Teddi, the Brave Mama Kitty

This is Teddi, the brave mama kitty that appeared on our back deck in May 2007 looking for food. She was a feral cat, but had been injured, so she couldn't hunt for a while. She was very hungry and just desperate enough to approach a human. Teddi wouldn't let Mommy get closer than a few feet away, so Mommy started placing some kitty food on our back deck and sat nearby for about a half hour every morning and every evening while Teddi ate, so she could become accustomed to humans. At first Mommy thought Teddi was making up for lost meals, because she was eating four times the amount a normal kitty would. After a few days, Mommy noticed that Teddi looked like she had been nursing kittens...that explained her enormous appetite. Teddi continued to visit our back yard at mealtimes, but went elsewhere the rest of the time. After four weeks, Mommy and I saw Teddi moving two tiny kittens to a sheltered area under a bush beside our back deck. Mommy bought a better shelter for the kitties and started spending more time outside, so she could play with the kittens and get them used to humans. The kittens were very fast runners and wouldn't let her near them, and Teddi would take a swipe at Mommy with her claws if she got too close, so Mommy just patiently sat quietly nearby to earn their trust. When the kittens were about seven weeks old, Teddi and the kittens started coming indoors to eat and play( ..and use the litter box. They loved the litter box). (Mommy let them play in a room I never use and made sure they had no contact with me or my food dishes, toys, etc. , because the feral kitties hadn't been to the V E T or vaccinated yet.) Teddi and the kittens learned to trust Mommy and came inside to play every chance they could. Ambrose was the first kitten who let Mommy pet him at 14 weeks old. His sister Chloe and the mama kitty, Teddi, took about four months. Each time one of the kitties allowed Mommy to pet them for the first time, you could tell they were terrified, and they were bracing for the worse, but once they figured out how great it felt, they wouldn't let mommy stop. Teddi liked it so much that when Mommy got tired and tried to walk away, Teddi would grab Mommy's jeans leg with her claws to make her come back and pet her some more. Fortunately, that phase passed and Teddi learned not to claw Mommy. After Mommy took each kitty to the V E T and got them vaccinated and spayed or neutered, I was allowed to play with the kitties too. It took a couple of months before I could stand any of them, but now I love having them around.