Topic: A good use for my rubbish polytunnel

[Squash64]

I went in my almost threadbare polytunnel yesterday and from the corner of my eye saw something run from under the table.........a kitten!  I looked under the table and there was another one, then I looked down at my feet and mother cat was there, snarling at me!

The kittens look to be about 10 weeks old and are absolutely beautiful.  One is a ginger and the other is a sort of golden tabby.  Mum is tortoiseshell and white.

I bought some dried food and left it under the table so it stays dry and will
check tomorrow to see if they've eaten it.

I'll try and take a photo but it might be difficult, I don't want to scare them.

[elvis2003]

oh how lovely! lucky you! does the mum look well kept.or possibly a stray?

[Squash64]

I think mum is one of our young feral cats.  There are no houses near the allotments, we are set inside a park.  She is quite small, very clean looking and doesn't look too thin.  She isn't too frightened of me either.  Most of the ferals run away quickly but she stands her ground and hisses at me. 

[chriscross1966]

Even the most standoffish of cats will eventually succumb to a combination of single cream and catnip..... wish we had a few cats on our plots..... we have bunny problem....

[1066]

Sounds like she has found a good temporary home Squash. Clever her !
Do you plan to try and capture her, get her spayed (is that the right term?? can never remember!) and re-homed?
1066

[Uncle Joshua]

Do you plan to try and capture her, get her spayed (is that the right term?? can never remember!) and re-homed?
1066

That would be the best bet.

[Squash64]

They ate the food I left yesterday, but they were not inside the polytunnel this morning.  I put some more food down, hopefully they will go back and eat it.

As for catching and neutering them, we will probably try to do this.  I will have to contact the CPL and see what they say.  I have a feeling that the kittens are a bit too old to be tamed and rehomed now, but I'm no expert.  I can't imagine that the mother would settle down in a house now. We like to have cats around the site so there is no problem about them staying with us.

[tomatoada]

If they are feral cats you can't tame them.  My son and his wife live out in the countryside and have 2 of these cats which live in a barn.  She feeds them in Winter  and in Summer if it is very cold and wet.  Otherwise they seem to fend for themselves.

[Geoff H]

The cats protection league will know whats best. Don't they catch the cats, nueter them and then release? Pity if the kittens are too tame to be pets, but I think CPL can try and get cats homes where they can live outside and catch mice. You don't want too big a cat colony otherwise the cats get scraggy and ill and its a miserable life for them.
I think if you have cats that have taken up residence its probably better to fed them regularly. Then they are fit and well. A good mouser will never lose the instinct and the best hunter is one that feels fit and strong. A half starved cat won't be a particularly good hunter.

[Squash64]

I've been feeding the mother cat every day in the polytunnel.  Sometimes she is there when I go, other times not.  I haven't seen the kittens at all though  :(

I took these photos of the mother today.  Now I'm beginning to have doubts that she is actually a feral cat.  She is quite plump and very clean and although she isn't friendly, she doesn't run and hide when she sees me.  She walks away then sits and watches me.

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There is a bungalow next to the allotments where the caretaker of the Alexander Stadium lives.  I'm going to put a note through the door and ask if it is their cat.  If it is, I won't be worried about feeding her and making arrangements for someone else to do it if I'm not there.  Also, we couldn't very well go ahead and get her neutered if she is someone's pet!

I hope the kittens turn up soon.....

[1066]

She does look healthy - but then if she is getting several meals a day then no wonder  :)