Happy Birthday, Henny Babies!

Mama and three lil' babies are now doing fine. Kittens born around 2pm on Saturday in the mud in my neighbor's yard after 6 hours of Austin rainstorms Saturday morning. The bedraggled Henny wouldn't let either of us (me and my neighbor) come near, so we left her alone. My neighbor put a tarp over where she was lying with her babies, but she then moved all of her babies out of his yard and back into the rain. Both my neighbor and I put out food for her.

She endured more Austin rainstorms for hours all morning Sunday. Continued, while soaking wet herself, to nurse her babies in the mud, shielding them from the rain with her body.

I tried to gather her babies during the rain, but Henny hissed and growled and ran at me. I backed off.

Finally, today (Monday), I came up with a plan after I got off work: I took a cardboard box/bed outside with me. Left the sliding glass door open as I went back inside and shook the food bag and prepared Henny's usual dish, which I placed about 6 feet inside the door. When she came inside to eat, I jumped outside and shut the sliding-glass door behind me. Then went and gathered the kittens and placed them in the box and went back inside.

First thing Henny did was grab one little kitten by the scruff of its neck and try to take him back outside... Luckily, this lasted only a minute or so. She then took him right back to the box and hopped in after him. And, for the most part, she has now been busy nursing for the past 5 or 6 hours (with a few trips outside the box to come say "hi" to me and be stroked; to eat/drink; to make tentative explorations of my apartment, which she's rarely see before). Oh, yeah, and she pooped on my shag carpet, which, admittedly, has a ground-like texture (pretty good guess for a previously feral cat).

Here's the now-dry Henny and her three lil' babies.