About a Cat - Ms Mitz

I had made my mind up during childhood that I wasn't a particular lover of Cats. I didn't appreciate them killing things, or their sharp claws and surprise attacks and their fur irritated my nose.

So, many years passed in which I gloried in canine company, such wonderful creatures! So many lovely dogs shared my life over the years. I even smiled at them in the street. I was most decidedly a 'dog person'.

Then one day through my window I spotted a young scrawny cat eating bits we had thrown out for the birds, we lived in quite an isolated place and I knew it didn't belong to anyone who lived nearby. It looked hungry so I put some dog food on a dish and went outside but as soon as it heard the door it was gone like a streak of lightning!

We started to see it in the garden more frequently and my lovely and very patient man took it upon himself to try and gain the trust of this young feral cat, who obviously hadn't had any contact with humans before. He would put out food for her and sit quietly yards away as she warily walked very slowly to the food and bolted it down before turning tail and disappearing.

She eventually became more confident, as long as he didn't move she was more at ease when she ate. Then we noticed her swelling belly! She was hardly more than a kitten herself.

Weeks later, we found her in a tiny old run down shed, wedged in a corner with a pile of her kittens. . . she was wild eyed and hissing so we retreated. Later we checked back, she had gone, moving her kittens to safety. That was the first of three litters she had. She disappeared between times and evaded our attempts to catch her and get her neutered, we managed to get one batch of kittens and with the help of a local animal charity they were taken and rehomed. Two other lots, we never found out what happened to them.

But she was still visiting for food and we had gained her trust, she would now wind herself around your legs while you were putting the plate down, but if you touched her, she would hiss and swipe at you, as though your hand was some strange creature out to get her!

It was then we noticed she was pregnant again.

We knew she slept in one of our sheds, so we made a bed up in there and hoped that she would stay close this time. She got bigger and bigger and we knew that her time was near. One morning we gingerly peeked into the shed and there she was, laying in the bed we had made for her, with her kittens. . .

This time we were prepared, my lovely Man had made a mesh inner door for the shed that reached almost to the top, so that she could jump over it, but wouldn't be able to move the kittens this time. When we saw her leave to hunt, or to eat food we had put out for her, we would sneak in and look at the kittens, we were determined that they would be used to humans, so they could find homes and not have to live a feral life like their Mother.
She no longer ran when she saw us and welcomed the food we gave her too. We took to sitting on the floor in the shed on old cushions, with the gentle light of a lamp, lighting up the dingy space. She would eat the food we gave her and we watched as the kittens grew and we stroked them at every opportunity. She too started to like being stroked, she watched as we stroked her kittens and seemed to sense that it wasn't harmful! and enjoyed it herself as long as she didn't see your hand! :-)

The kittens were getting bigger and wandering around, climbing and playing.
It began to get really cold at night and I began to worry for the kittens, when we went in there, they huddled close to me for warmth - it was then we decided to bring them indoors!

We set up an area in our spare bedroom with plastic on the floor covered with newspaper and a fenced in area and of course a litter tray! and set about bringing them inside.

We had a cage and we put a little food in that, and in she went. followed by one of her five kittens. My man quickly shut it up and threw a cloth over it, as I (in not one of my most thought out plans) put the other four Kittens in a shopping basket! We opened the shed door and both made a dash through the darkness. It was icy cold and pelting with rain and I hadn't bargained on the kittens trying to climb out of the basket I was carrying them in!
Well we made it! They were inside, and the kittens settled fine, exploring their new surroundings, the Mother cat was a different matter she started up a continous distressed miaowing.

The plan was to rehome the kittens when they were old enough, and then get the Mother cat done so she didn't have any more!

So, flash forward - we found homes together for two little golden girls and off they went to their new home. Three kittens left! I didn't like the idea of one being homed on its own, so was trying to find homes for all three but people only wanted two, it was heartbreaking and I had fallen in love with these beautiful little creatures! So they stayed and so did their mother! (once she had visited the vet and made sure she wouldn't bring home any more kittens!)
So now eight or nine years after we first met that skinny little feral cat, Ms Mitz is now a fat exceedingly friendly cat and a much loved member of our family. She and her kittens totally changed my views on cats and I am forever grateful that she came into our lives. Patience paid off!