I can has kittenz?
Possibly two different kittens. Possibly the same kitten twice.
The stupidest Tweet BC ever tweeted was to ask where a man could
find a spare kitten in Brockley. Within seconds, we were deluged with people
telling us to go to Celia Hammond Animal Trust, on Lewisham Way, who have more
kittens than they know what to do with. We’ve blogged about them plenty of
times of course, but it hadn’t really registered with us that they look after
kittens as well as cats. So for the record: they do.
Adopting a kitten isn’t entirely straightforward. Celia
Hammond like to vet you as well as the cats. We had to show them around the
house, to prove that we would not be stuffing them up chimneys or allowing them
to play in the traffic. We also had to nod solemnly as they told us about the
specific kitten foods that they considered good enough – none of which were
available from Pets at Home in Deptford, of course. BC has a natural aversion
to earnest authority figures, so we initially rankled at the suggestion that we
could only meet at a time when both the “cat decision makers” in the house were
available. However, when we met, the enthusiasm and sincerity of the woman
arranging the adoption won us over – so much so, that we were convinced to take
two kittens, instead of one.
Once we’d had the interview, the process of adoption was straightforward
and speedy. We didn’t have any preferences about breed (love see no colour) and
they have kittens stashed in foster homes all around South East London. The
next day, we collected a couple of 10-week-old kittens that had been pulled from
the jaws of a dog in Hornfair Park a couple of weeks earlier. The kittens had
been de-wormed, de-flead and given their injections : they were cuddle-ready.
So here are a couple of photos of their formative days with us. We know you know what
kittens look like, but the internet needs more pictures of kittens.
Visit Celia Hammond for more details and meet the cats during their open weekend, July 7th / 8th.
65 comments:
Moh!
The pet shop in Lewisham has a great range of posh catfoods for well-cared-for cats, by the way.
Sweeeeet! Lucky you.
There's probably threads about this on BC too, but I highly recommend John Hankinson on Shardeloes Road when you need a vet.
Gorgeous kittens!! Two is definitely better than one.
Which food did they recommend? We use James Wellbeloved (not to be confused with the butchers), it's great and is sold at pets at home. Vets are happy when we say we use it.
Best toys - foil, bubbles and laser pens! Mind they don't try and climb your leg - it hurts!
Enjoy!
Our spoilt mog gets Applaws wet food & Scienceplan biscuits. She is another one of John Hankinson's many customers. He's a great vet, highly recommended.
Yep! Second Hankinson Vets.
PAH (and the pet shop) sell almo nature and All Paws which are great.
Ha ha - I mean Applaws not All paws!!
What are the kittens names?
Two are definitely better - they keep each other company while you're not at home! What are their names?! and more pics please! Congratulations!
There was a process of delicate negotiation with our son, who was initially adamant that they should be named after Skylanders (if you don't know what these are, your wallet will thank you not to find out). He relented on the basis that he got to choose the names, so they are: Perky and Pearl.
Yay, congratulations. We take our adopted cat to John Hankinson too, they are very nice, and were great when our last cat was very ill and had to be put down.
Really glad you got rescue kittens (I was one of the people that tweeted you back immediately about Celia Hammond!)
Have fun with the little critters
I want a kitteh or two and I want them now.
One of the most annoying aspects of the rental sector is the lack of kittehz.
I like these kittehz of yours, Nick. They're photo-ready too, by the looks of it.
Cute enough for http://www.teaandkittens.co.uk/ !
Also, Nick, if you ever need a cat-sitter, Viv is great and very local:
http://www.cats-at-home.com/index.htm
Bit slap dash with your blue paintwork!!!!
Definitely second the vote for Viv's cat sitting services. She's a lovely lady and has looked after our cats a couple of times. She's totally devoted to her charges.
Re: paintwork. Erm, shabby chic?!
Also recommend Cats at Home's Viv and John Hankinson vets, both look after my Celia Hammond adopted cats brilliantly
We moved into Brockley last August and were apt to get a kitten. Having gone through the whole Celia Hammond process of house inspections etc. we were put off my all the limits they impose - the fact that we would have had to agree to compulsory booster injections every year (some people prefer to leave nature to do its work - I know not everyone likes this but personal preference should be considered). I was shocked when they recommended Whiskas and Felix food knowing all the by-product crap that goes into those.
In the end we picked up a little female kitten from gumtree (which was far less of a hassle contrary to public opinion about the site) and had her spayed. We feed her only Ami dry food and Yarrah wet food (there's a lot of fish in it) for cats. She is content and healthy thanks to these and a good home.
we also got two kittens from CHAT and agreed that it was much better to have two; they love careering round our place at a million miles an hour...
Can i suggest you check the flowerpot?
Cat articles; the beginning of the end for the once mighty BC...
There are lots of cats and cat owners in Brockley and what's wrong with cat articles??
We got 2 white kittens from CHAT who are now nearly ten, and would also recommend John Hankinson
This is rapidly decending in to a "pram wars" issue.
Cats will eat honest Tesco catfood too, I find. No need for artisan fare.
Awww... cute.
The cat food comments are interesting! Our cats have always been on Science Plan and turn their noses up at any other wet cat food I occasionally buy - so I take the rejected packets to Celia Hammond for their cats. It's usually Whiskas pouches, they must be very pleased with that.
I have 2 kittens which I got from Celia Hammond, where can I post my cute pictures of them Nick?
An American friend asked me where she might get her cat de-clawed to save the damage they do to furniture.
Is Celia Hammond the best place for this?
Cats will happily eat supermarket fare (they're CATS ffs).
Awww they are seriously cute. Really glad you got two and that they are rescue kittens. It's lovely that they are going to have a happy life after a bad start. Congratulations!
Are they allowed to eat mice?
Cue Tom and Jerry music...
How about we de-stupid your friend?
Re saving furniture - do you mean trimming the claws or actual de-clawing? I think de-clawing is rather cruel - a quick google gives you some facts... Far better to provide other options for the cat to scratch - there are lots of posts / mats available. Also can put double-sided tape on the sofa which puts them off. It's not the cat's fault, it's natural behaviour!
"obviously eat" have you owned cats? They would give Bobby Sands a run in the hunger strike game.
My husband and I adopted two 2-year-old cats from CHAT over the weekend!
I know they go through a lot of rules with you (well they're suggestions really, they can't really enforce them once you have the cats) but it's fair enough for them to make sure the cats are going to a good home and aren't going to be put in any danger. I'd never owned a cat before so I found the information useful.
The pet store on Lewisham High Street across from Ladywell Leisure Centre sell some of the recommended food if that helps.
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=251247525
Good, honest cat fare.
So cute!
Anybody using the own brand pet food from the pet shop in front of Ladywell Pool?
@ Anon 16.41 Perhaps your American friend should choose between furniture and cats - or provide them with enough stimulation that they don't do so much damage. Not something that I think vets this side of the Pond recommend and I would be surprised if Celia Hammond countenanced it.
On food - a remote cousin/aunt of my brother in law was both rather posh (in that she ordered her food from Harrods) and also rather stingy (in that she would not spend money unecessarily). A fond memory of his childhood was hearing her phone the butchers' department to cancel the order for chicken livers "as the cat has caught a mouse"!!
Who picked that colour and did the painting in that house? Stevie Wonder?
My cat who eats mice heads and spiders refused to eat Tesco Premium pouches.
I'm not fussy, I will eat the kittenz.
I think this is wind up and they are only cardboard cut outs.
Anon 19.15, how rude and totally irrelevant to the thread.
Cute. we also have two cats from CHAT, now ten years old. I don't know anyone who's ever managed to come out of there with just one cat - they are very persuasive!
I tried to get one cat a few years ago from Celia and the woman got weird when I insisted I only wanted one!
Viv is my cat sitter too - she is wonderful
Just the mouse heads? How very wasteful.
Agree with illusionist - they do look like carefully positioned cardboard cutouts.
I also got my cat from CHAT. They have another open day coming up this weekend, so if anyone wants any more cats/kittens you know where to go...
Nice pics, cut animals. I hope the one it the top picture hasn't done 'his business' in the flowerpot!
that of course should be "cute"
Poltergeist eyes
We adopted 2 cats from Celia Hammond 3 years ago, who we adore. Recommend Celia Hammond, John Hankinson and Viv (Cats at Home) who is great.
Another vote for Viv. I tried to adopt cats from CHAT several years ago and got nowhere, apart from being told that they didn't rehome cats to Manor Ave (I don't live on Manor Ave, but v nearby) because 'they go missing'. Or something. I got nowhere with them and we got our kitten from Battersea, who although not so local are fantastic, and our furry faced friend was incredibly well socialised. I've had my fair share of totally neurotic cats in my life and this has been very different. I have had mostly good experiences with John Hankison vets but could have done without the lecture when vet became convinced I had bought flea treatment off the internet instead of buying it from them. No - I just hadn't bloody bought any because the cat didn't have a flea problem!
Flea treatment (& other pet stuff)is good from vetuk.co
Cats that scratch furniture can be distressed/upset - try Feliway plug-ins to calm them down (good for firework nights too).
CHAT also have loads of older cats. We're down to the last one of 3 older cats that we took in.
We also love Viv for cat care and Alistair the vet at the Animal Clinic Ringstead Road is v. good too.
Our cats were fully grown when we adopted them but still full of fun. I think I sctuslly preferred that they were fully grown.
@anon 16.41 yesterday - declawing is cruel and abusive, and is ILLEGAL in the UK - it is regarded as unnecessary mutilation. If only our friends across the pond were as enlightened. It is illegal in some states but sadly not all.
I'm yet another with two CHAT cats (since 2005), who recommends both John Hankinson and Viv Hutter.
Think anon was going for a classic bit of trolling.
There is an almost as stupid alternative:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Soft-Claws-Vinyl-Small-6-8lbs/dp/B00074W44E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1341399296&sr=8-3
The review from one halfwit is godsmacking:
"1. clip claws the day before
2. put the glue in 4 tips at a time
3. wrap up the cat in a towel and quickly put on claws
4. entertain and comfort cat for about 5 minutes to let the glue dry
5. repeat steps 2-4 a few hours later when the cat is calm again
I also highly recommend using the colored ones. That way you will notice sooner that your cat lost/shed one without finding the results on your furniture. If your cat does not shed the claws, they are very easy to clip thru and then peel the rest off the nail."
Hope the cat chews them off, scratches the f**k out of the owners furniture, shits in his slippers and moves out.
I'm intrigued at the perception of Manor Ave as some sort of feline 'Burmuda triangle'
"apart from being told that they didn't rehome cats to Manor Ave (I don't live on Manor Ave, but v nearby) because 'they go missing'"
4 July 2012 10:02
@mb haha! Hilarious. One of my cats starts hyperventilating at the sight of the travel basket and I've managed to pick her up about 10 times in 8 years. If I tried wrapping her in a towel I think it would be the end of a beautiful friendship.
There are some very stupid people out there, who think cats are basically fashion accessories. I remember the TV documentary featuring Celia Hammond where a couple took their two cats back to the rescue centre and wanted two of a different colour instead, as they'd just redecorated and the cats didn't match the new decor. Celia said "we'll take your two, but if you think you're getting any more you can f*** off".
We adopted an adult cat last year. He'll eat anything (as long as he doesn't have to catch it himself) and likes the Tesco premium stuff. We also recommend John Hankinson vet surgery.
Nick, how about a 'cats of Brockley' photo competition?
Cats are quite vicious predators that denude the area of wildlife.
All of you, I am sure, have been greeted by the evicerated offerings your pets bring home after their night time forays.
How you reconcile your affection for your pets with the grisly evidence of the terrible toll they exact on local wildlife is difficult to understand.
If you have any respect for nature, you should not keep a cat.
I can haz mowse!
Please can we have a collaborative cats of Brockley pinterest board??!?!?
Anon 00.42, that's a bit melodramatic. At least they don't shit all over the pavements and scare the shit out of (and occasionally maul) small children.
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