Here is the background. Our neighbors (a man and his wife who is not very healthy) are staying with their daughter a few miles away and once in a while check their house. And recently they have hired a handyman, Leon, to take care of the house for them. They also have had a “calico” cat for a few years now and we sometimes have seen her in our yard (no problem). However, she hasn’t been fixed and we saw her with a male cat in mid-March! And as you can guess, we expected kittens a couple of months later, and that happened the day before Mother’s day (she disappeared from our sight)! The rest you’ll read in the emails.

News Flash!

Wednesday June 25, 2003

Before going to take my half-hour walk, at 6:55 p.m., I decided to check on the neighbor’s cat and her “supposed” babies. It’s been 46 days and no sign of them. I approached the entrance to the maternity ward (crawl space under the house) very slowly and saw Calico sitting there, but I also noticed the hind legs of a baby calico going down the hole. Aha! So finally the rumors are true. There is at least one baby!

After my return from the walk, I of course was anxious to learn more. This time as I approached the hole I deciphered two “behinds” sliding down the hole. So, there are at least two! But how do you go about securing their trust and luring them out of the hole? I decided nothing could work better than food. They must be hungry. Mama cat has been looking exhausted and worn out, from nursing undoubtedly. I was sure they all could use some milk.

I put a bowl of milk near the hole and stood still about a yard away. First Mama cat started drinking. Well, I told myself, she deserves it. AND, that is actually necessary if the babies have to learn to eat. After a few minutes, a baby calico appeared in the scene and went to the dish. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make any sense out of the whole affair. (I’m going to use “she,” unless proven otherwise!) She is a real calico like her mother. Mom stopped drinking and started licking her paws. This act, the baby imitated rather easily. At first she was a bit clumsy, but learned it fast. I bet it was the first time she had a reason and opportunity to lick her paws (?)

A few minutes later, the second calico appeared and went right to the bowl and started licking from it, albeit a bit clumsily! Well, I thought, some babies learn without the help of their mother! Baby #1 was now more curious than ever to know what that stuff is and how to take it in. But no matter how much she tried, she didn’t get anywhere. Finally she gave up and slid under Mom’s belly for an easy meal!

For a while everything was routine and I thanked God that there were only two and no more. We’ve become de facto guardians of these creatures because our neighbors live elsewhere and can’t take care of the cat and her accidents! So, the fewer the better.

While I was in my happy daydreaming, #3 appeared from nowhere, and later #4! And they both learned how to use the bowl of milk by themselves. After a while, I was pretty sure (?) that there was no more. But while I was entertaining that idea, lo and behold, the black Papa cat suddenly appeared in the scene! Now what? Mama was sitting there, of course, guarding the babies, but I didn’t know what Papa had in mind. I didn’t want to move and scare the babies, so just waved my hand a bit pointing at Papa. After a moment or two he got the message and left. Can papa cats hurt baby cats?

It was getting dark and finally the babies slid down the hole. This was probably the most exciting day of their lives. I took the empty bowl and “said goodbye” to Mama and left. I wished that someone with a camcorder had been present. And all this happened while “Everybody Loves Raymond” was on TV and I missed it! Imagine!

PS: The order of the babies appearance turned out to be very interesting. #1 is a real calico like her mama. #2 can be called calico, but has got more black in her. #3 is black and white with a bit of other colors. But #4 is black just like her father!