We have cast about looking for kittens. It has been surprisingly difficult to find any. But springtime IS the season, isn’t it? SPCAs are two hours drive in either direction… and we’ve tried there for kittens or young adults. There was one that caught our eye advertised at the SPCA to the north of us, but they said it was a “special” case, and would require multiple (4) visits back and forth to “make sure” the cat was “working out”… 2 hours drive each way, each time. So we gave up with that plan.
A local friend suggested a manx breeder that she knew, and we were game for that… probably hoping to get something that DID have a tail… because I like cat tails, and there are sometimes some physical issues with the deformation that is “manx” with pooping (I hear). But we waited long after this litter was supposed to be born, with no news of any kittens. I scoped out one local litter… which would have been a “rescue” situation… it was pretty bad. Not only the kittens, but the entire place. Overflowing cat manure everywhere. So we were still kinda looking. Heard of some kittens available, with high praise from the source, on how great kittens from this place were, and it was just down the road.
I’ve worked census several times locally… which gets me into a number of different spots where someone would not often get to. As we proceeded as the directions sent us, I began to suspect that I’d been to this place before. Twice. It was pretty sketchy. A broken down drug lab, where some guy got shot last year. Probably deserved to be shot, but all the same… People come and go from this property, no one stays long. We arrived, they had been phoned by our contact, to expect us. The man brought out a box with three kittens in it. There was a fourth too, but it was already spoken for, and waiting for pick up in the house. I woulda taken all three, just to get them out of there, but the DH objected to THREE. And rightly so. So we took two. Brown tabbies, with white under carriage. The man gave us the cardboard box they were in, and removed the third kitten, took it back into the shack. And we left with our new kittens.
I’m pretty sure that we have one male and one female. The female has a little more white on her, and slightly lighter colouring. We’ve had them a couple days now. They were living in a shed, outside, and are pretty much “untouched” so are quite feral. They are not reliably “litter box trained”, but we are working on that. They are getting easier to catch, and pick up for a cuddle… this was not something that had been done… so they are “in training”. I got a little purr out of one of them this morning, while cuddling, for the first time. They are eating and drinking well, and tear around the bedroom when they are released from the pen, chasing a lure. I make sure they get enough exercise so that they go back and sleep again for a while. There have been a couple of mistakes with using the litter box, but I think they are catching on to that plan.
Our old male cat, Perry, who raised the deceased Prickle, and who made the decision to become an “indoor” cat in order to be Prickle’s mentor in the house 8 years ago, has met these two new kittens. He’s interested. I’m hoping that he will take on the challenge of helping to civilize these two youngsters. He came to us originally as a mature semi feral stallion cat, I think he evacuated our neighbour’s house (1 km away) and came our way looking for a better situation. He was an orange streak through the bush for the first month, but befriended our completely feral barn cat (now deceased). The SPCA gelded him for me. He became tame, over time, but was always concerned that someone was going to kick him, or that doors were going to be slammed ON him… thus I feel he did have some human contact of a negative sort. He’s a great cat, and loves everyone. When he was young, he used to come into the garden with me, and sit, with his back to me, scanning the horizon for coyotes. If he saw one, he’d growl to warn me. He was guarding me while I was busy weeding. He’s that sort of guy. But for a long time, he would not come to the house, he was not happy about being confined in any way. It was when we got Prickle that gave him the incentive to come to the house, and come inside. So that he could be with Prickle. He’s an old guy now, he’s been with us for 11 years.
The DH also has a cat, Pat the Cat, who is his little darling. She’s a prissy little thing, and hates everyone but the DH. He selected her at the SPCA, as a young, pregnant cat, whisked off the streets of Kamloops, and took possession of her a week later, after the pregnancy was terminated with the spaying. She hates all other cats. And most people, except the DH. She tolerates me every now and again. She would be disapproving of the new kittens.
