When we trapped Taco, we already knew that there was virtually no chance that she could be rehabilitated into a housecat and that doing the right thing for her was to allow her to have her kittens in safety and then get her spayed and rereleased back into the colony. She also holds a special place in our heart because we’re fairly certain she’s the last litter mate of the two tortoise shells that we adopted as our own, Cookie and Phoebe.
In the fall, we trapped and rehomed four of her kittens (Tiny, Sabrina, Spicy, and Jalapeño). Taco herself was very trap aware and we had no chance of catching her at the time. Unfortunately, like so many of the feral queens, as soon as we had her kittens she went back into heat.
A few weeks later, the volunteers who feed the cats sent us a picture and it was undeniable that she was not only pregnant again but that the kittens would be there soon.
It was clear that she had her guard down and was hungry and in need of support because we were able to trap her with no trouble. Because she was so far along, we decided to let the kittens come and so we kept her in a crate in our house. A week after she was trapped she had five neonates. Within three weeks two had passed away, a sign of the challenge of multiple pregnancies during the harshest time of year.
As the kittens grew we were able to handle them (using tongs and gloves to avoid Taco’s wrath) and were able to raise them as well adapted cats. Bean, Olive, and Ramen have grown to be some of the best kittens we’ve every had through our house and are now in loving homes.
As soon as the kittens were adopted out, we got Taco spayed and vaccinated. We let her recuperate at our house for a few days and rereleased her on campus. She has been seen out and about going back to living her best feral life with no more burden of litters of kittens or risk of disease hanging over her.