# Hi from Modesto, CA



## tigressbythetail (Dec 1, 2010)

Hi,
I am owned by 9 spoiled rotten brat cats. I also care for a colony of strays and ferals. I have a senior cat just diagnosed with ringworm and I have been reading one of the threads on it and would like to post a question under that thread. Last activity on that thread was in October. Is it okay to bring that thread back up? I've had cats all my life and I've never dealt with ringworm! 
Thanks.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Welcome!

That's a lot of cats!!

(You can start your own thread if you like.)


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Welcome! NINE cats...Wow!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Welcome! We've got nine, also. And a momcat, tomcat and four kittens for the barn.
I also TNR (momcat/tomcat and kitts) and tame/socialize for public adoption.
...AND...I grew up in TRACY, CA! Mom and Sis still live in Tracy.


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## tigressbythetail (Dec 1, 2010)

*Thanks for the welcome...*

And now I forgot what I was going to ask...:?


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## tigressbythetail (Dec 1, 2010)

*My 9 Lives*

I've never had so many cats at one time before, and they will all be two years old April 2nd! I didn't intend to keep them but I fell madly in love with them. If you had told me this was a possibility I would have told you you were crazy. 

Here's how it happened, if you're interested.

The year they came into my life, I lost my two old dogs within a few months of each other. Wiley, who was sixteen and Teddi, fifteen. One thing I've learned about myself over the years is that if there is a hole in my heart, and these guys left a huge one, I will attract animals to fill it. So this time I made my mantra 'no more dogs, no more dogs, no more dogs.' I still had Boomer, who is twelve now, and he was enough. Well, I should have been more specific. I have found the universe or God or whatever you want to call it has a sense of humor. Instead of sending me another dog it dropped nine kittens in my lap. Ha ha, very funny.

They were born to two feral mothers I had had no luck in taming or capturing. One rainy night, Lady, which is what I came to call her, showed up at the door looking miserable and desperate. When I opened the door she didn't run like usual, but instead looked up at me and very clearly asked for my help. I invited her in. Very smart girl, Lady. She was obviously ready to pop so I prepared a comfy bed for her in our spare bathroom where she happily went to nest. She had five kittens by morning. Next day I found four newborns in our patio so I placed them with her and she accepted them with no problem. Within the next few days though, I realized she was overwhelmed and figured that I was going to have to help her out with feedings. Then the mother of the four showed up, crying pitifully as she looked for her babies. I lured her into the house with one of them and she followed me into the bathroom that had become the kitten nursery, where she stayed for the next eight weeks. I'll tell you what, I was happy to see her go. She was a royal ***** the entire eight weeks, not like Lady, who tamed down to be a real sweetheart. As soon as the babies were weaned, I took both mamas to be spayed and Gracie (a very poor name choice, since she was anything but graceful) went back outdoors to live with visitation rights. Lady stayed awhile longer but eventually chose to live outdoors also, but visits regularly and is fat and healthy today. 

So, my plan for the kittens was to s/n them and find homes but in waiting for them to become old enough for surgery, I fell madly in love. They made me laugh again after the deaths of my dogs. As each one were spayed, my poor, sweet husband would say, 'And now you're going to find homes for them, right?' Right! Eventually I told him, 'if you can find me nine responsible people who will love and care for them as much I will, then I will...think about it.' He stopped asking and fell in love with them too. They are a wonderful bunch, fat and happy (except for one, which I would like to address with her own thread). They are indoor/outdoor kitties, and for the most part, except on rainy days, they choose to be outdoor the majority of the time. As long as they check in with me once a day, I don't worry about them anymore. It was either accept their independence or go crazy with worry. They have taught me two things. They are not dogs and I need to let go. I have collars with ID on all of them. I thought about microchipping them but after a talk with their vet, decided the id collars were a better bet because the odds of a cat being in a situation where they will be scanned aren't good. 

Okay, so in addition to the nine lives I claim as my very own, I have inherited my mother's four cats. Then there is Scooter, an old bobtail who adopted my husband after he came home from Iraq. That's another story. I also feed strays and ferals, and everytime I think I have them all under control, someone else joins who isn't s/n. Currently, I have a wild black mama cat with five kittens, one of whom I am nursing through URV. Also, a neighbor dropped a kitten off on me a few months ago, barely weaned, claiming she found it in her yard and they couldn't keep it. I tried to refuse, but when she said, 'Well what do you want me to do with it? Drop it in the street?' I held out my hands and took her. What else could I do? 

So this is how I became the Crazy Cat Lady. God help me. :kittyturn


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

tigressbythetail said:


> I held out my hands and took her. What else could I do?


Hold out your hands to take the kitten and use your dominant foot to boot neighbor in the bahookie as she turned to leave. _Or at least *thought* about doing that to her._ :wink


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## tigressbythetail (Dec 1, 2010)

Heidi n Q said:


> Hold out your hands to take the kitten and use your dominant foot to boot neighbor in the bahookie as she turned to leave. _Or at least *thought* about doing that to her._ :wink


LOL, later I thought about it. I let a good a teaching moment slip by. Instead I just melted and then got mad about it later. Layla is around 12 weeks now and believes herself to be a princess. Raised without littermates, she's like a spoiled only child. Oh well, always room for one more. (Famous last words of a crazy cat lady)


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## 32TinyPaws (Dec 4, 2010)

Wowza thats a LOT of kitties. But who am I to talk I have 6 small dogs and 2 cats. I live in Acampo just outside of Galt. Glad to meet a local!


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## Jan Rebecca (Oct 14, 2010)

Welcome to the forum!


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## catmandoo (Dec 6, 2010)

tigressbythetail, I enjoyed reading your cat story. You have a cat farm my friend.


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

tigressbythetail, that is wonderful that you open your heart and home to these cats. Bless you!


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## tigressbythetail (Dec 1, 2010)

Sometimes I think I'm crazy. I know a lot of people think I'm crazy. Does anyone watch 'Animal Hoarders' on Animal Planet? It scares me.


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