The calm before the storm

Once whatever demons possessing the cats had departed, things got fairly quiet.  The only night howling now was the occasional man-cat fight or visit from a marauding predator, such as an opossum or raccoon.

Although...something strange was happening.  Some of the cats were getting fat.  The odd thing was the weight gain seemed to be divided up by gender.  The males kept their trim figures throughout the winter.  But the ladies seemed to be getting downright plump.  By the time spring rolled around, they were cumbersome and waddling.

Was I worried, yet?  Not exactly.  It wasn't like I knew their plans.  Mama did seem to be developing a bad habit of dropping her children off at the Porch Daycare.  But Blue hadn't brought her first litter around until they were old enough to eat and they didn't stay long.  It wasn't likely that Possum Lily would bring her kids, since Vick was always chasing her off.  But the main reason I wasn't too worried was because I was preoccupied with Minnie. 

Minnie had become my adopted cat.  Her kittens would be my adopted grand-kittens.  Like any grandmother to be, I was nervous and excited.  Minnie was scouting around the house, inside and out, looking for the perfect nesting place.  Since Minnie was opinionated, I could only hope she would nest in a safe place.  I tried suggesting several places but she kept on

scouting.  The only thing I could do was follow her with a net.  Fortunately, I didn't have a net.