Another momma

Introducing Chika, Piglet and Roo!

Chika is the tortie momma cat, Piglet is the white kitten, and Roo is the orange kitten.

Chika had been living outside the home of one of our friends and volunteers for the last year or two, sheltering nearby and surviving on the food and water that Pam provided. Pam had never been able to touch her. Last night, Pam was finally able to trap Chika and her two babies (about 2-3 weeks old) and bring them over to my place. Sadly, we do believe that Chika actually had four babies to begin with, but that two of them were killed by the tomcats in the area. Thankfully, this will be her last litter, and her babies will not be condemned to a life on the street. Tomcats were already trying to mate again with Chika before Pam was able to grab her, so we know that if we hadn't intervened, she would have had at least one more litter this season.

Now, she will stay at my place in safety and warmth until her babies are weaned, at which point we will have Chika spayed. If she has shown any indication of taming up by then we will continue working with her, but if she is still feral we will release her back to her home territory. So far she is remarkably calm, and the babies are nursing well. They are so chubby!

-Sarah