Benny, just waking up
This is Benny, our neighborhood cat. She just woke up, and in exchange for this picture she demanded that I give her ears a good scratch. Never let it be said that I don’t reciprocate. Anyway, it turns out she’s about to have a litter. Benny is a small cat, entirely too sweet for her own good, and I’m totally at a loss for what to do. Despite my hard hearted, cynical nature, and against my own advice, I’ve become attached to the cat. Hell, if we weren’t allergic, Shannon has already confirmed that Benny would be our cat.
Now that’s she’s having kittens, I’m worried about her. Yes, I know she’s a semi-wild animal now, and that she can fend for herself, but I don’t want her to. I want her life, and her kittens, to be relatively safe. I know there are “friends of neighborhood cat” websites, and I do have a friend who is a vet, but do people have other advice? And when Benny’s kittens are old enough, who wants one? She is, without a doubt in my mind, the sweetest cat I have ever met (sorry Matthew). I can only imagine her kittens will share her demeanor.
I would so take one. And promptly find myself divorced.
Um, I’m gonna be living with 3 big dogs and 2 adult cats. Our menagrie is full. You might try putting a poster up at work, and seeing if anyone wants one. You might consider getting her fixed, once she has her kittens.
Mary the Vet says:
First off, the odds are heavily in favor of Benny giving birth easily. If you want her to give birth in relative safety, you can either capture her and bring her indoors, or provide a box outdoors for her. If it’s the latter, set it up soon and place it somewhere she frequents so she can decide if she likes it. It should have food and water, something soft to sit on, and be enclosed and fairly dark.
You can always take the kittens to a shelter. No worries, kittens always go really FAST.
And, Serena is right. If you can catch Benny, she should be spayed.
The key to my future fortune? I’m going to genetically engineer cats that don’t mature: permanent kittens. Always cute, and they will never need to be spayed, because they’ll never reach sexual maturity.
Gonna be rich, ya’ll.
Seth, can you please also engineer the little boogers so that, while perpetually tiny and cute, they lose some of that amazing kitty energy at some point? Otherwise, they’ll make you crazy! 🙂
Getting her spayed is the way to go. Personally, I wouldn’t want to take her into my apt, but the box idea is great. Cats like nothing better than boxes with stuff in them. http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/08/18/funny-pictures-cat-traps-are-working/
I suggest not taking her into your apt because of the allergy problem (once cat dander is in on a large scale, it’s hard to get rid of), and also because it would be more comfortable for her to be on her own turf, so to speak…
Cats like boxes with stuff in them, especially when the stuff in question is the cat itself. (q.v.: Schrodinger)
I’d love another Tamora, but getting her here would be hard. I have found if you let people know at work, folks seem to start showing up looking for a kitten or two.
cats rule