I'm so very sad. I have to start finding new homes for my kittens.

[Maddy McCall]

I am going to keep two of the kittens. The mother will be spayed in two weeks.

But that leaves three kittens for whom I have to find new homes. I think I have a home for one of them, with a good friend of mine. But the other two--no homes yet.

But here's the tough part. Their mother gave birth to the kittens while she was sitting in my lap (of course I had towels under her). I had to help her on the first two kittens, but she did fine after that....

But I feel like these babies are mine. They are almost seven weeks old now, and they all are so loveable. They climb up on the couch and sleep on me. They meow at me when they are hungry. The mother has weaned them, so I guess they transfered their affection to me.

How do I let them go without crying me eyes out? How can I make sure that their new homes are perfect for them? How can I not keep all of them?

Advice and kind words are appreciated. :cry:

[Bouncy Ball]

1. I'm so sorry.

:hug:

No advice, sorry. But did you mean for this to be in the lounge?

[Maddy McCall]

2. Oh, shit!

Yes, I did. :D

[beam me up scottie]

3. You did good.

I took in 5 orphans when they were a few days old and bottle fed them.
If you can find good homes for your babies, rejoice.
You will cry and you will miss them but finding them a home and a family who will love and take care of them is the best gift you can give.
That is so much more than many other pets will ever know.
You did good.

[Maddy McCall]

4. Thanks so much...

I just want to know that whoever gets them will take good care of them...keep them inside, not declaw them, take them to the vet when they need to go, but most of all, love them.

Thanks so much for your words. :hugs:

[beam me up scottie]

5. When I am lucky enough

to find an adaptive family for one of my foster kittens, I always make sure they know to bring him or her back to me if things don't work out.
It gives me peace of mind.

:hug:

[Maddy McCall]

7. Thanks for that suggestion.

I will certainly give the adoptive families permission to contact me and bring them back if they don't work out.

[SoCalDem]

10. I have bottle fed two litters from birth, and I will tell you this

It is sooooo hard to give them up, but you should...and once you do, don't ask about them.. No one will take care of or love "your babies" like YOU would, but they deserve to have their own human, and once they are grown, you wind up with A LOT of cats (like we did)..

Two of the kittens we placed, ended up getting out of the homes we placed them in, and it broke my heart to find that out.. I can only hope that some other kind soul found them and loved them.. That cured me from ever asking..and is a great reason to place them with people you do not know:)

Call your vet.. Sometimes they know of a family who has just lost a dear cat, and might be ready to adopt a kitten..or they might have a bulletin board that you could put pictures on :)

It hurts like hell to give away your babies..:cry: But it's the right thing to do :)

[meow2u3]

6. A litter of born lap cats--literally!

So whoever gets the kitties will have a pleasant surprise, known as a lap cat, even though parting will be bittersweet for you.

Suggestion for finding new homes for the kittens:
Download and print out some animal adoption contract forms (they should be on cat fancier sites). Require references, including at least one from a vet. Put a clause in the contract requiring that the kitten be an indoor-only cat (these are a few I suggest).
That should let you get kitties a new home without keeping you awake at night worrying about how the kids are being treated.

[Maddy McCall]

8. I will have problems finding homes for them, with or without contract.

There are so many kittens in the paper being given away right now. And on the radio classified column. I keep thinking that I'm just going to be lucky to find a home. Then I think "what kind of home will I find for them?" And then I tend to think, "Well, I'll just keep them all and get them all fixed."

*sigh*

[Tallison]

11. Kind of like you've already done here...

Ask among all the fanatical cat lovers/doters you know locally. There's probably only 2 or 3 degrees of separation between all of us in existence. Network! Just placed a foster kitten Monday to a woman who recently just lose her husband and old cat within a year of each other. She knew a woman I knew from work who also loves cats. I realized it was a good match when I got to her house and she already had $100 worth of stuff already bought for the little guy and we spent about 3 hours discussing how perfect he was together. I'll call her in a couple days to see how it's going...

[Floogeldy]

9. Why don't you just keep the three kittens?

Why do you have to find new homes for them?

}(

[Maddy McCall]

14. I barely have room for the mother cat and the schnauzer....

And I travel a great deal with my work.

[NMMNG]

12. I feel for you

I'd have a hard time giving all of them away, wondering if they'd be happy and well cared for. But at the same time, there's only so many cats one can care for at a time...

Best wishes to you in your search for new homes for the kitties, Maddy. :hug:

[Floogeldy]

13. Seriously . . .

I think the cat giving birth on Maddy's lap, with towels under her, was a set up. The cat didn't make that choice. I suspect Maddy did so she could "help with the first two." What's up with that?

And why wasn't the mom spade prior to this pregnancy? WHO let her run wild around the neighborhood and get knocked up in the first place?

[Maddy McCall]

16. Obviously you haven't read earlier threads about this topic.

And, with your shitty attitude, I feel no obligation to explain the history to you.

[Maddy McCall]

15. Thanks, Buffy.

I know there are good homes out there. I will just have to work to find them. :)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

17. I've went through this once myself

It's heartbreaking. The only advice I have to offer is do your very best to make sure they have good homes. It helps to make the loss easier if you know for sure they are going to someone you can trust to care and love them.

Other than that, I'll offer you a hug of support. :hug:

[Maddy McCall]

18. Thanks, Lone Star Dem.

Thanks so much. :hug:

[Maddy McCall]

19. Kick

[xmas74]

20. Ask your local vet if you can hang up a sign

w/ the pictures on it. A pet owner who takes their pet to the vet is someone more positive about pet ownership than the average Joe. Also, contact some area nursing homes and assisted living centers. Sometimes they will keep a dog or cat (usually in a back room for sleeping purposes) as a form of therapy. Let them know that you will give them the kitten for free. If you can find a setup like that for a kitten you will have a very happy kitten. S/he will get plenty of love from both the staff and the patients. Or you can even contact area churches and find out from local pastors if there is someone older who is looking for a pet. Some of our local pastors will recommend that their members who have recently lost a spouse get a pet (both for company and it also gives them someone to care for). It will help not just the kitten but also the grieving person.

[Maddy McCall]

21. I will do that.

Nursing homes here don't have pets in them. But you give me an idea to see if I can bring my pets in occassionally to visit patients.

[xmas74]

22. They might allow that.

It's wonderful to watch the residents eyes light up when they see a pet. And one of the staff might volunteer to take a kitten home when they see one (w/ the promise that they will bring it back for visits).
My vet used to participate in a program that gave away pets for free to the elderly and shut-ins. They would neuter or spay them, keep them up to date on vaccinations and give the new owner a "starter kit" of litter, food, brushes and various little odds and ends (like a toy or a free sample of something). You might want to find out if anyone around there does that. It's a fantastic program that benefits everyone involved.

[yellowdogintexas]

23. check around for "Eden Protocol"..nursing homes & care centers

that have live in animals. My auntie was in one in Okla City and it was a neat place.

Not fancy, rather plain. But definitely the best patient atmosphere of all the places I toured trying to find a good fit for her.

They even let us place her own doggie there and he stayed with her until he died. He was totally spoiled rotten by the other residents.

The Grace Living Centers is a large chain of care facilities and owned the one in OK City.