A cat did WHAT in my garage?! (Story time) | Fortheloveofkittenrescue

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[@katethielen3883]

Kitten quality of life over kitten quantity of life

[@cactusqueen6125]

Agreed 100%

[@angelatait270]

Word.

[@CricketsBay]

Yes!

[@lindyjanekittel3987]

Mary, it's hard and sad but it is the right thing to do. Back in the day they did not spay females until nearly 6 months old and so many were already pregnant at that tender age. So many babies and not enough homes. A thousand blessings upon you for your amazing work and dedication and well done you for nearly completing your first year of vet school.

[@safaiaryu12]

Yeah. The six month old momma in this video made me feel sick. I'm amazed even one kitten survived. I remember being horrified when I found out kittens were now being spayed/neutered at three months, but... it clearly has to be done.

[@CricketsBay]

You're so right about not waiting until they're "old enough." Kittens can be spayed/neutered as early as 8 weeks of age. The ASPCA in NYC has a mobile spay/neuter bus which they take into various communities in the 5 Burroughs and 3 veterinarians spend the day spaying and neutering all animals the residents bring to the bus. It's the most-effective way to prevent pet overpopulation.

[@glowfi2516]

Since she gave birth in your garage, you gotta name all the kittens after car types/car brands, right? Also, thank you for all that you do. Every cat that comes out of Miss Dixie's has been happy and well adjusted kitties. The world is a better place with you in it.

[@eliontheinternet3298]

I love this idea 😂

[@kath5228]

Could name the mom mini van!

[@stephaniegrabowsky3660]

Thank you Mary and Bethany and all the amazing folks involved with Ms. Dixies. I'm currently fostering a very feral momma that should have been a spay abort. She is so unhappy being in a house and having to interact, even limitedly with people. Two of her original six babies died a few days after they were born. The remaining four will find good homes through the rescue I'm fostering for. The colony feeders said she's been pregnant twice before and all the babies died. Luckily she wont ever have to worry about any of that again. Shes getting fixed in about a week as her babies have started eating solid food!!!

[@safaiaryu12]

That's another amazing point... feral mommas being super stressed out, either outdoors protecting and feeding her babies, or indoors in a terrifying environment that she doesn't understand. 😢 Thank you for helping. Looking forward to her getting to go home!

[@ladyzarrku2566]

Thank you for making the hard choice! Doing spay-aborts must be hard on the vet team too if the mommas are far along. Tell your vet team we said thanks!!

[@freyja3120]

I'm so glad to see the understanding of reality reflected in the comments. I'm not going to pretend that I knew this was a common practice, since I'm not in the thick of things it never really crossed my mind. Obviously if we lived in a perfect world all kittens would be born to a world of endless treats and scritches, but that just isn't how it is. Thanks for making the hard but correct decisions in your work, and thanks for making a potentially controversial video which can educate people (like myself) who never thought about it. You're so amazing and I hope you know that!

[@thebuckeyegamer]

Thank you for doing the hard thing and the right thing for those cats. You and your team are amazing.

[@youngestchild1103]

Mom has to live in a cramped kitty apartment(normal crate) for a minute, but she's going to a kitty mansion (Foster). No problems here ❤

[@safaiaryu12]

I hate situations like this where there's not enough room to give an animal all the space she needs. Been there, done that! But it's SO much safer than being on the streets with newborn kittens. Her life has just become so much better!

[@pinkcupcake4717]

That colony almost doubled in size from babies! As cute as kittens are, it's better that they didn't starve in the wild.

[@trashycrossing8330]

North Carolina resident here! 😭💜 it’s pretty bad here where we live as well, some bigger cities practice the TNR thing but in my small town it’s just so bad. So, I’ve taken it upon myself to pay out of pocket for the last few months to find as many of the stray kitties to get them spayed and neutered. So far I’ve gotten 5 done, it’s not much but it’s a start!! I tell ya, it’s so demanding and sad. I just wanna thank you sm for all the help you give all those kitties. It’s extremely helpful and makes my heart soar that someone is there to care for the babies like you! Keep being awesome!

[@lynzemwalker5637]

Im in NC too. Where are you?

[@saigefrederick3159]

Same! NC as well! I’m outside of Charlotte area. Where are you both located? It would be beautiful if we could collaborate a bit!! 🙏🏼 Bless you both!!

[@trashycrossing8330]

I live about 50minutes drive from Charlotte as well, in an extremely tiny town called Lilesville! lol but awesome to know so many people are from NC too!

[@safaiaryu12]

THIS is a wonderful comment and reply thread! Y'all are great, keep doing what you do! Good luck!

[@Littabethy]

Also another thing that isn't mentioned with that spay abort topic, is to help prevent young cats having kittens. Sometimes kittens having kittens isn't a good thing either because they either don't take to their kittens, don't want to be a mom and abandon them, or just don't know how to be a mama cat. If that's the case, it can be very stressful on the mama and kittens that she either doesn't want to care for or doesn't really know how.

[@thewishingdragon]

I have 2 rescue cats who immediately assaulted my phone looking for the distressed kitten when that fresh baby started making noises 😭 You're doing amazing work out there 💖

[@legendarymayormarylikestur8874]

GIRL! I commend you for making this video and that you comprehensively do what you do!! In my area, 3 litters of kittens became snacks for wildlife or died by illness. Spay/abort seems more humane. Story time... I live in a small town. Cats dont fair well here with all of our wildlife. So... I have 1 (chronically pregnant) female and like 5 males. It has been 32 weeks since a "trapper" was supposed to help with her. She recently came out, having no real plan. Momma is pregnant (again). As soon as said trapper talked with my neighbor (who is a doctor), the trapper decided the males we a priority. Apparently, social climbing is a thing in my area. I gave up on that trapper. Now, hopefully, I can trap mom and she does NOT give birth in the cage 😭 Pray for me!!

[@MandaPeik]

That momma was like... Mary. I'm not feral. please don't tnr me...just spay me later. here are some adorable babies to save me from that life. That momma DEFINITELY wants a forever home and willed those kittens out so she can get one.

[@GTaichou]

Momma's motor oh my gosh. What a sweet little family! I know the resources are so much to care for a family rather than spay-abort, but I wish the best for them and hope you get enough donations to care for them and all go to lovely homes. ♥

[@ErinShannon617]

Surprise kittens! My kitty was preggers when we did her spay and we had to abort, I have no regrets and she is a happy loving lady loving the indoor life and has been for almost 10 years.

[@FlyingWonderGirl]

The black cat is just SO pretty! And seems so lovely!

[@terizeinz3012]

Awww… her kitten printer slowly ran out of ink!!

[@coyoteartist]

I see the Void was running low on toner. But seriously, yeah it's not my favorite thing in the world to think on, but I agree it's necessary.

[@Pixaley]

You earn my respect more every single time you speak about how to care for life. Thank you for having the bravery to speak of tough subjects.

[@cherijackson6727]

My coworker was feeding a VERY pregnant stray outside last July. I asked her to scoop up the cat and I'd take her in. She had seven babies 36 hours after arriving. I didn't even bother trying to get her a SA. Our local shelter (where I volunteer) is way too slow, and my normal veterinarian is booked out too far. I'm not even sure they would be willing to do the procedure. This topic is being talked about more and more, and I really appreciate it because I'm willing to go this route, but I just realized I need to be more prepared and have a hookup for next time. Thank you for sharing.

[@CricketsBay]

It's much easier if you work with a local veterinarian who's prepared to do TNR on short notice. I hope you find one soon.

[@kira29]

Several years ago we lived in an area with a very friendly town dog. She had a litter of puppies after we moved there but we planned to get her spayed after they were born. Well, she ran off and got pregnant again before we could take her in. You could tell as soon as she showed up and after watching how miserable she was with the previous pregnancy we chose a spay/abort. She was much happier and healthier not having puppies every chance she could. Its not a good situation for the kittens or the mothers, so as much as I wish it wasn't a necessity, it very much is and you are doing great work.

[@San1984]

Of course the tortie baby is the loudest of the bunch 😂

[@julie982]

I totally understand. I used to volunteer to a no-kill shelter in another state. When the spring kitten season hit, it was so overwhelming. A rather small operation of a half dozen volunteers and 60+ kittens. We had so many kittens, we were accused of breeding them! I believe the best thing you can do for the existing cat/kitten population is to prevent overpopulation and thereby competition for resources. Hard decisions, best for the cats in the long run! I miss volunteering for that shelter, however health issues keep me from working with shelters here.

[@safaiaryu12]

I felt that last line. I used to work in a vet hospital and a kennel. I LOVED those jobs, but my health no longer allows for that sort of labor. 😢

[@nepa_cat_wrangler]

I TNR here in my Northeast PA city and my biggest fear has always been a pregnant momcat giving birth in the trap the night before the clinic appointment. I've been lucky so far.

[@Fortheloveofkittenrescue]

I hope your luck never runs out 😅

[@riaglitta]

Oh she's such a happy, pretty mom. Maybe a little spiteful too, having her kittens like that! ;) Thanks for all that you do, and I know that colony will be much better off in the long term.

[@safaiaryu12]

Thank you for addressing this topic. Spay abortions are an awful thing to have to do - I'm cringing just thinking about it - but I completely understand and support it. This video perfectly illustrated why it's a necessary evil. A six month old momma cat... that made me feel sick. No wonder only one kitten survived. Honestly, I'm surprised any of her litter did. No, queens are not "choosing" this. They don't understand what's happening, they're just following their biological programming. I cannot imagine anyone would bring children into the world if they knew ahead of time that three-quarters of their children would die young and, statistically, the ones who lived would still have a very difficult life. At least, I wouldn't. I chose not to have children because I have a genetic disorder that has a 50% chance of showing up in my kids, and it's one that can be deadly. Since I would know the signs, I would be able to seek lifesaving surgery, but... I've been 32 years on this earth suffering the massive health repercussions. To me, it felt morally indefensible to subject another being to this sort of life without their consent. So, no children. Yes, other factors contributed to my decision, but that was the biggest one. So... again, I think if these queens could understand what would happen to their babies, most of them would choose to not get pregnant. But it's not a choice, it's something inflicted upon them. So it is very much the morally correct thing to perform a spay abortion on a stray queen. It saves her a lifetime of stress and suffering and prevents more homeless kittens being born into this world and suffering short, brutal lives. Thank you again for everything you do. You are so important for understanding what needs to be done and being able to act on it... and even spreading the word and educating people, despite your insanely packed schedule. I guess your reward is dealing with litters of kittens, lol. Much love!

[@qienna6677]

"Pick up my kittens, pay the pat tax"

[@ILovMocha]

It sounds as though you were going to Saint Ives

[@brielynn]

I absolutely agree with the spay/abort. There are just too many babies out there that need us. I worked in a vets office that did lots of TNR. And we had a few births when they came in.

[@dawnross849]

Wait, have you always been married or is this recent? I’m a bit behind apparently! Congratulations if this is recent, and congratulations if not! 😊Thanks for all you do!

[@stephgreen3070]

Oh the way mama clutched her baby to her was just so sweet. Im glad you al were committed to her and her babies. And im glad you’re able to help the colony not bring any more suffering kittens in to the world Making the hard decisions with purpose 👍🏼. Something I had not thought about.

[@katefarr2036]

Awww, Mama is so sweet, I’m so glad you found her, bless her heart. They deserve quality of life. And you give them that.

[@sarbah77]

I was looking at the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee FB page last night and, occasionally, I still have that gut punch from the kittens that were rescued who died of that very fast moving very fatal virus (I can't recall the name). It reminds me how much work it can be to care for kittens. Which is to say you do good work, keep it up, thank you.

[@kafitty]

Thanks for doing the hard stuff, Dr. Mary!

[@kath5228]

Spay aborts help kittens that need care! Momma is very cute I love her making biscuits I hope she gets a good home 😊

[@beccamorgenne7587]

Surprise babies! But seriously, the choice you make is a hard one, but also an understandable one. As you said, you're already running an uphill battle tnr'ing where you are, and you have to prioritize the cats that already exist vs the ones that don't.

[@atributeto77]

😮😮 Mama looks at you like “I’m sorry human. I didn’t mean to but here they are!”

[@lindabarnes5235]

I love and appreciate you and your willingness to talk about the hard stuff too ❤️

[@jldisme]

A very important issue, and I hope you don't take any flack on it. What a good mama and a sweet girl. I wish I could adopt her.

[@abby2099]

We just had a cat start to give birth on the operating table today.

[@abby2099]

Also thanks for talking about spay aborts! It's not fun, but its so important.

[@aksez2u]

You are doing the right thing. It's really hard and I admire that you are being forthright about it. If it bothers people, they should do everything they can to support spay and neuter before the rest of it becomes necessary.

[@dianeshipp2154]

Thank you for all you do!

[@lisaanncolton-fowler9007]

Important information. Thank you.

[@angelachouinard4581]

I have to say again how much I LOVED the Screamies. I'm in central Virginia and I don't think it's as bad as where you are but I have encountered all the attitudes you have. We often have delays in getting scheduled and have wound up with litters as a result. But we manage to place the babies. The older cats are harder that's why I live in a feline senior home. Bless you for making the tough decisions and preventing a lot of suffering. And no wonder you are exhausted!

[@FelineFurKin]

Oh, the curtains, but in one piece, the linings of ours are gone from kittens we had in 1997, they were lovely girls. It’s a sad, necessary thing. Kittens are lovely, but the sadness of so many cats out there struggling and suffering is awful. My younger cats were found in a neighbour’s garden aged five weeks, it was a bit messy since another neighbour was feeding their mum and it was a while before she moved in with him so they were split up and she had another two litters so 13 in a year, at least born inside by then, and all homed but it’s just exponential.

[@spectilia]

Omg, the PURS at the end!

[@Solo.Dissonance]

OMG Sharpie and Pencil 🤣🤣 I loveee the names you come up with. Also, thank you so much for all you do - it is much better to prevent suffering. It's like preventing a cut instead of waiting for it to happen and then putting a bandage on it. How does that phrase go? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure I think. ALSO - Pleaseeee get a Patreon! You don't have to add any extra content or anything, I would just rather support you automatically in small increments so my ADHD brain doesn't keep forgetting and so that it's more feasible. It would also be good for you because you know how much is coming in from that and can use it to budget 🤗Just a thought, but I know you're so, so busy 😥 Congrats on almost being done with year one by the way, you are amazing!!! ❤❤❤

[@NoelleJones-ch1ep]

Thank you for all you do, and for sharing all of the subjects with us! Ive had to choose to spay-bort a couple of cats myself, knowing it was a better situation than the alternative. There were so many in that colony! Glad the new surprise mama is friendly so she can find a home too.

[@quinnwisniewski]

I propose that we name the kittens born in the garage after things you'd find in the garage. Some examples: Hose, Wrench, Car (just car, leave it vague), Bike, Hammer, Lawnmower, ect.

[@jesuismoi7]

Momma looks soooo ready to be some lucky hoomans bestie!

[@hklover9130]

You are right, it's an extremely difficult conversation to have and no one wants to think about it but sadly it is necessary. I'm a foster and currently I have 13 kittens in my care, 1 nursing Mama and tomorrow I'm picking up another abandoned litter. For the love of God, people need to be spaying/neutering and help support rescues with TNR. 😻

[@littogothgoil]

My jaw dropped when you said you had 4 weeks left...like How Mary?!?! Lol congrats on coming to the end of year 1! Thank you for all you do and your most! Question if you can answer. Is the spay abort procedure more expensive than a standard spay for the non pregnant girlies? Just curious because I need a new hoodie and to send donation money to help ya'll out. 💜💜

[@applextree1554]

we love you mary. you do good work. PS good luck in vet school!

[@mooniepiereilly8923]

I so much honor and support you for what you do, for all that you do, including the hard decisions. Thank you so much! And I look forward to your continued adventures. Best of luck in vet school! ❤️

[@ladyicondraco]

Void Momma looks so sweet and so young!

[@laneperson137]

What a friendly and affectionate mama cat omg 🥺

[@heathercrumly1083]

Thank you for doing the hard things ❤

[@MaiseNow]

Wow, you guys singlehandedly prevented hundreds of suffering kittens/cats over the next year or two. That's so cool! Yeah, spay-abortion isn't fun, it would be nice if we could handle all kittens being born, but this gives you the space to help the kittens and cats that are already here like you said! That said, Mama Void is so lucky to have given birth in your care rather than out in the wild. She looks so sweet, I hope she gets adopted so fast once she's ready.

[@ThatDevilBear]

omg momma is such a cutie!! wth

[@stephaniegrabowsky3660]

Also... MOAR crazy chaotic TNR videos please!!! I love all your content tho. Thanks for making time to share with us!!

[@catmom4748]

Thank you for making the hard but best decisions.

[@CodeNinjasAmeliaIslandFL]

My cats fluffy and golden gave birth in our garage because we forgot to spay them so now we have bad kitty

[@jenpink4298]

I love you and I appreciate you! No wonder you’re exhausted! Congratulations on being so close to the finish line for your first year. And thank you for doing and speaking about the hard things. You are amazing❤

[@kristinavind2306]

WELL??!! I was right then when i guessed it was secret kittens!!!!! Anyways biggest respect for what you do to help all the kitties❤

[@brittanyjennings4236]

That little void mama is so beautiful, I'm crying. What an angel. I want to kiss her little head so bad. I have a black cat named Blitz. My goal in life is to have my own space so I can adopt another void and call him/her Donner. Blitz means "lightning" and Donner means "thunder" in German. :)

[@raybows]

what a beautiful and friendly momma 🥺 black cats are my favorite! thank you for doing what you do.

[@maricelcarousel]

Thank you for talking about this!!! Spay/abort is so important and I appreciate you taking the time to explain to others who might not understand

[@kathymarshall220]

Aww, purry momma and her teeny babies (especially the extra screamy one 🥰)❤❤❤

[@unknowable4147]

Makes total sense. The resources thag newborn kittena would take up in the system might be missing from already born, sick ones. And momma is absolutely adorable with her little niggets!! And how affectionate she is 😭🩷🩷❤️

[@TheAliiicyn]

doing the hard thing is always hard, but when it’s the right thing it means more ❤

[@rozhood4974]

You are awesome!!! Keep doing what you do, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[@kristinrook227]

There has been so much i have lesrned from you snd volunteering with a local rescue. I am glad these conversations are happening because it can save so many cats lives. Abortion is healthcare for all species 💗

[@alenalevina]

Thank you for doing this hard job and taking the responsibility ❤you're the best

[@drotundus]

From SC (but down in the lowcountry!!) love what you do!!! Momma is adorable, I've been eyeing a little black teen mom at a foster myself, we have no cats right now since our senior passed away last year and the foster has dogs so little momma will be used to them and we have 2. Sorry about your surprise babies even though they're super cute 😂

[@LSK77_]

I have so much respect for you 😍

[@SandraGarrow]

It's a sad fact that has to be addressed. Most people avoid this fact of overpopulation of feral dogs and cats.

[@krisniznik3953]

Do you eartip the cats so you know who doesn't need trapping in the future?

[@CricketsBay]

They do eartip the spayed and neutered cats.

[@qienna6677]

Honestly, I'd love to see a video from a KZbin channel I trust that lists reputable cat rescuers etc who also post on KZbin. I don't want to support the fake channels who invent terrible situations for clicks.

[@CricketsBay]

The only 2 I know are Miss Dixie's run by Mary here and TinyKittens HQ. However, I do not supported TK's policy of not doing spay/abort. More kittens makes the problem worse.

[@LadyKaelyn]

What a sweet momma. ❤

[@robinmorelli8759]

Thank you for everything you do!

[@lynzemwalker5637]

Mom looks like she knows she and her babies are safe now. Thank you❤

[@dawnadams7967]

Good job Mary, Bethany and crew!

[@nocloo6829]

You're the best, Mary! Couldn't listen to most of what you said because of friendly-momvoid-cuteness-overload... and a bonus Sharpie and Pencil to boot! Happy Kittenseason to all who celebrate! PS: and bonus momvoid! She's so cute - and the meepees..! This was the best update ever! Have a great 4 more weeks of school and thanks for sharing as always!

[@SnakeBuscus]

Spay/aborts are so heartbreaking, but our world is not one that will allow all of these kitties to be housed and loved. I agree that it’s better to prevent suffering than allow it to happen. I’m hoping our world gets better and all these little kitties would be able to have homes. Thank you for everything you do!!!

[@ViolentAurora]

What cute babies omg 🥰🥰🥰 thank you for doing all of this its such hard work and you and your team get it done. You guys are so important 💕💕💕

[@CricketsBay]

Aw. The momma at the end seemed to know you're there to help.

[@lovede2222]

Thank you, Mary.

[@KirstennXx1992]

oh that mum is beautiful!

[@panpanpandy]

oh my god, new mama is SO FRIENDLY LISTEN TO THAT PURRRRRR also, despite birth being a fact of life, complications can also endanger mama! so spay-aborts save kittens AND mama cats from suffering! it sucks to lose lives, but when i was a kid we lost my best girl brittany (a doggo, but) because when we went to get her spayed she was pregnant, and they refused to spay-abort, and she passed due to complications. i dont know how we managed to find a pro-life vet but that asshole cost me a cherished friend :(

[@angelakorando5103]

You do so much good❤

[@vonneybeth]

It's so great that you were able to take care of so many kitties!

[@smarterthanawaffle]

You do NOT look haggard or tired.

[@IngasVideos]

You do such a great job! I love watching your videos and learning from you. I’m also in SC and I’m opening Purrfect Pair Cat Cafe in Rock Hill; I’d love to have you come over for an information session or just to hang with our cats from Humane Society of York County. We open May 25th!

[@Fortheloveofkittenrescue]

I’d love to!

[@lisamiller7084]

Aww, she's a good momma.

[@stacey7529]

❤❤❤

[@lichtheimer]

I mean yeah, having 8 cats have what could be 5 or more babies each is not a good thing when they're all feral. Most of the young ones would die and only know suffering. It's not something that I'd call a net positive but it's a necessary thing for the overall health of the population of cats, hence also the spay and neuter things for feral ones so they don't produce hundreds of extra cats over time.

[@karenstearns9956]

I had to spay and abort before. It's hard but we don't need any more kittens in the world. Love you guys! Keep doing what you do

[@rapturesrevenge]

I don't like it, but in the end it's kinder to prevent suffering all around. It decreases the fights over turf, girls, and food. It decreases the smell of tomcat spray in the area. It decreases the amount of disease in the area. Girl kitties won't be as likely to develop breast and reproductive cancers. It decreases the number of kittens getting killed by cars, predators, assholes, and dogs. Depending on where you live, there are some added benefits: it decreases the number of raccoons in your yard, therefore the likelihood of racoons breaking into your house/garage, and; more dangerous wildlife (bears) will be less likely to visit your house. Everybody wins. Especially if you yourself have cats and let them outside. If you have a catio or your cat only goes out on a harness and leash, you rock. Otherwise, keep your cats indoors. And get them spayed/neutered. I lost MANY feline friends because my grandparents let their cats - all spayed and neutered - outside. I remember how each one of them died, too, and how old they were. I remember all the times some of them came home bloody from encounters with other cats or wildlife. Those are shitty memories to have and I won't want anyone else to have similar memories of their own. THAT SAID. I still love kittens and seeing mamas with their BRAND NEW BABIES. That is the cutest thing in the world to see and hear.

[@TheNerdyFosterMom]

My rescue has had this happen a few times. We've also had them give birth in the trap, at the vet office, while they waiting for to be spayed. So. Close.