I appear to have cats

[ZestyDragon]

Hi all, I am posting here for some advice please. I moved into a small country cottage three weeks ago and it appears that the previous owner left their cat behind 😮 One of the neighbours told me a few days later that they had left him behind. He had mostly been living outside but is slowly moving in - actually maybe not that slowly seeing as he is asleep on the sofa beside me right now.

So....do I just try and get him to a vet for a check up? I am assuming that he has been neutered but actually I don't know. Also will he need vaccinations etc?

Secondly - there are a LOT of cats around - the neighbour down the road is a farm and have 14....so when a mummy cat and baby were hanging around I assumed that they were from the farm. Turns out that they do not and now they seem to live in my shed.

So I have gone from no pets to one house cat and two ferals that basically appear to have moved in. I'm feeding them all but I am worried about the mummy and baby - the mum let me stroke her once and her belly seems kind of large. Could she be pregnant again?

I have wormed and flea-dropped the indoor boy (Apparently his name is Kevin) - should I do the same for the others?

First pic is the baby - he likes to hiss for attention at dinner time.

Second is Kevin - who is in the bad books for stealing a piece of chicken.

Third is mummy - I am worried about her potentially being or getting pregnant again.

BTW I am in NI.

You read Biggles as a child, I see?

There's also Bertie and Algernon (Algie), plus the ubiquitous Ginger if you're that way inclined...

Evening all,

So the saga continues. Following a chat with the farmer across the way it appears that mama arrived a few years ago having been spotted around the fields living off whatever she could catch. She then had a litter of kittens under one of what are now my sheds. Since then she has had another two litters and no one thought to do anything to help and she just lived between here and the farm - actually some of her last lot of kittens live at the farm.

I have also noticed she has a bit of a cough - noticed whilst she supervised me painting the windowsills outside.

Today was cat trap day. It didn't go as planned as baby managed to escape me and shred my arm. Mama however strolled into the cat trap and ate the food before realising there was an issue. I took her to the vet to see if they could tell how pregnant she was. Turns out mama isn't all that strong, needs antibiotics etc and this litter isn't going to survive sadly. The vets had advised that they do not do pregnant spays but in this case were strongly recommending it as said that mama would probably not make it and the kittens wouldn't live. So mama is being spayed tomorrow. Meantime poor baby will be spending the night without her. I have the cat trap back with me again so that I can try and catch him/her tomorrow to be spayed.

I actually feel really guilty about it all but I understand it is her best chance. The vets say she should be ok as long as there are no more kittens. They were asking about interbreeding etc - I'm not really sure what that is about as I don't THINK she came from the colony at the farm but who knows? I do know Kevin and baby are very very alike. I'm now wondering if she is actually Kevin's mum.

I wouldn't worry too much - that link I posted a while ago where she inherited a colony when she bought the house? They think they are all genetically linked
Best thing for mum, and then she can recover and not be at risk any more

Vets don’t like doing late pregnancy spays, so she must be a in dire straits for them to do it.

It is obviously the right thing for her. She doesn’t need nor want another litter of babies.

Baby should be ok for one night but if you can, place some plastic boxes out and line them with blankets.

Or cardboard boxes where it’s dry and blankets. So he can get warm

Place marking. Have been reading this to DD (and our own fluffy Queens). DD recovering from Covid and the Kevin stories are doing her the power of good.
We want to know about the nice farmer and the baby cat.
Kevin is a beauty.

@ZestyDragon 🌹💙

Thanks very much everyone - You have been very kind.

No worries about beds- I have bought a few soft and cosy fleecy beds for the shed that they rather enjoy.

In the meantime it has been stormy, the stove is warm and I had some chicken and this all happened.....

Yes! Baby is warm and safe and here to stay.
With lovely Kevin.

I also took a video of him chasing his tail rolling around on the floor but it won't post :( Shame as it is very cute.

The two and now playing at pouncing on each other under the table. I suspect that they are brothers or brother/sister one way or another.

Actually I think Kevin needs a break.

Congratulations on owning two cats. That baby isn't going anywhere 😂

Sad news about mama cat and I really hope shes strong enough to pull through

Just seen this - hopefully your DD is recovering well.

As for the farmer - well, his aunt would like to find him a wife. I have explained I am not interested. He really isn't my deal. She told me the other day that at 53 years old he is coming to her everyday for his dinner. Pure Irish farmer 🙄I'll pass. Also she admitted he is "bossy" so I am guessing a bit of an arse really.

But he does have three gorgeous rescue dogs and his mother is the reason for the many many cats. He is not for me for sure though. I have finally got sensible lol.

Would make a great book though!

Spaying will sort mums immune system out though. You can but pray at these times.

Interesting that you should say that @Fluffycloudland77 I was quite worried about her cough yesterday (5 weeks ago I didn't have one cat and here I am....).

I think mama needs a name. What about Mimi?

Can't name baby yet though but someone upthread mentioned Perry if it turns out to be a boy. That would be quite funny.....

Perry is both a boys and a girls name.

So I think you should stick with Perry

Mimi is a nice name for mum

I’ve just caught up with this, just love it! Perry definitely should be the baby.

Hope Mimi recovers well from her spay

Mimmy is Hello Kitty’s twin sister. Mimmy is a white cat who wears a yellow bow on her right ear.

I think Mimmy is a great name for a Mammy cat.

Lovely thread. Glad you are enjoying your new role as cat slave. Hope mama cat is ok.

Re treats, have you come across Lick-e-lix yet? They are like chicken flavoured frubes and are very popular with our moggies.

Evening all,

So the latest is really quite bonkers....

I got a call to say that Mimmy's surgery (thanks @MaffsMover it sounds just right!) had been done and I could pick her up later. I arrived with Perry (thanks again guys) to do a cat swap - more on cat catching later - at the vets. The nurse informed me that the spay had been done and actually it turns out that she was not pregnant at all!! This is despite them being sure of this yesterday. Apparently her belly growth in the past few weeks is due to her getting a little "pudgy". Mimmy has been very much enjoying the menu at chez Zesty it appears. So I have been stressing out about this when actually it turns out that she has just been eating all the pies as it were! She does have an infection though and I have come aware with painkillers and antibiotics. Of course as soon as I let her out of the cage she bombed it out of the garden and has not come home. So that is a bit of a pain.....

Anyway catching Perry....So I set my trap and ran back inside to "work" and wait for the bang to tell me that baby had come for food and been caught. Bang is heard and off I go out to find that Kevin who had been asleep on my bed had climbed out the bedroom window, spotted the wet food and had himself a snack. I release him, lock him in the kitchen and try again. Eventually baby comes along, climbs in and sets about scoffing the wet food. He was so bloody small though that it took ages for the trap to work. Anyway baby is away to the vet (throwing himself around the cage) and is booked in to find out what he/she is. Poor darling was shaking like a leaf at the vets.

Lastly just look at this furry fiend I spotted this morning.....there is definitely a similarity with Kevin and Perry. He is NOT coming to stay though! I am putting my foot down.

Oh and Kevin right now....

Oh, hello, Mr Patterson....

Kevin is beautiful.
Who is the newby?

This is my favourite thread ever!!

Loving following this thread. Hope all goes well with the baby and you manage to get Mimmy to take the medicine.

@Gingerwarthog - no idea but he bears more than a passing resemblance to Kevin and Perry - I did laugh as he stood there ages glaring at me through the window. He could be their dad, brother, cousin, all of them together to be honest.

Mimmy has not come home and it is pouring with rain out there so I am a bit worried especially as she must be in pain, the poor dote. Hopefully she will sneak back into her bed during the night.