Wednesday, May 22, 2013

And Then There Were Three

Ginger is my wild cat. Her mother kept her hidden for such a long time after she was born that she never learned to love and trust me. I've fed her twice a day for almost two years now, but have only touched her three or four times. When I see her walking through the back yard, I always open the kitchen window and talk to her. "Hi, Ginger. I see you. You be safe out there." She stops and looks up at me, but continues on her stealthy way.

When I went out to feed the cats last night, I saw Ginger sitting on the side lawn and decided to take her bowl to the little shed where she often stays. I was almost there when I noticed a little yellow kitten sitting not far from her. I thought it was one of Swirly's four little ones, but they had never come onto the yard before. I called out, "Baby! What are you doing over here?" And the kitty took off like a flash and ducked into the shed.

Oh my! Ginger has a baby, and I hadn't even realized she was pregnant. I returned to the house and a little later looked out a side window. Sure enough, that little kitty was sitting just outside the shed. I grabbed my camera and sneaked out onto the porch and got a picture. Do you see him/her on the right side of that pile of bricks?
I had to hurry on down to the milk barn to tell Pat and Weldon. They were as surprised as I was. Big smiles all around :)

This morning, before heading to the barn, Weldon was at his computer and I happened to look out the window. There sat Ginger in front of the shed. I could see the baby, but there was another kitty climbing in the camellia bush! Unbelievable! We looked and laughed and I thought, "Well, if things continue in this fashion, there will be three babies by this evening."

Weldon went on to the barn, I got the cat food ready, fed the cats at the tractor shed, and then brought some to the little shed. I talked a bit, wanting the babies to get used to my voice, but only Ginger came out to eat. I went back to the house and decided to grab my camera and see if I could get a little closer than the night before. I stopped midway to the shed and got a pic of Ginger watching her two little ones eat.

I was looking at the LCD screen of my camera as Ginger stepped down to join her babies at the feed bowl. But, wait! Some other movement caught my attention. I looked over the camera, and what to my wondering eyes should appear? but ... another kitten!
Unbelievable! He/she appears to be the smallest, and she didn't try to get at the food. She went straight for mom and enjoyed some warm milk.
I couldn't stop smiling. After saying a few quiet words to the little family, I hurried on to the barn to tell Pat and Weldon the exciting news. Unbelievable!

It was raining tonight when I took out the cat food, but I saw Ginger and talked just a bit. No, I don't expect to see any more kittens in that little shed. Three is quite enough!