Our Family Grows

One day, this past few months, Pop and I were working with the winter's wood supply, when we heard the 3 dogs barking incessantly at something they had treed. We investigated and found it was a young calico cat. It didn't appear to be a full grown cat, but maybe 3/4 grown. We called the dogs away and between Pop and I, we coerced the kitten down from the tree. It seemed to be comfortable with humans, so we went about convincing the dogs that it was not a varmint, so they,too, become  comfortable with each other, right away. It seemed to be a well kept cat. It was healthy and friendly, but it was determined to follow us, every step we made. We'd go inside. It would follow. We'd go outside. It would follow. It knew exactly where to go inside the house, for water, To the commode. That told us that it must have been a house cat where ever it had come from. We continued on with letting it be a house cat, but it definitely wanted to go outdoors to do it's business. It would use the litter box if it had to, but we could tell, it preferred to do that outside in the dirt.We noticed it getting fatter and fatter, or so we thought. It only took about 60+ days to figure out it was not fat that was making her appear much bigger. Pop was worried she had a tumor, and sure enough 60+ days later, she had 5 little tumors. We have spoiled them all rotten now, and it will be hard to let them go, but we are pretty sure we have found homes for most of the babies. We plan to have Callie, the Mother cat, neutered as soon as possible. She is a darling pet. It is hard to understand who would have dropped off such a great pet, but with the economy being as it is nowadays, we figure they could not afford to feed her, plus most likely knowing she was bred, did not help.  Our male cat has been neutered so we know he was not guilty of fathering the kittens.She had to have been bred when she was dropped or shortly thereafter, by a neighboring male cat. They do tend to travel great distances, when in season, to find a mate. No matter. She is our cat now, and we love her dearly. The babies are all precious. Each with it's own darling personality. They will make great pets for their perspective owners soon, although we will miss them terribly. It is so easy to get attached to a tiny kitten, as we are learning, all too well.