Oh No Oh My Oh Hell

No, I'm not having a particularly bad day, or week. That's what the hubby and I collectively uttered when we discovered that our outdoor kitties Mama and Comet were the proud parents of three new kittens. Interestingly enough, that's also what we've dubbed them: ono, omai, and ohel.

Ono is a spitting image of his daddy, Comet. He's another dirty little snowball -- mostly off-white, with a gray tabby striped tail and gray ears, and, from what we can tell, his/her daddy's blue eyes. He/She was the first one we spotted romping out in the yard (and who disappeared into their nest in the bushes right after the hubby let out an "Awwwww...").

Omai is the miniature version of Mama, and probably also a twin for Clove. He/She's another gorgeous mix of shiny black fur with blotches of caramel tan mixed in. We can't tell yet whether or not he/she has the same beautiful fluffy tail as his/her older sister.

And finally, there's Ohel. This little cutie is a cookie cutter image of Pumpkin. Mostly orange tabby, Ohel has a bit of a whiter face, and a white chest, a feature that both her older brother Pepper and older sister Clove have (Clove's white chest is mixed with the caramel beige color of her blotches).

The birth of an orange tabby kitten and another Siamese mix make us even more prone to thinking that Pumpkin and Puddy might really be Mama's biological kids. After all, they were found in the bushes...

The debate is still raging about what to do with all of them. The hubby, who was the one who firmly stated that we were at capacity when we brought Pepper and Clove indoors, is already gushy about Ono, Omai, and Ohel. Adding to his temptation is the fact that we have three discounted spay/neuter certificates on hand (you can buy these cheap pet fixing coupons from our local shelter for about half of the price of the vet's usual charge). I'm pretty sure that we'll end up keeping Ono outright. We'll take Omai and Ohel to the shelter. Although it's sadly not a no-kill facility (animal overpopulation is a huge problem with all the feral dogs and cats on island),this shelter has a "Last Call" policy in which they allow us to come rescue the kittens if they're in jeopardy of being euthanized.

So we've got two kitty traps loaned out by the shelter in hand, and we'll put them out tonight. My fear is that once we catch the first two, the third one will get smart and be too wary to go into the trap. After all the kittens are safe, we'll keep trying until we get Mama and Comet and take them to the vet to prevent any more litters from being born. In addition to our concern that repeatedly giving birth will shorten Mama's life, we just can't afford to support any more furry critters!