Yes. I am. The time with the enticing kittens is drawing to a close. I made the appointment for their spaying/neutering and showing for prospective adoptions yesterday while Ajax and Natasha were were getting their annual exams.

February 20th, I’ll drop the four little kittens with all their mittens at the vet’s clinic. Dr. Val will spay/neuter at her leisure, and while they’re there, they’ll be available for adoption. They’ll stay at least a week, and we’ll re-evaluate from there.

Here is their “Class Photo.” In a rare moment, I caught all four of them together. On the left, looking at the camera, we have Delta. Immediately to Delta’s right, with heads together, we have Ruby Mae — They are the Bengal Sisters, called such because of the bengal swirl pattern in their coats. They aren’t identical, but I have trouble telling them apart. Ruby is much smaller than Delta, and Ruby has a small white dot of rough fur on the bottom center of the back of her left ear. It looks like a dot on the photo. Delta’s eyes are set a little differently in her head than Ruby’s, but that’s not always apparent. Ruby is much more likely to be climbing on something. She’s curious and a little spunky, probably due to being what appears to be the runt of this litter.

Sprawled in a very relaxed fashion behind the Bengal Sisters, you’ll see Pretty Boy Floyd. Yes, the orange tabby with the catcher’s mitts for paws. Seriously. That big white paw underneath Delta’s rear paw is his. Delta, is a little heavier than Floyd, but you wouldn’t know it by comparing paws. Behind Floyd, in the traditional tabby colors with copper highlights, we see Rossie. Just this week Rossie has been more willing to let us stroke her, but that’s usually less than fifty percent of the time. Floyd? He’s always up for being handled. And over the last two days, he’s become very interested in what’s outside the doors of the parlor and kitchen.

In brighter news, I’ve seen both outdoor feral orange kitties this week for the first time since November. I was so worried Little Orange had come to a bad end after I’d released her after her spaying, but I saw both orange kitties together this week and realized I had probably been confusing Little Orange for Peaches sometimes. Peaches has more pronounced white on his face, but it’s not apparent when you aren’t seeing them together. Little Orange is the mama kitty for the four kittens above.

In disappointing news, I missed catching Sneaky in the trap twice this week. The first time, she walked in, ate some bait, and walked out without triggering the trap. She’s done this several times already, which is how she got her name. I attached a string to the trap, and I can trigger it from inside the house. Friday morning, Sneaky began eating her way into the trap. I triggered the trap, but she must not have been quite far enough in, because when she heard it triggering, she bolted, and the door hadn’t locked into place yet, so she escaped. I’m giving the trap a rest until Monday. Maybe I’ll be able to entice her to re-enter the trap then. We’ll see. A cat smart enough not to trigger it may be too smart to go back in once she’s already nearly gotten caught. I really want to get her spayed, so I hope I can catch her soon. Once that happens, I’ll have three outdoor feral neighborhood kitties, but we won’t be getting any more. There is a long, ranging gray tabby, whom I believe is the daddy cat for these kittens, but he seems to belong to the house kitty corner across the street from us, so I can’t mess with him. Belong as in when the kids are outside playing, he doesn’t run from them.