Pearl, in the rain, drinking from an old bird bath
When Ann and I first noticed Pearl slinking around the yard of Catnip Manor, it was clear that she was starving. And we thought, from the roundness of her belly (even though her flanks were so skinny) that she was pregnant. We began to put food out for her on our front porch.
It took awhile for her to put some flesh on her bones -- and the roundness of the belly was gone. We watched her come and go for a few weeks, emptying the bowl with regularity. Pearl would sometimes lay down at a safe distance and look at us. We shared eye blinks. But that is as close as we got.
We thought she was feral. We were wrong.
Last Saturday morning, I put the food bowl out on the porch and Pearl came running up, stopping short on the steps. I knelt down and slowly extended my hand. She came to me, sniffed, and then began to rub all around me, accepting petting while purring.
We repeated this performance several times throughout the morning. I would come out on the porch and Pearl would be waiting for me. Ann came down later and the affection was given to her, too.
That afternoon, a small miracle occurred. With great deliberation, Pearl led me to her kittens.
Two doors down from our house is a concrete-walled storage yard. There, under an old trailer, Pearl had her babies. We think there are five of them. Their eyes are open and sometimes, through the hinge spaces of the gate, you can see them bouncing around. It was a pretty smart choice. The neighborhood racoons are not likely to go there because there is no food to scavenge. Urban coyotes are not likely to get in, either. Under the trailer, the kittens are pretty safe from raptors such as eagles, too. But there is no food in there and we think that is why Pearl is turning to us. Also, the season is turning and temperatures are dropping at night.
Ann and I have become quite attached to this brave little cat (and she is very petite, probably five pounds if that). We would like to bring her in with her kittens and have a room prepared for her, separate from our indoor cats. The plan is to socialize the kittens so that they may be adopted out and to get Pearl spayed. If she fits in with our cats, we will keep her. Otherwise, we will find her a good home. She is very smart, sweet and affectionate and would make anyone a charming pet.
Now it is a matter of figuring out how to catch the kittens. The owner of the storage yard opened the gate for us one morning last week, but Pearl and the kittens would not come out. I have been in contact with the Feral Cat Coalition and I believe they will help us trap them if we can't get them any other way.
In the meantime, we have been feeding Pearl right next to a cat carrier, so that she gets used to it and won't fear it.
How you can help
We are taking on the care and feeding of several extra mouths. So we are extending the sale of our Pootie Pads (extraordinarily potent, organic catnip pads for cats) for funds for Pearl. Consider treating your cats to some of our catnip -- or think ahead to the holidays for the purrfect gift for the cat owner in your life.
Pootie Pads come in three sizes. Fabric choices for original and petitie sizes are here - or let us choose for you.
Original: 23" x 17" $30 plus $5.60 shipping (regularly $35)
Petite: 13.5" x 9.5" ONE for $15 plus $5.60 shipping (regularly $18) OR TWO for $30 (regularly $35) plus $5.60 shipping
Play Size (let us choose for you): 8" x 4.5 Four for $30 plus $5.60 shipping (was $35)
We also have Pootie Pads for dogs -- filled with soothing organic lavender and thyme.
You can find the dog pads here.
Don't need a Pootie Pad? Donate directly to the Community Quilt Project using this PayPal button. It will help us help Pearl -- and keep our sewing going!
Thank you for your kind support! I will keep you posted on the further adventures of Pearl.