Who wants to wait whilst my kittens are born!

Ok, that's a selfish attitude. We are all responsible and if all played our part, there wouldn't be such a problem.

But, you have the I am alright Jack, sod the rest attitude. Shameful.

And yes, the OP (despite initially admitting she had no idea how to rehome them all) may have found homes for these kittens. What about the next ones, the ones after that? Does she have an endless supply of friends who are willing to take her kittens on? Or will she be advertising them on gumtree for £40, leaving them vulnerable to the people who abuse, or the people who buy them from there as dog bait?

Be responsible. Play your part, same with everything in the world.

Indeed, and she also has homes for them already.

Ironically I ended up with my girl cat because the options were me or death. So technically going by the attitude of some here, it would have been preferable for her to be euthanized as a healthy young cat than commit the sin of unplanned kittens. You can argue it all round in circles until the cows come home, but the point is, OP has some healthy kittens, a loved cat, and is doing all the right things moving forward.

Out of my litter, two have already been spayed / neutered, and two are booked for the next few weeks. So the PP "guaranteeing" that at least two out of every litter will go on to have more kittens isn't necessarily written in stone.

Why do people have to be so foul on Mumsnet? This was a lovely thread by someone who wanted to share the joyful experience of her cat giving birth to five beautiful kitties but as usual, people pile on with unpleasant comments and derail the thread. Some people on this forum just argue for the sake of it and could start a row in a paper bag. It’s no wonder other forums have sections dedicated to taking the piss out of Mumsnet posters.

Exactly!

I wonder how many of these people have adopted cats themselves? Considering this is AIBU and not the litter tray, I’m guessing very few.

People are always going to breed animals at the end of the day.

So sorry for your loss. I've just been through it myself, just over a month since we said goodbye to our best mate.
We can't face putting away his food bowls still, so they sit in the kitchen with tea lights in them.

Oh OP they are adorable!!!! Thank you for sharing the photos. Cuddles to mummy cat

Again not the situation we are discussing here. A previous poster had suggested that OP had put her cat at serious risk of ill health by allowing one pregnancy. We are not talking about outside cats having multiple pregnancies per year. Why are you and other posters so keen to drag wider welfare issues into this discussion? They are important obviously but not relevant to the situation as it stands. If it really matters so much to you why don't you start your own thread discussing the problems that you keep raising here?

@TigTails I agree it was nasty, but it was one post. The pile on from disapproving scolds has been relentless, and it doesn’t surprise me someone got irritated.The ‘salty’ posts have been from the scolds. Not the people you say are wrong.

Not all rescues have strict rules about homing to homes with young children and other pets, and where people work full time.

Many (especially the smaller, independent ones) are very pragmatic. Most will take time to match you though - if you want an indoor cat, there are special needs, FIV+ or elderly cats in desperate need of homes. If you’re out all day, many older cats would be fine with that. Or a pair may be suggested so they have company. If you’ve got young children, young playful cats can be perfect.

It’s really, really worth ringing round more than one or two big name shelters. Catchat.org is a good place to start.

Because it's highly irresponsible.

But that's true of any post about animal ownership, if you think about it. Somebody puts a post up about a cute cat they've got from a rescue and somebody else thinks, 'ooh, I'd like a cat', but buys one from Gumtree, or gets a dog from a puppy farm.

So should we never post about our pets because someone, somewhere might be inspired to get one without giving thought to the negative industry they perpetuate? Or, as may be the case, how they will look after said animal for the years to come.

My own rescue cat was likely dumped by seasonal workers. It's not uncommon in the tourist area we were living in at the time. Perhaps those people saw pictures of cute cats posted up by responsible owners and thought they'd like one without considering what happens when they move on.

People are motivated to have pets for all sorts of reasons. Believe it or not, some people see posts about how dangerous XL bullies are and find that is a motivation to get one.

So perhaps we simply shouldn't share our animal stories at all, because there are thoughtless and irresponsible people who might just see them and be inspired in the wrong way.

I don't disagree with your points about the importance of neutering/spaying. I just think pissing on this particular bonfire because some irresponsible people might be negatively inspired is somewhat disingenuous.

I know, I agree, I didn’t write the post, I reported it for exactly that reason and it’s now gone fortunately.

Frankly, moggies are the best- proper cats.
I see no point in breed specific breeding. It’s not as if specific breeds have specific purposes, like dogs may.

Gorgeous Kittens!

Ignore the harbingers of doom, simply here to bring everyone down to their level. Would probably have made very good Puritans if they'd been born a couple of centuries ago.

You planned, Vet checked, and had homes ready. You sound responsible.

And I bet those kittens will be going to wonderful homes - the sort that most rescues clutch their pearls at because of some perceived imperfection, like the back door opens to the right and not to the left**.

**OK - maybe not that, but most rescues don't like rehoming animals to anyone with children, or other pets, or the road 3 miles away is a bit busy on a Friday night... I am fairly convinced the rescue lady down our road does it simply so she can have lots of cats and and other people pay the bills.

Well MNHQ just agreed with me and took it down so 🤷🏻‍♀️

What was written was a personal attack, it was nasty. There is no need for that and a poor reflection on the poster.

Some people seem to live to pour disapproval on others. In latter days they perhaps joined the kind of church that encouraged such a holier than thou attitude. Now they haunt MN and pour scorn on people who they know nothing about. I’d say they become Vegans, but I know some lovely non judgemental vegans, so I won’t! 😁

Ooooh the little spotty one is adorable!!!!

Lovely photos, how exciting

Cats that are outside will have several litters a year. The safe amount as proven by vets is 1-2 litters a year. So just because they can have so so many litters, it doesn't mean they should.
Ignorance.

Aww, this thread has made me feel the tiniest bit better, though in a bittersweet way, in what is an extremely difficult time for me. We had our dear old boy put to sleep this week and every minute is agony at the moment. His brother, who died 4 years ago, looked just like your mumma cat, and I think I see a tuxedo black and white kitty in amongst the bundle, which was just the colouring our recently lost cat had. It helps a little, thinking that even in our darkest days, some joy and light is occurring elsewhere. Enjoy this precious time and try not to listen to the tediously inevitable detractors. I know there are always more cats than there are loving homes, but honestly, the way some people carry on, if no-one's moggy ever had a litter of kittens, there would be no more moggies left in 20 years. I am not a fan of cats bred out of all recognition. Moggy cats are the only cats imo.

Like you?

That is such a good point! If getting pregnant and giving birth was as dangerous to the cat as a PP suggested surely cats would have died out long ago 🤔

If there were hundreds of thousands of babies up and down the country, born outside, left to the elements, needing homes then what you say can compare.

Worst whataboutery ever.