Update On Irish

[Little Gifts]

Some of you might recall that my family and my mum's neighbours have been trying to catch a stray cat that is always pregnant, for at least a decade. Well today is a bittersweet one because she and her brand new litter of 5 kittens has been caught and taken to the pound!

Irish has been limping badly and was the biggest my mum has ever seen her. She was missing for the last 3 days so mum went on the prowl under neighbours houses to see if she'd given birth. Strangely she found her and 5 live kittens and 1 deceased one in the corner of her yard under some palm fronds. Terrible place for her to have had the kittens given we have had 2 massive storms here since they were born. A male neighbour simply grabbed Irish by the scruff and put her in a crate while mum put the kittens in another. He then took them to the pound. I can't believe after all these years it was so quick and easy!

Of course I am sad because Irish has been part of our lives now for at least 13 years as the resident street cat. My mum now has some dementia and is no longer driving so if the neighbour had not been there she may have thought to call us and we could've (possibly) arranged for her and the kittens to go to a rescue, with a view after the kittens had weaned to Irish being vet worked and released back to my mum and the street she has lived in all her life. She would've had food and comfort all along the street and no more kittens in her older age (she is not known to catch wildlife given her access to food). But because they got taken to the pound before I heard about it I know it is possible she and the kittens will simply be pts today. I am waiting for a call back from the pound to see what the likely status is as mum was also upset when she realised that could be the outcome for her.

If it is then at least that lovely little cat will no longer be popping out babies every couple of months and hiding from humans due to something awful that must've happened to her a long, long time ago. She can be free to just enjoy being a cat without all the risk and fear that comes with being a stray.

Missing you already Irish. You did the best with what life dealt you. XXX

Edited September 19, 2013 by Little Gifts

[Lasareina]

hope you get a good result from the pound

[huntrox]

NO they carnt be put to sleep, please keep us updated x

[Little Gifts]

Pound wont tell me as they have been surrendered. But strangely I have been encouraged to send an email and ask that way rather than over the phone?

[Lugeanjaam]

I remember Irish's story . Poor girl, I wonder how many babies she has had over the years. I hope by some miracle there is a good outcome for her.

[Little Gifts]

Sujo we have caught and surrendered/vetworked/rehomed many, many of her kittens as she liked to leave them at mum's when she was finished raising them! Never bothered to keep count. She was down to having only 2 per litter but this time she had 6 (1 didn't survive). She is such a tiny cat herself.

[Loving my Oldies]

Wouldn't your pound be the RSPCA, LG?

My niece is a foster carer of kittens for the RSPCA. Well, she used to be, but haven't heard in the past couple of years whether she still does it.

But as they were caught before they became feral or contracted cat flue, I would imagine their prospects would be fairly good. I hope so.

In your situation, wanting the best for Irish and her kittens, I'd be visiting the pound in person.

[Little Gifts]

DD, Irish's kittens tend to be quite healthy as all the food we put out has L-Lysine on it and we feed a better quality mix of dry and wet for them. I don't think Irish's teeth are that great anymore so she was mainly a wet girl.

I know for sure they've gone to Logan Pound. As I said, my mum has the early stages of dementia and I spoke to her again tonight about what happened and got a whole other story. I'm trying not to be angry at her but I am. And sad. She did go round the street looking under neighbours houses but found Irish and the new kittens two days ago in her back yard. She removed the 6 living kittens into a box in her house thinking she might entice Irish in so she could catch her (never worked before). Irish came in during the night and retrieved only one kitten so mum put them all back with her the following morning. Surprise, surprise, as of this morning one was dead. The old her knows better than to remove a new born anything from its mother for so long, but her current brain is obviously not thinking straight. As the council have loaned her cages numerous times she proudly rang them to say she had Irish and the kittens again and needed a cage. When the inspector arrived he simply grabbed Irish while mum grabbed the kittens. It wasn't a neighbour at all. When she rang me she was all excited that she'd finally been caught but she failed to realise that giving them straight to the council has probably signed their death warrant. After all she has been through Irish is just gone. Mum kept saying "I am praying to Jehovah that they all go to good homes!" What the eff mum? Why didn't she just frigging call me? I live 5 minutes away! Imagine council or a foster carer trying to keep a feral cat with a significant escape history caged until her kittens are weaned. How the hell is that going to happen? I would've at least liked to take her to my vet to get her health assessed before talking to a cat rescue group about options but I doubt any of them will survive a trip to the pound under the current circumstances.

I will try and go to the pound tomorrow morning and see what the status is of them all but my gut tells me the news wont be good so part of me doesn't want to even try. I've had enough bad news the past week or so to do me for a bit.

[Guest Wildthing]

I remember reading about Irish some time ago. If the outcome is not what we all hope for, the only thing that we can say is that none of the fabulous felines will suffer. It breaks my heart that I cannot help all the cats that come into my care, but after 19 years in rescue, I realise some are beyond our best efforts. My last kitten that came from a colony of suburban wilds was about 8 weeks old and weighed 356grams (no typo) and was covered in ringworm. The Ranger did not expect her to survive the night. Sherry is now a healthy girl who is so affectionate, loving and weighs over 2kgs. She is one of the lucky ones. Keeping my fingers crossed for Irish and her kittens.

Sorry Little Gifts your Mum did not phone you this time.

Miracles do happen sometimes and I hope this is one of the times!!!

If Irish does not survive, but the kittens can be saved, try the Unweaned Kitten Rescue Network in Brisbane. Julie has helped me over the years and is brilliant at this type of rescue.

[Loving my Oldies]

Little Gifts. Your mum thought she was doing the right thing. We humans do a lot of harm even with the best intentions.

[kelpiecuddles]

Can't you just tell them that your mum has dementia and didn't understand that the cat was being surrendered and likely to be euthanased. i'm sure they get the odd one or two where animals get surrendered by one half of a couple where the other didn't intend them to be and things like that.

[Little Gifts]

I'm sure they thought the whole family had marble brains with me ringing twice and telling them a story about a neighbour dropping them off when in fact the council picked them up!

We are at least lucky that because we feed Irish and can offer her extra meals when she is feeding a litter, the kittens are generally healthy and Irish herself has never had gummy eyes or anything of that nature. In fact she is one of the cleanest cats you'll see - no fleas, nice soft coat, no icky ears. I've never been able to see inside her mouth but based on her inability to eat a lot of kibble I'd say she has teeth problems. But she may have cat flu in her system as one of her kittens (the one mum fell in love with a couple of years back) did and we had a lot of problems clearing it.

I've decided not to go to the pound. Just not up to dealing with it to be honest. I didn't mean to sound negative towards their treatment of strays in my earlier posts. I'm just being realistic about what they could do for her or with her. She could turn absolutely feral being confined and it would be very difficult for anyone (pound or private rescue) to contain her while she raised the kittens, let alone handle her when it was needed.

[Loving my Oldies]

I've decided not to go to the pound. Just not up to dealing with it to be honest.

Totally understandable. You've been through so much and need to consider your own health and well being.

[dognurse]

13 years to catch one cat???? What a horrible ending for poor Irish

[Little Gifts]

Thank you for stating the obvious Dognurse. Unfortunately I don't control the entire universe or the outcome would possibly have been different (dependant on her health). And yes, it did take a long time to catch her. Many people tried and failed and many different methods were tried and failed. She was a very smart cookie and her small size made her like Houdini (maybe that should've been her name). The fact she was caught so easily this time could be because her health and mobility were finally failing her. The old Irish would never have even had her kittens in an open corner like that, so it does all point to her not being well. At least she is no longer out there afraid of humans and pumping kittens out of her poor, tired body.

[dognurse]

no problem, I could have stated what I wanted to but there would be no point. Im sure if Irish was a dog the community would have been more proactive. 13 years of having babies on the streets and then to be taken to the pound.....yes I guess at least the positive side is that she wont be producing any more babies.

[Rebanne]

no problem, I could have stated what I wanted to but there would be no point. Im sure if Irish was a dog the community would have been more proactive. 13 years of having babies on the streets and then to be taken to the pound.....yes I guess at least the positive side is that she wont be producing any more babies.

Maybe read the whole story before being so judgemental.