Feral kittens on Father’s Day (and LOLcats)
Sunday, June 17, 2007
There is a large feral cat population around where we live. Even more specifically, there is a feral cat colony underneath our apartment building. Here you can see the entrance to the kitty lair, full of black plastic and yellow insulation.
Today two male kittens showed up on our doorstep. They are obviously littermates, approximately 12-14 weeks old. I’d (somewhat educatedly) guess they were born in early to mid-March. No idea why they chose our front door, but they did, however skittishly. So we fed them and petted them and, eventually, held them. And fed them some more. And then brought them inside. They are very affectionate, good-tempered cats.
Below is the more outgoing and immediately friendly of the brothers. We’ve been calling him Peter, because he resembles a relative’s cat named Peter who has a similar outgoing disposition. We hope to find a good home for this little guy.
Now, the kitten below was not nearly as outgoing, but he is the one I developed an immediate attachment to (can’t say why) and plan to keep. I’ve been calling him Eli (which is a Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s name reference, by way of the Owen Wilson character from The Royal Tenenbaums).
They are both quite adorable. And both kittens are also clearly the offspring of a similarly marked female that stops by our doorstep every so often (but only when pregnant and in need of food).
Below are a couple of pictures of their hussy mother from the ‘hood, who is friendly to us but runs from most of our neighbors (as did these kittens before we took them in today). We talked about getting their mom, who we refer to as Penelope, spayed the last time we saw her (pregnant again) on June 4.
Maybe when their mother kicked these kittens out of the colony this morning, she told them to go visit the nice people (read: suckers) upstairs. So, yes, now we have two kittens, in addition to our 7-year-old, 18-pound black house-puma. Hopefully soon we will have only two cats, once I find a friend or coworker who wants to adopt Eli’s brother “Peter” (AKA Repete).
We’ve already treated the kittens with flea medicine and clipped their tiny front claws. Next are shots and tests and then, once they’re old enough, neutering.
Note: As Oregonians, we do have the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon available as well. And the Humane Society (but their facilities are almost always full, especially during peak kitten season in June). As recently retired Bob Barker always says, “spay and neuter your pets!” Because we can’t afford to “fix” (or rather, “break” the reproductive organs of) every cat we meet.
I guess this has been two photoblog posts in a row. A kitten has adopted me and is sleeping on my lap as I type.
The kittens are so cute that I keep using LOLcat-speak to voice their thoughts for them. See some LOLcats. And more LOLcats. And more LOLcats. And even more LOLcats. Oh, the enjoyment I’ve received from viewing LOLcats and other LOLanimals on the web over the past few months/years.
Happy Father’s Day, everyone (void where not applicable)!