I cant stand this i feel terrible ...

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My kittens that i had to partially hand rear have all gone to their forever homes this week & i miss them a stupid amount, i keep crying & evverybody thinks i have lost the plot , they have gone to brilliant homes and they are keeping me updated with pictures etc which is helping .
My house feels so empty even though i have five adult cats , i miss them coming to me for cuddles and the way they all had their odd ways & brilliantt personalities .
Like Tubsy would just sit and watch tv for hours and when he was tired he would sleep on my shoulder & his brother was mischevious and would insist on been rocked to sleep while having his paw held they have gone to the same home as they were so close and little smudge went to her home yesterday with seven other cats and two dogs .
They all had cat flu for 4 weeks and all came out unscathed apart from one as she was too weak .
I need help , 2 years ago i hated cats i coudlnt stand them and now im sitting here crying again

Somebody please give me a kick up the arse

They sound like such characters, I'm not surprised you are missing them. Hopefully, with time, you will feel better and knowing they have gone to great homes will help. I know I'd be feeling tearful too, as would most people here too I expect. Cats and kittens do have a way of getting to our hearts big time. Have you any photos? Hugs to you.

You'll be fine,So - you did a great thing pulling through the ones you did against the odds and they've gone to super homes you say?

Have you maybe considered fostering a mum and kits or volunteering for a local shelter though? There are volunteers who post on this board who could advise you on that and I reckon a local shelter would grab your services if you contacted them. Lots of need at the moment.

It won't let me add photos

I have looked in to fostering/adopting but I were told because I'm on a main road I can't

I know that some shelters have inflexible rules on adopting to main road houses but I'm surprised about the fostering - at least for a Mom and kits - because they don't go outside anyway while you have them.

Maybe issey or TCN will see this and comment? Keep an eye on the thread anyway.

The main road I live on backs on to a huge green area which is why I didn't think it would be a problem

I remember how I cried when I gave my (late) cat's 2 kittens to their forever mum.

I think a big part of it is the effort that So had to put in to pulling them through - she was pretty well a fixture at the vet's if I recall and so sleep deprived and tense. Those kittens and she were bonded in a way that they wouldn't quite have been if they were just with Mum and doing fine.

Your right their Cozie at one point I went to the vets everyday for a week until they took notice of me as they just kept saying they couldn't have any medicine or such

I also have a giant cat tree that none of my older cats are the slightest bit interested in now , Think I might have to get a kitten or two

You've done a lovely thing Sonumb and those kittens will go on to have a happy life because of you.

As for fostering - location shouldn't really be an issue. Fostering is usually of a mother cat and tiny kittens, until the kittens are old enough to be rehomed. The cats and kittens should be kept inside, so proximity to roads shouldn't be an issue. But of course that means that you will have to say goodbye to them all and go through that upset again.

Most shelters also have foster schemes for 'difficult' cats - often old ones, where the shelter will meet all vet costs. Old cats tend not to want to go out much either, so your location also shouldn't be a problem there.

As for adopting - if we thought your location was really dangerous then we would still consider giving you cats that aren't bothered about going out. Generally these will be middle aged ones.

Can I make a suggestion if you can't foster/adopt? Scour your local gumtree pages and see if anyone is giving a cat away for whatever reason. I just seem to trust people more when they're not asking for money for their pet. I got my latest from a woman who'd escaped a violent relationship and needed to re home her cat in order to move into new accommodation. She was so bloody happy to know he was going to a good home.
You did an amazing thing looking after those babies!

So fostering looks a reasonable bet? (From a reasonable shelter at least.)

Maybe have a check on the \link{http://www.catchat.org/adoption/index.html\catchat Find a Shelter page}, So, to see if there are shelters local to you that you didn't know about.

TCN

Will shelters generally meet vet costs for - say - a Mom and kits if something goes wrong?

If it's a foster situation Cozie then yes, certainly they would. (Well of course I've really only got first-hand knowledge of CHAT, and of course we do, but then we also have our own vets. However I can't imagine that not being the case elsewhere too).

I think that would help a lot with fostering although it's always worth checking. There are people who have posted here who have been Dudleyed eg with multiple kits and where the costs of vet treatment have near on broken the family budget. Easier to contemplate if you have a reasonable idea of the possible cost - eg litter and food - and can ignore possible vet bills.

Why did you dislike cats? Out of interest.

I've noticed my cousins kids being scared of the cat, consequently he is skittish around her which makes it worse.

Fluffy I didn't dislike them , I was just absolutely petrified of any/all cats since I can remember & then one day about 2 years ago I saw a gorgeous little grey boy for sale & thought sod it & went n got him , I now have 5 cats & still want more though Dp says no

TCN I have spoke to all my local sanctuaries & they all said no that I would not be able to adopt/foster due to my location

Jon I have been scouring everywhere looking for a chance to help a cat out but their just aren't any in my local area which I guess is a good thing

Cozie I'll have a look at that page in the morning thankyou

Would your local shelters give you helping duties in the shelters themselves then? (Quite a lot of them have 'kitten cuddlers' who go in to keep the cats stroked and socialized in what is a stressful situation for them.)

Best of luck.

you should be alright fostering as the mom and kittens are not allowed out of the house its a good way of getting a regular kitten fix, and watching them do all the cute kitten stuff is ace, but you have to treat the fosters like they are on holiday in your house for a few weeks and steel yourself to giving them back to rescue, some are a lot harder to hand back than others and i think 99% of the fosterers i know at the rescue i work for have become a failed foster and kept at least one kitten , but any questions anyone has about fostering please feel free to ask me

Where ( very roughly ) in the country do you live, So ?

I think ops been turned down because of the road, I imagine they are worried a mom cat will escape and go looking for Tom cats and get run over.

issey

I know you can only speak for your own rescue but what sort of support do fosterers get from the rescue? (I'm thinking of people reading this who might know cats but have no specific experience, say, with real young ones and nursing mothers, or eg with special needs cats: might they, for instance, be given phone advice from or contacts with an already experienced fosterer?)

I do realize that people would have to check with their own local rescues on this as part of the process.

I'm North West on the Fylde Coast .

I have looked in to fostering and I'm expecting a phone call back at some point this week