Gigi and kittens

Now you should know that cat have different temperaments and attitudes. Some are vocal and very talkative (like our Garo). Others are shy and reserved. Others are aloof, etc..
Gigi is like nothing I have seen before. She is clearly the strongest of the bunch as all the other cats in the neighborhood (males and females alike) move out of her way and step back when she hisses at them. And her hiss is barely noticeable. She’s very calm and steady. On the other hand she’s very warm with people. She will rub on anyone’s feet. Will not balk away if you try to pet her. And will gladly climb into any welcoming lap. She doesn’t vocalize much and before she gave birth we rarely heard her voice except for the casual “beep” (half a “beep-beep”) if someone steps on her tail because she’s always laying behind our feet when we’re in the kitchen!
Now Gigi is not litter trained. Mainly because she takes care of business (and sleeps) outside. But since the kittens came, we decided to keep them inside (closed porch). Gigi is happy with the arrangement since she doesn’t have to fend for her litter. Garo comes in for feeding on that same porch a couple of times every day, but he’s a pushover and she doesn’t worry about him much. We even closed the small opening he used to enter, so he now stands outside and yells for someone to open for him. So, when Gigi wants to eliminate, she has to go outside. She could simply leave, but we noticed that before leaving she comes looking for us. Every single time, before going outside, she comes looking for either one of us and starts taking loudly. We know we have to do something because she never speaks otherwise, and she’s never loud! When we follow her to the porch and stand next to the kittens, she rubs her head on our feet once and then steps out. She makes sure that the kittens are asleep before she leaves. And she only stays out for a few minutes each time. She trusts us to handle the kittens: no hissing or any sort of complaint when we do that, but she licks them thouroughly after we put them back. So I’m guessing that she wants us to kittensit for her while she’s away! Have you ever seen such a behaviour?

Update: after exactly 7 days, gigi was very vocal again. She was going out more and after a few trips, she came back and started taking her kittens one by one to hide them in the bush across the street. Pia was not too happy with that.

Another update: Xena came back after 2 days of absence. She delivered her litter somewhere in the neighbourhood. She is coming to feed more often now and is back to her playful and hyperactive self.

Yet another update: it’s been about a week since we noticed Xena’s delivery. She was very noisy today, even more than usual. And she was exploring the house. At about 6pm, I was taking a nap when I heard a scream. Pia was screaming (joyfully as I learned later) because Xena was carrying one of her kittens in her mouth and she took it straight into our living room. She went though the whole ritual 5 times (telling us she was going, drinking some water our milk, then going to get a kitten). I’m writing this update now sitting on the floor next to them. She is tired, but purring loudly. And the 5 are taking turns at feeding. bliss…

We had recently lost our cat “The Boss”, and had plenty of cat food left over. So my wife started feeding one of the cats that was bold enough to stop and “chat” with us while passing by.
He came back again for more and we took his picture. Comparing that to an older picture we had of “the boss” conversing with another cat from behind closed windows we knew that was not the first time this particular cat was at our door (and windows). We had thought it was a female previously. And “the boss” was bold enough to chase away other cats that ventured near his balcony, so we never saw that cat again while he was with us.
Soon after, my wife was leaving food for “Garfield the red” on the balcony every night, and we always found the bowl empty in the morning. Garo (for short), was also visiting during the day, and screaming for attention (and food) whenever he saw us. But we suspected he wasn’t the only one eating our food.
One day, we saw the one I always called “hag” passing by. But instead of taking the trail down the wall facing the office and to the street, she went straight to the balcony and to the bowl of food! Yeap, Garo had competition.
And it was real competition for our affections, as Giselle was so cuddly and human-friendly you wouldn’t believe it was a feral cat. She spent her time rubbing against my wife’s feet. When Pia sat down she would come and sleep in her lap. And she was never too hungry or preoccupied to let us pet her and check her for flees.
It was mating season, so we heard plenty of screams night and day. That was normal. Then one day, Garo came with a huge cut on his forehead, next to his right ear. He allowed me to put some betadine on the wound. We were worried, but he’s doing fine now except for a bald spot where the wound used to be. We also treated both cats with tick repellant.
Giselle was now spending most of her time on our balcony, leaving only for a few hours every day. On one night, we heard her calling out in her small voice (as opposed to Garo’s howling cries) to someone we couldn’t see outside. We came out to see another female of the same size, coming in from the outside. This one we called Xena after a few days because she always annouces her entrance with the same war cry that Xena the warrior pricess used when attacking enemies!
Xena and Giselle were now inseparable. They even defended “their” place against all other intruding cats. Even Garo was sent crying when he tried to come in for a bite.
The story continues, with lots of interaction and new cats coming in from the wild daily. Giselle went out one day and did not come back, we’re not sure where she is. Garo is sleeping on the balcony now. Him and Xena tolerate each other. The stealthy Gerard and his black and white side-kick are venturing nearer now, but Xena still slaps them silly when they try to trespass!
I’m posting just a few pics, let me know if you like them.

For the last couple of months, “The Boss” has been on a strict all chick diet. The problem is that he doesn’t always feel like chicken! It was all ups and downs until we got him a pack of chicken legs “drumsticks” from the supermarked (“Shuman” brand). He ate them all over the period of 2 weeks without any problem. We got another batch (from “Hawa Chicken”) and he ate those too. Great, we thought, at 1 drumstsick a day it’s both easy and not too expensive (in comparison to the hypoallergenic food we got him and he was too much of a snob to even taste it).
I was at another supermarket (“Charcutier Aoun”) when I heard they had a special on chicken legs. I got a 1KG. Back home, I cooked him one of the new drumsticks and he came to check it out as usual. The Boss smells it for a sec, then goes back to his bed. He comes back after an hour or so asking for food, but he never touches the chicken!

I tried cooking another chicken leg from the old batch and he jumps to it immediately. The same happens on the second day.
I just bought a new batch from “Hawa Chicken” and he happily ate one of those. Honestly, I am afraid to eat from the “Charcutier Aoun” chickens after the boss turned them down. Any thoughts?

“The Boss” was feeling left out today. So he forced himself on my lap while I was working. That’s him under the keyboard. He sat there for about 5 minutes before he got bored again and went searching for entertainment/nap somewhere else

Here’s a pic Paypouy took earlier