Willow & Her Babies - Born at the Harbour 12/06/11

[Ann Clarke (Tabby cat)]

Glad Willow and her babies are doing better and hoping that Baby Ross puts in an appearance soon 

[madkittyrescue]

thanks guys it is proving difficult but we are getting there and thankfully we have some amazing volunteers who are a godsend with the 'heavy' stuff.  We have for the next few weeks turned our phone lines to the answer machine so that we / I don't have to deal with the added stress of emotional blackmail from the public just now as i'm exhausted enough and waddlng around but we are getting there

Willow is doing MUCH better and is SO much happier bless her and her little ones are now feeding really well (sometimes too well) lol and have finally started to make the transition to toileting on their own... not quite there yet but every day is a little step in the right direction!

Will try and keep you all updated as much as possible... though I am having to admit defeat to exhaustion at times just now... but hopefully not for too much longer    Baby Ross is due any day... 

[Tiggy's Mum]

What a nightmare, she's lucky you're there to take such good care of her and her babies 

Don't know how you manage in 'your condition' 

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

Oh dear - not good timing for Willow to have a breakdown.

I hope all is well with her, the kittens and you and your 'kitten' Sarah. 

[madkittyrescue]

Well we have had a huge change since last week with Willow unfortunately.

Raising her 4 little ones just got far too much for her on Friday and despite us persevering for nearly 10 hours with her she decided she was going to throw her little ones around the pen - literally.  After scooping wee Tortie out the water bowl and the others from all over the place and saving them from mum trying to attack them we had no choice but to start hand rearing them at 2.5 weeks old.

We have fought with them all weekend to get them transitioned onto the bottle and they are finally getting there despite being very upset after Friday. Thankfully no lasting injuries other than shaken kittens and a few sore heads they seem to be much happier now and even mum is doing better.

Willow is more settled and not looking for babies at all and is just physically and mentally exhausted.   We are concerned about possible damage to her hips from so many litters as at times she seems to have problems jumping and the odd stumble however this could also be due to the poor nutrition she has had in the past and her absolutely tiny frame.

Paws are however crossed for now that mum and babies will continue to thrive with no more set backs however nothing is guaranteed....

On a more comical note this all happened after I spent last week wishing Baby Ross would make an early-ish appearance by a week as I was SOOO uncomfortable... needless to say come Friday and the weekend I was pleading with Baby to stay in another week   couldn't think of any worse timing after Willow's antics at the weekend!!!  lol

[Tan]

    So wonderful  I love paddy pawin  and isn't she a cheeky youngling pushin in like that!  Just wonderful hun Thanks you so much for postin 

[Dawn F]

so cute, and willow is lovely

[madkittyrescue]

Here's a wee video we took of the happy family last night....  look out for naughty miss tortie half way through... she's a right wee minx and only 4 days old!

http://youtu.be/IuQJw1WKqdY

[Tiggy's Mum]

So pleased she's safe at Sunny Harbour now  Hopefully she and her babies will all go on to find fab homes 

[Feline Costumier]

That um, may have been me But really all I did was get in touch the bloke and say I'll take, it was Paul who drove out there and pretended to be my brother to pick her up and of course is it Sarah and Paul that are doing such a brilliant job of showing her love and care at long last and who have given her a very very bright future

[Shirley]

Willow is such a beauty!    Whoever saw her being advertised deserves     !!!

Well done Paul (again!) and you for taking care of her  It doesn't bear thinking about what would've happened to her had you not taken her in 

[madamcat (Edd)]

What a beautiful little girl and so so skinny when she first came to you .... and now a proud little mum of 4

Know they will continue to thrive under your love and care until new forever homes are found 

[JackSpratt]

  Great stuff! Well done to you all.

[Feline Costumier]

So pleased to hear she is doing so well but how could she not with you guys. Looking forward to pics of the kittens progress

[Jiji]

She is so thin in that first photo, thank goodness she came to you when she did. She is    and hope it's not too long before she finds a lovely new home.

[Guest]

She is beautiful!!

[souffle]

Aww she is beautiful and what a great mummy  Those kittens will be heartbreakers too and i hope they all find lovely homes in time x

[madkittyrescue]

One of our fellow Purrs members alerted us to an advert for a pregnant female cat that her lovely owner needed 'rid of' asap.

To that end Paul drove out to the house and collected our new Harbour Baby now to be known as Willow. A new name for a fresh start.

She was a skinny wee thing, dirty and grubby looking but ever so sweet and at first it was hard to tell if she was in fact pregnant. Over a few days it become more apparent she was and just a couple of weeks later gave birth to 4 beautiful little babies. 2 black and white boys and 2 tri-colour tortie girls.

This is a pic of Willow on arrival - hard to think this is her 6-7 weeks pregnant....




and this is her having just given birth to the last of the 4 little bundles on Sunday morning....



She is currently being waited on hand and paw and is being an excellent mummy.  We were told that she was 4 years old and this is most likely the case though she herself is only about the size of a 9-12mth old kitty.  Very small and she has had plenty of litters before now we suspect the last probably just right before this one.  She is being so so good and we are just SO relieved for her that this will be her last and she can now go on when ready to find a wonderful loving home of her own.