Survival of the Fittest

A section of the fence in my back yard is directly up against one of our neighbors fences. This has created a small hollow space between the two fences, which has been the birthplace for a number of cats. I always know when there is a new litter because my Lab Rocky starts spending a lot of time sniffing at the fence.

I am a cat lover but I do not have time to take care of a multitude. When these cute little fur balls venture out of their sanctuary, wobbling on 4 little stubs of fur, who can blame anyone for not being able to resist such cuddly and cute objects of affection?

My 6 year old granddaughter came running into the house carrying a long drooping corrugated black plastic tube about 5 ft long. The tube was wobbly and bouncing around as she frantically tried to explain to me what was inside the tube. “Grandma the kittys stuck, and can’t get out”. The limp black tube was covered in spider webs and dust so I quickly turned her and the tube around to the deck outside.

I wiggled the floppy corrugated tube gently but it just bobbed up and down. I could feel that something was inside. Tiny scratching sounds and muffled meows could be heard. Out tumbled a little black and white kitty. No sooner had it tumbled out than it ran under the wood pile. Like an ostrich with its head in the sand, the little kitty’s bottom half was not moving while the top half was covered by the wood.

All the while my big lab dog Rocky had been on our heels chomping at the bit trying to get these little babies. Granddaughter is crying. I am yelling at Rocky. Out tumbles two more little puffs of fur from the bobbing tube, one orange and one brindle. Rocky’s ears and tail point upward as he pounced. However, the kitty was a little too quick for him. In the blink of an eye, the orange puff of fur leaped off the deck into the pond. The little thing was fleeing for its life. It had become Survival of the Fittest.

The world was coming to an end according to my granddaughter, who was wailing. By this time my husband heard the scuffle and came out just in time to see the kitty swimming for his life and scooped him up. Now we had 3 little kittys being scattered in all different directions and Rocky was bouncing from one to the other and almost succeeding. I picked the limp corrugated tube up and as I swung it around out flies a white kitty. I have never seen a kitty or cat walk on air before.

The end result was 2 kittens scooted to the neighbors yard, 1 soaking wet kitten scrambled back inside the fence and the fate of the other kittens are unknown but I am sure they are hunkered in deep somewhere. The most fit is not always the biggest.

Write it down,

Carma