This is my view most days post lobotomy.
Ball less and Flawless indeed!!! This cat isn’t going anywhere.
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This guy has so much confidence - he strutted right into the trap and took his time chowing down on the bait. I’m glad he wont be getting into anymore fights - he is smaller but is constantly challenging the older, bigger tom (we got him too).
I don’t doubt that I will have some of Terrance’s kittens on my hands soon - he was regularly cavorting around the tiny dilute tabby girl. These are the new residents of my makeshift maternity ward.
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Good on you @BatCoach. Seriously it’s a lot of work to break the cycle of intact reproducing dumped cats. You deserve kudos for your efforts !! Thank you 
for trying to give these cats a better life. Sending all my good vibes your way.
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appreciate it! Dilute tabby (Daisy) is starting to come out of her shell and trust me which really makes it all worth while - those first purrs let me know that I made the right choice.
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Yay for Terrance and your maternity ward looks quite cozy too!
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Thanks! I have some pet-safe heat pads for when the little ones come and chilly nights. Still working on the best balance of blankets vs. cleanliness. Daisy is still figuring out that the litter should stay IN the box, rather than brining your blanket in the litter box. We’ll get there hahaha. Right now I just strip the cage daily and put in fresh towels & a fleece blanket for snuggling. Its good to see that the capstar is working - no more fleas for these gals!
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They are so funny with their little quirks. She is either trying to sleep in there or really really covering it up. 
Looks like you have a happy maternity ward. Kittens are cute and all but glad there will be no more.
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This thread makes me so happy that others have given street cats a chance. I’m a huge advocate of if you catch it, spay/neuter it. There’s too many street cats and unwanted cats out there.
I acquired a female cat from a neighbor back in December. Neighbor managed to catch the neighborhood stray, who no one stepped forward to claim, and gave her to me to be my barn cat. We kept Socks locked in the tack room while she gained weight and recovered from her time outside, then ended up transitioning her to house cat life. Shortly before she was finally rehabbed enough to spay she managed to pop out 6 kittens. So now we’re back on the waiting game and thankfully have her spay appointment set up for the end of May (along with all her babies). No idea what we’re doing with the babies and her yet, other than getting them all fixed and comfortable with house cat life!
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Friday afternoon Feral mama 1 (Daisy) had 4 gorgeous little babies. 1 ginger, 1 smoke, 2 brown tabby. She is a very good mama and lets me cautiously handle the babies, all of whom are gaining weight steadily.
Feral mama 2 (Marlow) was giving birth right when I had to leave for work this morning (to quote Angela from the Office “why doesn’t this company recognize cat maternity leave?” DH is keeping an eye on her from afar since she is much more feral and we don’t want to upset her.
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!They’re gorgeous and adorable!
thank you! Did anyone order a baby Chessalump? even though this pic was taken on Saturday this lil fuzzy peach is in the leaderboard for “best eater”
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Awwwww!!!’ Squeeeeeeeee! I 
Him.
PS guessing it’s a he as 99.9% of every ginger I’ve had has been a boy.
Awww!!! Precious!
I hope this doesn’t come across as rude, but are you working with a rescue that can help with food and medical costs? Spay/neuter/shots is not cheap.
If not, I’d be happy to contribute a dribble.
Again, I don’t mean to pry into your business or to be rude, but I know how much it costs. All of my cats are old and sick so I’m not able to foster right now but do enjoy living vicariously through others.
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@rubygirl1968 I’d donate too!! It takes a village to break the cycle. And I’m so grateful there are people who give a F. About other peoples bad decisions.
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I love Mama’s sweet face. She looks so happy. Can’t wait til babies get bigger and start to romp. I love their little Charlie Brown Christmas tree tails at that age.
not rude at all! you are so sweet to offer, but yes, I am VERY fortunate to have found a rescue who helped me.
I had to reach out to about 7 different rescues before I found one that could help, but they have been fantastic with not only helping me trap, but also transporting & paying for all of those trapped kitties to be neutered. We trapped these 2 mommas at the same time when we got about 1/2 the colony, and they loaned me the 2 big dog crates and are providing food for the mommas while they birth & nurse their babies.
In 5-6 weeks, when the babies are weaned, the rescue will take the mamas for vetting and will determine if the friendly mama can be adopted. Babies will be taken to a different foster home with more room for them to play and go into “Kitten-tergarden” until they are big enough to be vetted, s/n and then put into their adoption program.
I’m just the first rung of this adoption pipeline. I joke with DH that I’m now a kitten supplier - straight from the streets! Let all the street walker-hussy cats be put on notice: I will trap you, and I will take your kittens so they can live a life of luxury as a housecat. lol But honestly I am SO so grateful that I found a rescue to work with - they really took the burden off of my shoulders, not just of covering medical costs, but also of adopting the kittens out.
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Awwww @BatCoach I cannot possibly adore you more. I am celebrating with you and cheering you on!!!
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Aww thank you! I really appreciate that. These 2 mamas can be a handful sometimes - they certainly have more tricks up their sleeves than my fat housekitties. One is messy but sweet, and the other is well… very feral.
Messy & sweet mama was constantly overturning her litterbox and food and water bowls. Can’t blame her - she is still a kitten herself and was writhing around being SO uncomfortable. I had to buy some kennel cups that screw into a bracket on the other side of the crate. I then fixed the litterbox issue by clipping it to the side of the wire crate with a big binder clip. <- I felt pretty smart about that one 
I also don’t put too many towels or blankets in her crate since she will just pull them into the litterbox. just one is fine thank you.
About 2 days before she had her babies she lulled me into a false sense of complacency. She wanted cheek rubs and belly pets, and was being so flippy and adorable. She put her front paws up on my shoulder and PING - jumped out of the cage. Fortunately the garage door was closed, but what followed was a 1.5 hour ordeal of her hiding in the engine compartment of my car, then DH and I literally wrangling this pregnant cat until we chased her into a carrier.
The other is still super hissy & spitty, I’m pretty good at reading body language, and I take care to not make her feel cornered, but she will go from purring and wanting cheek rubs to lunging at me after I stopped petting her. very glad I invested in some elbow-length padded leather gloves (also might come in handy if I want to take up falconry later).
They have given me a few gray hairs already! Its been a learning curve for sure.
The funny thing is that if I still had a horse, I would not have the time to care for these girls. I ended a long-term free lease in order to afford buying this house that came with this cat colony. So in a weird way, these little trouble makers are helping to fill that horse-shaped void.
Sorry for the thread hi-jack! Its nice to be able to share these kitty stories with fellow cat lovers.
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