Sad one

Every year the mother of these kittens, who happens to be a feral, gets chased round my yard by horny other male ferals and she breeds. Last year I knew she was preggo and she buggered off and hid the babies because I stole them from her in 2007 so she was wise to my game. By the time I came home from Sydney she was bringing them into the yard but it was too late to get them to imprint onto me so they are pretty much wild.

She had 4, 2 boys, 2 girls, one tabby, one black and white like her, and 2 white mottled girls. One of the girls was the runt, and at least half the body size of her sibs. Last week after much trying I fatefully trapped it in the kitchen, and had a cuddle, fed it, and what not. But we were going to Mums for the night, the kitten was riddled with fleas and the final straw a big white worm crawled out of the back carriage. 'Later' I thought I would deal with this issue and let it outside again.

Yesterday afternoon after Mumma puss had disappeared the babies for a few days, they turned up again, and runty was not looking great with an eye infection. I tried to catch her again so I could take her to the SPCA but she'd got wise to me and ran off. I carried on what I was doing. Couple of hours later I went outside and the kitties were communing on the deck. I walked out to watch and noticed them hanging around the underside of the deck, and thought Mumma Puss must be feeding them.

I was initially disbeleiving and then appalled to find that the kitties were huddling over and smelling the dead body of runty, as their mother licked at her lifeless baby and the kitten was completely saturated as if it had been drowned. I watched for a minute to see if it moved or spluttered but nope, it had died.

It was clear to me the kitten had drowned, or more disturblingly been drowned by someone, and Mumma puss had carried the body to the safety of my garden. I set to and dug a hole in the lawn with the kittens watching me. Cats are always weird about death, they behave very solemnly, like, its not a cool thing. I buried poor little runty and couldn't help but think I should have stuck with it the other day. Now I have to decide what to do with the other 3 that are left.