‘2 cats in June turned into 5 by Canada Day turned into 9 a couple weeks later.’: The wild saga of the “kitten summer” that saw a cat loving couple’s yard become an unofficial feline maternity ward, for abandoned and pregnant strays

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Nov 3, 2025 3:00 PM EST

The Cat Distribution System is usually rather picky about which cats go where. Carefully selecting a home for each and every cat child that comes its way, appreciating that each one is as unique as a snowflake and so deserves their very own pawrents who will take care of them just as they deserve to be. However, in this story, we have a case that comes to sound as though the CDS was simply overwhelmed and had to find a spot to plonk a whole gang of cattos before they all met much worse fates.

And as such begins the tale we have lined up for you today which details how the CDS ended up bestowing upon two lucky hoomans a whole family of cattos who went from living in their yard, to getting pregnant a second time, to living in their very own housing unit, in truly feline luxury. 

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    Hoo boy, it is November and Kitten Summer is still going. Let's see how this played out.
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    In June, two cats turned up in our yard. We have had strays and ferals come through before and we'll put a bowl out now and
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    then but didn't get too involved. Just little hobos passing through. We do tend to name them but...whatevs.
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    But these two stuck around. On the left is George Michael and on the right is Maeby. They were pretty cool, took a bit but they started accepting affection from
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    us. Maeby has kittens! They're a few weeks old at this point so she must have had them shortly before she and
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  • Holy moly, to go from casual cat hobos passing through to receiving affection, to bringing the whole kitten family with them, this is turning into quite the holiday season special. We could easily see this story played out on the Hallmark channel, with the ending being about one of the kittens saving christmas. 

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    George Michael started coming around. We got some Mom+Kitten appropriate food and start feeding them as they're starting to ween. Orange
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    one we call Mimsy, mackerel tabby is TBD, and the tuxedo is Donnie Karabatsos. They're still outdoors but they have a den by our grape vines
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    New Bruns CSX
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    and they spend their days under our goji berry bush. Until one day Mimsy goes missing. Mom is distraught, roaming the area looking for him. He
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    eventually turns up and we go ok, you guys can have the unused storage room in the house. It ain't fancy but it's climate controlled and sheltered.
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    Now the whole time they're living in our yard, George Michael is on point as the protective uncle. He's always watching over them,
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  • Jheez, this really is a festive period Hallmark movie the way that this is going. Which of course is to say that it sounds completely unreal, and the idea that this is actually happening in real life feels completely far-fetched. How on earth is this real? It is just too wholesome to believe.

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    disappears next door here and there but is always coming back and looking out. Good boy. After we take them in, we start looking for homes.
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    George Michael is in fact a girl, with her own batch that are a week or two older than these ones. And now they're living in our yard. Well, three of them.
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    Zack S'Morris, Snowbird and Ultrafeast are living under my porch, while Connor Flooferton is sticking closer to her mom.
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    Now...why is George Michael shrinking her circle of trust? And why is she turning into a freaking beach ball? Because she's getting ready to drop another batch!
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    Note she has a family (the small farm next door) and they are actually trying to be responsible but she turns up pregnant before her spaying
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    appointment so...here we are. We don't have full documentation of the new batch but see pics 11-13 for some examples. She had 8!
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    5
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    Unfortunately a couple didn't make it... By this point, Mimsy and TBD have homes. I've recently set up an adoption for Snowbird and Ultrafeast; they go to live
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    on a horse farm to rule as co- tyrants over the tack room. Maeby is mine along with our pre-existing senior cats. Donnie Karabatsos is still a foster but
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    he's integrating into our household well so...no rush there, we'll find a nice home for him. Connor Flooferton lives next door and just stops by to steal food.
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    But that leaves Zack S'Morris alone under my porch and I am fine with him being there. Not in the house. No room at the inn, bud, sorry.
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    I know you miss your siblings and your mom is being kinda rude to you because she has a new batch. Between your cousins and your aunt I'm already way
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    over my veterinary budget for 2025. And then he turns up one day with a bad paw. He's hopping on three legs and won't put any weight on his right forepaw.
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    Storage room is empty again by this point because Maeby and Donnie are in the main house so alright Zack, into the makeshift homeless shelter you go.
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    So that's where we're at. 2 cats in June turned into 5 by Canada Day turned into 9 a couple weeks later. After adoptions and the new litter we are at: 1
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    keeper, 1 indoor foster, 1 injured kitten convalescing here for at least the next month, 4 adopted out, and six 4-week old kittens who are just
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    learning about the existence of my yard and who I hope will not set up shop here.
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Canada stray cat summer abandoned kitten yard reddit story maternity cat story couples feline pregnant Cats official wild cat lovers
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