Well, little miss Lilly is working out very well. The older two male cats seem to like her (or at least to put up with her kittenish behaviour) and the dog is (as expected) terrified of her. It is so funny to watch a 6 pound kitten push a 26 pound dog around.

Took her to the vet the Monday after we brought her in and she is happy and healthy. No parasites and FIV and FeLK negative. The vet estimates that Lilly was about 16 weeks - so she's now 18 weeks old.

On a sad note - last night when my husband and daughter were trick-or-treating they went by the house that owns Lilly's mom and guess who's pregnant again? Yup. Lilly's mom. There are still a couple kittens from her last litter hanging around and she's pregnant again.

I just called our local Animal Control department and apparently our County doesn't have any leash laws for cats and they cannot force someone to spay or neuter their cat.

So I think I'm going to buy a humane trap and trap kittens as they appear and take them to a shelter.

I'm also going to report them to the Homeowners' Association since there are bylaws in our community regulating the number of pets someone can own. I also plan to send them a letter with information on two local low-cost spay/neuter programs.

I'm just so frustrated that our county can't/won't do anything about this. UGH!

Good for you for taking the initiative! :up: And I'm glad to see things working out in your home amongst your animals.

It is so frustrating to live near people who won't take care of their pets - but you are being a saint! I'm glad Lilly is working out.

Here is the letter I am going to send to the house that the cat "belongs" to:

Dear Neighbor,

Over the past several years we have watched your dear calico cat have numerous litters of apparently unplanned and unwanted kittens. Last night we noticed that she appears to be pregnant again.

I am sure that you love your dear calico. Please, if you love her and if you care for her kittens at all, please have your cat spayed. Each year in the United States an estimated 6 to 8 million unwanted cats and dogs enter animal shelters. And each year 3 to 4 million of those cats and dogs are euthanized because there simply aren’t enough homes for them and the shelters cannot care for them all. I implore you to stop contributing to this overwhelming and heart-wrenching problem.

I am including the names and phone numbers of several low-cost spay/neuter programs and some information from the Humane Society of the United States about why you should have your beautiful cat spayed.


Edited to include the changes I made to the letter.

I wish you luck! Keep us posted as to how this turns out!

It makes me sick to see people letting their cats getting pregnant over and over again. It must be very hard on the mother cat, and the homeless kittens. I'm glad you are taking action, and that the kitten is well!

Good for you, MrsKey! I just wish there was something that animal control (or someone) could do. It's apparent they don't care about the cat if they're just letting her have litter after litter. I wonder if there were a small donation taken up to help pay for the spaying if they would then have her spayed?

Good for you. One of my family's late calicos came from a calico that kept having litter after litter. The litter after the one ours came from, she carried the kittens off to be abandoned. They tend to do that after too many litters. My aunt bottle fed the four they were able to find.