. My Mog, in my house again at last! To be honest I was afraid she might do the wall of death when confined inside again … but she had something to eat, settled down, snuggled on of Aunty Wizz’s lovely catnip pillows and went to sleep.

The feast has been flowing since then. New packet of boiled ham cracked open, lots of tins of pilchards served, treats running freely. I keep going upstairs to snuggle her ….. just because I can, lots of lovely purry snuggles. The permanent residents are a bit grouchy about all the fuss …… but trying to focus on the can opener

We’ve been doing our best here with Jak and Jen over the last few days, and muddling along together we’d made some real progress. However the reality was that they were still very scared, and if I’m honest … so was I. If they jump, I jump … and if Jen jumps then so does Jak and vice versa …. so we’ve all been playing on each others anxiety.

Today however has been a real turning point. Wizzcat came to visit with her magic stick and blankie. I watched …… absolutely awestruck as she approached Jak, first with the magic wand, then with the blanket, and then proceeded to give him a full body massage starting under his chin and then moving on to his ears. Bless him, those ears have held so much tension over the last couple of weeks … flattening them down against his head as he’s been doing must be exhausting. It was heartbreaking to see how he was shaking with fear at even the most careful touch, but it was also the start of some real hope that he could learn to enjoy human touch, and with an understanding human might be able to have a happy life as part of a family.

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Sigh …….. it looked so easy when Wizz did it. When I went in later to try to continue the work I felt like I was just poking the poor souls with a stick. Having said that … Jak settled down fairly happily to being stroked with the nagic wand and had his chin, ears and shoulders rubbed. He settled his head down and closed his eyes whilst I was rubbing his head with the wand. I’m not sure if it was a snore or the start of a purr, but the sound startled both of us a bit and we jumped back to attention. Jen is a bit more feisty but also a bit more confident and she’s been quite happily taking Dreamies from my hands and enjoying a stroke.

My lovely Sooty wasn’t at all scared of Wizz and confidently helped himself to rummaging in her handbag …. bless him. I think its his age that lets him get away with it 🙂

So, its nearly a week now since Jak and Jenni arrived.   I wonder if they’ve felt its gone quickly or not?   It’s been a bit over a week since their entire furry lives fell apart, and their dad had to take them into rescue.  Jenni has spent most of the week hiding in the bottom of the scratch post, and Jak hiding behind the basket.  As we’ve gone along its often felt one step forward and two steps back … however when I come to look at it a week on, I realise this can’t be true because there HAS been progress.

For the first time this evening when I went in to to them after work, Jenni wasn’t hiding in the scratch post, she was up on the chest of drawers in one of the baskets.  She hopped down when I put some food out, let me stroke her, rubbed round my hand and then nipped me.   Jak mostly hid, but came out to use his lit tray and crept around the edge of the room, had a mouthful of food and then went to hide.   Not great, but compared to the hissing, spitting, lashing out of a week ago it seemed fantastic.

Now when I’ve just gone in to put the light and radio off and say night night, Jenni is hissing at me again.  Perhaps she was just really interested in the article on “In Touch” and didn’t want to miss the end of it.  But my heart sank a bit again.

finally somewhere other than hiding when i went in

The house feels so different at the end of this week from how it felt at the beginning.  No more crazy stampedes of over excited kittens, just an air of fear as Jak and Jenni wait, wondering if today will be the day when whatever it is they are dreading will happen to them.

Fortunately, and no thanks to the damned fireworks, we’re gradually making some progress.   Each day I’ve seen a little bit more of them than the day before – ok, so I’m just about counting it in inches.   On day two Jenni moved her face to the opening of the hidey hole, day three she put her head out.  Day two Jak put his head above the back of the bed, day three he reached around the edge of the bed to get a spoonful of sardine.   It’s kind of alternated who is the bravest.   At first I thought Jak was more confident, then he flattened his ears against his head, and Jenni seemed more confident, until she growled, and then it was Jak being brave, gradually inching a little closer to me to get a spoonful of pilchard.

Today we’ve been able to dispense with the spoon most of the time, and offer bits of fish to them in my hand.  I have to say, this isn’t just about their fear ….. I’m no hero and until today I wasn’t ready to risk putting my hands anywhere near them.   This afternoon Jak slowly came further out from behind the bed as I moved the food further away.  He even managed to be a bit interested in a toy.

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This evening has been interesting.   I thought Jenni was more scared, and that she was growling at me again when I started offering her pilchards.  Then I realised it was a purr, not a growl.  I know cats will purr when they’re afraid too, but she slowly emerged from her hiding place, in response to the fish and some Dreamies.  She started rubbing her head around my hand and let me stroke her.  WOW!

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I’ve just been in to say night night and to put their radio off.  Jenni not run back to her hiding place, she’s next to Jak, but they both hissing again.  So I’m wondering what progress has been made.

Just been trying to remember the last time we were without kittens around the house.   It must have been before Flipper was born last May.   We’re all being very grown up, and the sound of the wildebeest stampede overhead has finally halted.

Our new rescue cats, Jak and Jenni are a very different challenge.  This is a mum and her son, who lived with a very elderly man until he suddenly became to0 unwell to care for them, and they were temporarily admitted to another rescue as an emergency.  Poor things had been used to a quiet life and suddenly they were sharing a cat pen with lots of other cats, being cared for by humans they’d never met.   They were both absolutely terrified; growling, hissing and lashing out.

jak, very frightened in emergency rescue

Getting into carriers again and coming here was pretty horrid for them too.  They got out the carriers in their new bedroom and ran to hide.

jak & jenni hiding

Jenni stayed in the little hidey hole under the scratch post, Jak shuffled behind the blue cat bed and wedged himself there.   Each time they were visited in the first 24 hours that’s where they were.  We know that they’ve popped out briefly because some of the food has disappeared, and the dreamies have gone.

They’ve hissed and growled when anyone has gone into their room.   However with the help of a tin of sardines there’s been a little progress this evening.  Jen was furious when I offered her a little taster on a spoon (one with a long handle – i’m no hero!) and growled at the intrusion.   Jak’s tummy got the better of him though and he decided to risk it.  Jenni heard him licking his lips and wiping his whiskers and couldn’t resist any longer.   So they’ve both taken a little food from me, and both moved their heads slightly out of hiding.

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Mittens, the last of Meg’s kittens to go to his new home, packed his suitcase and left this evening.   I find it hard to describe the mixed feelings that leaves me with, so how on earth little Meg is feeling I can’t begin to imagine.  I vividly remember popping in one morning a few days after Meg arrived, just to see how she was settling in.  She was crouched under the desk, one little black and white bit of fluff wriggling around next to her, and another in the process of being born.  I stayed in the room, at a safe distance since Meg hadn’t had time to get used to me, until all 4 little bits of monochrome fur had been born, and between us, Meg and I had them safely contained within the ring of a rolled up towel.

By the time a few days had passed we were all more settled with each other.  Meg had the kits organised, and trusted me, and I started to work out who was who in the black and white huddle.  Between us, we’ve watched the kits grow and develop, open their eyes, learn to climb, learn to trash stuff, grow, be chipped and vaccinated, and start to meet potential new humans.

Yet again we’ve been exceptionally lucky with the homes we’ve found…. or to be more accurate – the people who have found us!  Lovely, lovely families, really couldn’t wish for better for these little ones.   Fabulous!  And yet, its hard to not feel a bit sad.  The sound of the wildebeest migration overhead has ended now there’s no kits in the bedroom.   What hurts the most though is wondering what Meg makes of it?  At random intervals I’ve come into her room, picked up a kitten, handed him to her for one last kiss and then taken him away to start his new life.   Since Magic and Minstrel left I’ve been encouraging her to mix with my residents so she wouldn’t be totally alone once Mouse and Mittens had gone.  That’s going reasonably well though some of my lot forget that they were also homeless not that long ago.

Please let someone come along soon who is able to make Meg their cat – she’s very sweet and loving, and longing for a chance to start a new life of her own.  Here she is showing off her new collar courtesy of kitty collars .

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So,  come on, whoever it is who is out there waiting for Meg …. she’s ready for you now …….. please contact us 

Eight Lives love the cats who come into rescue here.    We love it even more when they don’t.   Cats like Bracken who we wrote about in August, who had a microchip check on the way here and was returned to a family who had lost him years ago.  Spooky (not his real name) is another happy Halloween story.

We were contacted at Halloween by a distraught young woman who needed an urgent rescue place for her 8 year old cat.   She’d had him since he was a kitten, and clearly cared about him.  Sadly a chain of events had led to her having to move into rented accommodation where she was only allowed one pet, and now she was in a nightmare Sophie’s Choice situation between Spooky and the dog.   The well known large cat charity from which she had adopted Spooky had advised that it was best to have him put to sleep – despite him being healthy.

Having gone out to meet her, with a cat carrier in the car just in case  (to be fair, there’s almost always a cat carrier in the car “just in case” even if we’re only going to Tesco to do the shopping) we decided it was worth giving it one last chance to get the landlord’s agreement  to keep Spooky.  We were delighted to get a text this afternoon saying that the landlord had agreed to having two pets in the property, despite having initially said no.

We’re sharing this partly just because its good news, but also to offer some hope to others that its worth asking the landlord, and asking again, and offering an additional bond, and asking again.  Also because it feels important to try to raise awareness of the wider issues here.  The recession is forcing more and more people into rented accommodation, and thereby tearing human/hairy families apart.  Loved animals are finding themselves in rescue, leaving both human and hairy in distress ………. and rescues overloaded.  Something needs to change.    Perhaps this is a start: http://www.letswithpets.org.uk/home/home