The Kitties

This is an emotional post for me.  I have become fond of the feral kitties that live on our property, and now we are getting ready to move:

We moved to this house almost ten years ago.  We brought one cat with us, a Maine Coon called Katie.  During our first summer here a couple of little kittens showed up in our yard.  My husband first saw them when he was out back doing yard work.  There is a swale behind our property with trees and shrubbery.  The kitties came out from there and crept cautiously into our yard.

Mike began coaxing them with treats, then we put little bowls food back there for them.  Gradually, they came closer, and finally onto the deck.  Eventually we were able to trap them with a humane trap so we could take them to the vet to be neutered.  They turned out to be friendly so we adopted them and brought them in the house to live with us and Katie.  We named them Tinkerbell and Tiger.

Here they are now, as indoor cats:

The next summer, another feral cat had a litter under our neighbors' porch, three nearly identical black kittens.  We had the mom spayed first, then the kittens when they were old enough.  Fortunately, we found a clinic in Cincinnati that had a program to neuter strays for only $15, thanks to a grant from PetSmart.  That includes a rabies shot.

One of the little black kittens was so friendly that we adopted her and named her Munchkin.  Here is Munchkin now:

Here are her sisters living outside.

Every year, more stray kitties have shown up on our deck, attracted by the food we put out there in the morning.  In the winter I was concerned about them so we put several small, insulated "igloos" on the deck for them to huddle on cold nights.

These three are Little Sister, Mama and Little Blondie.

They all cooperate and get along, like a little family.  They have all been neutered and had their shots.  Here is Little Blondie with Big Blackie:

The three below are Little Blondie, Spot and Little Sister.

We are participating in the "TNR" or "trap, neuter, release" program, meant to keep the feral cat population under control.  Some people don't think it's a good idea but it has worked out well here.  They all get along and don't cause any trouble at all.  They are quiet, healthy and well-behaved.

They have made themselves right at home on our back deck:

Of course it was inevitable that I would became known as a "cat lady".  (My husband likes them too, but no one calls him a "cat man"; I don't know why.)  We have two very kind cat ladies next door, who help us when we are away and also adopted one of the kittens.  Now I have a dilemma; not only are we planning to move, but the ladies next door have decided to move as well.  Who will take care of the kitties?  Will anyone want to buy our house with a cat colony attached?  We initially had a lady who wanted to rent the house and agreed to feed the cats, but she had to drop out.

I have come up with a solution that might work.  I bought a big deck box that we can put bags of cat food in.  It has a latch so raccoons can't get into it.  I also have some feeding troughs that are more stable than little bowls.  We are going to put them on the lower level under the deck and hope that the kitties will adjust to that.  I have a kind neighbor who has agreed to work with this arrangement, and have contacted a pet sitter in case she needs help.  I don't know what else to do.  I wish I could find a fellow cat person to buy our house!  I wonder if I could get a grant from PetSmart to turn my house into a cat sanctuary.