Monday's pets on furniture and a plea for help
Mon, 13 Apr 2015I am bringing back Monday's pets on furniture today because I received a few entries since announcing this feature's demise, as well to ask for help. I'll start with the plea for help.
The feral cats I rescued a few weeks ago are doing well. My attempt to get them domesticated/friendly is slow but has progressed since they have been with me. Having never dealt with ferals, I knew this would take some work and time, and I am discovering how frustrating it is that they have not figured out I am the good guy. This is especially evident when I am downstairs with my herd of 5 and they are all over me, then I go upstairs to visit with the ferals and they want nothing to do with me. It hurts.
This is Georgie, and dare I say my favourite. It hit me late last week that these little guys really are not that little, and I had suspected I had a mix of boys and girls....which means if I kept them together there would end up being more kittens. Although after doing a bit of research this morning I am worried she is already pregnant!!! So Friday right after work I cleared out our 3rd floor room and that has become Georgie's room. I feel so bad she's all alone. She always had her brothers with her but there is nothing I can do. And unfortunately this now means the time I have to devote to them has doubled.
This is Bernie - I am 95% sure he is a boy. He is the boldest of the 3.
I am 95% sure that Frankie here is a boy (he keeps his tail down and doesn't turn his back to me so I had to figure this out by touch). He is the shyest but I have noticed over the past few days that when I pet him he doesn't freeze so much anymore and will actually close his eyes a bit like he enjoys it.
I think there may need a rush to get Georgie to the vet to be spayed, especially if she's already pregnant (this is all new to me so I'm trying to figure out what to do at this point). Unfortunately I do not have the funds for their vet bills, whatever the amount ends up being depending on what their physical health is like. I hate to do this again, as I had to ask for help last year when I rescued Agnes, but here I go again. If anyone can make a donation towards the care of these little monsters, I have added a donation button to the sidebar that will take you to Paypal. Otherwise you can send directly via Paypal to desiretoinspirekim[@]hotmail[.]com. A HUGE thanks to all those who have already donated via Instagram/FB etc. I look at these photos and can kick myself for not having rescued them sooner, but I thank gawd I broke down and did it despite the chaos this has added to my life. Look at those faces - they deserve a chance at a good life, and I cannot wait until the look of fear you see in each of their eyes disappears. I really appreciate any help I can get, and if anyone is interested in eventually adopting these cuties (if all goes well at the vets) let me know. Thanks dear readers. :)
***UPDATE***: Thanks to everyone who have donated thus far. It means the world to me. I spoke with my vet when I got home from the day job and I have an appointment to bring all 3 cats in Monday morning. They will be dealt with as part of their feral trap and release program where they will be put under, get all vaccinations done and spayed/neutered and then I can pick them up in the afternoon. Well, for at least the boys. I have a feeling Georgie will be coming home in the same condition with a belly full of kittens. Fingers crossed I am totally wrong about this. And the vet owner has offered to give me a 20% discount. Yay!
Ok now on to pets on furniture!
I’ve been wanted to send you pictures of my dear Raki for Pets on Furniture - but all the pictures are of him - not the furniture. (Kim: Works for me!)
1 - Evaluating the hammock
2 - Watching Downton Abbey
- Mary
Thought I would get to it quick and take a photo of our rescue dog Grover who has made himself at home on our mid century chair.
- Margo (Vancouver Island)
My nineteen and a half year old black cat, Jarvis left this earth on Tuesday morning. He was a beautiful and loyal sidekick to me since I adopted him at 5 weeks old. As I was going through photos in between sobs, I found a few that I thought may be appropriate for Pets on Furniture.
- Laura Horner (Proud mama to fluffy Mavis (15) and my dearly departed little panther Jarvis (8.9.95-3.31.15), Nashville, Tennessee)
Reader Comments (22)
I LOVE the pets on furniture feature! Also, thank you for taking care of those feral babies. I have two green-cheek conures so introducing a once-wild feline into my house isn't an option, but I look forward to hearing all of the happy adoption stories that will come from this post.
:-)
Thanks to those who have sent donations since this post went live. I appreciate it more than I can express. Especially now while I wait for my vet to call me back about what I am supposed to do with a probably pregnant feral kitty! (gawd help me)
Hi Kim -
I really hope that you continue with Pets on Furniture as I look forward to it every Monday. Thank you also for the great work you are doing with the cats.
Wow, bless your BIG heart for helping those who are helpless and vulnerable - I can't tell you how much I respect and love that. You're exactly my kind of gal! Am off to donate a bit. Please keep us posted on these precious ones! :)))
Kim, you are an angel helping these little lost souls. You and Jo work long and tirelessly to find wonderful designs for us to drool over, too. Please do not feel bad asking for some help from the peanut gallery- ButI don't seem to be able to find the PayPal button, just ads, so I'll have to figure it out the other way, if I can remember my password :(
Found it!! :)
so happy pets on furniture is back! few things make me happier than cute animals + a design blog :) best of luck with the beautiful cats you've so kindly taken in!
Lovely to see Pets on furniture again!! I was already missing it! ;-)
Dear Kim. Ferals need a lot of time, usually months. Sorry to hear that it hurts you, but you have another five furs of love! Should this not be enough? ;-)
And also the fact that you rescued them. This is comforting already. You get love from many other cats and persons.
I am so sorry for Gorgie being alone. :-( Beautiful little cat lady.
@dear Laura I am so sorry for your lost! I lost my tom cat couple of weeks ago and can feel your sorrow. We have to be thankful
Kim, I tried to donate, and the form keeps defaulting to Canada. As I am not in Canada, this leads to problems with the address. No matter what I try, I can't get past the country! Any ideas?
@LC - I'm not sure - I haven't done this donation button before. You can just send directly through Paypal to my email - desiretoinspirekim @ hotmail .com
Thanks so much!!! I have a vet appt for all of them on Monday so I'm starting to panic about not having enough to foot the bill. :(
Hi Kim! Just wanted to share my story of the feral kitties I rescued 3 years ago - I found 2 kittens, one female and one male. I decided to keep the female and my parents took the male. It did take a little bit of time for Sasha kitty to warm up to me, but she became so close to me. She would cuddle in my bed and never hid. The male cat, unfortunately, never warmed up to my parents. He ran and hid, and would never let them pet him. I think with feral cats, sometimes you just can't escape that biology. Even cats from the same litter come out differently. I wouldn't take it personally, the bigger picture is knowing that you saved them.
Also, I love pets on furniture! Might I suggest only posting 3-4 pics and not going onto a second page. I don't think I ever "clicked to see more", this would save you having to have so many submissions. Just a thought!
@Alex - OMG that's so sad. It would kill me if these guys all didn't become friendly….in more ways than one. The main one being no one is going to adopt a cat they can't touch and I need to get these cats out of my house! I was finally at the legal limit and we swore we would not get more and let that number deplete over time.
You never clicked on the jump link??!! We've had that on just about every post for the past 6-7 years or so! And I only used it on pet posts if I had enough entries that week that it warranted saving some for after the jump. Lately I've been lucky to have enough to do a post over the span of 3 weeks. So unless readers start sending entries, there will be no pet posts :(
My mother is a crazy cat lady, and I inherited that from her. I have trapped feral kittens 3 times. As long as they are kept together, they will remain pretty feral. Once they are isolated, they don't have the comfort and support of their siblings/friends, and warm to human affection much faster.
Oh, interesting Dana. Although I don't have 3 separate rooms to put them in nor do I have the time to spend in 3 separate rooms each day so hopefully this works out as-is.
I hope you continue the Pets on Furniture. This blog is one of my absolute favorites, and the pets are a highlight I look forward to every Tuesday (time zone issue). Any Tuesday that there are no pets I feel a little sad. It's hard to say why internet pets should brighten my day, but they do!
What a good thing you are doing, it is not easy to invest money, time and especially our hearts but it's all worth it! All our cats except one were feral at one point...some took to us quickly others not so...it all depends on their character just like us humans! We have to accept them as they are, some might never be very friendly but will find a way to express there appreciation. We have a few that we cannot pick up (just imagine what we have to do when it's time to go to the vet!) but she loves to snuggle so we let her decide ;) Please, do not fill sad because what you are doing is for sure the best thing for them!
P.S. The oldest that we took in was around 3 years old and wild but she has not looked back since...she even runs away from the doors!
Kim I rescued two feral cats 14 years ago, when they were just 5 weeks old. It took a LONG time for them to come to me and let me pet them. To this day they don't let me pick them up (like MarieClaude said above - going to the the vet is an adventure!). What I did do was spend as much time as I could with them when they were in their "safe" room. I'd take my laptop in there, or read, or watch TV. Just sitting with them made them eventually see that I wasn't going to hurt them. Then gradually they began to trust me. I would add that it might be a good idea to have other people go in there and try to befriend them too. The thing with feral cats is they tend to become attached to the one person who they see the most, and never bond with anyone else. This could pose a problem for you when you try to adopt them out. Try to let them have access to other people. My only other suggestion is to contact your local feral car society in Canada. They will have more advice for you and may even help you adopt them (or take them). Good luck and thank you for all you've done for them and other cats!
@Heidi - I will gladly bring the series back when I get enough entries. It was not my choice to cancel it :(
@MarieClaude - I keep praying these guys will all snap out of it one day and become affectionate. I think there's potential there. And maybe when they eventually get to interact with my other 5 cats they'll learn from them (they're a bunch of snuggly babies)
@Susanne - now that the cats have calmed down a bit I want to get my husband to start joining them in their rooms too (plus it will give me a break!), having realized that they need to figure out that all humans are nice. :) It has been hard for me with 2 jobs to be able to spend alot of time with them so it will help alot. And I have been in contact with the Ottawa Humane Society and 4 local rescue organizations and no one will help me (or they just stop talking to me in the middle of an email conversation).
Thanks again to everyone who has donated!!!
julia, at the blog cuckoo for design, does a lot for neighborhood cats. she might have some ideas about vet bills, etc. i'm glad that these are considered part of the feral program, so that all the vet needs are addressed. keep up the great work!
b
Hallo Kim, I love cat and furniture too, I have a company who make furniture from woodeng and teak, I want to design it for pet like cat do you have I dea for my design, cause I got inspiring when I read your post :)
"The main one being no one is going to adopt a cat they can't to"
Some poeple would. I did.
Because with lots of love and patience those cats turn into great life companion.
So you can still find people who will be happy to adopt those babies ;-).
"And I have been in contact with the Ottawa Humane Society and 4 local rescue organizations and no one will help me (or they just stop talking to me in the middle of an email conversation)."
Unbelieveable!!!!!! :-/