Don’t worry, this is strictly cat related! On the morning of the drive up- Coop and I left at 3:00 a.m. from home. I was getting a bit tired on the I-5 so I pulled into an exit called Quintas Corner. There was a 24 hour bakery/restaurant called Heaven on Earth. It was about 9:00 in the morning and I needed a power nap. It was also 90 degrees in the shade, and we needed the shade. I saw some awnings providing just that in the parking lot and parked underneath. I walked into the restaurant to see if it would be okay to park there for about a 45 minute power nap. They were very nice and said yes- they are known for their cinnamon rolls which were honestly the size of whole German chocolate cake! Oh my!

I went back to the truck to let Cooper out for a walk. There was another shut-down restaurant on the back of the property and a picnic area, so we went that way. The restaurant was sitting up on a high deck and looked like it had seen better days. In the  middle of the field there was this HUGE box. I wondered what it was so as we walked past it, I turned to look and saw it was a feral cat feeder draped in a tarp! There had to have been room for 7 bags of cat food in that feeder.

OK so now my cat radar is up and I looked around and sure enough- I began to see the kittens and there were a ton of them! None of them looking all that healthy. Cooper was ready to go back to the truck, so I put him up and returned to the feeder. I ducked my head under the deck and could see green eyes glowing at me because I had grabbed a flashlight. I lost count after 30! I had a can of food with me (who would have thought I would have cat food?) I opened it up and here they came. I spread the food on a rock, backed off and sat at the picnic table watching them gobble up the food. It made me so sad.  Someone was feeding all these babies but no one was spaying or neutering. Some of the brave ones after the feast climbed on the deck watching me carefully while others ducked into the fields blending in with the dry grasses. One little calico, I just wanted to scoop up and tell Coop he had lost his traveling cage for the duration- but none of them would let me close. I took some photos and then went inside to inquire about all the babies.

I was told the matriarch of the family “loves” kittens but won’t spay and neuter. There were only two adult cats on the property because it is so remotely located- a tuxedo mom and a black tom. All the kittens were “theirs” I did my best to convince the gentleman to reach out to the various organizations that could help reduce the population. He said they would have to catch them all first- and I told him that was the point. He just shrugged his shoulders and again said the lady loves kittens. I left the information for alley cat allies, and the feral cat coalition hoping it would prove helpful.

Walking back to the truck, I noticed the Tom.he was sitting under a tree looking mighty proud of himself. Then I saw the queen and she was hammered. She was skinny and walked funny- the look in her eyes when she saw me clearly said “Get me the hell out of here!” She was beat to hell and still young- about 3 I would guess. When her kittens grew up some of the mating will pass to them but I am sure she will be the first choice of the boys. I told her I was sorry, I had tried and suggested she run away from home. Maybe the next house she found would be spaying and neutering and her suffering would end.