Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Update on The "Squatters"

Not long ago, I wrote that a cat had moved in to drop a litter  and raise her young family on a shelf in the "outer section" of the store, Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, where I work.  There's a whole section of the store which is not really indoors.  The building which had been built for it is much too small, so the display area outside has shelves and hanging places for a lot of clothes. It's not quite closed in, certainly no challenge for a cat to enter.  And what could be a better spot for her to choose to give birth than some clean tee shirts?


Once the kittens grew larger, they were transported with their mother about a mile away.  But then she took them back home.

The other day, some workers succeeded in trapping them and her for a bit to be transported further away.   We quickly got to work, clearing and scrubbing the shelf and filling it with more shirts.  There was this dread that they would make their way back. 

The following day, the cats hadn't yet returned, though I'm not ready to celebrate quite so soon.

PS It was amusing to note the reactions of customers during the time that the cat and kittens had made their home on the shelf. 

"Have you noticed that there are a cat and kittens on the shirts?"

Some said it with joy and others with disgust.  Sometimes we had to stop little children from trying to play with them.

2 comments:

Hadassa said...

Shalom!
About 10 months ago Mama Cat decided that my bed was a great birthing center. I left a big thick blanket in a heap and someone left the door to the house open for a few hours. I didn't even realize that there was a cat on my bed until I heard a soft, "Mew!"
"I know that sound," was my thought. Kitten, not cat. I peeked into the blanket and saw Mama Cat and two kittens. My husband helped me move the blanket with cat family to a sheltered area of the porch and the cats have been with us ever since. A peek later revealed a third kitten amid the fluff. Grandma Cat and Papa Cat are still here too.
Squatters...

Batya said...

We had a female cat for many years. She always gave birth in my sons' room on one of their beds, demanding they help. Quite an education for young boys.