Raystede Kitten Diary 2010
Katy and Honey are both 10 weeks old and were brought in as they didn't fit into their new home with a Jack Russell. The new owner was worried, so signed them over so we could find them a loving new home. Both are a little shy though Katy is more outgoing, Honey is a little timid and will need to regain her confidence. They are currently looking for a home together.
Bob and Marley are 2 lovely boys, very laid back and friendly, they are also currently looking for a new home together.
Wow what a summer it has been. We have been inundated with cats and kittens and still have many waiting for our help, here are some more kittens that have come to us at Raystede.
Mavis is a lovely young cat maybe about 12 – 18 months old. She came in as a stray, we then discovered she was pregnant. On the 18th of June she gave birth to 3 gorgeous kittens. She is quite a small cat and feeding these kittens has taken its toll on her and she has lost a lot of weight, thank goodness she had her kittens here and not out on the streets somewhere. They are all on reserve, 2 kittens to go together and the other kitten is going with mum. What a happy ending for them all.
Ruby was brought down to us from heathfield vets. Someone had taken her in as a stray and she was heavily pregnant. She gave birth to 2 very healthy kittens at the veterinary surgery and was brought down to us the following day. They spent 9 weeks here with us until they were old enough to go to new homes and we managed to home the 2 kittens together and mum is currently settling in to her new home as I type!
Elsie and Carter both came in from the same house. Both pregnant, along with a young male and another young female who fortunately wasn’t pregnant. Elsie gave birth first to 5 kittens, unfortunately one was very small and weak and didn’t survive the first night but the other 4 are doing really well and are now 5 weeks old and becoming very active and great fun to watch. Carter gave birth nearly a week later to another 5 kittens all of which are very healthy, and both mums are doing a great job!
Tigs and Minnie both came to us from the same place. Tigs already had her 3 kittens, they were about 3 weeks old and Minnie was pregnant. After reliably being informed that Minnie’s kittens were imminent she then kept us waiting another 3 weeks and was almost as wide as she was long by the time she gave birth to 5 lovely kittens. Minnie is only 9 MONTHS old and just goes to show how quickly and easily cats will become pregnant if they are not spayed early enough. It is an old wives tale that they should be allowed to have a litter before spaying and her case shows one reason why there are so many kittens needing our help this year.
Emmy is another young mum who was brought in to us by a kind lady who had found her and her 5 young kittens abandoned in a box. She had looked after emmy and kits until they were 12 weeks old and was worried about finding them new loving homes. Lucky for them that they were found and we can now give them the better start in life that they deserve. If they had survived growing up on the streets in a few months there would be another 5 stray cats ready to breed more and yet more homeless kittens.
Phoebe, Squinny and Lucky were 3 stray kittens that were brought in separately. All of them were of a similar age between 4-5 months and all 3 were friendly enough that they must have been owned or at least had human contact. We believe all 3 may have been dumped by uncaring owners as none were chipped or had collars. We also rang vets local to where they had been found all to no avail. Squinny and Lucky have both found new homes and Phoebe is waiting to go to her new home soon.
Kitten season started early for us this year when we had a cat called Lottie signed over to us. She was pregnant and the other cats in the house had been picking on her and giving her a hard time so her owners felt she would be better off somewhere quieter. She gave birth to 4 lovely kittens on 7th march, 3 tabbies and 1 black and white, 3 of which were boys and one girl. All grew up to be very friendly and they were rehomed in pairs and mum recently went to a loving new home as well.
Amber was signed over to us with 4, 7 week old kittens. The kind lady had found amber as a pregnant stray and so took her in and gave her a safe place to give birth and raise her kits. As they got older she found they were quite lively and wanted to be assured they would find good homes so they came in to us and when they were 9 weeks they were found new homes with loving families.
Sophie was signed over to us when her new owners found they couldn't cope with her excessive liveliness! I have to admit she is one of the most energetic, boisterous and adventurous kittens I've ever known! Most of the cattery staff sustained small flesh wounds from her over eagerness to play and hunt things, including feet, hands, and necks, anything she could get her teeth into!! She also had a habit of jumping up your leg and then climbing all the way up to your shoulder, ouch! Fortunately it was still cool enough for jeans and sweaters! Marie who works in the kennels fell in love with her and took her home where she now rules the roost including 2 humans, 2 dogs and another cat whom Sophie, (renamed Wit-Wit) absolutely adores!
Lady was another pregnant mum who came in and kept us all waiting for her kittens to arrive for longer than expected. She gave birth to 3 kittens but sadly one was very weak and didn’t survive. Though she now has 2 lively bouncy kittens of 5 weeks old whom she absolutely adores and is very vocal and a very protective mum! If she sees any other cats in the surrounding pens she tries to see them all off so currently she has quite a large area all to herself.
We recently had 5, 3 week old kittens brought into us after their mum was killed in a road accident. The owner was worried that he wouldn't be able to look after them properly as they need feeding by syringe every 2-4 hours at this age and also need to be toileted. They are all black and white and are currently being fostered by Kim who works in the cattery. Its not easy work raising a litter of kittens as they need to be fed day and night and anyone taking on this responsibility should be experienced or should ask their vet or local rescue centre for advice as the kittens needs change as they grow. We will keep you updated as they get older.
Although kittens are great fun to have they don’t suit every household. Please consider, if you are out at work all day it is unfair to have a young kitten on its own at home all day. Kittens need lots of stimulation and attention and with the best of intentions can sometimes be destructive especially if they get bored! Curtains, pot plants and wall paper are all favourites with kittens! They also need vaccinations and will need to be spayed or neutered at 6 months old. Dont forget if you feel a kitten might not be right for you we have many equally deserving older cats here at Raystede.
