I guess I started something now

I love cats and have always had one up until the last couple of years since it’s just not in my budget. So a few months ago I noticed a calico cat in my backyard a couple of times . I bought a can of food for the next time I saw it.
I saw it in my backyard again and set some food out for it. It’s very feral and runs if I go near it.
This time it had two kittens with it- the looked to be several months old, so I am assuming the calico is the mother.
I put a can of food out today when I saw them in my yard and they ran to the fence but watched me put the food out and they took turns eating a few bites.
A few hours later I looked outside and saw 3 more kittens- same colors- a calico a few months old, and then two more kittens much smaller than the first 3.
Apparently it’s a cat running around the neighborhood and obviously not fixed.
It’s fun feeding them occasionally but I can’t feed a whole litter of random kittens every day.
I have started something for sure.

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Spoiledbrat · F

When I feed a stray cat, I do it at night and put it away from the house, so they don't know the source. I pretty much sneak it out there.

Mardrae · 61-69, F

@Spoiledbrat I guess I am scared of drawing rats at night if I don’t see the kittens eating and frolicking in my yard during the day. One of the smaller calicos was about two feet away from me just staring at me. Hopefully someday it will come to me and let me pet it.

Spoiledbrat · F

Also I don't buy pet food. I'll put something out that we can't finish. Like hot dogs or steak or ham. Sometimes we can't finish what we have and I hate for it to go to waste. Like one year around thanksgiving someone gave us a full ham. It was delicious but we couldn't eat it all. So I would put chunks out at night after it got dark until it was gone. It disappeared every time. I would just lay it on a piece of foil. I know sometimes stray cats have a hard time finding food and I hate to waste it or just throw it away. @Mardrae

Mardrae · 61-69, F

@Spoiledbrat that’s sweet of you to feed them! I really never have leftovers myself- it’s just me and I just cook a little something for myself. But I found some potatoe cakes and some oatmeal in my cabinets that I won’t eat, so I’ll cook those for them. Since it’s about 7 cats I seem to be feeding, they can’t be too picky cuz that’s too many mouths for me to feed. 😂. They will have to take what they can get.