Cat Invasion . . . Again!

It’s been two years since we’ve been ‘blessed’ with an invasion of darling, homeless kittens in need of a home. We haven’t been sad over that fact either! Yesterday, however, that changed as a feisty little tom cat showed up at our door in need of a good meal and some petting. We have, however, have this situation figured out ahead of time. Once we ascertained that said cat was, indeed, homeless, we fixed up a bed on the porch, provided food and water, and made an appointment with the   vet for neutering and vaccines. Next on the schedule, an appointment with a no-kill shelter that keeps all the cats they accept until they find them homes. If they can’t find a home, they get to stay at the very nice shelter. We discovered the place with the last two stray kittens that came our way . . . and, yes, we do have to find out where the neighborhood cats posted the ‘sucker’ sign on our property and remove it.

Anyway, the kitten is darling, still trying to grow into his feet, very friendly, and able to fend off any much bigger cats that try to take his food. My daughter claims the cat is her son. I told her that illegitimate babies have to be adopted out. She insists that we can keep him and tell the neighbors that WE adopted him. I told her the family resemblance was too obvious.

  

Family Picture!

It isn’t often that one has a family picture for their cat! These three were brought to our house by their very smart mother when they barely could walk yet. I went out to the yard in the morning and was very surprised to find a black and white kitten on the front step. She hissed when I picked her up and took her into the house. I gave the kitten to the keeping of my very surprised son while I checked to see if there were any more ‘gifts’ awaiting me. Sure enough, in almost the same place was a soft grey baby who was surprised to see me but was happy to cuddle in some warm hands. My son had found a box so we added number two find to it. I went out a third time and a husky orange-striped kitten was looking for his sisters.

The kittens were well-cared for and we thought we knew who the mother cat was so when the mature, motherly Mrs. Black Cat showed up, we happily showed her the box of kittens. She growled and hissed. We tried, again, and she just got angrier and we wondered if she resented them having been touched by us. While we pondered the standoff between the mother cat and the kittens, another cat happened upon the scene. Miss Stubby wasn’t the smartest cat and a bit of a nervous animal. She looked at us, looked at the angry Mrs. Black Cat, and hopped into the box of kittens who welcomed her greatly. We never would have credited her with actually moving three kittens through the streets at night and having the sense to bring them to us.

This was two years ago and where are they all today? Miss Stubby was adopted by a family in 29 Palms and lives with seven other cats and quite happily from last report. The sedate grey one went to live in a convent which seemed to suit her. The orange one grew to be a huge tom cat but a big, spoiled baby who is much loved. He lives in Colorado.

The first kitten to darken our doorstep two years ago? We kept her and she is our little waif around the house.