We lost our old cat, Melchett, a year ago. A former stray who had been with us for ten years, his health due to thyroid problems gradually deteriorated and we had to make the decision to let him go. On the six-month anniversary of his passing, I commented to my wife Lisa that I was surprised that no other cats had appeared in our garden while we had no outdoor cats. We only had our blind indoor cat Gertrude, and in the past whenever we lost a cat it was usually not long before another turned up outside looking for a home.
The next day I received a text from Lisa saying that she had seen a cat asleep in the long grass on the edge of our garden. This turned out to be a feral who we named George as all of our cats have had names from the TV show Blackadder. George very slowly got used to us as we fed her each day until she would stay a few feet away from us rather than running away to hide as soon as she saw us. We assumed that George was male until she appeared one day with three kittens. We think she came from a farm about half a mile away in order to have her kittens somewhere safe.
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Feral cat George when she first came to us for food
When she realized that we had seen her kittens, she moved them and it took us a couple of days to find them again. Unfortunately, something had happened to one of them and our neighbor found the body in one of their outbuildings. We found George and the other two kittens living under our neighbor’s decking, and I spent seven hours trying to get them all in a trap that we borrowed from the local cat rescue but George was far too cautious for that. She moved them on again that night and we didn’t see them again.
Over the next two weeks, I followed George every day to try to find where the kittens were but she was too clever for me and always took a roundabout route before disappearing. We gradually came to the conclusion that the other kittens may not have survived. We decided to try to trap George so we could get her neutered but once again she managed to outfox me. Imagine our surprise when she appeared two days later with both kittens. They came to us for food so we planned to trap them the next day but once again George was ahead of us and we didn’t see them again.
Jocko and Badger when they were living in a hedge with their mother
Just before we managed to trap the kittens
A few days later we spotted George and the kittens at the farm down the road living with a big colony of farm cats who all looked similar to George. Once again, we nearly gave up but a few days later George brought the kittens back to us but we no longer had a trap as we had given it back to the local cat rescue. I improvised a trap using our cat carrier and a piece of string, and the kittens were so hungry they walked straight in and we finally had them. One of them looked like a little badger when we first saw them, so we named them Jocko and The Badger, two characters from Blackadder. They were terrified of us but we managed to get them into an old dog cage which we covered in a blanket. Later that day George caught a big mouse and spent the rest of the day walking around in the rain with the mouse trying to find the kittens so she could feed them.
Once the kittens were settled, we set about trying to trap George so we could get her to the vet. It took several attempts as she was far too intelligent for me, but eventually, we managed to get her spayed, and she then spent a week in a cage in our bedroom next to the kittens while she recovered. It was good for her to see they were safe but she seemed glad to leave them behind when we released her. She is now living in our garden as she would never have been happy being kept indoors. The kittens are literally coming on by leaps and bounds, and are gradually getting used to domestic life. They have been with us for about six weeks now, and still sleep in a pen as Jocko still gets overexcited and pees on our bed occasionally, but we are hoping she will grow out of this. We are fairly sure they are both girls and are about four and a half months old, so will be going to the vet soon to be neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped.
Our blind cat Gertrude checking on the new arrivals
Two frightened little ferals wondering what was going to happen
Comforting each other in the cage
Their first night in a soft bed
Picking Badger up for the first time
When Badger first saw a feather toy
Trying to work out what a litter tray is
“You expect me to poop in a box?”
When Badger first saw the scratching post
Jocko trying to work out how to free the ball from the cage
Badger having the same thought
What a difference a couple of weeks made
When Jocko first discovered how to escape the pen
Freedom!
Jocko doesn’t like curtains spoiling the view
Lying on what’s left of the curtains while enjoying the view
A family reunion after George’s surgery
Recreating scenes from The Matrix
Badger’s favourite toy
Jocko’s ballet practice
Relaxing in a sunny spot
Jocko trying to decide if she like belly rubs or not
Loads of toys and Badger prefers to play with the plants
When the pen door is opened
Jocko tends to make sudden stops when being chased
Both trying to be the biggest
Jocko loves stick treats
Jocko playing rather than peeing on the bed
Never a dull moment
World Cat Wrestling
Exploring the new cat tree
They love each other really
Enjoying freedom
Badger in high speed mode
Living their best life
Boing!
Dirty Dancing kitten edition
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