Posted 3 years ago
Watchsearc…
(88 items)
A stray female cat took refuge at my house where she found food and a warm safe place to sleep....and, unbeknownst to me, was scoping out a birthing place.
One morning, I heard a very small voice coming from the heated cat box....inside was one tiny black and white fur ball with blue eyes.
Mama kitty took good care of him until she weaned him. Then she abandoned him. She came back to eat a few times but would swat him away from her, or actually run away if he came toward her. I became his source of affection - his surrogate mama.
I moved him from the porch into the house, got him tested and vaccinated by the vet, provided for all his needs.
Now he’s my constant companion, day and night, indoors or outside. He comes when I call his name. He’s in to everything!
He has his own bed (pic3) but prefers mine.
In picture 4, he had first taken my pen, then fell asleep on the paper I was making some notes on about an antique watch chain. Sometimes, I just have to give up and give in. ;-)
I’ve been trying to trap his mother because she is coming back around for food, obviously pregnant. She’s very leery of the trap, refuses to be lured into it or to be picked up.
The vet is expecting to receive her as soon as she falls for the trap so we can end this cycle of repeated pregnancies.
I welcome her here, but the next delivery might produce an actual litter- not just a singleton kitten.
By the way, since he has a “1” on this forehead and he was a “litter of one”, you can probably guess his name: it’s Uno.
A cute kitty with lovely blue eyes.
Watchsearcher, Uno. <3
Pregnant cats do seem to know which humans are safe hosts for birthing. It does sound like your baby Uno was the issue of her first litter, because there was only one kitten.
Thank you for trying to get the mother into another safe harbor for the queening of her next litter, and hopefully a subsequent spaying. :-)
AWWWW.....what a SWEETIEKINS Uno is!!!! <meow><meow><broad smile>
Gorgeous tuxedo kitty, this is truly a 'fabulous find'!!
Cute kitty...and one special baby. Looks like a mischievous little guy!
Just adorable!! I love him! :- )
Cutie pie!! I love those beautiful blue eyes!!
A sweetie. I trapped one a couple weeks ago and she is baking kittens in my shed. She is not socialized to people but has meowed a couple of times.
Thank you, everyone for the all the loves and supportive comments! It must be so stressful for ‘homeless’ animals, and doubly stressful to be a female looking for a safe birthing spot.....I’m going to consider it money well spent for the upcoming spaying bill for the mama kitty...if she will just cooperate and go in the trap!
Helpful hint: yrs ago we had to trap many a feral cat at our rental home (always humanely brought them to vets or no kill shelters). The cats could never resist a fresh cooked, butter basted chicken (cut into small pieces), placed on a plate in back of a spring loaded trap discreetly covered with a light colored blanket. Good luck!
So sweet Watchsearcher...I had one a mother abandoned underneath my porch when she moved her litter. Tiny little black spot and white guy I called Max because he was such a fighter at meal time. I bottle fed him as he wasn't weaned. A week later his brother a little white long hair came back to the nest under the porch. I called him Romeo because he was so loving. They lived to be 20 and 17. The animals that find you are the special ones. Life long loyal companions. :)
Ratbag Kitty!! :)
What a super cute kitty, who's so lucky to have found a loving home with you!
He reminds me of one of my cats back in the 1980s, Remus. My father brought him home in his work bag, as a mother cat had a litter of kittens in the factory he worked in. Remus also had blue eyes at first but they turned pale yellow as he grew up...
kwqd, Thank you for your foresight and charity in trapping a pregnant cat in your shed. :-)
Hopefully, your plan is to keep her there until she's queened, and then take her and her kittens to a no-kill shelter where they can all be spayed/neutered and adopted.
There are way too many domestic animals that don't have homes.
Newfld, Who wouldn't like butter-basted chicken? };-)
I have a friend that always cooks chicken for their sick pets.
Peasejean, I found out something I was unaware of since I’ve never been around newborn kittens: they all have blue eyes initially but later change to their permanent color....who knew? Not me!
Keramikos, I also think Uno was mama cat’s first kitten because of the single birth. She was also extremely malnourished - the poor thing’s body probably could support more little fetuses taking up her meager resources. She has blossomed into a normal sized cat with food I put out for her.
AO, I knew you would have a big heart for that black and white coat! Uno could blend in with Oreo and her pile of pups!
Newfld, it was instant love -and surprise-when I saw that tiny tuxedo coat....mama cat is a tabby.
dav2no1, he thinks everything is fair game...nothing is safe once he takes notice of it!
FreshAir, it’s a good thing he so adorable since he can get into so much trouble!
jscotto363, he melted my heart with those big innocent blue eyes! I hoped they would stay blue but they are turning a golden color as he matures.
kwqd, UNO’s mother was like that...skiddish, leary of every movement toward her, obviously had a hard life—she has no tail so probably had some violence in her past. She’s only getting love and acceptance here though.
Bless you for helping that mama cat and the next generation.
BHIFUS, “Ratbag” could be a good nick-name if he gets into much more trouble with my houseplants and upholstered furniture!!
IronLace, Remus and Uno started lives with questionable futures, but luckily happened upon the right people. I know you loved him!!
UNO’s eyes are also changing, just as Remus’ did.
Thank you everyone for the long list of loves!!
Terribly cute, I remember a small kitten that came to me and I took it in, soon she was so my kid that I loved. This lovely one is a prize !~
PhilDMorris, isn’t it a wonder that some little creature can arrive uninvited and quickly fill our hearts with love?
I’ve made changes inside and outside my house to accommodate him….stuck fragile glassware to the table with museum putty, learned to tolerate litter boxes, spent money for a cat entertainment, veterinary bills, and special food.
You likely did the same for your special kitty….especially protecting your beautiful glassware and treasured items!
Thank you for commenting and giving a love for Uno!
killer eyes .... cute as all get out ....this cat could never do wrong .... '-))
Ms.CrystalShip, It's not necessarily that the mother cat abandons kittens, although sadly that could be the case with kittens that are very sickly. :-(
If a kitten is four to six weeks old, the mother might just be weaning it. A healthy six week old kitten can be adopted by humans, although twelve weeks is probably a better age.
I read somewhere (I can't find it again, darn it) that by the time a kitten is twelve weeks old, it will have learned pretty much everything its birth mother can teach it.
I’m happy to let everyone know that Uno’s mother, MissKitty, finally got trapped and taken straight to the veterinarian who did her surgery (spaying). She’s now recovering comfortably in a new soft bed with her litter box, food and water just steps away. She’s such a shy sweet girl.
One her third post-op day, I walked slowly along side her as she explored the house, sniffing everything. She’s even learning to tolerate Uno!
Keramikos, thank you for your comment also.
When she first started coming around and I noted the absence of a tail, I looked up Manx cats. She doesn’t seem to have characteristics of a Manx other than being tailless.
She has to return to the vet in another week to get her stitches out so I will have an opportunity to ask him to assess her tiny inch-long nub …. I’ll let you know what he says. :^)
Eileen, Great story about Mocha! And the poor babies rescued on the wagon ride….so touching.
We have a mobile service called CatSnip which is greatly discounted - I plan to take a wandering male cat there as soon as I can get him on their schedule. Uno also will also ‘visit’ them after he grows a bit more.
MissKitty’s surgery was too urgent to wait for the mobile discounted service to have an opening in their schedule. She went to our regular vet and cost me $385 for surgery, tests and vaccines….but I’ll get over it….she’s worth it.
Watchsearcher, That is such good news about Uno's birth mother MissKitty. :-)
Close to four hundred dollars is not an insignificant sum, and I realize that not everybody would be able let alone willing to make room in their budget for an expense like that. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.
It sounds like you're adopting MissKitty? Even if she and her offspring aren't currently lovey-dovey with each other, I dedicate this to them:
Buck Owens - "Together Again"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYKVb7T1n2I
BTW, whenever I think about dogs, cats, and their litters, I think about this line from "Cool Hand Luke":
*snip*
Arletta: You know, sometimes, I wished people was like dogs, Luke. Comes a time, a day like, when the bitch just don't recognize the pups no more, so she don't have no hopes nor love to give her pain. She just don't give a damn...
*snip*
https://www.moviequotedb.com/movies/cool-hand-luke/quote_5860.html
It might sound heartless, but it probably makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint.
Keramikos, Perfect song for this duo! Yes, I expect MissKitty to be an official resident here.
She needs to take it easy for now and she seems quite ok with that….she’s progressed from dashing away for me to recuperating in the comfort of my home (not to mention RN services!)
I think that when I get the male stray neutered (we call him Tigger), he will not be prone to roaming and getting himself in trouble. Tigger hangs out on my patio so much, I consider him mine but he does leave for hours at a time.
I’d prefer that MissKitty, Uno, and Tigger be a little indoor/porch/fenced yard cat family…..inside at dusk, outside to play during the day. That’s my goal. :^)
Keramikos, I wondered about the evolutionary aspect of a mother cat rejecting her male kitten after she weaned him…..swatting him away in no uncertain manner….running from him when he approaches. Consanguineous relationships in humans are known for producing offsprings with birth defects….Is it the same in other animals such as cats? Maybe Mother Nature doesn’t want mama cats to get too cozy with their sons.
Maybe getting both mother and son ‘fixed’ will eliminate the mother’s opposition to a close relationship…..I can only wait and hope.
Watchsearcher, Yes, other species can suffer from too much consanguinity.
In humans, it's probably a bit over-hyped as a dangerous thing, but if you keep interbreeding with your kin, you're playing with evolutionary fire.
You end up with sad cases like Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich whose hemophilia could be traced to his great-grandmother Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
Hopefully, MissKitty and Uno will learn to get along just fine, but it's always a bit of a crap shoot with cats. It helps that Uno is still a relative baby.
Lovely cat.
Charmsomeone, thank you! He’s a sweetie.
More on Queen Victoria's tragic genetic legacy:
*snip*
Queen Victoria's male descendants were cursed with poor health. The 19th century British monarch's son Leopold, Duke of Albany, died from blood loss after he slipped and fell. Her grandson Friedrich bled out at age 2; her grandsons Leopold and Maurice, at ages 32 and 23, respectively. The affliction, commonly known as the "Royal disease," spread as Victoria's heirs married into royal families across Europe, decimating the thrones of Britain, Germany, Russia, and Spain.
The last carrier of the disease in the royal family was Prince Waldemar of Prussia, who died in 1945.
*snip*
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2009/10/case-closed-famous-royals-suffered-hemophilia
On a happier note: love that little belly on Uno. <3
Thank goodness more is known about hemophilia these days and specific blood factors can be given to help clotting occur.
That was interesting reading about hemophilia in the British royal family…..it’s usually the males who suffer the effects.
In my nursing career, I recall one case years ago, when hemophilia in the family was discovered only after a baby boy would not stop bleeding after his circumcision. He received the proper emergency blood products and lived thru the terrible episode.
On a happier note:
I’ll tell Uno he has an admirer of his cute belly! I love it too….so soft and beautifully ‘designed’ by Mother Nature. :-)
Just want to grab the basket with the kitty in it as we run, what a prize, still terribly cute !~
PhilDMorris, I’d just have to tackle you! But if you made a clean getaway, you would have a mighty sweet little cat.
Here’s an update on Uno’s mother, who I named MissKitty: with the help of my neighbor, MissKitty got trapped and the vet did her surgery. She had to stay indoors for 2 weeks postop so she had no choice but to get used to my presence.
On day 4 postop, she wasn’t feeling well, incision edges didn’t look healthy anymore and she was feverish…she got a trip back to the vet and emergency surgery - the fat in her abdomen and mammary tissue had become necrotic and her life was in jeopardy because of it. The bad abdominal tissue and internal breast tissue was removed and she got antibiotics.
She came home again 3 days later, ‘a new woman’, looking like she had had a breast reduction and tummy tuck - she felt much better.
I was so relieved!
She got my very best ‘retired ICU RN’ TLC and she got really used to it….and reciprocated by becoming a sweet and loving house cat.
She even warmed up to her son, Uno. They now play together, groom each other, and sleep on the foot of my bed!
She gets to go into the fenced yard for an hour or so every day, but she and Uno always come running when they hear the door open.
There’s no more roaming the neighborhood for her….she’s content to be my sweet girl now.
<CHEERS><APPLAUSE> for the happy new furr-mily!!!
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
AO, that’s a good name for us….a furr-mily….especially since I Swiffer so much of these critters off my floors! :-)
Watchsearcher, MissKitty is so lucky to have you as her guardian. With your background in nursing, you probably recognized her healing problem earlier than most people would have done.
So you actually have three cats now, huh? Lucky, lucky little critters. :-)
Yes, 3 fur balls! MissKitty, Uno and Tigger.
When MK was getting sick, she would lie down in her bed, turn on her side and lift a hind leg so I could see her belly…..I was just amazed at her understanding that something was wrong with her belly and she wanted me to see it. It’s heartwarming to me that she quickly understood I would help her.
Watchsearcher, Wow. So MissKitty knew something was wrong. That is to say, she wasn't doing the display thing right after she had surgery, but only once the healing process went awry. She knew she was sick, and she knew that you'd help her.
I suspect the modern thinking on early spaying/neutering is right. The experts are now saying that it can be done on cats as young as eight weeks old. My own was spayed at five months. When I picked her up after surgery, the veterinary clinic staff only said, "Try to keep her calm for a few days," recognizing that she was quite full of piss and vinegar. Her recovery was so fast that you wouldn't have known anything had been done if you hadn't seen the shaved belly and stitches.
Of course, you didn't have the luxury of getting MK spayed any earlier than you did. I think you actually have saved her life twice now.
Keramikos, MK was a very cooperative postop patient. I had been looking at her belly every day, making sure she had not bothered her stitches. She had been walking around, exploring the house with me every day, eating, drinking….then she started staying in bed more and presenting her belly to me. Maybe her belly hurt….from what the vet described going on inside her, it must have hurt. And she probably felt bad because of her fever. Her own behavior communicated her dire situation and, I hope, my response cemented her trust in me. She’s a sweet girl- I’m glad she chose me :^D
Watchsearcher, Wow again.
I think homeless cats tend to fall into two categories: (1) the ones that like running around free (2) the ones that have experienced some hard knocks, and once they get a good home, they never look back.
They just have "a way" of knowing which humans will be their friends and give them help they can't give themselves -- and they'll show it in their own ways, and will then return any such favors in the form of endless loyalty and affection. It's a beautiful thing... :-) :-) :-)
Bless you Watchsearcher, for opening your heart, home, and wallet for your new furrmily! ;-) I have no doubt they'll have you properly "trained" in no time at all?!! <lol>
OH, I also agree it'd likely be way fun to see how Uno would behave with all of Oreo's pups -- not only would he match them all in a pile, I bet he'd get all their typically clumsy puppy behaviors whipped *right* into shape too...?? <LOLOL>
Keramikos and IO, I agree with all you’ve said. :-)
They know they are being treated right! They return the favors in their own sweet ways.
Nice story on the mom, your care is doing wonders and you must be giving cute lessons too, hard cat to get over !~
lucky to have found the loving home that you gave him. He looks like he gets into a lot of mischief.
Phil, I fell in love the minute I looked inside the cat box and saw a little black and white ball of fur moving around….he was just hours old. He’s owned my heart ever since!
hotairfan, there’s hardly nook or cranny of my house he has yet to explore. He hasn’t broken anything only because I stuck breakables down with museum putty. His attention span is only seconds long so if he’s doing something he shouldn’t, I distract him with something else to draw him away…..like when dealing with a small child. ;-)
as they say cute as a button ...smiling..
Rocky22222, you know I agree with you! :^D
Uno is such a joy and he has grown amazingly fast. He will have an appointment in a week or so to get neutered. I hate to do that but, since he gets some outdoor time any day he wants it, I’m afraid he might just climb the fence and go roaming looking for “female companionship” all over the neighborhood.
There are enough kittens being born without him contributing to the problem!
love them killer eyes ... not yours ..the cats ...So we need to see more action and post or we'll have to start charging you to hang around here ..dang took me ten mins to get to the bottom of this post ...you better get you act together....I'm telling ya ...Later
Glenn12345, you crack me up! I’ll try to do better.thanks for investing your time. :^)
sweet thing...
He’s sweet indeed, Oroyoroycanyousing.
So you back to hanging around bars rather then being here posting for us .that's not right ...lol enjoy the day..you too Glen12345..
>lol< I don’t wanna give you that impression! Couldn’t be further from the truth…. :^D