If you feed it... they will stay....

 I know, I know...

If you feed it, it's bound to stay....

This little critter first made her appearance in our woods out back. I would see her almost every morning creeping up from out in the woods and into our back yard. Where she came from, I may never know but adopt us she seemed to do. I think for awhile she was even living in the girls' swingset playhouse! :)

Living in the country, there are always strays that wonder thru and originally I thought that this would be the case for a cat too but the longer she had been here, the more trouble she seemed to get into. It became a nightly occurance for her to show up and dig thru my garbage, setting off our motion lights and driving the dogs into a barking insanity at all hours of the night! Boy was that getting old!!

One day, after she'd been coming around for about 6 weeks, I broke down and took out a peace offering of cat food. I figured that if she was going to be hanging around I might as well see if she was nice. She was hesitant at first... but that only lasted a few minutes and then she was over rubbing up against me and meowing. For the weeks that followed, she would come around in the mornings, the girls would feed her and she would be off on her adventure for the day. She stopped getting in the garbage and instead would hang out on the back porch or follow me around while I fed the chickens, chattering at me along the way. I swear I have had some of the best conversations with that cat! lol

Shortly before Christmas, she disappeared for a little over a week and thought perhaps our time with her has passed. I missed having her around but hoped that perhaps she had found a home indoors somewhere. Then a few days before Christmas, she showed up again.... looking... fuller.... I had my suspicions but kept them to myself until I was sure...

My dear hubby made the comment the other day that he thought I was feeding her too much... I finally had to tell him that I didn't think it was the food... lol

The girls asked me the other day too, if I thought she was going to have kittens. They asked me point blank and I couldn't answer them without lying... so I asked what made them think that? "Uh she's FAT mom!" So I finally had to share my thoughts on it with them. I didn't want to tell them and get their hopes up but I couldn't lie either!

I did take her in to the vets to make sure she wasn't micro chipped. I would have felt awful if she was someones lost cat and I hadn't at least tried to find them. But that was a big no... and a big yes on the kittens to come! :)

Now it's just a waiting game since we aren't sure exactly how far along she is. I made a plastic tote into a bed for her and she now spends her days in it on our front porch, with a heat lamp at the opening to take the edge off the cold. I find myself spending a great deal of time at the front window watching her, and even a good amount of time sitting on the front step visiting with her and loving on her.

This definiately wasn't how I saw the beginning of our new year going, and I know it is going to be terribly hard when it comes time to find the kittens good homes but for now I am trying to live in the moment and greatly looking forward to the kittens to come!! I pray every day that they will be born healthy, that she will be safe and that we might be lucky enough to watch it tall happen!!

So there you have it... if you feed them... they will stay... and capture your heart! :)

More updates to come on our dear Pyewacket and her kittens! :) I named her after a cat in one of my favorite old movies "Bell Book and Candle" !