On Monday afternoon I was on my way to the garden to harvest some raspberries and blackberries. To get to the garden I have to pass through the fenced chicken area and just as I opened the gate, I noticed two kittens on my right side. I was honestly shocked as I wasn't expecting it at all!
They were just roaming around but not going too far from the fence. Black and white kitten had his eyes open but the grey one had one eye closed as it seemed to have a lot of eye mucus (if that's how it's called).
Then Oreo appeared and she came right to me, cuddling and rubbing against my legs which is something she never did before! I was only able to pet her a few times when I sneaked up on her and just gave her a few strokes on the back but as soon as she would turn around and see my hand, she would run away. So not only was I surprised by the kittens but also by Oreo being so comfortable around me and wanting to be petted. She also followed me while I was doing the harvest in the garden.
I didn't want to touch the kittens too much as I am never sure how mom cats react to a human smell on their babies (these are all feral cats we have around our property). I just gave a few strokes to the black and while kitten with the back of my hand. I noticed they were hiding in that hole you can see behind them so they would climb through the fence and jump inside. It didn't seem like a very safe place for such young kittens as they could get stuck.
I have no idea where Oreo gave birth but it seems like she brought her babies at this spot on Monday. As me and my parents pass by this spot multiple times a day on our way to the chickens or garden, we would definitely notice them if they were there earlier. On Tuesday they were at the same spot for a while but then I didn't see them for a couple of days just for them to show up again yesterday. I couldn't really see the grey kitten up close to check on the eye situation so that's something I'll try to do next time I see them. Oreo is just a little over one year old so this is obviously her first time being a mom and I think she is doing a pretty good job.
I hope you enjoyed this post and these cute kittens, I hope to get more photos of them and I also hope I can befriend them! As you can tell, one of the kittens looks exactly like Oreo! :) If you have any tips and tricks or explanation for certain cat behavior, please let me know as I never owned a domestic cat and all my experiences were with feral cats, lol.
The kittens are adorable and I hope the eye clears up soon. Perhaps you will get to pet them often so they will be used to you and not fearful.
A little update: the eye of the kitten is all good and cleared up and it turns out there is four kittens, not two! :D
Aww, a beautiful surprise, @nikolina ! A good solution for gunky eyes in kittens is chamomile tea - cooled and applied very gently around the eye, with a cotton pad soaked in it. Best to make sure it is a good temperature, not to hot or too cold. This might help the eye to heal itself. It's a good idea to handle them a little occasionally, if you want to eventually find them homes, as they need to get habituated to human touch early on... otherwise, if you're happy to have 3 cats rather than 1 cat nearby, it won't matter so much! But yes, the mother is probably being friendly because she is seeking more food or additional nutriment and even protection, from you - she trusts you to help mothering the kittens! :-D Mostly, cats are very autonomous, but she may be a little low on energy or resources as she was postpartum and needing to be around the kitten full-time until they were big enough to go exploring: they may have been right there in the hole, together, until they were strong enough to step outside, and you wouldn't have known anything!
Good luck with them - I hope they all flourish!
Hey @clareartista, thank you so much for all the advice, I appreciate it!
Here is a little update: few days after I shared this post, the eye of the kitten cleared up and since then it looks good. There is actually four kittens, not two! :D Seems like mom brought only two for few days and they the rest of them, now they are all together, they love to play with each other and they are staying in the chicken area, lol. Oreo still comes to me but the kittens run away and hide when they see me coming too close. I'll make sure to get some cat food for mom, especially now when there's four kittens she needs to feed.
Once again, thanks for such a lovely comment and advice! Have a great day! :)
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