Jan would like to have it clear that Oreo and her family were not brought in by her, but by me (Drew, the webslave). But it was clear that she would have done it eventually, so I was just saving time.
We first became aware of Oreo when she started sneaking into the garage to eat from one of the food dishes. One day, when the dish was empty, she chewed through a bag of catfood and helped herself to the contents. Rather than deal with a strange cat getting comfortable wandering through our garage, we put a food dish outside.
She turned out to be very affectionate, despite being skittish. I'm sure that being motivated by hunger didn't hurt the situation. It became clear once she'd been petted a bit that she was either nursing a litter or had recently weaned them.
The kittens were spotted soon after that, in the next yard. They were hiding (and probably were born) in/around/under the wide assortment of stuff that the neighbor had stored there. As you can see from the pictures below, it wasn't immediately clear how many kittens there were.
With the food dish, and the affection, Oreo started bringing her kittens into our yard. That gave them a chance to see us, and us a chance to observe the kittens. Unfortunately, mom wasn't helpful enough to actually bring the kittens to us for introductions. You work with what you have.
Tennessee was the first kitten that I caught, largely by accident. The food dish was in a small shed near the gate. I'd done some pruning earlier and needed to haul some large branches out to the curb. So, I went over to make sure the kittens had scurried off. (I preferred them running from me than having them running from me dragging big branches.) So, they all ran off, but Tennessee tried to run through a small gap that only hid her head. I couldn't resist and scruffed her to take her in.
She calmed down quickly as I sat with her, and I decided that she (I don't recall whether I knew she was a she yet) was Tennessee Tuxedo. After that, Jan decided that the others needed to have state names as well.
The next day, I caught the other three kittens, also mostly by accident.
They were all playing near the shed, and I went over to watch. I sat down at a safe distance and tried not to stare. After a bit, they went back to playing. I took a couple opportunities to scoot closer without scaring them too much. I wasn't expecting to catch them, just get them used to my presence.
After a bit, they were on to me, and some disappeared without coming back. I decided to go look at the gaps around the shed and fence, through which they were going. I figured that, if I blocked the right ones, I might corner them. When I got to the corner with the gap in the fence, the kittens were on the other side. I remembered that they had been playing with a dropped piece of ivy and decided to try playing with them. So, I cut off a piece of the vine growing on the fence, crouched slowly and wiggled the vine through the gap in the fence.
One of the kittens was interested and came after the vine. I slowly moved it closer, and the kitten followed. When it was far enough through the fence, I scruffed it (and got holes bitten in my hand). I tried again (while holding the first kitten), and it worked, a little more slowly. Unfortunately, I then realized that I had a kitten in each hand and I hadn't unlatched the door to the cat carrier. I managed to get it opened and get the terrified kittens inside. When I went back to the fence, I was surprised to find that the last kitten was still there. She was cautious, but that wiggling stick was just too much to resist. She came through. I grabbed her. Oreo lunged at me since I was taking all of her litter, and it was all over.
Oreo didn't lunge too forcefully, and didn't even extend her claws. I think that, despite her instincts, she knew that her kittens were going to be fine.
New Pictures
Oreo is recovering from being a single mom with no support system.
She was skin and bone when she first showed up. While she is still quite thin, she's getting a little padding between her spine and skin, and her coat has shined up. She will probably fill out nicely once the kittens are weaned. According to the vet, her milk is drying up, so she should be able to focus the food on her own body soon.
The vet estimates her age between 1 and 2 years. She's received her vaccinations and tested negative for FeLV and FIV.
There are 4 kittens: Arizona, Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee. Indiana is a male, and the other three are females. Based on the vet's age estimate, they were born around 4 September 1998.
They have had their first set of kitten shots, and have an appointment for the next set.
So far, they have been living with Oreo in a large catshow cage in our garage. That separates them from the cats in the house, to the benefit of both groups. Soon, they (with the cage) will be moving into one of the office rooms in the house. That should allow for more time outside the cage, as well as getting adjusted to the normal contents of the human world.
New Pictures
Arizona (Zona) is a scrappy little thing. After two weeks in, she is the only one who still hisses most of the time she is reached for. That shouldn't last much longer, though, because she seems to enjoy being held and gets very relaxed.
She has been responsible for several "security upgrades" on their cage, as she has shown a talent for getting out and wandering the garage. Unfortunately, the garage hasn't been made safe for a kitten, so we can't allow that.
Georgia is the smallest and the most shy. She seems to be a bit of a loner. Much of the time, we'll go to check on them and find a pile of three kittens in one place and Georgia curled up on a towel by herself.
Indiana (Indy) is the only boy in the family. He (like all of them) is a very energetic little thing. He seems to alternate moods between wanting and avoiding attention. Sometimes (though still rare), he'll come over to see what you're doing and perhaps let you pet him.
New Pictures
Tennessee (Tenny) is the cutest, the largest and the best adapted at this point. She is the only one that I've had lick me while I'm petting her. She's still quite attached to mama, and watches (sometimes swatting through the bars) when Oreo is walking around outside the cat cage that is currently home.
She is quite outgoing, but also has a distinctive growl/whine when she doesn't like the way you're holding her.