Anyone here willing to foster/adopt a feral cat?

We call her "Wild Queen Mab". Her coat is a strong dilute calico pattern that has brought comparison to Mucha & watercolour painting and she has incandescent yellow-green eyes. She's somewhere between 1 & 2yrs old, recently weaned a happy & healthy litter of kittens, and has been through a lot. We're hoping to avoid the "sterilise, notch, release" thing if possible, because we believe she deserves a chance at a safer and more comfortable life. She shows potential as a pet, but only for someone who has the patience to let her work through hard-earned fear & mistrust of humans. She could do well as an outdoor kitty as long as she had a homebase with attentive, supportive people away from busy streets and bitey dogs. She's a sterling huntress and can jump more than 6' straight from the floor. She has a health fund that will get her fully tested, vaccinated, wormed, and spayed at Emancipet or Animal Trustees of Austin - we'll make necessary arrangements to take care of this portion of her care before leaving for her new home.

If not, perhaps you'd consider a kitten or two?

Wild Queen Mab's Motley Brood consists of four rambunctious characters more than ready for new homes (~8wks old). They all need full vetting ASAP - if you've other pets at home, it should be before they get there. We'd prefer these babies go to homes planning to keep them indoor-only with supervised outdoor time. They all love toys, are extremely playful, and have superlative litterbox manners. One will be leaving Saturday morning, but we aren't sure which - we'll know by 9am.

Grey Tabby is one of two boys. His bat-like ears, huge grey-green eyes, Pink Panther muzzle, and long tail make him quite the entertaining ball of energy to watch. He's a fearless explorer most of the time, inheritor of Mab's jumping ability. Loves to tussle. Not afraid of meeting other household kitties; not sure how he feels about dogs. He's in the constant movement phase, but shows his cuddle-bug tendencies easily. Enjoys being up on shoulders. Responds to sweet talk and eye contact, very responsive to "nuh-uh" noises when he's doing something he shouldn't. Extremely intelligent - could learn tricks & advanced commands. He can be paired with the Calico if someone wanted two kittens (always a great idea, especially if you're out of the house many hours of the day). Could also go with Mab.

Champagne Tabby is the other boy. He has a fox-like face and ears with unexpectedly complex markings. His almond-shaped eyes are a clear seafoam green. His cute pink paw pads, nose, and all other visible skin gives him a bunny-cute factor. Definitely no dummy. Openly cuddly and also enjoys sweet talk. Not as bold as he may seem at first - he's a bit worried about the big, wide world and will need some reassurance for each new adventure. Enjoys burrowing, creating caves, and chasing anything that moves. Does respond to instructive noises. Could be paired with the Calico girl for extra super kitten fun. Cannot go with Mab (he competes with her for food).

Calico is going to be a long-hair. She's already fluffy, with curly-cue whiskers and a caterpillar of a tail. Between her all-over splotches of colour and big cottonball paws, she's ready to knock you down with adorableness. Intent on finding out where everything is, she's eager to wander and adventure. Champion burrower. Not afraid to meet other kitties or people at all. Very much an independent character who will let you know when she's ready for pets or cuddles. Believes she's royalty. A classic long-hair, she's going to need help with grooming (brushing, occasional washcloth to hard-to-reach areas). Enjoys human chit-chat but is in her own fuzzy world most of the time. Could be paired with any other kitten or Mab.

Dark Tabby is the other girl. With a pixie-ish face, bobcat-ish tufts at the ends of her ears, elaborate facial markings, and canted, moss-green eyes, she's the Nermal of the bunch - she knows she's cute and likes to use it to her advantage. She's also the runt and is going to be a petite cat. Loves to pose, vogue, and otherwise show off her cuteness. The cuddliest and most lovey of all four, her delight at sweet-talk and being addressed means a super-responsive kitten who needs someone with time to give her the love & interaction she craves. Enjoys game-type play (mazes, peek-a-boo, chase) as well as toys, and is the gentlest when tussling with human parts. Needs tender-handed treatment due to being a bit sensitive to rough handling. Best pairing matches would be Mab or the Calico.

Maybe you could help some other way? If you can't take a kitten or Mab, we're also interested in any help at all with getting the kittens vetted - we're not in a situation to do more than providing a safe, active, loving, well-nourished beginning (see below), and anything that could make it easier for them to find homes would be welcome and appreciated. If you can only provide ideas we can give to interested parties on how to get their kittens vetted affordably or to take advantage of existing programs (we already know about Emancipet & ATA), that's a big help. If you happen to have some kitten wash (safe for kittens 8wks or younger) you don't need, we could use that immediately to get the grunge off before they head out to new homes. Someone who could give Mab a ride for vetting would be hugely appreciated!

A video (takes a bit to load; sorry!) from when they were much younger (complete with inaccurate sexing!). We don't have a camera and the vidcam quit soon after that video was made, unfortunately.

All are available for visits 10am-8pm on Saturday, 12am-6pm Sunday, and as convenient during the week. Leave a comment or email me (jgmckelvy, gmail) to set up appointments &/or get more info on anything.

Details on how they came to stay with us...
The fella found them in a bed of dead canna lilies in front of the abandoned building next door just before the second round of February freezes. He noticed the mama was very weak and scraggly, and the kittens ~2wks old. They were born in the 1st week of February, so she'd already expended most of her energy getting them through the first freezes. Between anti-cat folks and a neighbourhood full of bitey dogs, we decided to set up a safer place for them. They spent a little bit in a souped-up carrier with twice-daily food & water deliveries (and kitten milk replacement for the Queen, to rebuild her strength).

When the rains returned and it was clear the kittens were intent on exploring outside the carrier (putting them back in harm's way), we decided to move them into our apartment. With existing resident cats (meaning Mab & Brood would require quarantine due to unvetted status), both of us unemployed (limited supplies), and me pregnant (many precautions there), this was a bit more challenging than any other fostering we've ever done. But no other place was available and we wanted them all to have a chance. We had no idea we'd be keeping them all the way to adoptability, but that's how it worked out and we're glad to have had the opportunity to be part of their beginning in the world as well as giving Mab time to work through the entire kitten experience in a safe place. They're more than ready to end their sequestering, and we're eager to see them placed in happy homes ready to give them all the love and care they deserve.

Re-post/share this anywhere you like - any good people who want to give a great home to deserving kitties are welcome to inquire!
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