14 Kittens!

 In my last post, I mentioned three kittens from Polly and five kittens from Louisa.  That’s clearly eight.  What in the world would make me suggest that eight would actually become fourteen?  Ah yes, cat math.  If you have three barn cats on a farm, what is the likelihood that all three are female? And pregnant?  Apparently, 100%.  

The feral gray tabby was elusive but I needed all three fixed in order to carry on without future kittens.  We dropped food for it by the outdoor cat shelter left behind, but it would zoom away if we came within ten feet.  Until one morning.  It rushed at me when I got too close to the shelter.  I pondered this for a minute and tried again.  Same thing.  Rabies?  No, it wasn’t even hissing.  Suspecting something, I loaded a trap and waited.  I brought our son out for evening feeding and the cat was not in the shelter.  A quick peek confirmed my suspicions.  He was absolutely delighted.  He started trying to guess how many more kittens were in there.  Meanwhile, I moved Louisa and Polly into one crate with an attached pen that would keep the kittens in, but the moms could explore the garage during feeding times.  I had one chance to catch this last feral cat.  She was no doubt watching me and would probably feel threatened enough to move her kittens.  We set up the second crate for her in the garage.  The next morning, during her normal feeding time, I placed the trap right in front of her exit from the shelter.  We put wet food inside as bait.  She peeked out, clearly alarmed, hesitated, and then SNAP!  She was in and very unhappy.  I dribbled flea control on her back to confirm to her that I was a horrible person.  Our son had the job of reaching in the dark cat shelter and pulling out the kittens one by one.  So, as you’ve no doubt guessed, they kept coming until six of the little monsters were in the bucket.  We carried the feral cat in the cage, who we named Victoria, and her six offspring into the garage.  Her kittens were named after Queen Victoria’s children.  

With these descriptions, pictures are a must.  First the trapping of Victoria.

Next, Victoria’s babies.  We had two different photo sessions several weeks apart because Victoria was difficult to tame down.  She eventually let us pet her.