Kella
We were not planning on having a cat in the house. Sure, we eventually wanted to have a couple of kittens, but we didn't feel we were ready yet, not after losing Kisa last year. And we're planning to move at the end of next year, so we figured we'd revisit the kitten idea sometime after moving.
Then, a week ago, I was looking out the back window into the yard and saw cats. A beautiful, sleek black panther of a mom and two kittens: a black & white tuxedo and a solid grey. When Frederick saw them we looked at each other with that particular sort of recognition--"Kittens!"--and made a plan. After putting food out for the kitties we had first one, then two male cats come by and hang out in the yard as well. Within a couple days the cat population in our backyard went from zero to five.
It turns out the SF SPCA has a Feral Fix program. They loan humane traps and will spay/neuter feral cats for free if you bring them in and agree to release them back into your yard. That was the perfect solution for us as the adults don't need to continue breeding, but they're also pretty much untamable and would only be euthanized (as opposed to adopted) had we brought them in to the pound. We ended up trapping all three adults, getting them fixed, and releasing them.
We also caught one kitten, the little 8-9 week old tuxedo female. We have adopted her and are working on taming her. Poor thing, she is currently going through a traumatic situation as she was separated from her mother and sibling, and then imprisoned in an unfamiliar place with huge scary people. Luckily, she's at the age where, with a bit of patience, she should be able to tame into a housecat, and hopefully this will all become a distant memory. In any case, she has a much easier and infinitely safer life in front of her.
Although we tried, we were unable to catch her fluffy grey sibling. The last time I saw him was last weekend, before we caught any of the cats. I really do hope he is okay; maybe he has adopted some people for himself.
As for us, well, we now have the pitter-patter of little paws around the house. Or more accurately, alternately hiding underneath the couch and the spare bed. Her name is Kella and as soon as I can take some photos of her I'll post them. She is a very cute kitten :)
Then, a week ago, I was looking out the back window into the yard and saw cats. A beautiful, sleek black panther of a mom and two kittens: a black & white tuxedo and a solid grey. When Frederick saw them we looked at each other with that particular sort of recognition--"Kittens!"--and made a plan. After putting food out for the kitties we had first one, then two male cats come by and hang out in the yard as well. Within a couple days the cat population in our backyard went from zero to five.
It turns out the SF SPCA has a Feral Fix program. They loan humane traps and will spay/neuter feral cats for free if you bring them in and agree to release them back into your yard. That was the perfect solution for us as the adults don't need to continue breeding, but they're also pretty much untamable and would only be euthanized (as opposed to adopted) had we brought them in to the pound. We ended up trapping all three adults, getting them fixed, and releasing them.
We also caught one kitten, the little 8-9 week old tuxedo female. We have adopted her and are working on taming her. Poor thing, she is currently going through a traumatic situation as she was separated from her mother and sibling, and then imprisoned in an unfamiliar place with huge scary people. Luckily, she's at the age where, with a bit of patience, she should be able to tame into a housecat, and hopefully this will all become a distant memory. In any case, she has a much easier and infinitely safer life in front of her.
Although we tried, we were unable to catch her fluffy grey sibling. The last time I saw him was last weekend, before we caught any of the cats. I really do hope he is okay; maybe he has adopted some people for himself.
As for us, well, we now have the pitter-patter of little paws around the house. Or more accurately, alternately hiding underneath the couch and the spare bed. Her name is Kella and as soon as I can take some photos of her I'll post them. She is a very cute kitten :)