For the most part the cats I help are congenial; if they don't want to get close they don't, they sneak up and have their food when I'm at a safe distance and the cats they want to avoid aren't around. There is a kind of order to this....

However in the last few days a rather aggressive and bullish, large, young ginger male has been storming in on our little haven and disturbing the peace. He is bold and lawless.... has no qualms about barging into the house through the slightest opening that appears and greedily scoffing whatever he might find. He stalks, growls and has attacked the kittens so I have to watch like a hawk.

He is not frightened of me at all although oddly enough he tolerates me picking him up by the scruff of the neck and ejecting him. So.... I have an idea that I could catch him and get him neutered which would be great in it itself given we don't want him harassing the females in heat which he most certainly will do but also because it should calm him down at least a bit. Trouble is I don't have a cat cage....

When I took the latest kitten arrivals to the vet I used the vacuum cleaner box and this has turned into their bed. The livelier kitten did however manage to get out of the box inside the car so that caused a bit of anxiety and mild mayhem until I retrieved it.

So.... I am looking for support to cobble together funds for a cat cage to have on hand to be able to transport animals to the vet for routine treatment and de-sexing whenever I get hold of fertile animals. The beauty of getting to care for kittens is that we build a relationship that allows me to handle them which makes getting them into a cage much easier so all that vet care including sterilisation can happen at the appropriate time with less fuss.

I am thoroughly committed to getting as many animals as I can de-sexed so will very much appreciate support getting a cage that I can have on hand for opportunistic catches as well as the routine.

Meantime the kittens are doing very well despite mild flu like symptoms such as the occasional sneeze and the odd discharge from an eye. I have been wiping their eyes daily with a face washer in warm water and they are now so much clearer than when they first came to me. The kittens are all lively and playful and come for cuddles of their own volition; all good signs though demanding!!! The next step for them will be inoculations but that will be hard for the older kittens until I can get a cage.

Now to find them homes!!!