u/kehlseee

About 5 weeks ago I posted on here about a stray mama cat and her 5 babies that my mom and I unexpectedly took in. Thanks to an absolutely incredible member of this community purchasing from our wishlist we were set up with an extra litter box, litter, kitten food, food bowls, and a scratcher bed that all helped so incredibly much when the babies started exploring, eating, and getting litter trained. Since that amazing donation I’ve been able to stay on top of it financially and the kittens are doing so well!

Unfortunately Mabel (thanks to her creaky little old lady meow we decided to give her an old lady name and carry the trend to the babies) had 2 vet visits over the last 2 weeks, first due to bad diarrhea that required a round of dewormer and propectalin and then very restless behavior that ended up being a double ear infection that she had flushed and treated with a 30 day ointment compound. During this same time, our youngest cat, Luna, developed an abscess the size of a ping pong ball on her throat that had to be lanced and drained. Thankfully both of them are doing SO MUCH better (I literally knock on wood everytime I even think this) but back to back trips like this was a big hit financially.

I hoped that I wouldn’t have to post again but we are now in desperate need of litter and wet food. I used the last of the litter we had on Mabel’s box today when I scooped it, and we have 2 days of wet food left for them. The babies are still doing great with pate but Mabel loves all Fancy Feast and non-pate Friskies. I’ve updated the wishlist and tried to put a variety of different sizes of litter and food, but anything at all would be so so so appreciated. I’ve also included the updated Walmart wishlist as well.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to anyone who may be able to help us, Mabel, and her babies. Pictured in order: Mabel and the babies, Penny, Dottie, Oliver, Percy, and Ozzy ❤️

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1P55PQPC6J5B3?ref\_=wl\_share

https://www.walmart.com/lists/wishlist/9bd3e392-0609-427e-af73-7fe3bcb14134

This stray had 5 kittens in our backyard on 8/23 and when my mom and I went to check on them all 5 were open mouth, tongues out, heavily panting due to how hot it was. We were scared they were going to die from the heat so we took them inside and trapped mama. Thankfully the cool air helped immediately! Mama was terrified and barely came out of the hidey cube we put the babies in. Now she is doing SO much better and has been so affectionate and seeking out pets. I was able to buy a playpen for her and the babies and as you can see she’s very happy with the kitchen mat (originally in front of the litter box I got for her) that we put next to it.

We already have 5 indoor cats, our dog, and on top of that we have a small colony of about 10 stray and feral cats that we feed wet and hard food everyday as well. And unfortunately in our county in GA, TNR is illegal and there are only a handful of rescues that are completely overwhelmed, which leaves us with very few resources (despite how bad the stray cat population is) and even the lowest cost spay program is still close to $100 per cat. We have spayed and rehomed 3 of the more social strays so far but everything comes from our own pocket and honestly, I can barely afford it as is, now we have mama and 5 babies that in just a few short weeks will be needing food and litter boxes too. But our only choices were either contact local animal control (not a no-kill shelter and they are overwhelmed with intakes as well), take them in, or leave her and the babies outside to fend for themselves in the heat. Our choice was definitely more of an act now think later response because we care too much, but now I am scrambling to figure out how we're going to afford this in the coming weeks. My mom has severe nerve and vision damage from shingles so the only income comes from me working full time, doordashing on the side, and what my disabled little sister gets from SSI.

I created these wishlists to help with the cost of extra food and litter for her and when the babies get bigger, food and litter for them too, and anything extra would also help with the colony we feed. So far mama loves Friskies hard food so I tried to put a variety of sizes for those. We’ve started giving her Fancy Feast wet kitten food for the extra nutrients too and she seems to really love it. Google recommends nursing mamas get about 9-15oz of wet food each day and she seems to agree with how quickly she eats each can, so they are going quick. I added some food/water bowls (using plastic cereal bowls right now, I know it’s not a great choice because of feline acne but it’s all we have atm), an additional litter box for the babies, a small scratcher for mama and the babies, and some toys for when they’re bigger but of course those are just some nonessential blessings! I’ve also attached a Walmart wishlist, if that’s not allowed I can absolutely remove it, I just noticed there were better deals for food and litter than Amazon.

Thank you to anyone who is able to help us, mama, and her babes (we believe there’s 3 boys and 2 girls)! We are also open to name suggestions for mama. She’s very sweet, has unbelievably soft fur, a bit of a floofy tail tip, and a creaky little meow like an old lady ❤️

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1P55PQPC6J5B3?ref\_=wl\_share

https://www.walmart.com/lists/wishlist/9bd3e392-0609-427e-af73-7fe3bcb14134