Monday, March 19, 2007

Callie's back home

" What's she doing back?"

"Somebody help me...she's eating my side too!"


Help to the rescue.
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Callie is Daisy's sister and in 2004 she was banished by our other cats from the yard and went to live with another family down the road. Through the years she has occasionally stopped by to pay us a visit at least once or twice a month. She has always looked well fed and taken care of and had become a much more gentle cat than when she left. I had tried in 2004 to tame her down and make a housecat out of her, but she resisted my efforts and remained on the wildside.
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In February, barefoot & pregnant, she returned home to stay and hasn't left the yard since. She quickly made herself at home in the doghouse outside, near the back door and last week she wanted into the house. We let her in and she proceeded to check out every quiet nook & cranny for a possible nesting place. She found a suitable place under one of the beds and made herself comfortable until Jybow appeared. A little fight between girls ensued and Callie decided that the doghouse was more suitable for her purposes, so out she went.
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Last Thursday, March 15th, Callie gave birth to four beautiful kittens in the comfy doghouse. The doghouse is well insulated from the cold, has door flaps to keep out cold winds and I always keep the bedding washed up and clean. Everything was fine until yesterday afternoon when it was time to feed Callie. She came around to the front door to eat and I thought that this was an excellent opportunity for me to check on the kittens again. As I approached the doghouse a very large grey tomcat was leaving the area...he scampered away very quickly as he always does...we don't allow him in the yard because he hurts our cats, so when he sees us he runs like hell. As I moved the doghouse from it's sheltered location and peered inside, I was saddened by what I saw....two of the kittens had just been killed in the time it had taken me to walk from one end of my house to the other. I had heard of tomcats doing that, but had never witnessed it...and I don't have any other explanation for what happened to the kittens.
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I quickly gathered up the remaining kittens and brought them into the house. They are nestled in a cat carrier resting in the bathtub of our guest bathroom. I just didn't know where else to put them and this seemed like a quiet place behind closed shower doors. Callie seems to like her new home and I am wondering if she is even litter trained. We have been letting her out on demand and so far no messes. Callie did fine all night long, but at 7 a.m. she must have been wandering around in the house and when Daisy jumped off our bed, on her, a long & noisy cat fight ensued. We checked both cats for injuries, but not even a little fluff of hair was found. Just a couple of drama queens.
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After I had removed the kittens from the doghouse yesterday I went back out and guess who I found with his head in the doghouse door and his tail bristled up like a giant bottle brush...that big bad tomcat again coming back to finish what he started, I guess.

8 comments:

Susie said...

I had no clue that cats would kill other cats (kittens). Glad you were able to recuse two of the babies and give Callie a safe place!!
Love her calico coloring!!
Do her babies look like her??
xo

tomlaureld@yahoo.com said...

Male Toms kill male kittens to remove any competition. They leave the females alone.

Alipurr said...

that is really sad about the kittens...good thing you saved 2 of them, i bet they are really cute

Rachel said...

Had to laugh at your previous post!! I like the surprised look and you do look more like a terrorist in the other pic than a harem girl!! LOL
Very cute way to entertain yourself Sandy!!

I know that some tomcats will kill little kittens. How awful. The poor little things. I'm glad the other two are safe from the beast!!

LZ Blogger said...

Sandy ~ Welcome home to Callie! ~ jb///

Gary said...

I have never heard of that. Fascinating.

Cheyenne said...

I too was not aware that they did that. Shame on them. So glad to hear at least two of them found a safe place in your home.

Kerri said...

Oh Sandy, that's awful! I'm so glad you got there in time to save 2 of the kittens. Callie is such a pretty little calico.
Sounds like you found a perfect place for her.
Jasmine was spayed today and is spending the night at the vet. It's very quiet around here without her.....no mad cat racing around the house like crazy. She has a bad case of spring fever :) Now we'll be able to let her out.