# Really excited new member!



## Constiful (Aug 10, 2013)

Hi everyone!


I'm CatForum's newest member from Ireland  I've never lived without a cat in my life and I absolutely adore them! At the moment I have 20 (yes, THAT many!) cats of my own and 6 fosters. I also have 5 dogs and a foster ferret. I do lots of work with my local animal rescue centre which is why the volume of animals is so big!

For those of you who are understandably worried about my having all those cats: I am absolutely not a hoarder. All my cats are neutered and completely happy and healthy. We're living in a really rural area surrounded by fields down a no-through road and the cats happily come in and out of the house and huge barn that we have in the garden as they please.

I've joined this forum to get to know other cat-fanatics as sadly I don't come across them too often  I also feel like I have a lot of experience with a wide variety of cat behaviours and ailments etc. and I'd like to share some of that with people who might be interested and find it useful 

I think I should leave it there as this is turning out to be quite a long introduction and I could just keep going on and on!

Anyway, it's nice to meet you all and I'm very much looking forward to being a part of this community 


P.S. I was going to include a run-down of the names etc. of all the cats but I was worried it would be too long and tedious ...


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Constiful! From Ireland! Welcome!!
Looking forward to your stories and pictures!


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## KaBOOM! (Jun 14, 2013)

Welcome to the forum! Another Irish person here but with only one kitty  

Looking forward to hearing about your cats, the list of names (with pictures of course!) will be very welcome here


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you live in paradise. Oh to be surrounded by so many happy, healthy cats!!!


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## cattygurl (Aug 9, 2013)

Hi Constiful, tell us the names! And Show us a photo


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## Constiful (Aug 10, 2013)

Okay, here goes:

*Felix* (often known as Mister Fee) was the first cat I got after we moved to the house I'm in now. We only had one other cat before he arrived (Shrimpy who has since passed away :'( )He's around 7 now we think, black and white, and I reckon he has a bit of British Shorthiar in him judging by his build and personality. He loves to talk and will rarely venture outside unless he has human company.

*Sweep and Sylvester* are probably 3 and a half now. They were the last two of a group of 8 kittens that we fostered. We kept them because nobody wanted them  ... I can't think why - they're gorgeous! Sweep is HUGE and black but he goes brown in the summer and is honestly the doziest cat I've ever come across. He isn't frightened of anything, not cars, tractors, dogs or strangers. Once he went into the van of a workman we had at the house and stole the ham out of his sandwiches! :lol: Sylvester, on the other hand, is small and black and white. He loves a cuddle but will run away from anything and anyone that he doesn't know. He used to have a really cool tail that would lie almost flat on his back when he was happy but sadly it was injured somehow and it went necrotic so it had to be amputated  He now has a little stump which is kinda cute.

*Kurt* is another massive black cat. We got a call from a man in a town near us saying he had cats that he needed to rehome and asked us to take them. He swore he'd foot the bill for neutering, vaccinations etc. if we could just take them off him. So stupidly we went down and collected his mother cat and 3 kittens but later on when they were all treated he refused to foot the bill. He even told us that if we took them back he would just dump them in the river  So we managed to get homes for the mother and two female kittens but because Kurt was pretty much feral we kept him. It's safe to say he's no longer feral - he's the biggest, softest cat you're ever likely to meet although he still has a problem with strangers.

*Jess* was a stray black and while kitten at a warehouse shop. A lady who works there is the head of the local SPCA and she managed to tame Jess and get her neutered etc. but the owner of the shop refused to have her around any more so we were asked to take her. She's quite a lazy girl, she spends most of her time on the sofa and will climb on to your lap and purr like a lorry as soon as you sit down.

*Jay* started out as a foster kitten too. We hand reared him and his sisters from about 2 weeks old as they were orphaned. Thankfully his sisters found a home together but we couldn't bear to part with him so he stayed. He's another black cat and life for him is all about food and playing since he's only just passed the year mark.

*Piggle Poggle* came to us when another SPCA member found him straying. He was only a kitten and she couldn't get him to eat or stop crying. He's a really unusual colour: he's long-haired with a white bib and feet but the rest of him has a sort of bluish-white undercoat with browny tips to the hairs. Naturally we couldn't do anything but keep a cat as stunning as him 

*Baby D* was hand reared from about a week old. His real name is Dylan but we call him Baby D. He was being carried up the lane by one of the feral toms we have around. We feared the worst for him so we took him off the feral and raised him ourselves. He's a really lean tabby with an incredibly long tail. We couldn't get him off the bottle until he was about 2 months old and now whenever I wear anything fluffy he puts his front paws up on my legs to be picked up and then kneads and sucks at the fabric. It's a bit gross but he's so adorable when he does it that I don't have the heart to say no.

*Munchkin and Pumpkin*: we got these two around November last year. They were orphaned and so we took them in to hand rear from about 3 weeks. The lady had brought them to the vet who told her to feed them Shredded Wheat and milk and said they'd be fine (This guy is the worst vet ever, I honestly have no words for him - he's a disgrace and never does anything properly or with any care but that's a whole other story!). Naturally they didn't thrive so we took them on. The lady was determined that she would have them back when they were old enough and would every week to begin with to see how they were but then she lost interest and we couldn't get hold of her when they were ready so they stayed. Pumpkin is a calico and Munchkin is tortie and they've never really grown beyond the size of a 5-6 month old kitten.

*Jeanie* has a really long story behind her involving my mum and a woman that we refer to as 'the crazy cat woman'. I won't go into the details as this post is already incredibly long but the guards and all sorts were involved. Jeanie is a lovely big tortie, very placid and happy to just lay about and do her own thing.

*Penny, Fudge and Tuppence* are three little black girls that were part of a group of 6 black kittens we fostered. We managed to home one ourselves and the cattery took two in exchange for Annie so we were left with these three. Penny is a little reserved and prefers not to be picked up and cuddled but that's all the other two want. Tuppence has the most magnificent big amber eyes and talks to you non-stop.

*Monsty* so called because he was a massive fat white and black cat when he arrived. He appeared in the barn one day covered in motor oil - it looked as though he had waded through a vat of it! We took him to the vet to get it cleaned off and he was neutered at the same time. We let him out expecting him to return to wherever he had come (he's a real pet so we assumed he had a home somewhere) but he's never left our garden since.

*Precious* is another black and white cat. She's not the prettiest thing in the world but she's very affectionate. She was living in somebody's outbuildings with her kittens and they weren't welcome so my mum and I went to catch her. The kittens were feral and quite vicious and we sadly only managed to get one but we left a trap there for the others.

*Smudge* is the kitten (although now she's a cat) that we managed to catch with Precious. She's black and white too and has legs like a supermodel. She still doesn't like people but she will come over to you with the other cats when they have their wet food as long as you don't try to touch her.

*Socks* came from a couple in Dublin. The woman had just become pregnant and had developed a cat allergy so they had to rehome their two cats. They'd had Socks and Patch from kittens and they were indoor only cats so when they came to us Socks was completely smitten with the outdoors and he rarely wants to come back in the house. Patch was rehomed very quickly but Socks seemed so happy here that we just let him stay.

*Sage* is a tabby and white boy. He came from the same lady who gave us Piggle Poggle but he's incredibly nervous. He's happy to go off and do his own thing exploring most of the time and only really comes home to eat but we love him anyway 

I hope I haven't missed anyone! I have a niggling feeling that I have though ... :/

For some reason the photos won't upload. Perhaps I was trying to do too many or the files were too big or something? I don't know but I'll keep trying.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Oh my goodness! The stories of your kitties are amazing! Can't wait for pictures! Once you get it figured out!


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## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

Your passion for the cats comes through in your descriptions. How lucky they are.


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## Catlover Danielle (Jul 31, 2013)

I can't wait for pics, too.. And I thought I had my hands full with my 6 and then my 12 fosters.... Phew!!

Oh and almost forgot WELCOME!!


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## JungliBillis (Mar 20, 2013)

Whoa! That's a lot of cats! Would love to see pics and hear what it's like living with that many cats!

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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

That is pretty awesome! Love the stories. They are so lucky to be with you! You have a wonderful heart for those little ones. Can't wait to see pictures of them.


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## KaBOOM! (Jun 14, 2013)

Wow! Good on you for helping out all of those cats  I'd imagine life can get pretty hectic at times, but it must be worth it. I'm sure every one of them gives back to you in their own way. I'm also looking forward to seeing pictures and to hearing some of the individual cat's stories in full.


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## Constiful (Aug 10, 2013)

Hi all,

Thank you for all the kind words  It means a lot hearing from other people who are as enthusiastic about all the cats as I am!

I had to resize all the photos so that they were much smaller but even then it took about 1/2 an hour for them to upload ... the joys of slow broadband!

There aren't pictures of all the cats. Mainly because I could only upload 10 but also because I'm on the new laptop and the vast majority of my photos are on the old one.

So from left to right as I'm seeing them on the preview we have: Socks; Baby D; Piggle Poggle, Kurt, Felix and Baby D snuggling; Piggle Poggle, Jay, Sweep, Felix, Kurt and Jess on top of the sofa; Felix; Kurt; Baby D getting a cuddle from Sylvester's back legs; Sweep in his Father Christmas costume; Munchkin and Pumpkin when they were kittens in festive hats; and I couldn't resist the one of Rusty our Basenji mix 

Oh, and I forgot *Bella* in my list yesterday. Sorry Bella!  She's a little black girl, we don't really have an age for her but she's a mature lady. We took her from the cattery because she was getting absolutely no interest from anyone and the stress was getting to her. At first she was very antisocial with most of the other cats - she bullied Jess horribly  but then an acquaintance of ours offloaded a cat, Fergus, onto us that they didn't want any more and he bullied everyone even more than her. Obviously he didn't stay too long but it was easy to find him a home since he was a magnificent, huge tabby and white boy who just wanted attention from people. Ever since then Bella's calmed down a lot. Strangely she's bonded with the feral colony and is quite happy to have them rubbing around her but still wants nothing to do with all of the other cats - at least she just walks away from them now rather than attacking!


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

Wow. You've got quite a crew! Isn't it funny,they just WIN YOU OVER! And you can't say no! Welcome to the catforum!


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## Wannabe Catlady (Aug 6, 2012)

Wow, such great stories and such beautiful kitties!!


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## camskyw (Jan 10, 2012)

Wow- the cuteness you have going on there!!!! Love the cat sofa! I'm sure you stay really busy with all that fur! lol Welcome!


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## JungliBillis (Mar 20, 2013)

Awww they are so cuuute! I want to dive into that cat sofa and snuggle with them


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

OMG! Its Kitty Heaven on Earth! 
Bless you for having such a Big Heart! ♡♡


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## KaBOOM! (Jun 14, 2013)

I love those pictures! I so wish I had the resources to do what you do but unfortunately it will be a few years before I am secure enough financially to add some more fuzziness to my family


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

wow what a crew! Your countryside looks gorgeous! Nice place for animals to live in. Welcome to CF!


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## wallycat (Nov 10, 2012)

Welcome and what a lovely post!


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## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

I love seeing all the cats getting along so well. And I like the photo of the dog too!


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