Abby

Mate to OJ and Mother to OJ Family

With OJ already learning to live a new life inside, Abby heard his coo. Calling to her day and night. She finally got adventurous enough to come up on the porch to check on him. She was more tame than OJ and that should have tipped me off. Usually mama cats will suck you in by being sweet and affectionate then, bam here comes all the kids she wants you to help her take care of now! Yes, that is exactly what Abby did, she wanted in the house so badly to get near OJ she begged and begged. I did let her in, but I need to be a bit careful. I had 3 of my own cats I brought with me from Utah (Emshee, Ishmish and Kitten) plus OJ and his brothers (Socks and Tigger). I did bring her in and she was sweet, she wanted to pet franticly. Her ear was tipped and belly looked like it was shaved. I thought she was a TNR. But her ear was so infected. It was a ragged cut and swollen, inflammation and so painful. I treated her ear when she came in and it was getting better. I picked her up and noticed her tummy was wet. That's when I noticed it....she was lactating. She had kittens somewhere. She would be calm and excited to be inside then suddenly demand to be let back outside. The coming and going should have tipped me off.

All around the house on the top of the mountain was a forest but before you go to the forest there were wild black berry bushes everywhere, lining the drive way and the outer parameter of the yard. She would escape through the blackberry bushes. Big long thorns didn't stop her when it was time to go. Once I found she had kittens, I said to her Abby, you need to bring me those kittens they can't live out in the wilderness like that.
The next morning, I spot Licorice, a tiny baby, sitting on a log outside of the window. she was just a tiny muffin. I went out to get her and she scrambled away into the blackberries. Then later that day kittens just kept coming out of the bushes. I saw Abby laying out in the grass in the yard nursing her babies. OJ sitting at the window cooing letting them know he was there.

She came in again, I told her you have to get the kittens on the porch Abby, its so dangerous out there. We had wild animals showing up all of the time. The next day, she brought her family of 4 up onto the porch. They were wild and crazy and definitely not going to be touched or caught. I tried putting out traps which didn't work at all. They were too tiny to trip them. After a few days, I told Abby you are going to have to help me get these kittens. That evening, I opened the door to feed them and Abby ran into i sat the plate down, she ran to the door and call for one then showed him where the food was, then ran to the door calling each of them four times she bravely called them and each one ran inside not knowing what was about to happen. She looked up at me like "here they are, now what?" I quietly close the door. The OJ family was complete. Abby is the sweetest mother, but she also if the first to correct them. In fact, if she gets other kittens in the house she corrects them too. She doesn't think anyone is mothering correctly so she shows them how it's done! She is such a good mom!

I found out that one of the neighbors down the mountain had been hoarding feral cats. He got into trouble and caught each cat, shaved their tummies and cut off the tip of their ear to make it appear they were all fixed through a TNR program. They had not been. He put so many at risk. Poor Abby her little ear is pretty mangled but she is beautiful and has the most beautiful soul and personality.

Since moving to the south, I have found Abby is allergic to something down here. All of her fur on her legs and underneath has fallen out. She has been treated but nothing seems to work. One more reason we are looking to sell the place and move back to the mountain west. Too many fleas and allergies down here for all of us but it effects Abby the most.