For the past several weeks the cutest little cat family has been hanging out around my apartment building. There are plenty of street cats in Abu Dhabi but seeing cat families together is pretty rare. You might see a mother with her kitten but usually it’s just that… a kitten. One. Typically cats have between 2-6 kittens per litter… so, well… you know. Not very many kittens make it.
So imagine my delight when Mike discovered these kittens right next door. At first he thought there were 7(!?) but I only counted 5.
Unfortunately, by the time I took these photos about a week later the litter was down to 4. It was pretty clear on this day that one of the kitties was fading. He was by far the smallest one, eyes covered in yellow goop, and his mother had already written him off. Passersby were probably amused at my lecture to the mom cat, “Take care of your baby!”
The next day the fourth kitten had disappeared and it was clear that my favorite kitten (the one with black spots) would be the next to go. I haven’t checked on her in a few days but I’m pretty sure what I’ll find. Her weight gain was not keeping pace with her healthier siblings and her eyes were beginning to puss over.
Mama loves the healthy ones best.The cute thing is that I’m not the only one in the neighborhood to fuss over the kitties. There are several men who take even more care with them than I do. Several times when I’ve brought out breakfast or dinner I’ll find that at least two other people have already served them a meal. One man even built them a little box house and then improved upon the model a few days later.
No offense to the Finnemans, but these cats are the cutest neighbors I’ve ever had.
xo, jill
PS. Remember these adorable cats in Jordan? And Azerbaijan?
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