|
|
One day a stray cat appeared in our backyard. I expected
her to be wild but she came right up to me as if to say hello.
I fed her and brought her inside the house to play, but not
for long because I noticed her condition of being
a new mother. There must be kittens out there somewhere waiting for her. |
Four days later after being well fed, her stomach got very round and it suddenly
dawned on me that she was pregnant, not had just given birth. I was ecstatic
because I had never seen newborn kittens before. I kept her in the house most
of the time from then on. She liked being with us even though she had quite a
few run-ins with the long-time resident (my old cat). Nothing to be alarmed of;
they spat at each other, then slink away in the opposite directions. I named the
stray, 'Fawn.'
A week later, Fawn disappeared. She didn't show up to eat all day. I thought I
lost her for good. However, she came back late at night and I knew right away
that she had given birth somewhere, probably in my neighbor's yard.
I was crestfallen because I realized that I would not get to see the newborns
until they were big enough to run around; or worse, I would probably never get
to see them at all.
The next morning, Fawn came back to eat as usual. I left her on the back porch
to eat. An idea hit me a little while later that I should keep an eye on her to see
where she was heading, so I could follow her to the hiding place. I looked out
the back door and there she was standing with a kitten in her mouth!
I couldn't believe my eyes. I opened the door and she ran straight to my room,
and deposited the kitten right under the bed as if she had mentally picked that
particular spot ahead of time.
It was somewhat an omnipotent experience watching her struggle to jump the
fence back and forth with a kitten in her mouth. At one time, she even looked
back at me as if asking for help, and I could only help her by sending her up
over the fence and bringing her down from the fence. She even went back for
the sixth time to make sure she had transported all kittens to safety.
For weeks I had a family living under my bed until the kittens were old enough
for adoptions. They were adorable and they were adopted within a week; all
but one that we decided to keep along with the mother.
Whew!!!
© 09/25/99
|
|
|
