Just found a cat and newborn kittens in my garden on a low bench. WWYD??

[Pinot]

vallhala I thought of you this morning when I was being told by my local vets (who treat all our dogs) that they wouldn't treat Thumper at less than 100% cost, despite being a stray and despite me saying I really could do without the extra vet bills.

So I walk into PetsAtHome store, to buy more kitty milk (another £20 gone so we're already over £70 down) and ask if they would offer charitable treatment for little one. YES! They do - so, for all reading, PetsAtHome have been amazing and I'm certainly giving their Vets all my future business. As i will tell my old vets, any surgery that puts profit ahead of animal care will not get my money in the future.

FYI, I wasn't asking for free treatment, just 'at cost' to minimise my bills.

Also, PetsAtHome rang earlier and asked me to come back in as they had a Consultant visiting who specialises in newborn bones and the mechanics - he has diagnosed a broken hock on Thumper which may need amputation but for now, I'm to keep up with salt water for lessening the swelling. The consultant was free, too, though any operation won't be (fair enough). The original vet was right that it was from birth, but something about the squishiness of the joint gave the Consultant the diagnosis.

DH says if Thumper has to have its little leg amputated we should then call her Tripod :)

I'm hoping for a calmer day tomorrow! Til then - x

Hurrah for Pets At Home!

A friend of mine had a 3 legged cat and he was called Tripod too!
We currently have a Molly, we lost her brother Mr Pickles in a car accident nearly 4 years ago. DH says he wants to name our next male cat "Dave". He thinks it is a great name for a male cat.

Another friend of mine had a black female cat called Hecate - I think its a fab name for a cat!

Goof luck with the fostering!

Oh, they are so adorable Pino. They make my 3 year old cats look enormous!! What a beautiful thread. And well done Pets at Home

Enjoy the - you have certainly earned it!!

Pets at Home saw my hamster at very short notice and didn't charge me anything when he had to put to sleep. They were great while I cried .

Wow, i didn't know 'Pets at home' were so helpful.. i've always just viewed them as just another chainstore.

Nice to see a photo of them all Pinot, they all look so cosy and happy! You're obviously a brilliant mum

Good on for Pets at Home!

CaveMum our friends have got a dog called Dave. The husband insisted on a name that he wouldn't mind shouting across a busy park. Their DCs play a game where they count how many men look round when they call the dog.

DCs have been talking about the kittens all day. I think DD is planning how to lure pregnant cats into our shed.

Great news on the vets Pinot... poor Thumper though.

I agree with Northerner, best to gently warn the kids. We had a kitten that was a bit runty but it was fine for 5 weeks. Then it went downhill overnight, was rejected by mom-cat, squeaked for 12 hours straight, wouldn't bottlefeed and couldn't seem to get warm. It then died in my arms that night

I don't want to depress you or worry you but it can happen even in a healthy litter that is being looked after by mom and when it does it happens fast, my kids were devastated as he was everyone's favourite.

I'm laughing a the kitten at the back of the drawer story. They do get everywhere! Down the back of the couch is scariest though as they get sat on so easily.... we had to frisk the couch every time we sat for weeks on end

I've got a three legger. We had loads of names lined up for her. From Eileen, to Skip! When we picked her up she had so many stitches she looked like frankensteins cat - Hence Frankencat or Frankie!

They adapt really well to the loss of a leg, especially a back one. Mine has shoulders like arnie and uses her tail to balance. The only thing she struggles with is walking along thin things. She jumps, runs and climbs fine (she's sitting on top of the tv at the moment) Hopefully Thumper will too. You're doing a great job!

I had a 3 legged cat as well and she was the most feisty one of the bunch. Hope all goes well for your kitties.

What a lovely thread! Looking forward to keeping up with the news. Sending positive kitteny thoughts to the little ones. Also a further commendation for Pets at Home, my parents looked after a stray who became ill and the Pets at Home vet was fab and treated him at reduced cost... still came to £400 but could have been much worse.

Nice work Pinot!

ahhhh have enjoyed reading your thread!

PinotGrigioBlush, I have a 3/4 full small tub of kitty milk here and a spare feeding bottle if you want them posting out to you? As I say it's not a full tub but it has a few feeds left in it so might help a bit? its not cheap is it...I had to get some for the rabbit who was given away from his mum too young, and I didn't realise till I'd had him about a week and his mum had already had another litter

Anyway, he's off the milk now, so I have it kicking about, its been open about 3 weeks...not sure if that matters, its in an air tight container.

PM me your address if you want it :)

Thank you geraldine that would help me massively! The ginger one in particular is sooooo gutsy! he had 10ml for breakfast I'll PM you thanks :)

I heard ginger's have rep's for large appetites. Can't really tell with our's. We have a physically massive ginger boy and two small females, one tabby, one black. The boy eats for ENGLAND, the other two not so bothered.

Interesting comment re:gingers' appetites. We have 4 cats (2 x 12yrs, 2 x 9 months) 1 ginger male in each pair who are by far the biggest and fattest. 3 male, 1 female - guess who rules the roost

Love this thread Pinot and the pictures - and I think it's great you've taken them in. Hope they continue to thrive - sure they will given the care you're providing!

Ha Rory I bet she's queen bee and they all do as they're told!! At the moment, it's Thumper who is in charge, despite her poorly leg. She's getting quite adept at moving over/under/across her siblings and they seem to let her get on with it.

Speaking of the broken leg, it's looking normal in size today, all swelling gone and the pads of the paw are normal size which is great to see, the colour has gone from deep purple to rosy pink too. It's squishy and lumpy around the knee joint that's broken and the bite marks from Mum are still visible but healing so I'm :)

Got my first purr out of Ginger last night which was luffly :)

Does anyone know how old they are when their umbilical cords fall off? The remnants of the cord I mean.

Marking for future kitten updates. Well done Pinot!

Pinot... usally within a few days but they sometimes linger for a week or more. Same as with a baby human.... it doesn't matter how long it takes as long as they're not infected.

Thanks summer :)

More pics up too!

The new photo of Ginger with a big fat tummy makes me laugh out loud!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEE

I am really happy my cat didn't stay at the vet yesterday but OMG I want a new kitten!!