'She Screamed and He Had 6 Kittens'

Someone dumped a nine-month-old black and white cat in an Easton man's neighborhood and the animal followed him around, so he decided to take her in.

"He felt bad because his other cats attacked her," Easton Animal Control Officer Kelly Fitch said of the stray. "He started feeding her in his garage."

Things were going well, but the man didn't realize his new pet was pregnant.

"She got bigger and bigger and bigger," said Fitch. "The next thing he knew, she screamed and he had six kittens. He placed three of them and brought the mom and three remaining ones here."

"He said, 'Please take them. I'm leaving the country and tried to place them and I can't,'" Fitch recalled.

One of the kittens was since been adopted out of the Easton Animal Shelter, now Fitch just has the mom and its two kittens. But because the mother cat is still nursing, Fitch said it cannot yet be spayed. And a cat can become pregnant while nursing.

"A cat is in heat every three months. Three to four times a year it can have kittens," Fitch said. "You can get 40 to 50 kittens a year from one cat."

After the cat finishes nursing, Fitch will determine whether or not it is pregnant before spaying the feline.
 
On Tuesday, Fitch took a kitten out of the cage and to hold and pet.

"We socialize them a lot — you have to," Fitch said. "The cats are very sweet, friendly and used to being picked up and held."

It's $50 to adopt one of the cats, a cost that covers vaccinations and spaying and neutering. Anyone interested in adopting the cat and/or the kittens should call the Easton Animal Shelter at 203-268-9172.