Daily Photo: Callie and Her Kittens

August 11, 2019August 12, 2019 Bernadette

I knew I should have taken my good camera with the telephoto lens because all I’d be doing was sitting in my car, but I left without it so I didn’t get good photos of Callie and her feral friends. In fact, we didn’t get her either that evening. But Michelle and Denise did get her neonatal kittens off of the floor of the front seat of the broken down minivan missing a door in the neighbor’s driveway.

It started with Michelle posting last Wednesday, “So I was following the Callie cat after she ate two bowls on kitten food just to see where she goes. She jumped into an open window of the broken down vehicle across the street. I’m not sure if she was pregnant, but this could be a possibility. I’m afraid to tell my neighbors or go snooping to see.”

Callie, a small long-haired calico, had been seen at all the feeding stations in the past few weeks. It was pretty clear she was probably pregnant, but she was on the ssmall side and fluffy so it was hard to tell. She lived outside the house of a neighbor who had several cats who regularly had kittens, and we’ve been spending time trying to stop that with TNR. Michelle has pulled in several kittens from that colony in addition to our TNR.

Later, Denise joined Michelle and had the moxie to just go and get those kittens. I posted about caring for neonatal kittens and shared my article on trapping a mom with kittens as bait and tried to keep in touch. Later in the afternoon I just went the few blocks and met with Michelle.

“Send good trapping vibes to a little calico mom of these six tiny fuzzballs! She had them in a junk van on a nasty neighbor’s property (photo 3), unsafe to her and kittens. Kittens are bait behind trap under orange towel (photo 2), she is on the steps watching on the other edge of photo. She is likely in heat again, dallying around a gray male we haven’t trapped yet. This is where we trapped kittens and TNR several adults last January. I’m being useful sitting in my car giving instructions since I can’t walk too far right now.”

The trap is in the garage, Callie is on the steps.

Michelle turned out to be a chanpion bottle feeder for six kittens whose eyes were just about opening. And that was a good thing because we didn’t trap Callie that night, not for all the kitten music and clever trap setup. Very wily, and acting as if she was in heat again already she stayed with her homies and waited by the van for her kittens to magically reappear.

Late the following afternoon she finally went into the trap. But when Michelle and her husband tried to put her in the crate with the kittens, she got loose in their garage. They set up a trap in their garage, which is actually very neat and clean and fairly empty. We got her a spay appointment because that might help to calm her down if she was indeed in heat, but she wasn’t trapped in time for that. As far as I know she is still loose in the garage, and poor Michelle is still feeding six kittens every two to three hours. I will update as things change.

Photos from years past

Daily Photo: Boxes and Baskets and Birdwatching, 2017

Basil on a pile of papers, Giuseppe in a box, Hamlet in his favorite basket, lots of sunshine, breezes, and a great station on Cat TV. Cats don’t need fancy things to celebrate World Cat Day, just as long as they have things they like EVERY day. Or else.

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From Instagram

When the kids grow up but don’t leave.

This is what happens when the kids grow up but don’t move away, 10 years old and still playing with mom’s tail.

Mewsette playing with Mimi's tail. — Mewsette playing with Mimi’s tail.

Downloading Pee-mail

Mimi is downloading her pee-mail, apparently there’s been quite the discussion about something.

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What other photos have I shared on or around this date?

Wordless Wednesday: Basil’s Afternoon Nap, Position 4, 2015

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I Heard There Was A Meeting…

“Did someone call a meeting, about…kittens?” Giuseppe asks, joining Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette. The little ones have been permitted an hour or two in the first and second floors of the house. The door to the basement is blocked, and whoever is down there looking out the basement door is kind of stuck, as is whoever is upstairs with…the kittens. Actually, it’s gone really well. Each kitten has a favorite spot and spends lots of time looking out the windows and doors in ones, twos and threes. The big cats might complain, but they also herd the kittens around and give them little licks. This scene happened after the kittens had invaded a really good nap on my work table.

Below, however, Giuseppe and Bean stuff themselves into a small peach box. It seems they are invisible to kittens when they are in the box. Well, they make the rules around here.

Boys in the box are invisible to kittens.

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Today’s photos from Instagram and Facebook

And three kittens held perfectly still for a record 18 seconds. Cat TV taken to a whole new level.

Alvina found it first, but the others soon joined her. They seem to have an unspoken communication where they all come together when it’s something important. Like a bright red bird, right there, on the feeder!

Art and Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

Fine Art • Photography • Gifts • Greeting Cards • Books • Commissioned Portraits & Artwork

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Feline Images from Portraits of Animals!

black cat in Mimi walks through the buttercups and forget-me-nots. — Mimi walks through the buttercups and forget-me-nots.

Mimi is never so happy as when she’s out in the yard, as you can see by her “happy tail”. She’s so short that I can’t get a good photo of her face without flowers in the way, but perhaps that’s how she wants it.

Copyright

All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.