We got back from vacation on Wednesday afternoon.  In time to pick up the cats from jail.  Our vet says, “They know you.  They don’t get up for anyone else.”  I expected them to know me, but I didn’t realize they didn’t move for anyone else.  I do know they were unhappy to be unceremoniously dumped from their travel crates into the vet’s kennels before we left, but I knew they’d be well cared for while we were gone.

Since they’ve been home, they’ve all been a little clingy in their own ways.  Natasha and Ajax in particular, but even though Lady and Tarzan aren’t big snugglers, they let us know we were missed in their own ways.

Some of you will remember me mentioning an Orange Marmalade kitten before we left.  I’m not certain I’ve seen him since I’ve been back (the vet says there’s a 75% chance it’s a male with that coloring, especially if he’s a little larger in size).  While mowing the yard today, I caught a glimpse of an orange and white kitty eating the food I have set out, but it seemed too big to be the little guy I left two weeks ago.  I suspect it may have been the orange daddy cat I’ve seen around here.  What I have seen is another little kitten, who is much larger than the little guy I left two weeks ago, but it’s about the right size to be a sibling.  While I think the orange guy might have been too big to be my little fellow, I’m holding out hope it was.

I walked around the front corner of the house to check the mail this morning, and a more calico-like kitten ran behind the porch steps and watched me.  I stopped and talked to her (I say her, because if this is a calico kitty, it has to be female).  She watched me closely, but when I tried to move closer, she ran around the house.  Several times today, I saw her around the yard, but I could never get too close to her.  While she was resting in the front yard this afternoon, I was able to get some pictures.  Here’s the kitten I’ve been able to see:

This is her sitting up in the inner side yard.  I’m standing in the garage door about twenty yards away.  I zoomed the camera as much as it would zoom and cropped this image.

Here she is curled up in what could be a flower bed next to the front steps.  I’m about ten feet away, and she’s watching me closely.

I walked around the house and was able to creep up on her from behind.  I was standing in front of the steps about five or six feet behind her.  She was resting comfortably.

She has an odd coloration — as if her fur is molting or something.  She also seemed to be breathing fairly fast.  She moves as if she’s healthy, but she looks like she needs to eat. I sat on the front steps, and she must have heard me, because right after I sat down, she took off around the house.

At least she went to get some water:

This is blurry, because I was standing at the front fence, and kitten was pretty far away.  I’m glad she’s getting water.  I hope she’s getting some of the food I’ve put out, too.  What I want to do is get these kittens comfortable with being around me, capture them, take them in to get spayed or neutered, and release them again.  I don’t mind them being here, but I don’t need them reproducing.  They can’t come into the house — four cats is all we can handle.

It’s good to be home again.

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