Author vs Kittens

Some of the engine kittens playing in my backyard

Two of the neighborhood strays have litters of kittens. When I went out to the car this morning, both Momma cats scurried from under the car and hung very close by watching me. “But where are the kittens?” I thought. Now, the car is an FJ Cruiser with a sizeable engine compartment. I looked at the FJ. I looked at the Momma cats. I looked at the FJ again and popped the hood.

KITTEN EXPLOSION!

There were eight kittens hiding under the hood. Kittens went flying everywhere, unfortunately including hiding in places inside the engine compartment. I managed to grab one and return it to Momma. Another I managed to poke until it left. But that still left two huddled where I couldn’t reach them. Which was when the guy next door came over to see what I was doing. He recommended using the hose. I felt evil squirting kittens with water, but it did the trick. I suspect I’ll be performing a morning ritual of kitten check and hose squirting until these are grown.