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| "Please don't make me move." |
Look at that face. Is that a face you say "No" to?
No, as in no, you can't eat the food I left out for my regular cats. No you can't warm yourself under the heat lamp. No, you can't stay.
I've never been able to say No to an animal in need, and as of this morning I found out just how needy a couple year-old female sisters are when, at 4 this morning my husband woke me up.
"Come see what's sleeping under the porch lamp."
Uh oh. A raccoon? No, that's no big deal. Just last night I was touched to discover a young raccoon had curled into a tight ball on the porch sofa. I took its photo moments before it got up and wandered into the cat house where I had a heat lamp burning. Clearly it had done that before.
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| baby raccoon |
I got up and followed Ray into the living room. We are light sleepers in our house, and tend to roam during the wee hours to discover what exactly goes on both in and outside the house. Ray gestured out the window.
Kittens! Three of them curled into a cozy cluster under the lamp. Two black, one tabby.
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| 4 am -- kittens |
I could see Momcat inside the house. From a prior meeting I knew the Momcat to be relatively tame. I mixed up a can of stinky cat tuna with kibble and took it out to them. YumYum was asleep in the camp chair under the better of the two lamps. For whatever reason (Divine Intervention) I'd whisked her buddy, Jesse, into the laundry room the night before. It was bone-chilling cold, and Yum Yum can be a bit of a heat hog. Perched on the side of the chair, Jesse had looked miserable. With a bed, litter box and food and water, in my laundry room he settled in quite happily. Perhaps with Jesse gone, Momcat felt comfortapurr enough to bring the kittens on to the porch for the night.
As I stepped out, the cold hit me. It was 70 just a day ago, now it was sleeting. Of course the kittens scattered when they saw me, but Momcat came over to say hello. I put down the food, and the smell lured the kittens over. It also lured YumYum, but I had food for her and so everyone ate happily, and I went back to bed, after snapping a few photos.
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| 4:15 am - kitten breakfast |
When I awoke at 6, I checked to see if they were still there. Yep. Except now there were four kittens! Two black and two tabbies. Two tabbies? Oh no!
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| Tiger baby, looks male |
All of the food was gone, so I made a huge batch and took it out to them. Momcat came over, kittens zoomed like crazed rockets around us. Then I noticed another black female...Momcat's sister. And man, doesn't she look like she could be... oh no!
I kept Jesse in the laundry room all day. He's fit to be tied, absolutely bored out of his mind despite the catnip, treats and toys I gave him. I know if I let him out, not only would he be miserable in the cold, but Momcat would take her babies away for safety. Jesse isn't aggressive, but I don't want to take the chance when its so mean and cold outside.
Kittens! I don't have room in my budget for kittens. I don't have room in my house for kittens. I do not want kittens. And yet... how can I say No?
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| Little panfur baby soaks under heat lamp |
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| Toys for future hunters |
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| Momcat is tame and sweet |
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| Momcat and 3 kittens enjoy toys |
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| Herman checks out the action |
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| Junior practices for future hunting expedition |
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| YumYum perches on chair while Momcat enjoys house. |
I know God doesn't give me more than I can handle, but... Seriously, Lord? Enough is enough!
