A new litter arrives

Last week I got some new kittens from Wood Green. These four have been very poorly and remind me a lot of a litter had last year, where they'd been so poorly that they'd lost loads of weight and kept trying to die. Thankfully the litter last year, Bert, Ellie and Maureen made it through and off to new homes. This is Ellie eating a duckSo my new kittens' story is that their mum was struggling to feed them so I took the kittens on foster and their mum stayed at the shelter. Sadly after not even a week of having them their mum had a fit and died. They don't know the cause of death so I have implemented a barrier nurse system where my husband and I are washing our hands and changing our socks a lot!!!

So anyway, introductions! This dear thing is Daisy, she's exceptionally sweet and loves a cuddle.

This is Dave, he did come with a fancy name but I can't remember it so I've been calling him Dave, he looks like a Dave. He's just the sweetest pea ever. He's been quite quiet so I think he's been feeling a bit poorly but hopefully we're getting there.















This little cheeky chappy is Hans. Heaffectionate and has taken to jumping on my shoulders and giving me a new hairstyle, he's been very creative and so far we're had the Rachel from FRIENDS look and the just been pulled through a hedge backwards, the latter is more popular!















Poor old Sissy doesn't look well here at all, and in her defence she has been really poorly. She's taken to sleeping next to the water bowl so I've had to install a bed right next to it. She's just very thin and has a constant upset tummy but I am hopeful, I've had kittens like her before and I hope she'll pull through.

Spotlight on....Claude and Maggie

I fostered Claude in 2006 and she really tested all the experiences I had as a fosterer. She came from North London from a charity I helped there sometimes. A petrified feral who was also heavily pregnant. She just needed somewhere to be to have her kittens. I could never touch Claude or get close to her but I did my best to reassure her and be there for her.

She went into labour late one Saturday night and by the morning it was obvious something was wrong as she'd not had any kittens. I took her to an emergency vet where my worst fears were confirmed. As she was only a kitten herself (five months old) her body wasn't ready to have kittens and they'd got stuck trying to come out. Sadly three kittens were still born but a fourth lived. I named the kitten Maggie and she struggled through for two weeks before passing away quietly.

I feel like I owe it to Maggie to write about her, she's the kitten that has affected me more than no other that I've fostered. Most kittens I am lucky and they pull through but it wasn't meant to be for her and I still blame myself now.

Claude was spayed and returned to her feral colony. I always take comfort it that Claude won't have to go through it all again and also if she'd not been in my care, she would have probably died herself.