Time to Get With the Program

A sure sign that we need to focus some of our energy on cleaning up outside our house:

"Help me!"

Today we discovered that the area on the side of our house, an area I like to pretend is a makeshift compost pile but is really just a collection of junk that somehow missed the garbage and recycling bins and wound up outside, has become home to a feral cat and her three kittens.

I was in our kitchen and happened to be looking out the window, when I thought was a squirrel caught my attention. Upon second glance I noticed that the squirrel was actually not a squirrel at all, but was in fact an orange baby kitten. Before I had a chance to comprehend what I was looking at two more kittens scuttled into view. I called out to Ali who was in the other room, and we both went outside to investigate. We found three kittens hiding under a large piece of cardboard next to our house. I tried to wrangle them all, only to lose two in the process. We put the kitten I was able to catch in a recycling bin with some beach towels, and continued searching for the others. I found one kitten stuck halfway up the side of my neighbors house, with nowhere left to climb. I peeled it from the side of the house, only to lose hold of it on my way back toward the recycling bin. The third kitten was discovered under a bag of yard debris, after hearing faint meows emanating from the pile of dried grass clippings. Upon placing the kitten in the yard debris bin where its less skittish litter mate patiently waited, kitten number three bolted straight away and disappeared into some tall weeds.

Feeling defeated, and hoping that mama cat would return if we left the scene, Ali and I decided to stick to what we know best, and headed out for dinner at Encanto. Two hours later, feeling delightfully satiated and curious as the the whereabouts of our new feline friends we returned home to an empty recycling bins. Though we were glad to know that our duties as cat wranglers might be over for the evening, we were both concerned about the fates of the kittens. Then, without warning, out from the weeds jumped mama cat. As she leaped over our fence and into the neighbors yard we breathed a collective sigh of relief. It was comforting just to know that she was still out there looking after her young.

If tonight's events proved anything it is that we are not fit to raise kittens. We can barely take care of ourselves. And though unmaintained landscaping surrounding our house IN NO WAY REFLECTS THE CLEANLINESS OF OUR CAFE'S KITCHEN (if only our house was so clean), perhaps it is time we pay a little more attention to getting our home in order. Perhaps we were lucky to only find kittens. If we let a few more months slip by some of you might take up residence out there.