Cats

Let me just say, up front, that I'm NOT a cat person. Or I wasn't. Now, I'm taking care of several cats that live under my house. Momma Cat is a 2-year-old torbie. I know this because I trapped her last week and took her to SNAP to be spayed. Torbie means she's part tortoiseshell and part tabby. She's cute and pretty sweet, for a feral cat. She lets me pet her. Her two kittens, on the other hand, are quite wild. I found them the second Tuesday in June when I lifted a piece of plywood, intending to take it out front for heavy trash pickup. What a surprise to find a momma cat and two little babies. In my ignorance of cats, I tried to move them to a "safe place." Momma cat didn't like that, so she moved them under the house and we didn't see them for about six weeks. Now they are about two months old, still cute, and wild as they can be. They run away as soon as they see me. One day I hid behind a plant and they both came up on the porch, started to eat, then noticed me and scattered. I haven't had the patience to sit out there again. I guess they'll be feral too. I wish I knew an easy way to tame them. I hate to think they'll live under my house for the rest of their lives. Their ears will have to be notched when I take them to SNAP in a couple of months. It's not very pretty. Then what happens to them when I move? I don't plan to retire in Houston, so I will be leaving someday.

The kittens are both tabbies - one silver and one orange. They have nice markings. I can't tell the sex. I wonder if it would be better to trap them now and take them to the ASPCA so they have a chance of being adopted. I hate for them to grow up wild.