The Official Kitten Birthing Center

 Do you remember the cat dominium The Man paid good money for and so far, all we do is set it back up after the wind tries to take it away. It was purchased because we wanted to provide shelter for the feral cats. Throughout the coldest nights all the cats retreated to the underside of our dwelling where they chewed or clawed a big hold in the ductwork that brings warm air into our house.

A few days ago, Marble appeared for cat food all skinny. We have been searching every day. Under the tool shed, under the decks and under Wits End (she shed). We have watched Marble to see where she might be going or coming from. She is clever and cautious. She will follow me at a safe distance and will eat anything I offer, but she still refuses to come close enough for a pat on her head. 

We had a marvelous casserole last night. My blog buddy Val will appreciate my tasty casserole. Having made corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots this past weekend, I employed the help of Pinterest to show me something different to do with the leftover corned beef. It is called Reuben Casserole. Is your mouth watering yet, Val? I dispatched The Man to purchase the ingredients I needed. Rye bread, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing. Things you would not expect to have on hand.

He almost got it right. He was unable to find rye bread and got pumpernickel instead. And enough sauerkraut for a family of ten or more. I cubed the 8 slices of bread and rolled the cubes in melted butter (1/4 cup). Greased my dish and put in half the bread cubes, then the meat, followed by sauerkraut. Atop that I poured a can of mushroom soup mixed with 1/2 cup Thousand Island. Grated Swiss cheese (1/2 cup) went in next, and I topped it all with the remaining bread cubes and another 1/2 cup of cheese. Popped that in a 350-degree oven for 35 minutes and then left it to settle for 10 minutes.

It tasted just like a Reuben. It was so good. When I order a Reuben in a restaurant I always end up wearing part of it. This was like eating a yummy sandwich with a fork. We ate most of it and there was a serving spoon left. I took it to Marble and Lucy. They dug right in and were busy polishing off the remainder of the casserole. I commented to The Man that I did not know cats would eat sauerkraut. I was walking over to my grape vine to see the new growth.

I had to pass the cat dominium and noticed that the middle door on the upper level was propped open. That deserved an investigation. There in that tiny cubicle, the one I had equipped with an old dog bed was the litter of sweet kittens. One is black, one is orange like Garfield and the other one is colored like Marble (poor thing). I summoned The Man and we both picked up and cuddled the babies. The Man opined that he was surprised that she only had 3 kittens. She was quite large. So, I open all 6 of the cubicles and found 2 little orange babies in the cubicle below the three other kittens. They were dead. At least she did not eat them!

I hope Lucy will take advantage of the Official Kitten Birthing Center when her time comes.