Sh'rae- My Little Feral Cat Friend

by Anna Douglas
(Belfast, Northern Ireland)

I worked at a local hospital which had may feral cats living on the grounds. Quite often you could see litters of kittens following their mother in search of food from the dustbins. One day an email was sent to staff saying that 2 of the kittens had fallen through the roof and were possibly injured but they were wild and no one would lift them. I used to volunteer at the Cats Protection League and was used to dealing with feral and wild cats so decided to see if I could help. The kittens were around 3 weeks old and although they were so tiny and still had their eyes closed they were hissing and quite obviously upset.

A nurse decided to take one of the kittens and I took the other although we were unsure if they would survive. After many weeks of night feeds and care Sh'rae got stronger and more independent.

We decided that if she didn't want to stay with us we would at least have her spayed and any injections that were needed and let her make her own decision. All the while she stayed out of our way and would only come out of hiding for food.

After having a small litter of kittens (2) we had her spayed and got all necessary injections. We thought that as she was not comfortable around people that she may leave and not come back, however having the kittens seemed to have tamed her a little. We kept one of the kittens and a friend took the other one.

Six years on Sh'rae is still living with us and everyday she is becoming a lot friendlier although she is still wild at heart. We often have little 'presents' left for us.

Anna Douglas

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