kittens

We have a colony of feral cats on our back lot. I think I've mentioned them but honestly I instagram so much that I can't remember if I also blogged about them or not. Anyway, I feed them and trap them as I can and get them TNR'd so that ta least the kittens quit coming fast and furious. But about a month ago my lot guy called my cell and in a very soft voice said, "There's kittens out here by the service gate."

I muttered a few bad words on my way out to see what was up. I can't do bottle feeding kittens, and when they're too old you can't catch them, so I wasn't sure what I'd find and could only think that it was just more damn cats on the lot to sort out.

Well, there were four 3.5-4 week old kittens playing in  little pile by our big dumpster. They seemed oblivious to us so I slowly walked right up to them, then bent down and snatched one of them up. I grabbed another one and hissed at Jesse to go get a box. When he came back I dumped the first two in the box and grabbed the other two. Got them inside and ended up taking them home to raise cause they were at the perfect age to switch to solid food and not miss their mom at all.

I came home for lunch every day just until today, to feed them, but now they can get thru the day with a bowl of kitten crunchies to hold them from breakfast till dinner. I spend a lot of time with them, getting them sweet and lovable, introducing them to the stupid dog, who sniffs them up one side and down the other, leaving a trail of damp ruffled fur. They don't much care about her unless she gets too wound up.

So now, almost 4 weeks later, my upstairs guest bath is totally trashed, my guest bedroom is stripped of all its knickknacks, and my arms and legs are a testament to just how sharp a kitten's teeth and claws are. They are just adorable and I've taken a million pictures of them and tons of video. I'm going to start giving them away on Saturday and it's going to kill me.

About an hour after I caught them.

Nim, short for Nimbus cause his fluffy fur
makes me think of nimbus clouds.

Muddle, cause his coat's all muddled up
and he's a bit confused most of the time.

This pic and the one below are of Bill, my favorite.
Named him Bill for Bill Murray in the movie Stripes,
cause he's nothing but.

Nim zonked out in my neighbor's hand.

Wendy, the only girl, ignoring Maggie
and about to go pounce on Nim.

Bill again, curled up with Nim.

This is what we do when I visit. I sit on the floor
and they run wild all over me but mostly on my legs and behind my back.
Sometimes they sleep in a pile on my lap, but mostly they play.