Operation Save Teh Kittehs Part 2!

When last I updated you on “Operation Save TeH Kittehs,” the cat and her kittens were under my house and I had decided to wait a few weeks for them to start running around before I trapped them. The goal was, of course, to get the kittens, socialize them while they were young, and give them away.

Since then, much has happened.

First off, about a week after the last post, the Mama cat apparently got tired of having Patton sniffing around the area where her kittens were and decided to move on.

I didn’t know exactly where she had taken the kittens, but since I did see her lounging about in the general vicinity, I assumed it couldn’t have been too far.

Then, about a week ago, I noticed that the kittens were out and about, moving around at the next door neighbor’s house. Of course, I still couldn’t get near them without them running off, but at least I knew where they were.

Anyway, a few nights back, I’m taking Patton out and I notice all three of the kittens camped out, sleeping together on the neighbor’s front porch. Although I had planned on giving it another week or so before making an attempt to trap the kittens, I thought this might be a great opportunity to grab the kittehs!

So, I put on some work gloves to prevent scratches and bites, grabbed a big plastic tub that I had sitting around, and I went kitteh hunting!

Unfortunately, I have not spent a lot of time around cats and I wasn’t aggressive enough in grabbing the kittehs. Had I been, I could have scooped up all three of them right then and there. As it was, I only managed to get one kitteh, which I took back to my porch.

I ignored the kitten’s hissing, handled it until it seemed to get fairly comfortable, gave it some water, put down a little soft place for it to sleep and put some food in there with it.

Adorable, right?

However, it occurred to me that the kitten still might not be able to eat solid food since it was less than a month old. So, I decided to go inside to Google it.

When I opened the door, Patton ran onto the porch and was quite alarmed that I apparently had not realized that the house was now infested with kittehs!

After calming Patton down, we went back into the house and after doing a bit of research, I realized I would probably have to go get some cat formula for the kitten. That was not a thrilling development.

Then, I took Patton outside to use the bathroom a bit later and I noticed the mother cat, looking distraught, sitting in the exact spot where I had grabbed her kitten. That was to be the first of two times that night where I wish I had taken a picture.

So, I go back in, get distracted for another 30 minutes or so, and head out to check on the kitten.

When I get out there, I’m amazed: the kitten, who had seemed to be a perfect example of the phrase “weak as a kitten” had somehow managed to get out of the plastic tub he was in. I say “somehow,” because he had tried it earlier, when I was there, and had not even come close. But, that wasn’t the amazing thing.

Additionally, the mother cat was sitting on the other side of the screen door looking upset. That wasn’t the amazing thing either.

The amazing thing was that this tiny, weak, little kitten had climbed 3/5 of the way up the screen door and was hanging on for dear life. I’m not sure where the kitten thought he was going, but he had been working hard to get there. In retrospect, I wish I had grabbed a camera and taken some snaps, but at the time, I was worried the kitten was going to fall and hurt itself. I needn’t have worried because when I tried to get the kitten off the screen door, I found out he had an absolute death lock on it.

Still, I did get the kitten off the door and then I had to ponder what to do. I did not have any cat formula and wasn’t wild about the idea of buying some and feeding the kitten like a baby. I also wasn’t in love with the idea of having the sad part of a Disney movie playing on my back porch every night with the mother cat and kittens crying to each other through a screen door,

Additionally, the earliest I could have requested a trap to try to get the other kittens would be today. So, I decided to release the kitteh back to its mother and reformulate a better plan. That may have been a mistake. After all, a kitteh in the hand is better than 3 kittehs in the bush.

Plus, coming up with a plan is going to be tough.

#1) I can get a trap from animal control to catch these kittens. However, there are multiple wild cats in the area. It may be difficult to insure I get a kitten as opposed to an adult feral cat.

#2) I’m not wild about having the kittens on the back porch and the mother crying outside the door each night. I may just have to bear it for a while though.

#3) I’m not sure how much longer I should wait before making an attempt to catch the kittens. The older they get, the easier it will be for them to eat solid food and get away from the mother, so I am thinking another week or so.

What do you think I should do from here? Let me know in the comments section.

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