Neighbor's Kittens: Tiger and Pepe

Linda says: During cold winter nights our out door cat, Barney, sleeps in her special warm bed in our garage. One morning as I was feeding her I spotted something dashing out through the garage cat door. The next morning I got a better look because the cat food thief was another cat -- a beautiful and sweet calico. She sat in front of the door begging for food. So, by that evening there was another warm cat bed and two dishes of food, warm cream and plenty of scratches on the neck. She was nearly starving and appeared to be ill as she was coughing and wheezing. I assumed she would fill her belly and then return to her home. After about a week it was evident that she was settled in for the winter. Our indoor cats were not receptive nor was Barney. I tried to reassure them by calling the newcomer Neighbor. It was also meant as a reminder that none of us should get too attached. However, that strategy didn't work for long. Soon she was not only looking and sounding more healthy, she was getting quite large with kittens. Not sure how or when this happened as she never was seen outside the garage. We must have had another visitor one cold evening…

On April 12 she gifted us with four healthy kittens. One black and white one with a stripe down the back like a skunk, one ginger, and two identical light-tan kittens. All four had white feet. Now at 11 weeks we are seeking new homes for all of them and keeping our fingers crossed that the male visitor will keep his distance until we can get Neighbor to the vet.

Pepe, the black and white, is the sweetheart of the group. I’m pretty sure it’s a she. My four- and two-year-old granddaughters seek her out for holding and petting and she doesn’t seem to mind their fumblings. Tiger is first in line for meals but is also the runt of the litter.