WELCOME TO CAT WORLD.

[Cathy]

Thomo, is Mum ready to say goodbye to her babies yet, has she had enough?

[Thomo]

The Vet will be calling for Mum this afternoon to take her to Skipton for the snip, she spends little time with the kittens now but is quick to react if she thinks they are threatened. The kittens will be 9 weeks old today, 2 are definitely staying here, and there will be no hurried decision on the other two. Our older cats are getting used to them slowly, but the real surprise is Izzy, they climb on him, steal has food and often pounce on his tail, he is absolutely brilliant with them, at two years old he is the same age as Rosie. Poor Rosie is going to wonder what is happening today, but she will be back tomorrow and will not have to go through all that again, and she will be able to join the others in the garden for the first time since we brought her here.

Izzy and Poppy sharing food.

[Cathy]

It all sounds wonderful Thomo, thanks for the update Enjoy your new family.

[minimiller]

Our 3 boys taking a bit of time out between rain and thunderstorms.





Tommy enjoying the cool yesterday evening

Our cats all get called a variety of names (sometimes based on whether they are behaving themselves or not)

One of Tommy's other Nomenclatures is Thomo.

[Thomo]

We were looking forward to Rosie coming home this afternoon, but it appears that her "op" was one of the most difficult ever carried out at Skipton, as a result she will now be coming home tomorrow morning, she will need extra care, and a lot of love, this we can do, and we are so pleased that we are here for her. The kittens are all fine, but when we consider how the outcome could have been for Rosie and her kittens, the cost and worry become as a mere drop in the bucket. Cats keep on coming here for help, and despite the difficulties, we will do what we can.

[Thomo]

Rosie is now back at home, and its obvious that she is glad to be back, she has also been "chipped" courtesy of the RSPCA. The kittens are booked in for their first injections next Friday morning, they will also be "chipped" again thanks to the RSPCA. This is the first time that we have had outside help from anywhere, the fact that we were not on any kind of benefits excluded any form of assistance but we have been assured that when the kittens are neutered, we will get some aid to defray the cost. These kittens will not be "free to good home", indeed there is a strong possibility that they will remain with us, I for one would not enjoy having to choose which one would go. On that note I was asked last week if some ones friend of a friend could have a look at them, "I don't want a black or black and white" was enough for a big fat "NO"! and we don't have a black one anyway.

[Marilyn]

I am not at all surprised you will not part with them, and could have predicted it.
( unlike me, who would happily 'love em and leave em')
We are all different. Guess my ability to do that made me suitable as a short term foster carer of newborn babies. I loved the work, but was happy to hand them back to their kin.

[Cathy]

Thomo, I imagine that Rosie will smell quite different for a day or two, and the other cats will know that "something" has happened. Best thing for her, unfortunately. If any more Mums-To-Be adopt you and your family, you might have to think twice about what to do. Could be wrong ofcourse but i can't see it going on forever. Well Done to you and Mrs Thomo for helping the cats and kittens that you have.

[Stanley]

Did you watch the Horizon programme on cats last night?

[Thomo]

We did indeed Stanley, and so did the Vet who has just been to give the kittens their first vaccinations. There is another prog at 2200 hrs tonight.

[Gloria]

There was a similar programme on many years ago about some cats on a farm in Yorkshire, the females stayed close to home, whereas the male roamed for miles. Does anyone else remember it?

[Wendyf]

I remember watching that Gloria, weren't they feral cats?
Enjoyed last night's programme...weren't there some magnificent cats? Most of them looked a little overweight though! Loved that black & white long haired one that they kept showing in slow motion moving towards the camera. I can't cope with the squashed faces of the Persians..yuck.

[Whyperion]

Its a pity the BBC Website did not seem to have a contact address for the Horizon / Science Team as the presentation of the research could have been better , and I wanted to suggest they repeat the experiment in places other than leafy village greens. The two back alleys near me in Barnoldswick are populated with an assortment of brought in cats and breding cats , and although there is some access to garden frontages and a couple of large back gardens further up the road the idea of cats scraching on softer surfaces is a bit difficult when its mostly tarmac , cobbles and stonework around here. Though one visiting cat decides that marking the yard wall under the letterbox is a good idea , less welcom by the resident pair.

[Thomo]

Due to a couple of distressing events in the family, I have got a bit behind in the updating of several of my topics. My normally well ordered yet relaxed lifestyle was ripped apart for over a month, however, the constant welfare requirements of our animals prevented me from coming apart completely. A week ago this last Sunday, I awoke at 8 to let Izzy out, 10 minutes later whilst making a brew in the kitchen, I could see that Izzy was watching something out at the front of the house, that "something" was Mabel, sat on the bench under the lounge window, 7 weeks after being returned to her owners. By the time I was dressed she had gone, so I went round to where she now lives, she was back there fast asleep, my main concern was that she had crossed a dangerous road to get here. We are getting regular visits fro an unneutered cat that I suspect may be the father of the kittens, this we are trying to discourage as he is aggressive towards Izzy, the use of water is a good way of achieving this. Here he is:-



And a rare moment of tranquillity, kittenwise.

[Moh]

There is a feral black & white cat on the caravan site in Middleton, people feed it but it will not go in a caravan and prefers to sleep under them in the dry.

[Stanley]

Independent aren't they Moh.... Perhaps it wants to keep its options open.

[Gloria]

Our cat regularly crosses our road and hunts in the fields opposite, nothing you can do can stop a cat doing that.

[Thomo]

'Despicable' thugs kill pensioner's pet cat by shooting it 16 times with airgun

"The ginger tabby cat's elderly owner was walking around her garden in Weston-super-Mare, when her cherished companion limped home, fell off the wall and collapsed".

That was flagged up in the news yesterday. The badly injured animal had to be put to sleep, I have seen the X ray picture and there were indeed sixteen .22 calibre pellets in its body, the grouping of the pellets suggests an automatic gas powered weapon at close range. I have handled such a weapon and at short range they are lethal, the poor cat would have had no chance at all. I can only hope that these morons are found.

[hartley353]

'Despicable' thugs kill pensioner's pet cat by shooting it 16 times with airgun

"The ginger tabby cat's elderly owner was walking around her garden in Weston-super-Mare, when her cherished companion limped home, fell off the wall and collapsed".

That was flagged up in the news yesterday. The badly injured animal had to be put to sleep, I have seen the X ray picture and there were indeed sixteen .22 calibre pellets in its body, the grouping of the pellets suggests an automatic gas powered weapon at close range. I have handled such a weapon and at short range they are lethal, the poor cat would have had no chance at all. I can only hope that these morons are found.

Sorry to have to correct your posting but there are no such weapons as you describe available for use in this country,there are many stored air weapons which will require cocking between shots. like you I deplore the treatment of this animal, but I do wish that cat owners would not allow their animals to run free. The damage done by cats to our wild life is significant. On a personal basis I have had to abandon my garden aviary which had given me great pleasure, because of continuous persecution by cats turned out by their owners. In the past I have resorted to shooting them after finding them attacking my pheasants but this was a last resort after leafleting all neighbouring homes. Very few owners are aware of the damage and offence caused by their wayward cats.

[minimiller]

(post snipped for brevity)

In the past I have resorted to shooting them after finding them attacking my pheasants but this was a last resort after leafleting all neighbouring homes. Very few owners are aware of the damage and offence caused by their wayward cats.

From the RSPB website:

Domestic cats are protected by law and it is an offence to trap, injure or kill them.

The welfare of cats must not be ignored. Remember that cats, even if they are unwelcome in your garden, may be someone's much-loved pets, perhaps of a child or elderly person living alone.
Some people have called for legislation introduced to curb the freedom with which cats are allowed to roam. While we understand why people feel this way, we are not able to urge the government to introduce such legislation, as we have no scientific evidence of the impact of cat predation on bird populations that is strong enough to support such a call.

[Thomo]

Hartley, before you start correcting my posts consider this. 1. I am an Armed Forces Veteran with experience of many types of weapon. 2. Because such weapons are not readily available in this country, does not exclude them from being here. Interesting perhaps is that the weapon that I handled belonged to a man who lived on a boat not very far from where you are. This weapon was lightweight and resembled a modern issue military personal weapon. The safety catch had three positions, on, single shot and rapid fire, no cocking, just keep squeezing the trigger, 20 pellets in the magazine.

[hartley353]

Minimiller. The only protection cats have in this country is the 1971 criminal damage act, in which cats may be construed as property. the law says you need a lawful reason to destroy them. Attacking tame birds is such a reason.
Thomo. If you know of any person having a weapon as you describe, then it is your duty to bring them to the attention of the police,not join in with them.

[Thomo]

Hartley, I was working in a marina at that time for just a couple of hours, so I do not know who he was or where he is now, and I did not join in with anything, I was making a point about such weapons. Do not bloody well lecture me about what is right and wrong as it would appear that I have far more experience about the real world than you have, Human and animal!!! And as far as duty is concerned, I have done my share and know all too well what the cost can be.

[hartley353]

Thomo your words your post and i quote " I have handled such a weapon" then to go on and explain how to operate it. That places you square in the ballpark. Some one needs to lecture you,maybe it shouldn't be me,but you are still in the wrong.

[Wendyf]

Most of us like to read about Thomo's kittens on this topic and not about guns! I think we would appreciate it if you could draw a line under this argument before it goes any further. I would be more than happy to delete the last few posts if necessary.