A bit of an emergency for the Two Old Fools

[VictoriaTwead]

Well, I was afraid it would happen. We went to the cemetery and some guilty-looking boys were in there. They ran away immediately and we rushed over to the kittens to make sure they were OK. Thank goodness, they were fine, but we decided we couldn't leave them there.

So Joe picked up the box again, and Mama didn't mind. We walked back to our house with the Mama trotting alongside, good as gold. So now the little family is safe in our woodshed. They won't be disturbed by village dogs or humans there. The kittens have grown and are squirming about all over the place.

I think we're making problems for ourselves, as we can't keep them, having two wild cats we feed already, both pregnant. We'll never be able to find homes for them, so what should we do? If we handle them to get them tame, and then can't find a home - that would be bad. Animal shelters won't take them. Or should we not handle them and let them be wild?

Anyway, here they are - Day 6.

Victoria

 

[jjthink]

You two have very good hearts

So glad you got to the kitties before anything nefarious happened.
Maybe you can start a wonderful trend in Spain by getting everybody (that you can catch) spayed/neutered (for the current mom, would need to be after the kittens are weaned) so that hopefully you won't have a bunch more pregnant kitties in your midst!
Are there any animal rescue groups that can help you with some of them? Even if they just spay/neuter/release at least the population won't keep growing.
All the best!
JJ

 

[ozark hen]

Oh, Victoria, they are wonderful! I wish I could take them all...well, I could if you were close by. LOL Our vicar's son has a stray cat who has just had a litter of kittens and I asked for all four of them to their great relief! They aren't old enough for me to take them as yet but they will be a welcome addition to the coop rooms. Gets expensive feeding mice!!!! ha I love the graves, very interesting. In a cemetery down the road there is a grave of a woman from India. Her husband tiled the entire top of her grave with what looks like bathroom tiles. Her picture is on the headstone. Very interesting but the weather has damaged the tiles and he has moved away now. Thanks so much for posting the pics. You are so lucky to have a faster speed for the internet now. Keep us posted on your family of kittens.

to Joe for rescuing them.

 

[VictoriaTwead]

jjthink,

Great idea, but there are literally dozens of wild village cats here as the Spanish very rarely get their own pet cats neutered, let alone the feral ones. I've found a Rescue Centre run by expats, but I'm going to try to rehome them myself by posting it up on expat forums. If I can't find homes, I'll contact the shelter, but as a last resort, because I know they are inundated with strays already.

Ozark hen,

That sounds like a very strange grave! And yes, I'll keep you posted about the three little bundles of trouble...

I've never had newborn kittens before. Can anyone tell me when we can handle them, and when their eyes open?

Victoria

 

[ozark hen]

Victoria, you can watch for their eyes to open after about a week. You can handle them anytime. I always handled mine from the start and coo'd to them so they knew my voice. If mama doesn't mind you handling them then do it.

 

[hoppy]

beautiful babies. I've raised long haired siamese for yrs here in the states. all the white babies will be marked similar to mom but may be different colors on the face/legs/tail but with the white body.

 

[Dar]

talk to a local vet, or if there is a vet school near by see if they can give you a great rate on fixing the cats. offer eggs in exchange..lol

I once took in a stray cat that was pregnant and she had part of her tail chopped off, I brought her to my vet. explained she was a stray but in obvious need of help. he fixed up her tail and spayed her.. for the cost of supplies. his staff and himself donated their time

 

[jjthink]

Quote:
I sure hear you on how big the problem is!! Daunting. So many even here (USA) that are not spayed or neutered. Homeless beings everywhere I turn. But I figure each one I get spayed or neutered prevents countless hundreds on the streets. All great trends usually start small :^). I saw a stat somewhere that did the math on how many cats can result in a very short time from 2 cats that procreate - it's in the many thousands, e.g. 2 becomes 8 if they have 6 kittens and then if all 8 procreate and so on the number becomes utterly staggering in very short order. Spay/neuter is not an inexpensive venture though, I realize. In the states an organization called Friends of Animals offers greatly discounted spay/neuter certificates that participating vets honor. It helps some. I don't have a clue whether such an organization exists in Spain. It's easy and fairly cheap to neuter the males and they barely need any recuperation time but of course it's the females who get preggers and their spaying is more expensive and they need a good few days of care after surgery, with recuperation easiest if they are young. Any which way sliced, not an easy situation.
JJ

 

[FireTigeris]

Here in the states there are programs call neuter and release- they set a live trap and any cat caught gets its ear notched and fixed- if a notched eared cat is caught it is released... the cats still compete for resources but can't breed, this lowers the feral cat population over time.

The vets are usually student vets and volunteering for 'hours' worked towards their final diploma.

 

[ozark hen]

Quote:
This would be wonderful if it were a nationwide program...but sadly it isn't.