Infestation

[alfvaen]

There's this mostly-tabby cat that's been hanging around the neighbourhood for a while. Maybe not since we moved in, but certainly for at least a year. Our cat, Felicity, is an indoors cat, but we've taken her outside for tentative explorations on a few occasions, and she still considers the backyard, which she can see through the patio doors, to be her domain. So when the tabby cat comes around, sometimes she and Felicity have a growling match through the screen, if it's open. It's mostly just noise; I don't think either of them have tried to claw through the screen, which is a good thing. We're not sure if she's a stray or if she's an out-cat from elsewhere in the neighbourhood.

I hadn't seen her for a while, but yesterday Nicole reported spraying her through the screen with a water pistol, to break up another cat argument. She(the tabby cat)ran away, but not too far. Nicole didn't think anything of it.

Until we start seeing little tiny kittens climbing up from under the deck this morning. Tabby-coloured kittens, some lighter than others. Our deck sits maybe a foot or two off the ground, with a small gap between it and the fence. I wouldn't have credited that a cat could get under it, actually. But apparently this cat has nested under there and had her litter. (Which is how we know that it's a "her".)

The tabby cat definitely does not wear a collar, which reduces the chances that she's a house-cat on the roam, as does the fact of choosing to have her litter outside her own house. So now we have a stray cat, with several kittens. What the heck do we do with them? We're going to check around in case she does have a home nearby(which is going to be fun--we don't know any of our neighbours that well), but if not, what then? Do we call the SPCA on her? Nicole's reluctant, because of the possibility of them being euthanized. My dad has expressed interest in taking one of the kittens, if they end up being ours to dispose of. I don't know if I want to leave them to grow up strays, and kittens are likely good adoption prospects, right? We'd take one ourselves, but Nicole is not strongly in favour of a multiple-cat household, and my own experiences with adopting kittens into households with an existing adult cat have not been particularly favourable.

I also don't feel much like prying up the deck to try to get the kittens out of there. Or having someone else do it. Why couldn't she have nested under the lilac bush instead? That thing needs major cutting back--we can barely see out of the kitchen window.

But it's nice to have some cute kitties around.

Comments

[paigedayspring.livejournal.com]

Try advertising the kitties at the edmonton group.

[boutell.livejournal.com]

Our older female cat, Probat, responded to the arrival of Illy-the-kitten with full-on warfare. Since she couldn't figure out how to simply kill her, she denied her all access to food, water, and the litterbox. When Illy got just a little bigger, we found out that, like most bullies, Probat is a Big Wimp; since then Illy has kicked Probat's ass up and down the stairs. But the whole thing does not really recommend adding a kitten to a household with an adult female (and therefore territorial) cat, no.

SSC

[omarius.livejournal.com]

I refer to them as "inboard," "outboard," or "inboard/outboard" cats.

[snugsbug.livejournal.com]

I'd gather up the mother and her kitties and then set out to try to find a home for them. Put ads in the major papers including Bargain Finder.

It's just too bad the SPCA and the pound is getting overcrowded. If only people were more educated and would get their pets neutered / spayed.