The house of kittens is taking its toll on my time.
They are getting bigger, more energetic, more hungry and generally more demanding. It’s so entertaining to see them playing together though and, when I go down to feed them, I usually spend far too much time just watching them.
I had to take little Yuki to the vet last week. She (for he is a she!) still didn’t seem to be able to eat properly and had started to lose weight. The others were more than twice her size and she was getting knocked about a lot at playtime. The vet said she had severe diahorrea and gave me a syringe full of gloop to give her twice a day for two days and some tablets, twice a day for five days. I worried. She has a skull the size of a walnut and trying to force tablets down her was not an easy task.
He also said her tail was broken and disappeared with her for two minutes and, when he reappeared, the above was what was left of her tail. I barely had time to be traumatised.
Since then, she has been gaining weight. She sits in the middle of the food dish so none of the others can get any and sucks up the food noisily and slowly. She generally needs a wipe down with a damp cloth afterward!
This is her now on the left. Still very small and she looks a bit like a guinea pig crossed with a gremlin but look at that little face.
I embarked upon a campaign to get the kittens adopted – apart from her of course as she’s far too little and delicate to leave 😉
I had a surprisingly good response – bearing in mind that kittens are ten a penny in France – and these two have been reserved by very nice families and will be leaving in a week or so.
Then there’s this one.
I sort of let him hide behind me when they came looking because I’m not sure we can be parted. I have a good excuse. Yuki needs to learn play from her siblings and she’s only just gained enough strength to join in the rough and tumble so I can’t keep her on her own – she needs to learn. Well, I can’t can I? Will having six cats make me ‘odd’? Do I care? Maybe I’ll keep him another couple of weeks and then restart the adoption campaign halfheartedly in earnest. I’m already being picky. My hairdresser told me yesterday that her sister was looking for a kitten and I said I’d bear it in mind but she wants ‘an indoor cat’ because she lives in an apartment with only a balcony and I’m not sure about that.
What would you do? Could you be sensible?
Tialys 
#1 by 1secondhandrose on November 11, 2015 - 11:38
Aww, they’re all so beautiful :o)
I’d certainly not be happy homing any as ‘indoor cats’ these creatures need to be able to have access to the outdoors – just my opinion!
Well done you for rescuing them.
Best wishes
Rose H
xx
#2 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 13:09
I know lots of people keep their cats inside for various reasons and I can understand it might be safer if you live near a road or you don’t want your cat to get in fights or wander off but it still doesn’t seem quite ‘right’ to me. Although, I sometimes feel that way in the spring when cats catch birds which is the other reason I feel a bit irresponsible having so many cats although they were already born and had to have a home somewhere I suppose. I prefer to blame the people who don’t get their cats sterilized in the first place.
#3 by 1secondhandrose on November 11, 2015 - 11:40
Oh! forgot to say – 6 cats? My cousin and his wife found a feral family of Mom and five tiny kittens, they couldn’t bear to be parted from them, so now have 5 rescue dogs and 8 cats! So no, not a problem :o)
xx
#4 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 13:10
Well, unless we get that mother cat down to the vets pdq – who knows how many I’m going to end up with. She actually let me pick her up this morning when I went to next door’s barn to feed her and her first brood (now 6 months old) so it’s a short step now to get her into the basket and down for the surgery.
#5 by katechiconi on November 11, 2015 - 11:56
I like cats, but I think for me 3 or 4 would be tops. It’s already a miracle you’ve found homes for the others… They are absolutely adorable, but I would harden my heart and share the joy!
#6 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 13:12
‘Share the joy’ – that’s a nice way of looking at it. When the two reserved kits have left I will probably move the other two up into the main house and introduce them to the big cats and the dogs – which should be interesting. If I think little Yuki will get enough stimulation and ‘animal play’ from them, I might let her brother go. ‘Might’ I said 😉
#7 by katechiconi on November 11, 2015 - 20:21
Harden your heart… Oh, I was forgetting. It’s made of warm marshmallow!
#8 by nanacathy2 on November 11, 2015 - 12:00
Oh my, that’s a lot of cats, but I doubt I could give that kitten away.
#9 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 13:15
It is. Luckily, we have a conservatory attached to the house which has a cat flap. That way, the cats can come and go as they please without overrunning the house. During winter they often come into the main house for cuddles but out again at night and we have a heater especially for them in the conservatory which ticks over at a comfortable temperature so that they (and the plants we overwinter in there) don’t freeze.
#10 by jennystitched on November 11, 2015 - 12:04
I couldn’t bear to part with those little faces either! I knew someone with 13 cats so you’ve got a way to go yet! Also you won’t have to.to worry about mice!
#11 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 13:16
True. They appeared to be farming them at one time. I went out into the conservatory once and there was a mouse – obviously bought in by them and not killed – drinking out of their water bowl.
#12 by claire93 on November 11, 2015 - 12:55
you won’t be the only person to have six cats if you decide to keep both Yuki and sibling ^^ If you can afford extra vets bills and food bills, then why not? To be honest 5 or 6, doesn’t really make much difference, does it?
#13 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 13:17
Claire, you are the little devil sitting on my shoulder and whispering in my ear 😉
#14 by http://vivinfrance.wordpress.com on November 11, 2015 - 13:22
NO to indoor prisoner cats. I’d rather have none than risk the road outside. So this cat lover has none. But so long as you can look after them, I see no reason not to have 6.
#15 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 13:53
We are lucky in that the road out at the front is small and fairly quiet and only serves our hamlet – there are just 3 more houses past us – at the back there are acres of garden and woodland. Also, it very much depends on the cat. Of the four we already have – one rarely ventures outside even though she has the option to do so.
#16 by poshbirdy on November 11, 2015 - 13:26
They’re lovely. And we were equally picky when homing kittens – cats need outside space. Well done for intervening and getting the little one sorted out. She’ll be fine without her tail
#17 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 13:50
It seems to me there’s not much point going to all the trouble of rescuing them, weaning them and giving them a safe environment in which to spend the first few weeks of their life and then handing them over to just anybody. I was going to ask for a cheque made out to the local refuge which I would return once they could prove the cat had been sterilized but, as it happens, the two families concerned are committed to doing that in any case and are trustworthy!
#18 by jendavismiller on November 11, 2015 - 14:06
Yuki is flipping adorable. I’d say (because I am mush) keep the brother too, but I realize the older cats would be there to help her learn the ropes. That said, 5? 6? What’s one more? Your home with light travel, heated conservatory, cat door seems ideal for as many as your heart will handle. Re the tail….we once had a little kitten (yes, we had a litter to deal with) whose tail was gone when we found her. Sweetest little thing, called her “Nubbins”.
#19 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 16:11
‘Nubbins’ 🙂 I love hearing what people call their animals. Thinking about it, I think all the dogs and cats I’ve ever had have been named ‘people names’. Maybe, if I keep him, I should go ‘off road’ with this one – although the name ‘Yuki’ has to stay because my daughter named her. Maybe I’ll do a ‘naming competition’ on the blog.
#20 by jendavismiller on November 12, 2015 - 14:30
I’ve used everything from people names to characteristics. And a naming competition would be fun, wouldn’t it? I think you should do it…..but don’t let my son play. When he was 6, he got a stuffed monkey for Christmas. He named him Bob. Bob? haha!
#21 by sew2pro on November 11, 2015 - 15:46
I like how you alternate him/her throughout: it’s what happened to me when a stray moved in and I decided to call her Donkey! I was never quite able to accept the vet’s ‘diagnosis’ that it was a boy and always referred to her as he/she depending on whether I was concentrating.
I don’t like the idea of indoor cats (especially if not neutered; they especially go crazy in confinement and who wouldn’t?) but it’s recommended for weak cats (and elderly cats or ‘limb’ amputees) and poor Yuki might turn out to be one of those generally not so able to stick up for herself. I hope a happy solution can be found and she ends up frolicking in meadows chasing butterflies!
Such sweet mini tigers, the lot of them. As for you, you’re Saint Lynne far as I’m concerned 🙂
#22 by tialys on November 11, 2015 - 16:06
I know. I thought one of the mini tigers was a female – it was her little face that did it – and she was the first to be reserved. I just had to email the potential adopter and ask them if it was O.K. although I knew it would be as they were here for an hour and couldn’t decide between them anyway. I am sort of thinking that Yuki might be an indoor cat although I won’t force her to be. Having said that she repels all boarders when she’s eating and has started grappling with the big kids. It will be a while until she can manage the cat flap though ;). The grey mini tiger – on the other hand – is definitely going to be an out and about cat, although he did just hide under the bed for ages when I gave them a new toy which makes a crinkly sound when you touch it and it scared him.
#23 by Thimberlina on November 12, 2015 - 01:11
Those kitties are so lucky they’ve got you. I think you’re right to be picky, and they need a garden and to be able to play out. Ours if a proper cat from a big family and is traumatised when it has to stay in, even on bonfire night!
#24 by tialys on November 12, 2015 - 12:46
I know! Our existing cats go ballistic if they have been to the vets and need to be kept in for any reason.
#25 by nettyg on November 12, 2015 - 01:50
I’d keep him, but then I’ve had up to a dozen at various times, so I’m probably not the one to ask:) I fostered a semi-feral mum and her two days old tabby babies once….Billy and Isis… the mum found a home, but the Rescue Group I was fostering for were very slack at rehoming them at 8weeks, despite my pleading, and as they approached 3 months and I had decided at the time I didn’t want a cat permantly…ha!….I took them to a very good cat rehoming centre run out of a vet’s clinic. It broke my heart, truly, I sobbed all the way home, and traumatised my friend’s 12 year old who had gone with me. I rang the next day but they’d been adopted! I did end up with 2 older tabby girls a couple of years later who had been shockingly abused and needed a home, so I sort of got my tabbies back. I have to say though I’m firmly in the camp of not allowing cats to roam outdoors. Feline AIDS is rife here, and all a cat needs is to get a scratch or bite from a stray or another wanderer and they are infected. Plus I have a yard full of water dragons…big lizards….green frogs, geckos, bandicoots and a myriad of native birds…..I want these as well as cats, so mine don’t get to roam around, as cats are responsible for killing a lot of our native wildlife, and can be single-handedly (pawed) responsible for killing off whole species. I have gone to great expense though and had an outdoor run built, and they can come and go in and out of the house as they wish. The exit/entrance is through the toilet wall, and visitors often get a great surprise when a cat pops in beside them. I had it built so the back is high, with shelves,and they can sit up there and sticky beak into the neighbour’s yard, and annoy her cat, so they have plenty of stimulation. Birds come and sit on the roof and give them cheek, but everyone is safe. I also have an area on my front verandah netted so they can go out there too, and kids going to and from school love to stop and call out hello. They mostly use them at night, as cats tend to be nocturnal and are only interested in sleeping in the comfiest spot they can find during the day. Sorry, awfully long comment 🙂
#26 by tialys on November 12, 2015 - 12:42
I also hate what cats do to the wildlife and it is probably humans that have exacerbated the problem by not sterilizing their animals and disturbing the balance of the cat population. It was for that reason I didn’t really want any more cats but they need a home somewhere – the alternative I won’t contemplate. I think your outdoor run is a brilliant compromise and it might be something we could do here – I’ll have to ask my resident handyman. I love the idea of the cats surprising guests on the toilet 🙂 – every home should have this sort of trick up its sleeve.
#27 by Dartmoor Yarns on November 12, 2015 - 12:08
Poor Yuki really has a had a difficult start, so good to here she’s finally putting on some weight. No, I’d be a crazy cat lady too if Lovely Husband wasn’t allergic. One of the painters that was here the other week, said they have indoor cats and that indoor cats are a specific breed, so maybe tell you hairdresser that to help her sister find the right cat wherever she gets it from. Personally I can’t understand indoor cats.
#28 by tialys on November 12, 2015 - 12:43
That’s interesting. I’ve never heard of such a thing – I thought they were ordinary moggies that people had decided to keep inside for whatever reason. Off to Google.