Kitty found a quiet backyard that she fancied..  Where she came from is a mystery.   This is the 2nd litter Kitty has birthed in this garden, a clear sign that she felt safe there..  Unfortunately, we don’t know what happened to her first litter, but we do know that one kitten was kept by the finder, who did all the necessary vet work to ensure this kitten did not join mum in the breeding pool.   

Kitty, however, remained distant. She continued coming for food but kept her independence.   Three (3)  short months later Kitty was clearly expecting kittens again and that’s when we were called.  The last thing the finder wanted was more kittens to manage or put at risk.   The day we planned to bring Kitty into care, she disappeared.  Two days later, she was found in a rabbit hutch with her 5 new kittens.   

When we arrived, Kitty showed no hesitation, she happily came into care with her kittens. 

This is where the lessons start rolling in, so pay attention.

• Kitty was a microchipped cat, but her details were incorrect.
• Her chip claimed she was a male entire cat. (she is in fact a nursing female)
• The microchipped owner was contacted and we learnt he was in fact the seller of the kittens and followed the law to selling or giving away kittens/cats and had microchipped them all and obtained a source number.  
•  She was not purchased in Geelong. 
• Fortunately due to having photos and some records we discovered that the chip details had been clearly mixed up with another kitten in that litter.  (likely at the clinic who microchipped them) 
• The new owners had not completed the transfer of ownership form that the seller requested they do.  (The transfer should have been seen as completed by the seller to avoid this problem) 

So what we have here is:

• A seller who did the right thing by obtaining a source number and microchipping the kittens.
• A microchipped owner who is not the owner but the seller – also happy to transfer her to us or a new owner.  
• A finder who is desperate to own her and give her an indoor life with enclosure access. 
• An original owner who may or may not be concerned about where she is.  Imagine if Kitty was your cat?  Now this does not mean they do not care, it may just mean they were not able to navigate changing a chip over. 

The problem? We have no idea who the original owner  is and how to contact them.  The seller had a number that is no longer connected and recalled she went to Ballarat to live.

Kitty has now had 2 litters of kittens in her chosen garden while living an outside life as an entire female.  

What do we do now?

We will care for Kitty and her kittens while watching the lost and found pages to see if the owner is seeking her.  We will put a post out to see if we can locate her owner.   If no one comes forward we will arrange her desexing and other vet work before we rehome her to the beautiful human that has cared for her and wondered about her background.   

The kittens will follow the path of many before them and go into new homes only once they have been desexed, microchipped, vaccinated, parasite treated and vet checked.  

How you can make sure this never happens to you.

Microchips are so important, but if they are not connected to you and your details are not up to date the relationship with your pet could be a risk.  A microchip gives you legal rights to the animal. 

We are not saying Kitty’s owner doesn’t care, they may very well be heartbroken over her disappearance, what we are saying is the owner did not find the support to prevent kittens and it is likely the owner may have presumed the seller transferred the chip or struggled with this as a task. 

It is rather messy because 2 simple steps were not followed. 

1. Desexing 
2. The transfer of ownership of Kitty. 

Kitty’s story is just one of many that highlight  why we do what we do; protecting expecting & nursing mums and their kittens. 💛