Kevin Has A Job

 The cat that has been here consistently for the longest time is Lucy. She showed up with her black mama cat and two other kittens. Her brother, Lucifer, scratched me with wild abandon when he came onto the porch and then tried to get away from my dogs. I was only trying to help him!

He left and never came back. The other female I tentatively named Ethyl disappeared one day, never to be seen again. That left Lucy and her mama cat, Mousey Tongue. A pretty sleek black cat. MT was the wildest of all the cats we have encountered thus far. She would be with the other cats who all ran to greet me when I went outside, but always hanging back and ready to flee. 

She didn't show up one day, leaving Lucy here. Lucy was still a kitten. I thought she might warm up to us when her mama left. This is about the time that Gray Lady was first to the dinner tray and her belly was growing. Lucy never left our yard but was still not going to get too close to us. Gray Lady birthed her babies, ate one and abandoned two. She was left with Marco and Polo who followed her out from under the deck one day. Marco was immediately tame. I scooped him up and cuddled that sweet baby. He showed no objection to becoming the object of my affection. Polo, on the other hand hissed and stuck out his claws when I attempted to pick him up. Learning my lesson from Lucifer, I tossed a towel over him and picked him up anyway.

It is good to establish who the boss is right away. I picked up Marco and held them together. Gray Lady was okay with that, always waiting at the door when I would return them to her care. Wasn't long before I was holding Gray Lady and petting her. One day, Marco was missing, then a couple of weeks later Gray Lady was gone. I doubt they simply left. This is where the food showed up every day.

Polo was on his own. The name sounded senseless without a brother named Marco, so I changed it to Kevin (named after my brother from another mother). Kevin is pals with Lucy. I hoped that she would follow Kevin's example and let me befriend her. But she remained at a distance.

Until yesterday when she ran to me meowing. I noted her newly svelte figure and asked her where her kittens were. We heard the tiny meows at the same time, and I watched her navigate her way through the various machines that make noise that are stored on the back side of the house. She crouched low and crept under the power washer (we have two, one works, one doesn't but might come in handy one day for parts ..... I am told).

Not wanting to cause the new mama any distress, I just leaned in enough to see the babies. She offered a warning hiss and I backed off. I did make her a delicious snack and put it close for her to eat. I didn't want her to hide the babies from me like Marble did.

So, imagine my surprise when I went outside this morning and Lucy came running to wind between my legs! She was actually touching me! I bent down and gave her head and back a good rub down and she LET ME. I was able to pick her up for just a second. I came in and got her a treat. While she was eating, I was able to get a much closer look at the kittens. I had seen only 3 yesterday, but she was in that tight space with them. Today I saw that there are actually 4 kittens.

Marble still has her kittens hidden and is not sharing their whereabouts. Last night when The Man went out to get Kevin in for the night, he refused to come in, and Lucy chased The Man when he picked Kevin up. Lucy had Kevin on guard duty last night. He came in this morning, very tired and ate, then he commandeered Bo's doggie bed for a long nap.

I suppose Kevin will not be sleeping in our bed for some time as he watches over Lucy and her babies.