Things have been quiet on my website for much of this year. I have not published my usual quantity of content, and this is mostly because I moved to Paraguay around one year ago.

This is just an update on life here.

I have spent a lot of time resting, focusing on my cats and sorting out my new life. When I left NZ last year to move to Paraguay, it was an unexpected and sudden move, due to structural problems with the roof in my rental. I had intended to move to South America but it was such a big move that my plan was to organise everything over 2-3 years. Instead I organised that whole move in 5 weeks when my roof failed. It was very stressful and tiring.

When I got to Paraguay I found that the animal welfare situation was not good and there were many animals in need of a home. I left NZ with one cat, my dear Monty and we now have an additional 7 cats living with us (and 4 more who come here to eat every night).

Monty

Some of the cats have or have had complex needs because of their previous lives on the streets and this has taken a lot of work. But I have accepted this and feel this is also part of my reason for being here in Paraguay.

In this post I’m going to tell the story of some of these cats.

The first is Mamá.

Mamá

At the end of December 2025, Mamá showed up outside the gate here. It broke my heart to meet her because back then she was malnourished, with a very bony back, with incontinence in her bowels, dull fur, and she was very smelly because of the bowel issues.

She appeared outside the gate and we started giving her large quantities of food to rescue her from the malnutrition. She would not come into the garden when we opened the gate, but would only sit outside, with wide eyes asking for food every night. For months I would wait for her between 9pm and 4am – I never knew when she would show up and I would worry the nights she didn’t come.

I later found out that she used to belong to a neighbour but they left her behind when they moved and she was living in the shed of another neighbour who struggled with money and could not afford to feed her well. They also had mean dogs that chased cats, that she had to dodge to get to my gate.

She had an older kitten (Chico, who also lives with us) and my sense was that her body had given everything she had to build the body of her kitten and nurse him, and by the time we found her she had nothing left. From looking at her she seemed to be on her last legs.

It took Mamá about 7 months to fully recover physically from her old life and for her fur to finally get shiny and for her body to fill out.

About 1 month after started feeding her back in December, Mamá got pregnant (she was not well enough to be neutered back then). She gave birth to three healthy and beautiful kittens. They lived on my roof for the first 10 weeks of their life and they were feral. About 10 weeks in, mamá brought them down into the garden and they now live in the shed and sleep on comfy chairs with soft blankets.

Her kittens are Frida, Isabel and Ginger. I was not able to find them homes since they were feral as kittens, so this is now their long term home. All the cats are now neutered thankfully.

Ginger the kitten

Isabel

The dad of some of the kittens is Patches the Mafia cat who is a real cool dude and very chill.

Patches the mafia cat

Alfie is another cat who has complex needs.

Alfie

He showed up here a few months ago with PTSD. He was also very bony. He was so on edge. He bit me several times and he fought everyone here, including the kittens and it’s been a hard couple of months for us but things have started to get better. I was able to get some tranquillising meds from the vet to calm him down, he takes them when he gets wound up, and he’s stopped biting me and fighting as much. He is slowly learning that he now has enough to eat and that no one will hurt him here.

Another addition to our tribe is Chico, mamá’s older kitten who is the only one who lives in the house with us. Monty just about tolerates him.

Chico

I also look out for any cats who show up at my house needing help. There was Michote who arrived with a nasty burn on his neck, probably from contact with a hot car exhaust or motor.

And Renato, a black cat whose face and upper body was covered in mange. He had lost his whiskers and couldn’t open one of his eyes. It was a sorry sight. Just a warning that below there is a photo of it, so don’t continue to read if this sort of thing upsets you. (It does have a happy ending though.)

He spent 12 days in the vet hospital being treated. When he got out, they put a little bandana on him at the vets and the poor thing ran off as soon as I let him out and I didn’t see him again for a couple of months. He came to eat here the other night (about 2 months after his vet stay) and looked mange free I’m happy to report. And he managed to get his little bandana off somehow! 🙂

My heart is full of feline love but it has not been an easy road. I have an amazing helper who helps with the cats, with feeding, cleaning plates and keeping everything tidy, so I don’t have to do everything myself.

I have been advised to start a cat charity but I don’t have time for all the admin and I also don’t have room to take on any more cats. So for now I am self funding this. So, anyone who does purchase from AnnaSayce.com, know that a portion of your purchase will go towards feeding and maintaining my cat kingdom here in Caacupé!