Semi Ferals

After going to a funeral last Thursday I got a text from our rescues president about a group of kittens and mum in some elderly dudes backyard in my suburb. We had to travel about 2 hours each way for the funeral but I couldn’t leave it to the next day knowing the kids were living in a wood pile under some tin sheeting.

The man was about 80 and very security conscious which was a good thing but didn’t make me feel too good about my neighbourhood. Anywho he took me out the back where I saw the mum cat and the kittens. Mum, a tortoiseshell, hissed and rang away pretty quickly and the kittens I could just see under the tin. On closer inspection they weren’t as tiny as I thought they’d be as they were moving around and seemed in good health. We lifted the tin shed and they moved into a second wood pile where they were actually in amongst the wood planks not just on top of them. Lots of cockroaches emerged as we lifted planks of wood to get to them all. There was a bit of hissing and scratching as I deposited into the cat cage I had bought just in case. I was meant to be going to assess the kittens and the mum who apparently was in poor condition but the man wanted them gone (not a huge animal lover but at least he called us) and I couldn’t leave them. There were 2 gingers in the litter, I couldn’t resist.

We had been hearing a mewing coming from somewhere else in the backyard or the next backyard over and when I’d gotten the 4 out of the woodpile I tried to find the fifth. We ventured next door which was vacant and I headed to the shed which was near the fence line. I heard the mewing very loud in the shed but the shed was devoid of kittens and full of crap.
Trying to navigate my way around the perimeter of the shed was difficult and the mewing was no longer being made. I was worried but saw a pile of bricks against the shed which had those hollow innards. I just started pulling some away as I didn’t know where else to look. Well of course there was a tiny black and white kitten trapped between the shed and pile of bricks, a tiny space. I was just so glad I found him or her, but of course I got scratched for my troubles.

I took them home and put them in the bathroom. At the moment Choco and Grayson are in the spare/study/kitty room so that only leaves the main bedroom and the spare bedroom which is where I sleep when the boyfriend is working nights on call.

First or second day of living in a house

Poor little guys pretty much stayed in their cat cage for a long time at first, I put a towel next to it but they just used that instead of the litterbox.
I’ve had them nearly 2 weeks now and one of the little black and white ones has come out all of a sudden and doesn’t run away when I open the door and lets my boyfriend and I pat him or her. I don’t know if it is the one stuck next to the shed as there are 2 black and white ones nearly identical although this smoochy one does seem to be the runt of the litter, so maybe it is as it was stuck in the tiny space and maybe missed out on feedings.

Widgit doing his best old man with food on his face impression

Just the last few days nearly all of them are a lot better. I've named the two gingers Butch and Bubbles (both boys) and Widget is the original friendly black and white boy. I'm still yet to name the female other black and white kitten and the tortie who is still very shy and I'm not sure of the sex.

They are beautiful little things and I’m not sure what to do. I would love to foster them full time and see their progress but realistically they can’t really live in the bathroom for a long time – we only have one and we are in the midst of sanding the walls and replacing the basin and cupboard. If only I had a McMansion with a million bathrooms and bedrooms.

I don’t believe I updated that Wesley found a forever home, with a lovely couple who saw his youtube video and loved him (and their dog does too).

So any name suggestions for a black and white female and tortoiseshell (probaly) male? They need to be a bit unusual as we have had our fair shares of Max's, Coco's, Tom's etc.