? Young cat having kittens

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JL and Chip said:
I been wondering how the momma and kittens have been doing. They’re absolutely beautiful! Good for you for stepping up to take in the mom and caring for her and her little family. . I think you probably saved some very special (and cute) lives.
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Thank you JL, they are all lovely. I still wonder where mom's home was before, as she is such a sweet cat but no-one came forward for her. How she'd of managed outside doesn't bear thinking about. Apart from anything else she needs an awful lot of food, as you'd expect. Lovely to hear from you!
 
Anthony Morgan said:
Hi Lisa,
Thank you, I'm not sure if this is available in the UK but I will make some enquiries. I will have to keep a check on their weight and speak to my vet about that. Kind regards!
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Anthony, we don't have Fancy Feast here but the nearest equivalent is generally thought to be Gourmet Gold - you could see if there is a kitten version perhaps?
 
https://fetch.co.uk/search?entry=Kitten+food

Actually Anthony, I did a quick search and I don't think Gourmet Gold has a kitten version. I'd still recommend Natures Menu - it's dearer because it contains better ingredients. It depends on your budget of course. Have a look at the link above and see if there's anything there you like the look of (Fetch, if you didn't know, is part of Ocado. They appear to have a flash sale on today of 15% off everything which is a good deal if you also get free delivery by spending a minimum £29 I think!)
 
Diana&Tom said:
https://fetch.co.uk/search?entry=Kitten food

Actually Anthony, I did a quick search and I don't think Gourmet Gold has a kitten version. I'd still recommend Natures Menu - it's dearer because it contains better ingredients. It depends on your budget of course. Have a look at the link above and see if there's anything there you like the look of (Fetch, if you didn't know, is part of Ocado. They appear to have a flash sale on today of 15% off everything which is a good deal if you also get free delivery by spending a minimum £29 I think!)[/QUOTE

Thank you Diana, that's very helpful, I didn't know that. I'll have a look.
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Yes have a look. I placed an order myself while I was there and they sent me an offer for friends to get £10 off their first order! So better than the 15% I think. Send me a PM if you're interested and I'll give you the info!
 
Eight weeks old now, amazing how they have grown!

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IMG_20200208_092819_hdr.jpg Thank you! They are little rascals when they start, I never thought the would run so fast!
A friend of a friend who I don't know has offered to take them all. It sounds like it would be a good home for them, a lady and 3 children living in a village in the countryside. The downside is that it is about 70 miles away and I have looked up the address. The house is right next too a lane. It doesn't look that busy, the garden has a wall but the cats would easily be over that and young cats are inquisitive, I don't think they could be stopped from crossing it. I haven't seen the place so that's all I know but any lane has its share of speeding drivers.
I have become very attached to them all and ideally would keep them but I have two cat families currently kept apart, I don't know if they can be socialised together. My location is not ideal having had Herbie run over and 8 cats is a lot of work and expense.
I feel very uncertain about what to do, I don't need to decide for a few weeks yet so still have time to think.
I am also worried about how mum will react if / when she finds her family gone!
 

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Hmmm it's a difficult decision I agree. There must be other options though - how about keeping mum cat and one of her babies, and looking for a good but safer home for the others in due course? It's true, cats and kittens are inquisitive and the last thing you want is to be worrying about their safety if they're near a road. Keep mulling it over and see what comes up - lots of people want kittens si you should have more choice in where you home them. Keep us informed!
 
Thank you Diana, that's good advice as always. My friend who introduced the lady said nowhere will be good enough for you but I'm not going to rushed into a decision. I will have to give it more thought and do some research with my local cat charities. By the way, the Natures Menu food has been a success, they all like it and it agrees with them. Mum is still eating a lot but not putting on weight yet. They can get through a box of 12 in 24 hours!
 
They are beautiful. Would your friend consider having them as indoor cats only?

While having 8 cats seems like a lot of cats, it is an option. For many years I had 8 cats, all indoors. That is also not counting the several litters I rescued and found homes for. I think a couple times I had as many as 12 in my house, plus a dog. Introducing the cats can be done, though it needs to be done slowly.
 
Anthony Morgan said:
Thank you Diana, that's good advice as always. My friend who introduced the lady said nowhere will be good enough for you but I'm not going to rushed into a decision. I will have to give it more thought and do some research with my local cat charities. By the way, the Natures Menu food has been a success, they all like it and it agrees with them. Mum is still eating a lot but not putting on weight yet. They can get through a box of 12 in 24 hours!
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I would take the phrase "nowhere will be good enough for you" as a compliment, Anthony! It shows you are a good and responsible cat owner who understands what our little feline friends need to keep them safe.

Glad to hear the NM food is a success. It is much better quality really than standard supermarket foods, the issue being of course that it's dearer and with quite a few mouths to feed the expense does add up. But if you alternate it with other foods it's not so bad. Keep an eye on emails from Fetch, they seem to be doing more offers these days (especially on Fridays - I had a code yesterday for 15% off which is a worthwhile saving). By the way you can also feed mum cat the kitten food if there's any going spare - might help to build her up a bit.
 
Hi Lisa, thank you! I don't know about that, I have spoken to the lady but not met her yet.

Ideally mine would all be indoor cats but my adult ones do like the garden. They don't go far but my neighbours aren't cat fans. My street is a cul-de-sac and I had lived here many years with no problem. Due to the increase in cars that needed parking spaces the council turned the verges into parking spaces which took the cars off the road and meant they started coming down faster. There months later Herbie was run over.

The mum has been with me 3 months and never been out but she often sits looking out of the window and I think she would like to go out and explore the garden but it's a pros and cons situation. I will have to think about all the options.
 
Diana&Tom said:
I would take the phrase "nowhere will be good enough for you" as a compliment, Anthony! It shows you are a good and responsible cat owner who understands what our little feline friends need to keep them safe.

Glad to hear the NM food is a success. It is much better quality really than standard supermarket foods, the issue being of course that it's dearer and with quite a few mouths to feed the expense does add up. But if you alternate it with other foods it's not so bad. Keep an eye on emails from Fetch, they seem to be doing more offers these days (especially on Fridays - I had a code yesterday for 15% off which is a worthwhile saving). By the way you can also feed mum cat the kitten food if there's any going spare - might help to build her up a bit.
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Thanks Diana, actually she has been mainly on kitten food since I have had her. She is eating the majority of the Natures Menu!
 
Awwww, Anthony, they're thriving. Super job you're doing.
I second natures menu kitten food.

Hows mum? She must be relieved they are eating some solids. She too could eat the natures menu kitten food, it's the same as the adult food but a bit higher in fat which she might appreciate whilst making milk and building her back up.

I love following your story, it's been so lovely. Well done again. Xx
 
Hello Kate,
That's lovely to hear, really nice of you to say!
Mum seems very well though very slim. She has been having mainly the Natures Menu kitten food, she will eat two pouches in one go, she and the kittens can easily get through a box in a day. She is still feeding the kittens but doesn't curl up with them so much.
She is still young and a few times has joined in with their games, racing all over the room at full speed with them.
I have them booked in at the vets next Friday for their first injections.
I will keep updating their progress, thank you very much for your interest. Xx
 
I do hope you visit the homes of any saying they want them. And scrunitise them.

You'd be surprised what pig sties some people live in. We wrote Adoption Contract with demands on Mandatory Health Insurance, Indoor only, ID-chipped, Spayed, and ended up taking one of our rescue babies back due to breach of contract in all parts, plus the adopter, she turned out to be living in such a dirty uncleaned pig stie home, had no money and lived on social welfare, had alcoholic and drug user friends, was part alcoholic herself, The baby boy Zackie was also severely cat abused and tortured with someone cutting of half his tail and she didn't take him to the vet, so his tail end died and had to be amputated. After that we finally took him back.
All this trauma happened to the baby boy cat because the other person didn't bother to inspect the wanna-be adopters home and person.
 
Anthony Morgan said:
Eight weeks old now, amazing how they have grown!

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The smallest black is Sparkles.


One rescue baby in U.S rescued by Karla at Keller's Kats Rescue, now several years old, was only a finger small to start with, but I could see she was one of the fairy cats, and my name for her was decided for her, Tinkerbelly. That was what she was, a little Tinkerbelly.

They are adorable.
 
Sweetie sounds like she is like Duquessa. She followed me into my house and decided she belonged there, despite the fact there were already 5 other cats living there. Even when she was almost ready to give birth she only weighed about 9 pounds. I still haven't figured out how she had 5 kittens inside her. :cat:

Ever since then she has always weighed just under 8 pounds. All of her kittens now weigh between 9-17 pounds. Obviously they take after daddy.

As long as Sweetie is eating and looking well you probably don't need to be concerned for her weight.
 
Ann & Scatcats said:
The smallest black is Sparkles.


One rescue baby in U.S rescued by Karla at Keller's Kats Rescue, now several years old, was only a finger small to start with, but I could see she was one of the fairy cats, and my name for her was decided for her, Tinkerbelly. That was what she was, a little Tinkerbelly.

They are adorable.
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I think Sparkles suits her, she is very sweet.
I would visit any potential homes, it's very difficult making sure you find the best homes. That's why I would like to keep them all but not sure if it is possible.
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
Sweetie sounds like she is like Duquessa. She followed me into my house and decided she belonged there, despite the fact there were already 5 other cats living there. Even when she was almost ready to give birth she only weighed about 9 pounds. I still haven't figured out how she had 5 kittens inside her. :cat:

Ever since then she has always weighed just under 8 pounds. All of her kittens now weigh between 9-17 pounds. Obviously they take after daddy.



As long as Sweetie is eating and looking well you probably don't need to be concerned for her weight.
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Thanks Lisa! She is certainly eating and looking well. I'm sure she will put some weight on once she stops feeding the kittens. Obviously I don't know her previous home but she is very interested in human food and anything dairy she would take off your plate given the chance. She gets all the cat food she can eat and cat milk which she expects every time I open the fridge!
 
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The kittens are all doing well. They had their first injections 2 weeks ago at 9 weeks old. On the advice of the vet mum was spayed on Thursday. She seems to recovering well but I wish I had waited a little longer. Mum was still nursing the kittens and now I have to keep her apart from them and she is still producing milk. I appreciate this has to end sometime but I can't help but feel sorry for her. But she does settle down after a while once she realised she can't get to them. I hope this stage passes quickly. Mum also had a blood test and was shown to be clear of FIV and feline leukemia.
In the next few weeks I will have to think hard about finding the kittens new homes.
 

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