Kitten Crisis!

2 Good Reasons to Neuter Your Cat!!!

 

The kitten season has started with a vengeance!! I believe I am right in saying that there were kittens on Wightbay and other internet sites all through the winter, which is most unusual, as cats, unless kept totally indoors, do not generally come into season during the winter months.

 

We have had several older kittens in so far this year, mostly between 5 – 6 months, but our first two litters of the year have sad ‘tails’ to tell.  ‘Mitsie’ turned up trying to persuade several people in the area to feed her – luckily her pleas had the desired effect, because unbeknown to anyone she had given birth to 4 babies under some decking nearby.  The usual enquiries were made but no one has come forward to claim ‘Mitsie.’  The kittens when we caught them were about 6 weeks old but even though they were quite tiny, they were of course semi-feral.  We hope we can tame them enough to be homed domestically, as they are absolutely delightful.  It is so unfair that they should have been bought into the world in this way, and needless to say, this situation could ALL have been avoided!

 

Our second little family arrived later on the same day… I had a call from a lady who had found a Mum and 5 tiny kittens on the boundary of her property.  They asked around, in quite a wide area but could not find an owner, so they brought the little family into the house as the kittens were really quite cold. ‘Annie,’ as she is now known, was so grateful for the warmth and attention, and when offered food she could not eat it quickly enough. It seemed pretty obvious she had not eaten since having the kittens, and they were 3 to 4 days old!! Luckily our little family seem to be recovering from their ordeal, and ‘Annie’ is getting to realize that food is there for her constantly, so her’ food anxiety’ is subsiding as she now knows she will never want for anything ever again.

These are just two examples of what is happening in the real world. Although I hate to say it, there will be more cases like this, not just concerning kittens but adult cats turning up on people’s doorsteps emaciated and starving. We have already experienced the latter on more than one occasion this year!