Hide and Seek and Kittens

Mimsy, the tortie and white mother feral cat on our property, has been walking around with a bulging belly full of kittens for the last few weeks. She has about three litters a year, and is too intelligent to walk into the cat trap I have consistently set up for the last six months in order to get her to the vet to be desexed. I've switched around the bait, switched locations, switched tactics but to no avail. Our vet said that cat traps in winter are often unsuccessful unless the cats are absolutely starving, because the cold affects the smell molecules in the food so the smell doesn't carry in the air. I just think our older ferals are too street smart to walk into the traps. Anyway ...

I fed the cats this morning in the cat shed we had built for them and I noticed that Mimsy came in last. Her stomach was still a bit puffy but not the awkward swaying balloon I had been accustomed to seeing. I thought she may have had her kittens but when I looked into the nooks and crannies in the shed I couldn't find them. (The shed itself has many levels and many escape routes so that the cats have free passage in and out. I have lined the ground with straw which keeps it very tidy but also warm in winter.)

I later saw my cross border collie Belle, who is absolutely incredible at sniffing out kittens, sitting to attention near a fenced in cattle yard. Mimsy spotted her too and, in a great display of maternal courage, ran across the grass to launch her hissing self at Belle who promptly backed away. When I investigated further, I found two dug out burrows in the long grass with an entry and exit to each. When I peered into one, I spotted four tiny black and white kittens nestled inside and squeaking for either attention or in fear at being disturbed by the unfamiliar sounds around them. 

I took our two dogs away and then returned. I found two lengths of old criss-cross iron (don't ask me what it's called or what it's used for) and then attached them to the fence that ran around the burrow so that the cats could still walk through the holes but the dogs couldn't get in. Then I left them alone.

As I mentioned before Mimsy has had three litters this year. The first one was the most beautiful bunch of cats I had ever seen – all five of them were completely different in colour (a tabby, white with black stripes that looked like paint, a tortie and white, black with white face and paws, and a silver and white tabby). Gorgeous. Their temperaments were lovely as well – they bonded quickly with humans and were and are very loving. I found good homes for three of them and kept two. 

The second litter died from the cold I suspect. We had a bitter winter this year and unfortunately they must have been affected, despite the fact they were completely sheltered in the straw of in the cat shed. I heard their tiny meows for about two days and then they stopped. When I looked for them on the third day, all four of them were dead. They were ginger and white. My cousin buried them in his garden.

This one is the third litter. I wonder how they'll go? You can mark my words I will keep you posted on their progress.