Someone attacked my kittens!

TrickyNiki

:mad:

I think a group of kids in the park next door captured my kittens, I have no proof though except they now have their collars and were laughing.

They were both outside and came rushing though the cat flap the fastest I have ever seen them move, fur all puffed up and ran beneath the sofa. I thought it was probably a dog or a more dominat cat, so I went outside to chase the offender out of the garden. Thats when I heard the bells and laughing. It wasnt until I came inside to two cowering kittens when I realised they had no collars.

They are only 6 months old..... I'm really p'ed off.

I am so mad, they have been to the vets and are fine now, one has a slight limp and hers claws are ragged like shes been fighting (I hope she took lumps out of them). It looks like my kittens escaped!! They both lost their quick release collars.
They have been prescribed feliway and have sat by the defuser for a while. It seemed to have worked.

I'm to keep them in for the next few days. Not sure if I want to let them out unsupervised anymore.

Can anyone reccomend new collars? I did have pets at home kitten quick release but they were getting on for needing a new set. Also Feliway is quite expensive (£25 from our vet for refil) are there any cheaper suppliers out there? its quite expensive for a month supply.

treliac

So sorry to hear that, there are some savage kids about. Perhaps you could ask the RSPCA for some advice on how to manage this risk.

Take care x

geri1965_2

That's awful. Maybe they didn't mean to hurt them though, and your cats just freaked out and did some damage trying to defend themselves.

TrickyNiki

Your right I shouldnt jump to conclusions, but my cats dont usually freak out. I guess I am just upset because my kittens were hurt.

They were rescue kittens and I promised myself that I wouldnt let them be hurt again.

Treadway1

I know Ill probably get moaned at for saying this as Im stereotyping all youths as being feral thugs, but the chances are they did try to hurt your kittens, else why would they have their collars. Things like this disgust me. Whilst Im not a huge animal lover myself (and by that I purely mean that I dont go all gooey eyed everytime I see a ball of fluff curled up on the floor, unlike my girlfriend!!! ) but how anyone could harm a defenseless animal is beyond me. Are these people really fit for society??? Sorry, its me having a rant now..... :rolleyes:

There was a story in the papers a while ago about a 15 year old girl who, whilst on a school field trip to HMS Belfast, had thrown the ships cat over the gang plank into the Thames and killed it. The girl was arrested and sent to court but got given a community order!!!!! :mad:

*Edit* Sorry, I meant to add that I hope your kittens make a full recovery, and arent to scared to go outside agin.

kiraroo

you'll find places like pets at home sell quick release collars, a nice collar website is https://www.kittycollars.co.uk always make sure it's a quick release collar though.

when you start letting them out again i would supervise them or perhaps even not let them out in the evenings? i keep my cats shut in over night with a litter tray so i know they are safe. if you are really concerned, it is possible to get your garden catproofed (so they cant get out) for about £300

https://www.vetuk.co.uk sell feliway a bit cheaper, there are lots of online places to get vet products from, a google search will bring them up so you can compare prices

elaina79

I would contact the RSPCA and explain to them what happened. They should be able to advise what the best collar to use is, and what to do about the kids.

TrickyNiki

My cats never go out at night as it is, this happen around about dusk. I was just about to call them in and shut up the cat flap.

Unfortunately I am in rented property so cant really cat proof the garden.

Pets at home (my local branch anyway) only has the one quick release collar and thats for kittens. I'll check out the sites you say though Thankyou!!!!!

kiraroo

you'll probably find on the smallest size a collar will go that an adult size collar will fit a six month old kitten, will save you money as the kitten ones tend to be more expensive

UKTigerlily

Is there a reason they're wearing collars? I only ask as collars are really dangerous to Cats (If they don't lose them that is!) & if i'd not been in at the time my male would've died when he got his caught round his lower jaw. Yep it was a quick release/safety one & yep, properly fitted (& confimed) by the Vets. I see so many things about Cats getting their collars stuck, if the collar expands/stretches even abit to let them out, it can let things in such as paws! IMO they are NOT worth such a risk.

If the Cat is stolen it'll have the collar removed anyhow & if it goes awol which isn't too likely once it knows where it lives, a microchip is better.

Anyhow, lecture over, I can't resist tho if it makes just one person consider collars on animals that are at risk of injury from them then good!

I do hope both kittens are ok & sadly it does sound like these kids were up to no good. They must be terrified the poor things (Kittens not kids)!

TrickyNiki

They are both mircrochipped. I had this done at the same time they were neutered.

The cats were terrified but since I put on the feliway difuser they seem a lot better. Expensive but worth it!!

I didnt realise collars caused so much stress to the cat, I thought safety collars were as the name stated.

I was also told that collars with bells help to save small animals being killed. I thought that the sound warns them of the cats presence and allows escape.

I dont know what to do now... I only want the best for my cats but there is so much conflicting advice...