Cats have always been in my life, as a toddler while others were pushing dolls, I had my cat Micky dressed in baby clothes pushing him around in a dolls pram - we both loved it.
So there has always been a least two cats with me.
About seventeen years ago I decided to move me, 2 pedigree cats and 1 rescue, my mum (almost 80, no longer with us) with her 1 pedigree and 1 rescue, to Spain.
Within a week a Siamese stray arrived in the garden, sick and bleeding.
So directly to the vet who said it would be more than 200 euros to save her life. "But she's not my cat" I said "she is now" replied the vet - words I will never forget !
Tia-Maria recovered from the operation and spent a long and happy life with me.
And so it began!
A few weeks later along came "Precious" barefoot and pregnant and hardly five months herself. It was love at first sight, we had the babies together as she learnt a very young motherhood. Precious is still with me today, a loving companion for more than 16 years, my oldest survivor.
Shortly after 2 kittens abandoned at my gate, 1 for my mum and the other for a friend. That took us to, 5 to me, 3 to mum.
So the story continues with often sick and seemingly abandoned cats arriving. Some I have only been able to medicate and give them good food and a lot of love to help them through the remainder or last stages of their lives. They have known they have been loved.
Others, like my Kit, I have pulled out of rubbish bins as tiny kittens and brought home. Yet others as Lady Marmalade arrived here, fat and healthy, but refused to leave. She decided she was living here and that was that. After three weeks of her camping day and night on the doorstep she finally got her way and became one of the family.
I have had a lot of help from my kind vet Jose because as a pensioner, with no other income, food, medication and vet bills are far from easy and are my greatest outlay. Sometimes it's been 6 at a time, like Mitzi with 5 tiny kittens who were about to be put in the trash.
I live in a very Spanish village and so am known as "The English Cat Woman" but this notoriety has lead to cats and kits being pushed into my garden. Such as Bella, a tiny kitten with a burst eyeball. It took me weeks to tame her enough to catch her and get her to the vet for her poor eye to be removed that saved her life.
Then recently Oliver my “Corona cat” who dragged himself in here during lockdown, just a bag of bones, on his last legs. It took over a month to daily nurse him back to health bathing his torn feet and cleaning up his poor matted and balding coat and healing with lots of talks and cuddles - but he made it.
If they arrive feral and pregnant I do my best to catch them and bring them in my utility room so they can have their kittens. I can then tame the kittens to be loving pets and with the help of vet Jose we normally manage to find them homes. This also enables me to get the mummy
sterilized.
We've been up to 30 at one point but that was just not manageable and truly unaffordable. Luckily now I have managed to catch all females around I have a bit more control over the numbers. (Fingers crossed ).
Currently there are 7 in the house with me, most of these have been special needs at some point, like Bella with the burst eye and Cleocatra who has such pale blue eyes she can't see outside in the Spanish sun etc etc
The other 17 currently living happily together in the garden where they are very safe, have beds, shelter, food and water.
As a vulnerable person I endured three and half months in lockdown alone, I think these cats truly saved my sanity. I am now six weeks into recovery from a total hip replacement operation (very difficult living alone)! My greatest worry has been who can help me look after the cats as initially I could hardly do anything for myself let alone the poor cats.
My friends have been just fabulous helping, neither me or the cats would have come through this without them, we all owe them a great deal.
I miss giving the garden ones that extra bit of love and attention as only now am I able to hobble about on a crutch to go and see them. I just want to recover to be able to once again give them that extra attention and a few hugs that they all deserve.
It would be desirable to move to a smaller house, smaller garden as this house, grounds and the upkeep is too much for me, but what would happen to my outside furry babies??? - so here we are, just me and 24 rescued souls!
Oh by the way - I do believe I just had a glimpse of number 24!! ❤️
Alicante, Spain
