I woke up (uncharacteristically) early this morning, just about at sunrise and fed our own two cats that are always waiting outside our door. A few minutes later Calico who heard noises in our side of the fence showed up for breakfast. She has been doing that and we’ve encouraged it because it is easier for us to feed her this way. And our own cats have gotten slowly used to it. But the welcome mat is not open while they are themselves eating. That being the case, Calico retreated back to her side of the fence and stood guards at “the hole.” I decided that now it is time for “Mohammad to go to the mountain!”

So, I took a bowl with the last couple of ounces of milk we had and went there. There were no kitties and Mama finished the milk! I thought to myself, they should be able to eat canned food, no? So I tried. While Mama was eating, #1 showed up. Aha! We are in business again. This baby who could never learn how to drink milk from a bowl yesterday, had no difficulty in eating canned food (for the first time) now! Then #3 and later #4 showed up and had their breakfast. But #2 wasn’t there yet.

In the meantime, our cat LB, who had sensed a commotion, jumped over the fence where I was standing to review the situation. She sat there quietly watching for a few minutes and left. Mama was keeping an eye on her, but that is all.

At one point, #4 got into competition with her Mom when Mom decided to resume eating. The baby must’ve been very hungry, or impolite, because she wasn’t going to easily let Ma stick her nose in the bowl. But finally they managed to share the bowl and lick it clean!

Is #2 really missing, or could it have been an optical illusion when I thought I saw four kitties yesterday?
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No dinner!

Apparently someone (Mama or kitties) decided that one serving of cat food a day is enough, and anything over that should be provided by Mama. That is fine with me, although I wasted a bit of my time coaxing them out of the hole without any success. I am afraid it is going to take a long time before they will get used to human beings, or even anything moving about. How are we going to get rid of them, I have no idea!
However, the good (?) news is that it has been confirmed that there are four of them. Leon, the neighbor’s handyman, told me that he also saw four babies yesterday. There!
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Second-day breakfast

Yes, they showed up for breakfast, but only three of them. Whatever happened to #2? I hope it doesn't mean there is a skeleton under the house! I don't even want to think about it. Is it possible that she decided cat food is inferior to Mama's milk? What about wanting to come out for fresh air and looking around? Aren't cats supposed to be curious creatures? Only time will tell.
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Dinner for One!

Yes, only one kitty, #1, showed up and strangely enough she preferred the dry cat food whereas Mama was eating the canned version. Oh well, live and learn!

Speaking of learning, I think we’ll see more of this happening that not all the babies come out to eat every time. They are probably still nursing on Mom.
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Hallelujah!

#2 finally showed up for breakfast this morning. So, we won’t have a skeleton in the closet (basement, i.e.) after all!
I’m still surprised that the kitties prefer dry cat food over wet and soft canned food. Go figure. And I thought they didn’t have teeth!
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Early Dinner

It was about 4 p.m. today that I happened to look outside and see Papa cat next to Mama cat at the “hole.” He of course disappeared as soon as I approached them with the food (not for him of course, but for the rest of them. He is an arrogant creature, sometimes showing up in our house spraying!).