Breaking and entering Kitty, and kittens!

[ThomCat]

During a snow storm a few weeks ago a cat, about a year old, broke into our back porch, found a warm spot and made herself very comfortable. She was staring in at our dogs through the patio door meowing at the, having a conversation, driving the dogs Nuts. :P

It was bitter cold out, and she was far, far too friendly to be feral. So we fed her, and let her inside, but we kept her quarantined from our animals until we could get her to the vet the next day for a checkup, tests, and to see if she was chipped.

Nobody in the neighborhood has been looking for a lost cat.

We even have a neighborhood cat lady who had 14 cats indoors, and feeds a colony of about 20-30 feral strays. She says she had seen this cat once or twice but doesn't know where it came from, and it definitely isn't one of hers.

So it looks like we've acquired another cat. We have named her Dora.

This brings us up to 3 cats and 3 dogs. :wow:
That's far more than either of us ever intended to have.

Then we get our big surprise. She's pregnant. So we're going to have to find homes for kittens.

We guess she was someone's indoor cat, but they obviously didn't get her fixed. When she went into heat she REALLY BADLY wanted to get outside, and found a way to get out. So of course she got herself pregnant. And then, being an indoor cat, tried to get back indoors somewhere.

We are hoping for a very warm April, because we are going to have to put her birthing box out on the back porch. That is the only place where she and the kittens will be safe and isolated from the dogs and the other two cats. So Please cross your fingers that we Don't have a late winter.

By the way, If you live the tri-state New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area and you think you might be interested in a kitten at the end of June or in July, please let me know.

:hi:

[MissHoneychurch]

1. What a cute kitty

:loveya:

Congrats on the new addition to the family.

Too bad a live a little bit too far from the tri-state area ....

:hi: ThomCat

[ThomCat]

22. Thank you!

:hi:

Yes, you live far to far away. :(

I'm sure the kittens would have loved to meet you. :)

[dmr]

2. Dora's adorable.

I would adopt a baby if we lived closer.

Good luck, and for your family's sake I'm wishing you an early spring.

[ThomCat]

23. Thank you!

We really hope this bitter winter isn't going to last long. :(

[SoCalDem]

3. Or her "parents" could have been foreclosed, and left her behind

People sometimes think that cats can fend for themselves:cry:

Congrats on the newbie:loveya:..she's a beauty :)

[ThomCat]

15. That's true. There are a few abandoned houses in our area now.

:(

[Callalily]

4. I'm glad that Dora found

a new home with you, she is truly lucky.

Hope that you find homes for all the kittens.

And . . . it's so good to see you! :hug:

[ThomCat]

16. Thank you.

:hug:

[TZ]

5. She's a beauty..

Can you get her a heated cat bed? That might help if its still cold in April. Good luck with this.

[ThomCat]

17. Yes, we're definitely going to be doing that.

We want to figure out a way to use soundproof materials, because there are a couple of very loud dogs in the neighborhood, Very Nearby, that are outdoors howling day and night that might really stress out the cat and kittens.

Me, with my hand, I get to be a carpenter again. I'm glad it's only a small box.

[Sanity Claws]

6. Congratulations to you and Dora

Do you need any extra towels or blankets for Dora and her upcoming brood? If so, let me know when you are in Manhattan and I can give you some.

Good luck.

[ThomCat]

18. Thank you. But we've definitely got that covered.

:)

We have a load of old towels we were going to donate to local animal shelter. We'll just keep some of them for Dora.

[HopeHoops]

7. In the mid 70's, we were adopted by a pregnant cat.

My dad did something some would find reprehensible, but it worked. He sat at the local strip mall with the kittens in a box and a sign that read, "Save These Kittens From The Pound". He had absolutely no intention of taking them to the pound, but it worked. They were gone within an hour.

[ThomCat]

19. If nothing else works, that's an idea.

Thanks. :)

One way or another, we'll find homes for these kittens.

[hamsterjill]

8. Thanks for being responsible!

Thanks for taking in Dora, and the best of luck in finding homes for her kittens. In reading your post (i.e., "we quarantined her", etc.), I can tell you are a very responsible pet owner!

Dora is in good hands!!!

[ThomCat]

20. I've had cats for 30 years, and she's had dogs for just as long

so we're definitely good with our animals. :)

Her dogs all adore me, and have adopted me immediately. And my cats like her too. So we're a family now.

[WolverineDG]

9. Aw she's cute!

Congratulations! :)

dg

[ThomCat]

21. Thank you!

[Arugula Latte]

10. OMG. She's adorable.

Thank you for helping her and her babies. :hi: :yourock:

[ThomCat]

24. She now ownes the house.

She is now the alpha cat already.

And the dogs are insanely curious about her. They follow her around. One dog keeps trying to be her friend, but is terrified of her when she actually gives any attention back. :P

[Bertha Venation]

11. Dora is beautiful, and looks very soft.

I wish you didn't have this burden, but what a sweet burden it is. :hug:

[ThomCat]

25. With my disability, and being stuck in bed many days,

this is a real problem. I'm homebound because of serious pain. But somehow we'll handle this.

The animals are good therapy for me. They keep my spirits up and keep me going. But we always figured we'd only have adult animals from now on. So this really throws up for a loop.

:shrug:

[tabbycat31]

12. she'ss adorable

looks a lot like a heavier version of my Tabby. I might be interested in kittens come the summer so please keep me posted (I'm in NJ)

Edit if I do get kittens, I would be interested in 2

[ThomCat]

27. That's wonderful!

Thank you! :hug:

I'll send you pictures when the kittens are born. :)

[tabbycat31]

31. it depends on a lot of things at the time but it has potential

I'm in a battle with my parents over my cat Tabby (who looks like your Mama Cat) and I'm losing. I told them that if I don't get him back then I'm getting another cat, and it would be 2.

You should post the pics of the kittehs when they're born anyways.

[applegrove]

13. What a pretty girl.

[ThomCat]

28. She really is, and doesn't seem to know what the fuss is about.

:P

[soleiri]

14. What a pretty girl

Sometimes I think we have a sign on my front door in cat language that says Home for Pregnant Cats.
We've had at least 3 different pregnant cats who have shown up in our garage.

I guess they know who'll take care of them.
Good luck finding homes.

[ThomCat]

29. So, you're a good person to write to with questions?

:P

Thank you! Our biggest concern is that our landlord hopefully won't give us grief for taking in stray cat.

[texanwitch]

26. We have four stray kittens, really cats now.

All are feral but have been trapped and have been to the vet.

Their mother left them here.

They are cute but keep their distance.

There are 2 girls and 2 boys.

I know we have a sign on our house, have your kittens here.

[ThomCat]

30. Unless we something to fix and lock down our back porch

I think we may become that house. But that means we have to debate how much work we want to do to the porch. :(

Do we want to keep out the mama cats that need a warm place? But then again, do want to be attracting all the mama cats?

It's an ethical dilemma.

[texanwitch]

32. The cats will find you anyway.

They know the where the suckers live.

Our vet will take care of feral cats for free, she is really nice.

I hope this is cutting down on the feral cat problem.

[redwitch]

33. "So of course she got herself pregnant."

Dude, she had some help. The little hussy!

Thanks for taking her in, you are a good person. :hug:

[ThomCat]

37. Yes, and the daddy cat(s) almost certainly came

from Mrs. Figg's colony of ferals.

Don't thank me/us. We had no choice. If we had not taken her in, she would have been a permanent resident on our back porch anyway. :P

[Lavender Brown]

34. I wish I could have another cat

I would love to adopt a kitten or the mom. She is beautiful. Thank you for taking care of them. :hug:

[ThomCat]

38. I'm sorry you can't.

She really beautiful. I'm sure the kittens will be beautiful too. :)

[marzipanni]

35. Since she's young, hopefully she'll have a small litter.

The little cat who adopted us was still lactating when her people left her behind and carted off her two kittens embedded behind pillows on a sofa which had been on the veranda awaiting a truck to move it, or so surmised their neighbor. He said the kittens were old enough to eat from the dish of solid food the cats had on the veranda. Our vet told us to give her cheap kibble to "dry her up" faster.
She was small, and a year or less, and I thought that's probably why she only had two. I just read that a litter of 1-8 or more is normal, but 2 to 8 year old cats are more likely to have large litters.
I hope this experience is more fun than hassle!
Good luck, Foster Papa ThomCat!

[ThomCat]

39. Oy, I hope it's a small litter too.

Thank you for this information.

:)

[BuelahWitch]

36. Glad you didn't give her a harsh sentence for that breaking and entering rap!

:rofl: :hi: Wish I could help you with the kitten part. Thanks for being a good guy!

[ThomCat]

41. Ha! One look at those adorable eyes staring in through

the glass doors, and we couldn't punish her. :)

We are still going to have to pay someone to fix the broken screens in on the porch though. The winter storms caused quite a bit of damage, and that is how she was able to break her way in.

[Robeson]

40. She's beautiful, and you are a hero....

...thank you for what you are doing...:loveya:

[ThomCat]

42. Thank you!

I'll agree that she's very beautiful. :)

We'll see if I'm a hero after I manage to do some carpentry work with my barely-functional hands. :P