Cats!!!

[GitaBooks]

Be prepared for a lot of posts and pics!

We have a lot of cats, ranging in all sorts of colors, ages, and shapes.

Our first cats were three that we got from friends. All barn cats, as three people in the family have allergies, they took to the barn pretty well, and came along with some chickens too. They included the black and white cat, Millie, and her younger "siblings" Tiger-tail (cream point) and Scardy Cat (patched tabby and white).
Unfortunately, we lost Millie to a car not long after getting her. The cars on our road tend to go fast, faster than they should, and regularly hit anything from deer to cats, birds, snakes, frogs, opossums, raccoons, squirrels and rabbits.

Millie, not sure what she thinks of her younger "siblings"


Tiger and Scardy, cuddled up with their silkie friends, Fred and Ginger

 

[GitaBooks]

After we lost Millie, we were offered a tortoiseshell cat, under a year of age, who was hunting birds and upsetting the neighbors, even though she was declawed on her front paws. She had been orphaned when young and didn't know how to get along with other cats, and while she always wanted to be outside at her old home, she always wanted to be inside at ours.
She became our porch cat, Genevieve (Genny for short). Her former owners assume she was hit by a car, as she was missing a few days and now regularly licks her side and tail bald. She does it more when she is bored or stressed.

Genny, when she isn't licking her fur off


Genny after she lost her tail. It got hit by a car recently and skinned off, so it was just bone, nothing else. We amputated it and she has learned how balance works without a tail. She has more than 9 lives! And she certainly can hold her own against other cats.

 

[GitaBooks]

Scardy grew up and fell in love with an orange cat down the street. She gave birth, out in the barn, to five kittens. Two appeared still born, another was nearly dead from being so cold, and then there was an orange one and a grey tabby.
We brought them all inside.

Scardy with her three kittens, Pygmy (black and white), Tabby (grey tabby) and Sherbert (orange tabby). Sherbert died from pneumonia a few days later, but the other two thrived. We moved them out to the barn at a couple weeks of age


Tabby learning to walk with Daisy, a curious goat



Pygmy all grown up. We lost him to a chronic illness. He was Scardy's best friend, and now she is somewhat of an outcast

 

[GitaBooks]

Tabby grew up and fell in love with Chester, a grew and white stray that had come to stay at our barn. We found Chester another place to live and Tabby gave birth the day after we brought her into the basement. Six adorable kittens!
One was born in the nest box but she hadn't cleaned it up. It suffocated (but don't feel sad yet). Mom found it and breathed into it and it came back to life! It always seemed to have a slightly different brain, and we loved her. Her name was Miracle.

Tabby with her six kittens, including Sammie, Chester Jr., Gracie, Puma, and Miracle


Miracle, seconds after she was brought back to life

 

[GitaBooks]

The kittens thrived. But when we brought them to the shelter to be vaccinated and wormed, the woman there did so too early and four of them died from dehydration.

Buggsy and Miracle survived and eventually we gave Buggsy to the shelter to find a wonderful new home. We kept Miracle as our first house cat.


Dogs make great baby-sitters! The kittens got to spend a few minutes, while the mother played outside, with Esther, Gerbil, and Arby, the wonderful aunt and uncles. Esther even tried to nurse them! (or so it seems in the picture). Miracle is with Gerbil, watching the tortoise, Tommy

 

[GitaBooks]

Miracle was an amazing cat that thought she was a dog. At four weeks we took her from her mother, too early I know, and she was never excepted back into the group. She was amazing, but we lost her to the road as well. Very sad.

Miracle loved cuddling up in things

 

[GitaBooks]

Tabby, unfortunately, also fell in love with her uncle and brother soon after leaving her first litter. She went back down in the basement to give birth to 7 kittens, a beautiful mix of colors.

Millie, Billie, Sugar, Ivory, Ebony, Misty, and one I think we called Spotty








This is just a few days before the kittens were brought to the shelter to be adopted out. Sugar, however, was given to a friend of ours who already had a cat. The two get along great

 

[bwoods]

I have two in the house here and 1 at my mamaws that has leukemia . my long-haired white cat thinks shes the surrogate mother off all the animals that get brought in the house.Her name is Precious aka pusspuss

 

[Chickenchick11]

What touching and heartbreaking stories @GitaBooks . You sound like a great kitty mom and have been blessed with some beautiful and sweet looking kitties.

 

[GitaBooks]

What touching and heartbreaking stories @GitaBooks . You sound like a great kitty mom and have been blessed with some beautiful and sweet looking kitties.

Thanks so much!
It has its amazing days and its sad days and everything in between. And that wasn't evening mentioning Black Cat, Pepper, Nym, Missy and her kittens, Mesa, Barely, Pi or Orange Cat!