Today our kittens turn three weeks old! It's time to introduce them to the world in all their cuteness! Our biggest kitten is Holly, a little fuzzy grey tabby. She (we think it's a she, not 100% sure yet) is one of the braver kittens. She loves tummy rubs and likes to go exploring to the very edge of your lap! Here she is chilling in my lap like a champ. It's not a very good quality picture but I thought it showed her sweet calm face. Our next biggest is Chestnut. He's a swee

Things are going well at the kitty colony. I'm regaining their trust after the flurry of trapping then disappearing over Spring Break. At first I would go feed them and see no cats, but now they're peeking out of all their little hidey-holes while I'm putting the food out. If I sit quietly for a minute a few will come out and eat with me there. Fern, Clover, and Ash are the most reliable. Fern has been getting pretty close actually. I'm hoping one day she'll let me pet her! B

While the trapping is on a short hiatus, I thought I'd write a little piece about the big daddy of the colony, Juniper. He's also picked up the name Sasquatch, for obvious reasons. He's the biggest of the bunch, and he's pretty reliable to be around when I come to do the feeding. He has sniffed around when I'm trapping, but has not had any interest at all in going in a trap. He might be a tricky one to catch. He's captured our interest though because he's so striking and unus

We have kittens! Sunflower had two kittens by the time Jeri went to check on her this morning. Talk about catching her in the nick of time!!! Over the next few hours she had 3 more, for a total of 5 perfect kittens. All are doing really well and Jeri said Sunflower was a champ. She even let Jeri move her to clean towels and let her pet them all a little bit. We have two little grey tabbies and 3 black ones, but it's possible some markings may become more apparent as they get

Yesterday I caught Sunflower!!! I realized she wouldn't go near the traps when she knew I was nearby, so I went farther out of site than normal, and it worked! She was very good in the trap and the car. Not as afraid as some of the others have been. I got her in the car right away and drove her to Jeri's, her new foster home. Jeri kindly offered to keep Sunflower until the kittens are born and weaned. So so kind. We brought her up to her new home in a cozy spare bathroom with

Just picked up Honeysuckle and Pinecone from their surgeries and vaccinations! They're doing great, resting in the kennel together. Pinecone is a girl and Honeysuckle is a boy! I guessed wrong on these two. The vets guessed Pinecone is about 6 months and Honeysuckle is 2 years old. That seems about right to me. A neighbor who lives nearby is pretty sure Pinecone, Fern, and Clover are all from the same litter so they might all be about 6 months old. Lucky Pinecone wasn't pregn

We released Clover and Fern yesterday morning. Clover was definitely ready to go. He'd discovered how to hiss, and was practicing every chance he could! Fern was still very docile, but she was being protected by her big brother. We brought them in their kennel to the colony and opened the door. Clover shot out like a rocket, but Fern took a minute longer. Once she did leave, she stopped a few feet away and turned to look at us for a minute before scampering off. Be still my h

I'm happy to report that Fern and Clover are now spayed and neutered, vaccinated against Rabies, Distemper, and some nasty respiratory diseases. They did great! As we guessed, Fern is a girl and Clover is a boy. The vets thought Clover is older though, so they are not littermates like I thought. Now that I can look at their pretty faces up close, I think they're right. Early yesterday morning my Dad and I brought them to TCAP for their feral services. It involves getting ther

Our first trapping outing was remarkably successful! I set the traps with some yummy tuna and my dad and I retreated a safe distance. After a little while, it seemed like Fern was just teasing us. But in the end, we successfully trapped Fern and Clover! They're settled into my quiet garage right now and early tomorrow I'll take them to TCAP for their spays and neuters and vaccinations! Two down!!!

I've spent the last few evenings feeding the kitties. They have slowly started to come closer and tonight they even seemed to be waiting for us. I've identified 14 cats, but the neighbors' estimates originally ranged from 12-20. Update: 9 of the 14 have been trapped 7 have been fixed, vaccinated and released Left to right: Pinecone, Fern, and Clover I call these babies the Three Amigos. They are the first to be seen and are usually together. I'd guess they are 6 months old an