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Thought I would let everybody know what I have been doing lately. My daughter says I have completely lost my marbles.
We moved into a new home in June and didn’t know that we inherited a wild Manx cat that lives in our barn. Well Mama Manx had a batch of kittens. My daughter was cleaning the barn when she found them and one of the kids picked one up and says”We got kittens”. Well they placed the little black thing back where they got it but later that night mama Manx moved her kittens (3) but left the little black one behind. We kept watch and after 14 hours of being alone we brought the little black one inside. I started with an eye dropper, then the local vet provided me with a pet bottle and forumla that simulates mother’s milk.
We named her Sammy( first thought it was a boy). She is still very tiny but knowes my voice, holds her own bottle, bats a ball around the floor, purres, and cleans herself so it looks like this little runt is going to make it.
Story not over…..mama manx was hit by a car crossing the street. My daughter goes looking and finds two of the three kittens still hidden in the barn. Now by this time they are 4 weeks old. We don’t know what happened to the third kitten, perhaps it just didn’t make it. The two remaining are males and they have NO TAILs like mama. ( Sammy has a tail) These two are just beautiful; One a tabby stripe and the other a smokey gray stripe.
Well, guess what…they are not eatting on their own yet so I now have three babies to care for.
It is hard to believe when you see the three together that they are from the same litter. Sammy has a tail and is very tiny. The other two are double the size but very laid back. Sammy is curious and loves to explore the other two cuddle in the corner. Sammy already cleans herself the other two doesn’t. Sammy bats a ball around and the other two just looks at it. Sammy purres all the time and I have yet to hear the other two.
I already have good home found for them and you guessed it…I will keep Sammy. I was told their eyes open at about 10 days. I bottle fed Sammy 7 days before her eyes opened so I guess I became her mother when she was only three days old. I can’t give her to strangers. Call me a crazy old woman .
Aren’t Manx cats wild? Is it possible to keep them as pets? It sounds like Sammy may be half regular cat.
“The Manx is a huggable, lovable imp with a silken purr, an almost inaudible meow and a naughty twinkle in its eye. It spends every waking moment investigating its world.
A Manx will gravitate to the center of your home and insist upon being one of the family. It possesses an uncanny ability to adapt itself to the psychological needs of its people. In a home with children who have been taught gentle animal care, they are often found in the children’s playroom, actively supervising the movement of dump trucks and doll carriages.
Tho Sammy was born with a tail (I am told this is not impossible for a Manx) she still has the back legs of the Manx just like those of her two brothers. The back legs resemble those of a rabbit.
Update on babies: They are all three now eatting on their own and useing the litter box. They go to the vet next week for their first shots and the two boys Andy and Smokey will go to their new homes and families. We are keeping my little bottle baby, Sammy.
BTW Linda, Manx are not wild normally but in our neighborhood people have a way of dropping off their cats after they don’t want them anymore. Somebody dropped off two manx (probably sibblings) and that was the mother of these kittens. They were probably domestic cats at one time but have been on their own so now nobody can come within reach of them. We do have a family of bob cats living in the woods behind us and there are WILD.
Are manx and bob cat the same thing?
A bob cat’ll get twice as big as a regular cat —
It’s odd this one has a regular tail. Maybe they can crossbreed? thats interesting . . . I once had a neighbor who had a pet coyote. Good luck with it. I hope if you have other animals, they get along okay. I’d be too chicken to have a big cat . . . 🙂 Big dogs and okay and I love horses — but cats seem foreigh to me somehow. Well that’s my problem. ha ha
You made me think of a story I have about bob cats. I’ll put it on “funnty stories” part of this forum.
vance
I used to be a dog person, but now that we 1) live in the country where the dogs stay outside, 2) have a housefull of kids, I don’t care much for dogs. If they’re outside all the time THEY ARE DIRTY. All the time. House dogs aren’t bad, but yard dogs need to stay in the yard, which means I don’t get that attached. When you’re not attached there are little things that you really notice.
Like the other day, my daughter found a bowl with a few chicken livers I meant to cook last Friday, we went away for the weekend and came back home wondering, ‘what smells?’ hahaha. So my girl found the bowl of chicken livers and put them out on the deck. We’re talking stinkyEEE So, as I notice the bowl sitting out on the deck I see one of the dogs come along and scarf up the rotten livers.
Now if I were real friendly with that dog she’d proably be jumping up in my face looking for a kiss. NOT. I don’t get too cozy on dogs anymore.
But we have a cat in the house and she’s a lot of fun to watch, and as long as my boy keeps the litter box clean, there’s no stink and she’s always clean, and she’s never trying to kiss me, so I’m a cat person now.
Brenda:
If you are crazy, then a lot of us are. I have 3 cats that have all been rescued. My daughter used to volunteer at the Humane Society and fell in love with an older cat. Often, these are not adopted and end up euthanized. We had 3 others who had to be put to sleep on the same day for a variety of health problems and so, adopted another who had been abandoned to keep the remaining one company. Then the neighbor brought over a 3rd stray kitten that my husband insisted we adopt. Since both kids moved out this summer, they are company and are as spoiled as our kids were/are.
Cindy
Cindy, I think we moved into an neighborhood where everybody dumps their cats when they go to move etc. The first day here I looked out the window and seen at least 12 cats running into the neighbors yard from all directions. Since then I learned they are not hers but strays. She puts out a big bowl of milk and kibble in the AM and a bowl of kibble at night. She says they earn that by keeping the field mice away from the house. Trouble is that they are mulitplying. The mother of the kittens I have took over residence in our barn and I guess came with the house. We came onto them accidently and one of my grandchildren picked up the little one I call Sammy. Mother cat moved the others but left the one my friend picked up behind. Mother cat nursed the others for about 4 weeks before she was killed. We decided we didn’t want anymore wild cats so we brought them inside. We replaced the window and door on the barn and hope that there will be no more in our yard. It is not that we don’t like cats but born in the wild you have to worry about diseases and Vet bills for an animal that is not even yours. So far these little fellows have cost me amost $200.00 to save. The forumla is $7.30 for a 8 oz container. I hate to tell you how many of those I have used. Now the litter, soft cat food, dry cat food, and they all have to have their shots before I will release them to somebody else. I took them to the Vet last week for a check up and to be wormed…that cost me $59.00 and he gave me a break.
Oh well, they are wonderful to watch. They are playing with one another now and all eatting on their own. They get their shots next Monday and then off to their new homes. My daughter said she would disown me if I took on any more.
Brenda
Brenda:
I know what you are talking about. I grew up on a farm in one of those areas. People were always dropping off their dogs, especially the females, when they did not want to deal with spaying. I remember one Dalmation who had just had obviously just had puppies. Beautiful, friendly dog. We did not find the puppies. I suspect that only she was dumped. I wanted to keep her but Dad was also one of those who objected to additional cost for pets other than food. She disappeared one day. I suspect Dad got my brother-in-law to get rid of her.
Enjoy your Sammy. I enjoy the cats we rescued.
Cindy
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