I was starting to be concerned that Slick had moved her litter. I was feeling better this evening and headed out to walk around and get some fresh air, which is when I spotted her. She was in the grass in front of the catio, her babies around her.
I started getting photos and video while slowly moving closer. I spotted one of the black kittens going into the catio, where I had earlier added some water to the dry kibble to soften it, setting the door to its mostly-closed position for the night.
The closer I got, the other kittens saw me and ran off, but not the one in the catio. When I got to the door, I found it completely in the kibble bowl, eating like it had made a new and amazing discovery in solid food. I snuck a hand in to pet it, and it completely ignored me.
Before long, I had the door open and was actively petting it.
I even got to pick it up, and it didn’t panic or hiss or anything.
I’m under no illusions about this. The only reason I was able to approach the kitten was because it couldn’t see or hear me while it was inside the catio, eating. All the other kittens disappeared into the branch pile while Slick stayed in the grass, but as I came closer to her, she actually hissed and growled at me – but had no issues at all with me petting her baby!
I passed pictures and video on to the chat group I have with the rescue. One of them immediately asked if I could get all of them, and that she could help with an appointment to get Slick spayed.
I said it was too soon, only to be told it’s not too soon; they’re eating, and if we wait too long, they will be harder to socialize and adopt out.
Which I completely understand. It is true. However, as much as these volunteers are doing to get cats rescued and adopted out, I am getting the impression they have little experience with colony cats and ferals. I explained, that shelter has been there for only 24 hours; they’re not used to it yet. If I can spot them and Slick inside, I might be able to just close the door, but getting Slick into a carrier has always been a problem. (I have told them we’ve been trying to get Slick to a vet for years, already.) I mentioned that, in my experience, if we move too quickly, it can backfire and make it even harder to get them. Then I added that I am going for surgery tomorrow.
Then, much to my surprise, one of them asked if my surgery was “major” or not.
…
I told here it was supposed to be a day surgery if all goes well, but until they get a camera in me, they don’t know what’s wrong.
…
I’m still blown away to even have gotten that question.
They really, really want to get Slick and the litter in this week. Something I totally understand and appreciate. I don’t think they quite understand just how unlikely that is.
Plus, they aren’t weaned yet, and I think they still have at least a couple of weeks to go on that. Slick shouldn’t be spayed until the kittens are weaned. Today may very well be the first time any of them have eaten solid food.
No matter. Today was huge progress.
We have the morning cat soup, tetra packs of cat milk and kitten treats. Between the girls and I, we should be able to use various things to lure the kittens closer. The hard part about using treats like that will be keeping other other cats away, because they’ll just push their way in to try and get the treats.
For now, I’m just thrilled to have been able to touch the one kitten, and it let me, without any sign of fear or anxiety. That is just a huge thing!
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 