You can't own a cat. The best you can do is be partners.

On May 11, 2009 I received a call from a friend who is a building inspector with the City. He said that he was at a construction site and they had seen a kitten under the construction office trailer. I told him I’d be there in a few minutes.

When I got there, the construction crew said that two kittens had fallen out, but the mother cat had come down and carried both of them back up into the insulation under the trailer. I waited for a few minutes, but there were no cats. I left and told them to call me if the kittens came back.

I had just about gotten home when I received a call from the inspector. There were two kittens on the ground under the trailer now. I told him that I would go home and get a kennel and come back.

When I got back to the site, the guys had scooped up the kittens in a box and were holding them for me. The mother cat was nearby. She was a little, long haired solid black cat. The kittens, one striped with white paws and the other black, long haired, with white paws, looked to be about 4 weeks old. They were not afraid or feral yet. Their mother, however, was not going to have anything to do with any of us.

It was about 3:00 in the afternoon. I took the kittens and put them in the kennel I brought. I thought that maybe I could tempt the mother cat to come and be with the kittens. She was too smart for that. I left the kennel with the kittens on the parking lot near the trailer. The mother went around in circles, but wouldn’t come near the kittens. I put treats down. She came up and picked up the treats, but wouldn’t come near me. The guys were going to lock up and leave soon.

I opened the kennel and hoped that the mother cat would come over to the kittens. The kittens saw her and started coming out of the kennel. They started running over to their mother, who was under the trailer. I had to catch them and put them back into the kennel. Then I put the kennel in the back of my SUV. I went over to the steps of the trailer to watch, hoping that the mother would get in and maybe I could get back to the car and close the doors before she got out. She did jump up there and “talk” to her kittens, but of course, when I moved toward the car, she jumped down.

It was getting close to 5:00pm and I felt like I should try to get the kittens home and feed them. It had been two or three hours since I had come over. I hated to leave the mother cat there in the parking lot, but I knew I would try to come back for her. When I drove off, I could see her in my rearview mirror. I just hoped she would stick around long enough for me to catch her.

I took the kittens home and kept them in the RV for the night. I planned to take them to the vet the next day and make sure they were okay to be with our other cats in the garage. I didn’t know if they were weaned yet, so I got some kitten formula and bottles for feeding. The kittens were very hungry and they drank the milk from the bottle after a little coaxing. But, they also had a tendency to chew, so I knew they were near weaning.

The next day I mixed some wet food with the formula and the kittens were pretty messy, but they slurped up as much as they wanted. Their mom had been weaning them probably when they fell out of the insulation of the construction trailer.

I took them to the vet for checkups. They checked out fine. We fixed up a cage and pen for them in the garage. With some coaxing, they were both eating formula with wet cat food. I named the striped male, “Marquis” and the black female, “Monet”. They had been found in the construction site of the “Marquis” and “Monet” development. I know, how original.

Marquis and Monet about 4 weeks old

I went back over to the construction trailer that afternoon. The guys said they had not seen the mother cat. I had brought some food and water. I set it under the trailer. I stayed there until they closed up and left. I was parked in the parking lot. When I started thinking that she wouldn’t come, I saw her coming along the parking lot and under the trailer. She went over to the food and ate. After she ate, she sat and “called” the kittens. It was pitiful. I got out of my car and walked toward her, but then she moved away from the food. There was just no way I was going to get her to come to me.

Now it became a challenge. I felt like I had to catch her, hopefully before I found homes for her kittens. I wanted her to be able to see the kittens again so she’d know that I didn’t just take them from her when I drove away with them that day. I decided that her name would be “Debby”.

So, I had to leave “Debby” there that night. I went home and decided that I would try to borrow a trap from the animal shelter. I called the next day, but there were no traps available. I went online and discovered that I could buy one. I ordered it and hoped I would get it before Debby decided that she had no reason to come back to the trailer.

I went to the trailer every night and put the food out and waited. I soon discovered that Debby came to the trailer every evening at 7:30pm. I still didn’t have my trap though.

Sometimes when she didn’t show up at 7:30, I drove around the block and came back through the parking lot. Then she would be there. One night when I was waiting for her a gray tabby came through the parking lot. He had white paws and I think he was “Marquis’” dad.

In the meantime, the kittens were growing and playing and we were really enjoying them. But, I wanted to bring Debby to see them before they had to leave.

My trap finally arrived on the 21st, 10 days after I found the kittens. At a little after 6:00pm I took the trap out to the trailer and set it up. Debby still had not come at 7:30 as she usually did. Then 8:00 and it was getting dark. I went to start the car and drive around the block like I did, and the car wouldn’t start. It sounded like a dead battery, clicks and nothing else. I called Charlie to come and help me. I figured it would take the Auto Club longer to get out there. It was dark by now. While I was on the phone with Charlie, the “daddy” cat came by. He took one look at the trap and kept going. I was afraid he would go in and I didn’t really want to catch him that night.

After awhile Charlie drove up. It was about 9:00 or so. He got out and went to the back of his car to get the cables out. While he was doing that, I decided to try to start the car. It started! I got out of the car to go and tell him to never mind the cables and here comes Debby under the trailer! I told Charlie to back up and we’d leave to see if she’d come to the trap. I pulled up to the end of the street and Charlie went over to park by the models. Then I as I was backing back to the trailer, I heard the trap spring. I ran over to the trap and saw that Debby was in it. I quickly put the trap in my car and drove over to where Charlie was. I said “I got her!” and he gave a thumbs up. I’m sure he was glad that my night ‘raids’ were over.

Debby spent the night in her kennel in the RV. I took her to the vet the next day. She needed to be tested for feline leukemia before I could bring her into the garage. I wanted to have her spayed, but they said it would be six weeks before they could do that. But, since they had to sedate her to get blood, they decided they would go ahead and spay her. She was negative for feline leukemia and her kittens were also negative.

Debby in her "4x4"
Her kittens were so small, they just came through the wire

We set up a 4x4x6 kennel for her in the garage. When I brought her home from the vet, she settled in there. We let her kittens go in with her. She knew them and seemed to be relieved to see them, licking them and meowing at them. They played all around and on top of her and she had so much patience.

Debby let me pet her, but having the kittens near was helpful. I still didn’t know if she would scratch me, so I usually held one of the kittens up for her to distract her when I wanted to pet her. I bought a little stuffed black and white cat and started using that as a buffer in case she struck at me. But, she never really tried to strike me.

I found good homes for Debby’s kittens when they turned 8 weeks old. Marquis is now “Marcus” and belongs to one of my walking buddies. Monet is now “Thumbelina”. She belongs to a family who uses the same vet as we do. They saw the picture of the kittens on the bulletin board at the vet’s office where I had posted them.

Marcus and Oreo

I still get the chance to babysit with “Marcus” and his brother “Oreo” when I’m needed. He has grown into a handsome young fellow. I haven’t seen “Thumbelina” again, but I have had some updated pictures of her.

Thumbelina

We are now leaving the door to Debby’s kennel open most of the time. She comes out into the garage, but is still shy and will run back to the safety of her cat tree in the kennel. But, we’re hoping that when she gets more used to being out and seeing us more, she will not be so afraid. She loves being petted though and I’m working on trying to pick her up. She is still not much into that though. We’ve had her a year and half now and I’m sure it will take awhile longer to get her trust. She does like the other cats and we’ve had no problems with that. In fact, she likes Mr. Creme and comes over to him when he gets near her kennel. We call him “her boyfriend”.

More later........