Outdoor Cat update.

Well, I now have the cat safely ensconced (or, as she’d put it, “cruelly imprisoned”) in the guest bedroom (“torture chamber”). I grabbed her the night before last around 10:00 and swept her upstairs past Mia, who didn’t even look twice. Once the new cat got into the bedroom and was set loose, she did normal indoor-cat explorations (jumping onto the bed and furniture, sniffing around under the bed, etc.), and settled down. Well, until it was time for me to go to bed, at which point she started voicing displeasure. This naturally got Mia’s attention, and she took up sentry position outside that bedroom door, occasionally growling and hissing (and getting growls and hisses in return).

And yeah, she’s pregnant. Mighty pregnant. She’s also a little cat, so I hope she pops them out soon.

Not exactly the most restful of nights. The outside cat wailed for about an hour, rested for an hour, and started in again. Mia spent much of the night jumping down from the bed to go investigate and stand sentry, then jumping back up. I’m now ready for a nap.

So yesterday morning, I didn’t hear anything from that bedroom, even though I was back-and-forth in the hallway a number of times and Mia breezed by on her way to and from breakfast (stopping by to hiss once at the smell of the Alien Cat). When I went in to feed her, there wasn’t any sign of her. Not sleeping on the floor or in any of the beds/nests I set up for her, or on or under the bed, or in or behind boxes. Not meowing or otherwise grumbling about the wretched situation she found herself in. Finally found her, behind a box in the closet. My guess is that she thought that was the safest place in the room. (And it’s now a frontrunner for where she’ll have the kittens.) She came out, and she gave me a couple of comments about still being locked up in prison. She then spent the next ten minutes head-butting me, rubbing her body against my legs, and purring up a storm. This would lead me to conclude that she’s not feral, and that she’s had a fair amount of human interaction. That, or she’s trying to seduce me into setting her free.

By today, she seems adjusted to and comfortable in her new surroundings (although it might just be “resigned to” them). She’s also beginning to look a little bored, shut up in a room with its limited amount of things to interest her – certainly, in comparison with the Great Outdoors. But regular feedings have a certain amount of attraction, too, and I expect that in a couple of days, she’ll have enough little distractions around her to keep her more than occupied.

My goal will be to let her have the kittens, raise them to adoption age (8-10 weeks), and find homes for them. Then have her spayed, and find a good home for her, too. Well, that’s the plan, anyway. I’ll also be on the lookout for “Missing Cat” signs in the neighborhood, although (a) I don’t think they’re likely, and (b) if I see one, I might not give them their cat back; at least, not without a long discussion of how reasonable it is to allow a pregnant cat to roam around outside without a safe place to have her kittens and without properly feeding her.