Got Little Grey and August Adopted

We were all so stressed when Little Grey gave birth. She just stayed even though the 8 bonded cats didn't like her, so it was difficult to manage all of them. The cats were very stressed as well. We decided to find Little Grey and kitten/s adopted after she gave birth and weaned them away. 

Little Grey had 3 kittens. Only one made it. We named him Augusten. He was born on August 10 and since it's my golden year, I wanted my birthday patron saint to bless him (St. Augustine). We call him August. 

August and Little Grey

To be honest, it's hard to find people who'd like to adopt. You also have to be careful since there are those who "adopt" because they have bad motives. We had cared for Little Grey and August for a few months and we want them to have a better life. We couldn't let them stay because the other cats didn't want to accept them in their community.

Luckily, my Tito and Tita who moved back here love cats. They also rescued strays when they were abroad. They managed to get all their cats adopted and already rescued a kitten. I asked them if they could possibly adopt both. They will take in August.

August is almost two months old now and we brought him to the vet to check if he's ready for adoption. The vet said he's very independent already since he eats both wet and dry food. I caught Little Grey pushing him away too whenever he wanted to nurse. He's also been a little rascal, wreaking havoc everyday. 

Little Grey has also been spayed and will be adopted by Manong Lito. He said he's a cat whisperer and should be able to domestic Little Grey in no time. Little Grey is a sweet cat. She deserves the love of a proper fur pawmily. It's the best we can do for them at this point.

#BeKind #StaySafe

How We Became Pawrents of 8

We never planned to become pawrents to cats. They just came to us and adopted us. I was thinking about this last week after I watched a video saying that cats are like angels sent to you. We were apprehensive about having cats since none of us had experience. My doctor also forbade me from having pets. 

Looking back we were actually eased in to become pawrents. Grey came and started hanging out in our laundry area. We suspect he's been hanging out there way before we noticed him sleeping there. We had no clue how to take care of cats so we started with giving him a bed, then water, then some food. He was very skittish and would run away whenever we came close. Eventually he became comfortable with us and he started recognizing his name. 

Then came Kaley Boo the calico cat. She'd only visit for snacks. Sometimes she'd come with other calico cats, Sandra and Cheyenne. Cheyenne was the first cat who'd allow some petting. Sandra though is very fierce and would always fight with everyone else to get some food. Among the three calico cats, Kaley is the only one who comes everyday. She knows her name too, but still doesn't allow to be touched. Nose bumps only. 

It was around May-June last year when Grey brought it Brimsley. She was still quite small then and we thought she was male (we obviously don't know much about cats). She would hide in the boxes in the garage. Little did we know she was pregnant. We were just surprised one day when she disappeared. I asked Miggy to look for her and he found her inside a box with a kitten. Whoops! We panicked a bit since we don't have any experience with cats giving birth. We got up to speed by watching YouTube videos on how best to take care of new cat moms. Since Brimsley is a feral cat, she knew what to do. We just had to create a safe space for her and the two kittens, Mando and Grogu. 

We intended to get Brimsley spayed a few weeks after she gave birth. There was a risk if we had her spayed immediately because her bloodwork showed some issues. We had to give her medication before she got spayed. Unfortunately, she got pregnant again and had two more kittens, Eevee and Pikachu. She and Mando got spayed at the same time. We were scared that Mando might become a teenage mom like her mother. In time Eevee and Pikachu will be neutered and spayed too. 

So we thought having 5 full time cats (the Brimsley family) and 2 regular cat visitors (Grey and Kaley) was where it would end. Nope, we were sent one more, Meredith. We think she was abandoned by a neighbor who moved out. The sad thing is Meredith experienced dystocia. She gave birth to a stillborn kitten. Ran across the street with the baby to our garage (we saw it through CCTV footage). Left the baby and disappeared. A day or two later she was back and looked really sick. At that time we thought she had an owner. She could barely eat. Miggy nursed her back to health with cat broth we just made. She survived and has been living with us for about two months now. We just had her spayed since we're afraid she might get pregnant and die. The vet said her uterus had been calcified already. Poor thing. She's so far the sweetest cat in the family and is our full time garage cat resident. 

From one cat to 8 cats in just a year. We see it as a gift since they bring us joy. We accepted the responsibility and that's why we're actively getting them spayed/neutered. Not sure though how we can do that for Grey since he is still very skittish. We'll just make sure Eevee and Pikachu are neutered/spayed at the right time. We've probably hit quota already with 8 cats, haha. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Co-Existing with Feral Cats

The only experience I had with cats was when Kuya had a cat named Valentino. Mom explained to me that he was called Valentino because he had a lot of girlfriends. My memory is fuzzy already about him since I was still in grade school then, but I remember he was white and grey. Kuya gave him up because he did something to his pet birds. 

So since then I was not interested in cats. Mom didn't like them also because they'd ruin her plants. It was in Singapore while visiting a friend when I had a really close encounter with her cat. During the visit her cat suddenly sat on my lap. He allowed me to pet him and he hung out for awhile. I actually enjoyed the experience. 

Grey, Kaley, Brimsley and kids

Months after moving to our new home, we noticed a grey tabby cat frequenting our place. It would sleep in the laundry area. We observed it and thought there would be no harm in providing a makeshift bed. Eventually that progressed to buying some cat food. We called the cat "Grey". Then came Kaley and Brimsley and some irregular visitors, Mang Tux, Cheyenne and Sandra. 

We learned though it's hard to get the trust of feral cats. It took more than 6 months before they stopped running away from us when we'd go out to the garage or garden. The older feral cats, Grey and Kaley, don't want to be touched. Brimsley allows Jay and Miggy to pet her when she's busy eating. We realized catching them to bring them to the vet to get spayed is easier said than done. 

As a family, we defined how we'll co-exist with the feral cats. One advantage of having them around is they help protect the house from rats and other pests. Second is they bring us joy. Our goal is to provide a safe space for them when they need it. We also hope we could bring them to the vet so they can be spayed. 

Feral cats are really different from domesticated cats. They have a mind of their own and follow a different code. There are very few videos on how to care for feral cats. One thing we learned is to co-exist with them with respect. The best you can do is to provide what you can and just let them be. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Wellness Wednesdays: A Cat Adopted Us

There are a number of stray cats on our street. We normally encounter two cats prowling in our property, orange and gray cats. The gray cat used to just hang out in the garden or under my car. When I sold my car, it started to sleep in our laundry area. I used to see the orange one often, but I guess it found a new home. 

When we found out that the gray cat has been staying in our laundry area at night, we realized it has moved in permanently in our home, haha. We had 2 cans of cat food which I accidentally bought in Singapore. I was supposed to give it to a cat-parent friend, but his cat passed away. We decided to feed the cat. 

Grey the Cat. Photo by Sweetie.

Since we don't really have pet accessories, we learned new things from taking care of Grey. Apparently you're not supposed to use a deep bowl to feed cats. They don't like it when their whiskers hit stuff. We never had a pet cat, so I asked advise from a friend who rescues cats and dogs. 

I've not allowed to have pets, but Grey has provided us happiness as a family. We just figured out today that he's male. I think he was injured before because his tail looks like it was cut off (poor kitty). He still keeps his distance from us, but at least he doesn't run off anymore when he sees us. He just does a slow walk while staring at us, haha. 

One of his favorite places to hang out

The American Heart Association says that pets help with anxiety and stress. I was devastated when I couldn't accept the chihuahua JD was giving to me. My doctor said no and the boys said no too. It was the right decision since I need to focus on recovering. I wouldn't have been able to take care of it properly. 

Grey coming into our lives has been a good compromise. We've been able to provide it a safe place to stay and provide him some food (we're still figuring out how much food to give him). We're not able to pet him though, maybe that will come when the time is right (it will probably freak out my doctor). I'm happy already I'm able to say hello to him. I also feel safer that he's around because he'll be able to chase away rats and maybe even snakes. 

We'll see where this goes. Grey is welcome in our home as long as he wants to stay. Maybe in time he'll trust us and we can bring him to the vet to have his tail checked. <3

#BeKind #StaySafe