When the three kittens were born, the Mama Cat was infrequently seen in the yard. We ended up with two and except for a brief sighting of the third in June we weren’t sure at all how the third was doing — until August. We’d been feeding the Mama at the edge of the yard and she made a point of going to the food from different directions, moving along the perimeter of the yard. If she thought we were near (25 feet was too close) she took off, no matter how hungry she was.

In August we began to have sightings of the third kitten, which Molly named Peach Blossom, and the Mama together. They were living under the house. We moved the food bowl closer to the house where they could reach it easier but Mama was doing all the eating, Peach Blossom wasn’t weaned yet. (We’re glad Grey and Blondie take so long!)

In late August we tried to trap the Mama and failed utterly. We want to take her to the vet, and the kitten too, to have them neutered. We made more attempts but she stayed clear of the trap, no matter what enticing food was inside. No luck on Peach Blossom either.

Once we were sure that Peach Blossom was weaned or nearly weaned, we let the big guys out and they made quick friends with Mama Cat and Peach Blossom. Mama Cat adores Kitty Boy and it’s fun watching Peach Blossom play with Kitty Boy’s tail. The Mama and kitten have slightly relaxed their vigilance and have been eating on the porch now. The Mama is less likely to run away if she sees us in a window or through the panes in the door.

We still hope to catch them one of these days — hopefully before Mama becomes pregnant again!

Here are photos of Peach Blossom on the back porch visiting with Grey (who is still kept inside for now until he has all his shots).

And Mama Cat and Peach Blossom eating on the front porch. Peach Blossom gets so he waits, looking in the door, when it’s dinner time.

More soon!

The big news is that we were able to trap the feral mama cat and her kitten on our front screened in porch last Tuesday. We’d been feeding them deeper and deeper into the porch for the past couple of weeks and creating a maze to get to the food bowls so there wasn’t a straight shot to the door. I’d hooked up a rope to the screen door that went to the shop where I sat and waited for Molly’s signal since I couldn’t see into the porch to make sure both cats were at the other end. She gave the signal, I gave the rope a yank, and the door closed shut.

Both cats freaked out, cannoning into the screens to get out. We opened the door to the house, Bobo went out onto the porch, and the mama cat and kitten both immediately calmed down. It took an hour or so for them to venture inside the house and that’s where they’ve remained since then. Eventually we’ll get both neutered and, if they prefer, they can go back outside full time. But I think with winter coming, and the company of the other cats, they’ll decide they like it inside sometimes.

Mama cat is watching from the step down into the addition. Blondie can’t be easily seen, but he’s lying and looking out the window to her right.

All of the cats have been having a great time with each other. Little Blondie seems to be special friends with the feral kitten. Both the kitten and mama cat remain hidden for most of the day, but as time has gone on they’ve ventured out more and more — to scamper and hide if we walk by or come too close. Getting them into carriers to take to the vet is going to be a challenge.

More soon!