The Cat Who Wouldn’t Leave

Saturday evening, Aaron mowed the backyard, which hadn’t been mowed for, oh, weeks. The grass isn’t growing, and there was no sense breaking out the mower just to cut the weeds. Anyway, as he was mowing, he noticed a feral cat hanging around the backyard. At one point he called me to the door and said, “That cat isn’t leaving the yard! She acts like it’s her yard!”

He walked towards her, but she ran from him, yet refused to leave. We just shrugged it off, thinking she was some weird cat who happened to like our yard.

And then today, I walked out into the backyard, looking inside the play barn and noticing Aaron forgot to move it and mow there. And then a bit of fur catches my eye.

Suddenly I know why the cat refused to leave the yard. And it’s a good thing Aaron didn’t move the play barn.


It makes sense – our yard is completely fenced, making it a good hideout from predators. And the play barn is a nice shelter from hawks. Guess she thought we were a good hideout for her family. I have to respect her as a mom – she picked a good spot.

Now what in the world are we going to do about these five kittens? The mother in me has already determined that they will not be moved or taken from their mom, especially this young. Their eyes aren’t even open yet. (But they’re already doing that adorable kitten hiss when I peek in the window. So cute!) She took too much care in finding a good spot for them for me to rip them away from her.

So I guess for now I’m going to buy some cheap cat food so she doesn’t have to spend all her time hunting for food. Maybe we can tame her down enough that we can move the whole family to a nice farm somewhere? There’s no way we’re keeping any of them – we have too many living things to take care of as it is.

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Comments

  1. Cute! And you’re right, what a smart mama cat.

  2. So cute. I love piles of kittens. It makes me wish I could have one, but I am unfortunately allergic.

  3. My suggestion is that you interact (petting them and picking them up) with the kittens as much as possible so that they can be adopted out. You have to do it young (as soon as the eyes open) so that they will be accepting of humans.

    The mom is pretty much a lost cause, feral cats are extremely hard to tame. I would suggest that once you give the kittens away you trap the mom and spay her so that there are no more kittens to worry about. There may be cheap spay resources in your area that can help you with the cost. In my county they spay feral cats for free and even help provide traps.

  4. Oh, they’re so cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute! Hee!

  5. If you can’t find them a home, look for a local rescue. All our cats have been rescues and I know kittens usually get adopted quickly.

  6. Christina, those kittens are adorable. I love how cat siblings are always all touching at all possible times when non-sibling cats avoid contact except to roll around biting one another in the throats.

    Yes, we’ve got cats, mostly because we’re suckers and take them in “temporarily” and then can’t find them homes. Columbus shelters and welfare groups are so stocked. That said, if you’re going to call around, now’s the time before winter strikes and the shelters are even fuller.

    I’d try Cat Welfare (on Indianola) first, although they’re often maxed out to beyond capacity.

  7. de-lurking to second Awesome mom’s suggestion/comment. The best thing you can do for the mama cat is be sure she doesn’t add to the feral cat population.

  8. T with Honey says

    An even tougher thing than finding them a new home eventually may be keeping Cordy away from them and deciding that she needs to keep all of them for herself.
    Good luck!

  9. good luck they are so cute … don’t let the kids ever near them … you will be keeping them for sure!

  10. Good thing you found the kittens before their home got disturbed! Kind of a pain, though. It’s not like it was even YOUR cat that had kittens, yet you still have to get rid of them! Oh well, I’m sure Cordy will get a kick out of watching the kittens grow over the next few weeks!

  11. Major Bedhead says

    Ask at your local Animal Rescue League or ASPCA for help, both with adopting out the kittens and spaying the mother. You could also ask them what kind of food to feed the mother, and the kittens when they need it – wet, dry or both.

    They are adorable. Just adorable.

  12. What a beautiful but sad story. Amen to Awesome Mom. Start up a collection! I’ll surely give a few bucks for the cause.

  13. OMG!!! What a crazy thing to have happen. I would be VERY worry about CJ becoming rapidly attached to a passel of cats… which I am highly allergic to. Good luck finding them homes!

  14. aw, you get to handle kittnes! BTW, the nursing mom woule LOVE a bag of kittne food, it has extra proteins she can pass to her babies. And DO handle them 🙂 no, momma cat won’t abandon them if you touch them, and they will be much happier kitties. If you don’t have a rescue, Craigslist is a great way to line up homes, just trust your instincts when people come to see them, you don’t want them to go to a bad home 🙁 Momma is indeed a lost cause but if you can affored to spay her that would be kinder than letting her keep having babies, no matter how smart a momma she is. Good luck!

  15. We’ve got cat allergies in the family, so I’ll just have to admire through the photos. Good luck finding them homes!

  16. Oh Baby Gifts says

    what a cute pack of cats. Too bad I’m a dog lover 😛

  17. What an honor, that she chose to have her babies in your yard.

    I mean that seriously. Ad you said, she gave it some real thought.

    If you start feeding her, it is possible that while she’ll never be tame, she may make your yard her home. We had a cat that went wild at about 5 (she hated the dogs) that lived another 10 years in the yard 🙂 If you can capture her long enough to spay and vaccinate her, it will ease your mind about the kids being around her.

    And talk to your vet BTW. It may not be possible to get the cat to the vet,but your vet may be willing to come out or give you the vaccines.

  18. They are soo so cute. If you can’t find a farm, put an ad in the local paper for free kittens. Usually if you are giving them away the paper doesn’t even charge you for the ad. Or look for a no-kill shelter to bring them to, kittens will usually place fast.

    Good luck!

  19. A practical note from a former cat rescue volunteer and someone who lives in the country and deals with this sort of thing now and then:

    Buy the mom kitten food. She needs the extra nutrients.

    Contact a local rescue or shelter and ask if they have anyone who will take in and tame feral kittens. It can be done, but if you wait until they’re eight weeks old, it’s going to be more difficult.

    Don’t handle the kittens without latex or rubber gloves.

    If you can trap the mama, and can find an inexpensive route for spaying her, it’s a good idea.

    Good luck!

  20. Aw! So sweet!

    Your house must put off good vibes 😀