We live in a rental housing complex where there are a lot of strays. There is one in particular that has been hanging around our house a lot for the past year. In general, I make it a rule not to feed the strays, but this one was so darn cute I was going to take her in and I've tried to lure her with food a time or two.
Anyway, she took up residence in an old tv box, inside the sheltered storage/porch area off our carport. And had kittens. BAAAAAAAYBEE KITTENS!!! Even my husband who really doesn't care much for cats went and fed her because he "didn't want her to leave her babies!" These kittens can't be more than a few days old, we actually think they may have been born yesterday since our rommate saw the mother walking around yesterday.
We had no idea she was pregnant, she is a small cat and didn't really look it, but I remember thinking that she maybe was someone's cat since she looked more well fed than your average stray. Guess now I know why! There is a tiny box within the box she's in, so it's a perfect little protected area. It's nice and warm out, so the kittens should be fine. It looks like she's a good kitty mama and is nursing them. We think there is 2 or 3 kittens, so it's a small litter.
I am pretty sure the mama cat is about a year old, so she's young still. Our neighbor who feeds the strays told us about a litter of kittens that were born when we moved in and I am fairly certain this one was part of it. He tried to catch them but never could. I definitely plan on doing a catch-neuter-release on some of these cats as soon as I have the time/money/energy.
Anyway, just had to share. As much as I know that there is a cat population problem especially in this area (and all my own cats are fixed), I have to admit to being a bit smitten with BAAAAAYBE KITTENS!
As an aside, isn't it funny how everyone knows when an animal has babies to just leave them alone in a dark place, but yet as humans we're expected to give birth in front of strangers under bright hospital lights?
Anyway, she took up residence in an old tv box, inside the sheltered storage/porch area off our carport. And had kittens. BAAAAAAAYBEE KITTENS!!! Even my husband who really doesn't care much for cats went and fed her because he "didn't want her to leave her babies!" These kittens can't be more than a few days old, we actually think they may have been born yesterday since our rommate saw the mother walking around yesterday.
We had no idea she was pregnant, she is a small cat and didn't really look it, but I remember thinking that she maybe was someone's cat since she looked more well fed than your average stray. Guess now I know why! There is a tiny box within the box she's in, so it's a perfect little protected area. It's nice and warm out, so the kittens should be fine. It looks like she's a good kitty mama and is nursing them. We think there is 2 or 3 kittens, so it's a small litter.
I am pretty sure the mama cat is about a year old, so she's young still. Our neighbor who feeds the strays told us about a litter of kittens that were born when we moved in and I am fairly certain this one was part of it. He tried to catch them but never could. I definitely plan on doing a catch-neuter-release on some of these cats as soon as I have the time/money/energy.
Anyway, just had to share. As much as I know that there is a cat population problem especially in this area (and all my own cats are fixed), I have to admit to being a bit smitten with BAAAAAYBE KITTENS!
As an aside, isn't it funny how everyone knows when an animal has babies to just leave them alone in a dark place, but yet as humans we're expected to give birth in front of strangers under bright hospital lights?
