Marmalade

For the past few months there has been a skinny orange cat in our back yard. Since Penny and I feed the strays in our neighborhood we leave food out for Marmalade each day. At first she would disappear as soon as we came into sight but now she waits outside the back door for us to feed her. Since that is a sliding glass door both of our indoor cats interact with Marmalade and she responds by rubbing up against the glass in front of them. Marmalade is by no means tame. She won’t let you get closer than about 6 feet. She doesn’t run away now when we feed her. She backs off, sometimes hissing, and waits for us to go back inside before she eats.

About a month ago, as she was lying on the patio I noticed a well-defined set of nipples on her. We suspected kittens, but had not seen any sign of them. She disappeared for a couple of days this week. She showed up Tuesday morning ravenous, ate a lot of food and then camped out on the patio and slept for about 6 hours. Then, yesterday (Wed) morning she was waiting to be fed and there behind her was one kitten. We think it is about 6-weeks old. It has similar color to Brie except its back is solid instead of mixed colors. As soon as I went outside to feed, the kitten ran off and we didn’t see her for the rest of the day. Later that day Marmalade brought us a present, a rat she had killed. Marmalade is an excellent hunter. She is keeping the area under my shop clear of critters.



Today mother and child were again there. Before I went outside I watched them. Kittens sure are cute, but try to take a picture of one in low light! It’s impossible - they are in constant motion. I watched as Marmalade led the kitten to the birdbath and leapt up to get a drink. I didn’t think the kitten could jump that high, but it followed suit and mom and kitten drank side-by-side. I fed them and the kitten stayed around. It is still nursing and Marmalade seems to feel safe on our patio with it.

So, there is at least 1 new cat in the neighborhood and 1 less rat.