Stones & Walker

Stones, the long-legged silver tabby, is a floppy, placid kitten who loves wand toys and tummy tickles. Walker, the tripod tuxedo, is a more serious and curious girl who really thinks about everything she’s doing, but is also very playful when running around with her sister. It’s safe to say Walker is the brains of the operation — Stones is quite silly.

These girls are a bonded pair who need to stick together. They had a rough start — they were first seen with their mother and littermates at a very young age. A few weeks later, they were spotted again just the two of them, hiding under cars and inside drains. They had either been separated or the mother had abandoned them, because by that time they were very hungry and Walker had badly hurt her back leg. This left her very vulnerable, but Stones was loyally sticking close to her at all times as they looked for food 🧡

Walker and Stones came into foster care quite timid, but after 6 weeks they have made so much progress. Walker’s back left leg was amputated as soon as she saw a vet, and she recovered from the surgery perfectly. The pain she was dealing with made her defensive and fearful, but her socialisation has gone really well, especially once she was able to learn from Stonesy, who is a purr machine and who was very happy to be in a home almost from day one. After Walker returned from her surgery, it became clear how deeply attached they were, and Walker’s isolation period while the wound healed was hard on both of them. Reuniting them was very beneficial for Walker's mood.

Due to space issues, Walks and Stonesy are currently living in a large crate with a limited amount of “floor time” each day. They are very calm in the crate, but they really need a foster carer or adopter who is able to offer them a safe space to gain confidence in a home outside of a cage. Both of the sisters love to be scritched and cuddled on your lap once they’ve been placed there, but as they have not had a lot of experience roaming freely in a house, it may take some time for them to come over to you on their own. They simply haven’t had the chance to approach people at their own pace.

Even so, these are very sweet and fun kittens. They love nothing more than to cuddle and groom each other inside their cat tree, but they always want to come out and eat treats from the tube (or your finger.) Walker is still a little bit more hand-shy than Stones due to her experience, and she is also still learning to balance without her leg, but she’s no longer in pain and is becoming more mobile every day. But they are keen to play outside the crate, especially with balls — they actually play soccer with each other, which is appropriate because they were named after a pair of footballers who rescued a cat during the recent World Cup! (https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-city-walker-stones-cat-25740670)

The kittens have met a small dog and been pretty unbothered. They have not been upset by the presence of other adult cats in the room while they are in their cage (including Gwen and one of our desexed males) but they haven’t played with any other cats yet. They have not met any kids, and their suitability for children would probably depend on the personality of the individual child and the pet care experience of the family. These kittens will require patience, respect, and extremely gentle handling.

Due to Walker’s leg, this pair must be indoor only. They follow each other everywhere, and while Walker has plenty of mobility, she would not stand a chance against a dog or a car.

The girls are de-sexed, microchipped, wormed, flea’d and vaccinated. Due to her surgery, Walker is one set of vaccines behind Stones. They have not yet been tested for FIV.