Oh Dear

I'm afraid ONK (outdoor neighbor kitty) is now pregnant. Her tummy is a bit rounder than normal and feels fairly solid. But the thing that really makes me think there are impending kittens is the fact that her tummy and nipples are a bit lumpy and swollen. Like she's getting ready to make milk. Sigh.

Fortunately, the weather has turned nicer so we haven't been worried about her being outside at night, thus we are keeping our garage closed. Which means chances are low that she will have her kittens in our garage. Because while I want to steal the neighbor's cat, I don't want to be responsible for another litter of kittens. I still remember when Gidget's babies grew big enough to get into the tub. They had a grand ole time in there and it would sound like a bowling ball was being rolled up and down the tub's length. They especially liked to play in there at three in the morning.

But back to ONK. Dan spoke to the neighbor dad a couple of weeks ago and while the dad doesn't really care for the cat, the mother and son love and care for her. Knowing that, we've been less tempted to steal the neighbor kitty (since we know they'd actually miss her). But now we are a bit sad knowing that there is yet another litter of most likely unplanned (and unwanted) kittens about to come into the world.

Also, ONK heavily shies away from hands now. She's been developing the hand shyness the past few months but today it was really severe - she would barely let me touch her at first. Though as soon as I sat on the ground she crawled into my lap and then had no problem with pets. But it makes me sad to think of what has made her that cautious and hesitant.

See, this is why we have six cats (and have had up to eight at once). I'm a huge softie! Must stay firm when kitten appear, though. Must. Stay. Firm.