It all began when my eldest saw a mama cat and her baby in the backyard. They named her Maya and the baby was named Toby. We spent countless hours and days watching them and quickly fell in love with the pair.
One day Maya showed up alone. She was clearly looking for Toby. We didn’t see the pair again.
Months passed and we saw Toby! Toby had brought their own kitten to our backyard. The pair hung out and played in the yard. Much happiness ensued.
The next day Toby was back with the kitten… but there was a new mama cat with them… we named her Josie. Josie brought four… maybe five… kittens with her. We haven’t named the kittens yet.
So now we had three adult mama cats and four to five kittens that come to our yard. The three mama cats are all calicos. Maya has more markings on her and is clearly the largest of the three. Toby is more white, but still clearly a calico. Josie has the most beautiful golden eyes. As for the kittens, there are two black and white tuxedos, an all black kitten and one (maybe two) calicos.
Our hearts melted watching this family in the safety of our backyard… especially when we figured out that Josie was pregnant! We put out a bowl of water and some food for them. After much consideration we purchased and put out a feral shelter.
And then it happened… a very large male cat came to the yard. He strutted around and marked his territory. Our indoor cat, Calgary, lost his mind. He didn’t see the cat, but knew he had been here.
The three mamas and their kittens didn’t come around for a few days after that. I went out and cleaned the spots where the male cat had been… I even sprayed Febreeze (this may have zero effect).
Yesterday two of the kittens were back. One of the tuxedos and the black one. I’ve decided to name them Gizmo and Socks. They tumbled around the yard chasing a grasshopper. They napped on the lawn chairs. They are adorable.
Calgary loves to watch his outdoor “friends” from his perch by the kitchen window. He tells us they are out there and then tries to convince us to either let them in or him out. (That isn’t happening.)
Amy N Kaplan 