Help Tabitha and her kittens

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Our Story

Hi, my name is Jo, and I’ve been rescuing stray and feral cats for over eight years.

My home borders on marshland that seems to be a magnet for cats - abandoned, lost, or feral, they all seem to end up here.

I’ve taken in as many as I can, tamed feral cats for neutering or spaying and re-homed them, reunited lost pets with their owners, and more - I never turn my back on any animal that needs help.

A few months ago, I was out with food looking for an injured male cat when I found someone’s lost pet, and I also found Tabitha.

With the pet and owner reunited, the plan was to trap, spay, and release Tabitha, she was clearly a feral cat and seemed happy living outside, but after a few weeks of daily feeding, as she got friendlier, I realised she was already pregnant.

It was a big decision to bring her in. I didn’t know how she’d respond to being indoors, but having called several charities, no one could take her, so the only options given to me were aborting the kittens, which would have meant invasive abdominal surgery at her stage of pregnancy (the kittens would have been euthanised), leaving her outdoors and hoping for the best, or taking her in. For me, there was no choice, I wasn’t prepared to put her through surgery and losing her babies, and I wouldn’t have slept knowing she was out there alone.

So I’ve turned my life (and my other cats’ lives!) upside down for her, but no regrets.

Tabitha has the sweetest nature, her trust in me has grown every day, she’s very chatty and has adapted well to life indoors, but it's only been two months since I found her, so she’s still a little wild at heart and doesn't trust strangers. She came to me when she was starting her contractions and gave birth on my bed with a bit of help from me - she’s still comfortably sleeping at the foot of my bed with her four beautiful babies (temporarily called Winkin, Blinkin, Nod, and Chunk, three girls and a boy).

Unfortunately she suffered a prolapsed rectum this week, when the kittens were just two and a half weeks old. An emergency vet had to be called in the middle of the night and stitches given. There are added complications because she’s a nursing mum, so her surgery had to be done under minimal sedation - which didn't really work - and painkillers kept to a minimum too. The vet was working on her for over two hours as well, so the whole experience was really traumatic for her (and me, if I'm honest).

I had been told that it would resolve her problem, and I thought that having the surgery done at home would spare her the stress of the cat carrier and a car journey, but I’ve had to rush her to my usual vet twice this week with her kittens in tow to try and keep her calm, even more trauma and pain for the poor little thing as the vets have tried to help her. Her stitches had to be removed at the second visit, so we’re not quite back at square one, but it’s a big set back.

The next phases are being played out day by day, I’m keeping her under observation and am just about to take on feeding the three week old kittens to give her body a rest and allow the vets to look after her without having to take the nursing kittens into account. Further surgery is looking likely, but we’re hoping to be able to manage her condition until she’s spayed so both procedures can be carried out at the same time.

My local vets are amazing - they’re helping me keep the costs down, but I’m still looking at an unexpected, eye-watering cost for her care as well as the formula and equipment for feeding four chubby kittens, well over and above what I’d normally spend on a rescue, and unfortunately, more than I can afford.

So I'm asking for help with this one, the total is a rough estimate, it may well go over, but any amount you can give will help me to get her and her babies the best care possible.

If you’d like to follow their progress, you can find photos and reels on my Instagram account, (www.instagram.com/rockdoveart) I’ve been trying not to spam everyone, but I’ve taken lots and lots of photos and videos - they’re so cute!

Thank you. ❤️