This is a quick update for those who know me, and an introduction to those who don't!
Well, I moved house, got married (at the Dog's Trust in Dublin which was GREAT fun!) and have started my veterinary nursing course. Currently there are 36 cats resident here, not counting Big Mick who seems to live here also nowadays, much to the consternation of Indie the evil cat! Mick is HUGE, twice the size of Indie, but Indie still gets the upper paw so to speak, and often won't let Mick inside for his dinner
There were 4 kittens born during the Summer, but one was tiny and died within 24 hours. The vets said nothing could be done when he/she stopped suckling, and I tried, but to no avail. This mite weighed almost half of what the others weighed, so I think it just wasn't mean to be.
The other three, Duster, Octwvia and Aygo were in protective isolation in the bathroom 'till fully vaccinated. The STILL managed to get HAW syndrome, and once they had recovered from that, came down with Panleukopenia, DESPITE the vaccinations! They all made it thankfully, and are bouncing around now.
there have been some TERRIBLE tragedies also, but I will make a different post about them, as they make for upsetting reading to be honest, and still haunt me months later......
A few cats have passed on from natural causes..... Namely Rocket Dog (the one-eyed wonder) who slipped into a coma one night out of the blue, and never woke up. Robert Burns and Percy Shelly also passed away in their sleep, as did all of the kittens from that colony (The Walking Dead Poet's Society for those who remember!) bar Gallagher who is in great form. The other 3 kittens never grew and all had severe heart murmurs. I say kittens but the first to go was Rosie at about 10 months. Her two brothers lived for over a year. Rosie I found collapsed and had her PTS, but the boys died at home, during the night and I found their bodies cuddled by their friends in the cat room. Very sad, but their time had come and at least they never knew hunger or fear the entire time they were alive. Their mother, Lady Byron, is still here and still wild, but I can now touch her head sometimes. She is a real hunter, unfortunately for the rabbits here, and I'm not sure she ever eats much actual cat food at all.
My aunt passed away last year so I took on her 4 cats as her husband is unwell and he couldn't cope. One, Mama Puss, went out into the field one day, disappeared for 5 days, and returned limping. She had somehow managed to shatter her shoulder blade into utter smithereens! The leg had to go as there was no way to repair it (I got a free consult with a specialist, and I doubt even the Supervet could have fixed the shoulder to be honest!) so she now has only 2 front legs but is pretty amazing and can jump up to places that most of the cats cannot! he back legs must have compensated for the missing front one. The only real difficulty she has now is the mud on the lane..... She HATES it and finds it difficult to avoid walking in it. So Graham, her "Daddy" carries her around over the mud every evening, no matter how many shopping bags he has to lug with him! One evening recently we heard a weird cat meow at the window, so I opened it to see who was in trouble. In pops Mama with a dead mouse in her mouth! Her cries of pride were muffled by her mouse corpse...... Now how she did that with no front paw is beyond me to be honest, but she did!
Enough rambling. I hope everyone is well and their kitties too, and am looking forward to catching up with you all again, and to meeting all those who have joined during my absence!
Catherine xxx
Feathers everywhere! 
