Cats home for life

Written by Pet Samaritans

If my mother wants to sit in a box, then so do I!

These two lovely ladies are called Myrtle (on the left) and Mischa. They are permanent sanctuary residents and are also mother and daughter. We are lucky to have so many lovely cats - and we are happy to take cats in for their retirement, we would never put any healthy cat to sleep.

Mischa was originally known as 'the salt-box cat' because we first heard of her plight when a lady living on an estate noticed that a cat had given birth to a litter of kittens in a salt box.

When we found Mischa she had four little kittens, all beautiful and although she was thin and bedraggled, she was doing her best to look after them.

Mischa is a fantastic feline, one of the loveliest personalities we have ever met and she was one of the most devoted mothers. She reared her kittens beautifully and we found them all super homes.... but Mischa fretted for them and prowled round looking for them. No way was she going to settle if the last baby was taken from her, even though we hadn't re-homed them until they were nine and ten weeks old. Mischa is a very maternal cat.

Myrtle was her favourite and we could easily see why. She is as laid back and gentle as her mum. That's not to say that these two are complete softies. They are serious hunters when the mood takes them and are just as happy down the fields as napping in front of the fire.

What I like most is how devoted they are to each other. Where Mischa goes, Myrtle follows. When they've been out separately, they also go to touch noses (cat kisses) when they meet up again. Mischa sits in a box, so does Myrtle. Mischa goes upstairs, Myrtle isn't far behind. And they both like the same sort of food - fish mostly.

We have other family groups of cats in the sanctuary. It's a bit sad that cats are split up so much when they are little. I wouldn't have like to grow up without my mum. Why should cats have to?

One of the nicest parts of the work at the sanctuary is caring for the kittens. They are delightful. All cats are lovely, interesting and admirable creatures but baby cats are especially super. They appeal to us humans immensely. Soft, furry, pretty, clingy, they love us once they get used to us that is. The kits that come that have never been handled are fearsome at first though. Do you think they're too little to inflict any damage? Not so. Those tiny claws and sharp little teeth scratch and hurt like little needles.

But all our kittens are friendly and like to be picked up - all that is except for one youngster belonging to a cat who lives outside. She lives on the outskirts of the farm and we called her Shyla - she's a pretty little thing, tabby and white and very neat. Quite a survivor, she's been around for a year or two. Impossible to catch her, she's quick, wary, sharp and resourceful - she comes to see us on her own terms. Oh, I know we could trap her. But who'd want to do that? Shyla is healthy, in good condition, glossy coat and terrific mouser and a free spirit - I like that.

She comes of course, for the food, not for any human companionship. Go too near her and she's off. This is not a cat like Big Tom who could be bribed a bit, she is truly wild and won't come in to sit by the fire no matter what.

Last year she had two kittens and one survived and we caught him by chance and tamed him. He's a super chap, friendly with us and still able to roam and do what he likes so he has the best of both worlds. The girls called him Pirate which suits him - he looks a bit of a swashbuckling type and comes and goes just as he pleases. He has a basket in the Food Prep which is a good place to be, he gets first pick of all the special treats!

But back to his mommy. She has had just one kit this year, a little tabby scrap of a thing. First you see it, then you don't. Mommy keeps this baby quite close to her and in a safe place. More recently, she's brought her kit a bit nearer to the house and they're living in a storage shed. Every teatime she allows baby out to play in the yard and I put a dish of something specially tempting down... tuna or chicken. I keep trying to take pictures of them but they've defeated me so far. They both come and eat very daintily but fast and then they're off again. Like little will of the wisps. That's it. I always like to get the right name - I think it's significant - get it wrong and things go wrong. But I have the name for this little kitten now, who else could she be but Wispa?

The Tansy Cat is a Natural Mother

Day three and Tansy is on the move

There were only two kittens in the box this morning. Tansy was cool and calm so she knew where it was. A lost kitten and we'd all know about it. Mommy cats prowl and caterwaul and are distraught if they're separated from their babies. She must have moved the kit - but where to?

Safe and well but in another box. Tansy saw that I'd found her little one and went back to get another. It was moving home time. This is something that all feline new mums do. Makes sense, the old nest is messy from the birthing, it's time for a new des res.

We don't disturb the new borns on the first or second days, we put a fresh sheet or blanket in (depending on the time of year and how warm or cold it is) but only if we can do it surreptitiously. The less you handle new kitten babies the better.

The more interference, the more likely it is that something will go wrong. By day three however, the cat is recovering from her birthing, the kits are suckling well and the new family is settling down. If the mother cat didn't want to find a new home - and this is very unlikely - we'd help her have a clean up. The best time to do this is when she's out of the nest for a feed.

Tansy looks as though she's had kittens before, she knows the ropes. It's a good idea to always provide several kittening boxes, pregnant lady cats just can't make their mind up sometimes and checking out the locations is part of the kittening process.

If you haven't removed the spare boxes, finding a new place to stay will be easy. Tansy chose the kitten box under a wooden bench, secret, sheltered but where she can hop out to eat and use her litter tray.

The ginger kitten, who is a little boy, was the next to move home. And then Tansy fetched the last one. I wish I could have taken a pic of her with a kit in her mouth - but she was too quick for me. The old nest has now been taken away and there's still a fresh one to go. Aren't these little ones gorgeous?