SWAMPSCOTT — There’s a new kind of neighborhood watch on the Swampscott-Lynn line, where a handful of neighbors have been keeping their eyes out — not for crime or suspicion — but for something furry.

Angie Yu, who lives in the area, said stray cats and kittens have continued appearing in the neighborhood over the past year. The latest concern came just a few weeks ago, when neighbors began reporting another litter of kittens roaming nearby. One neighbor spotted the kittens, while another has been caring for a friendly kitten that has repeatedly shown up at her door.

The sightings come less than a year after Yu and her husband helped rescue two young stray cats that had taken shelter in their yard as temperatures dropped last fall.

“We’d seen them during the summer, and they looked healthy, so I assumed they belonged to somebody,” Yu said. “Then my husband saw them in the tree in the winter, and he was really concerned.”

After contacting animal control, humane traps were set in the couple’s yard. The cats were so small that larger traps failed to catch them — they could reach the bait without triggering the doors — forcing responders to switch to smaller cages. One of the cats, Yu later learned, was already pregnant despite still looking like a kitten herself.

“The one that was pregnant, she inhaled the food, the tuna fish,” Yu said. “We brought her in. … They were both really freaked out, but we just put them in there with a litter box and some blankets.”

The pair spent the night in the family’s first-floor powder room before being transported to an animal shelter the following morning.

“If I didn’t have pets, they were so cute I would have kept them,” Yu said. “But we just couldn’t because of our pets.”

While those two cats found a safe outcome, neighbors now worry the cycle may be repeating itself.

Yu believes an unspayed gray tabby has been living in an old shed or barn near the neighborhood and may be responsible for multiple litters over the past year. Although animal control attempted to catch the adult cat last winter, the priority was rescuing the kittens before freezing temperatures put them in danger.

Several neighbors have since been sharing sightings, photographs, and updates with one another, hoping to connect any new kittens with animal control before the weather turns.

Yu said she understands why some residents allow cats outdoors, particularly in quiet neighborhoods with little traffic, but hopes people also recognize the importance of spaying and neutering their pets.

She also wishes animal control resources were available beyond traditional business hours, noting that stray animals often appear during evenings or overnight, when residents have fewer options for help.

“It’s pretty rare that you’re going to find a stray cat between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,” she said.

For now, the neighborhood’s unofficial cat watch continues. With another kitten already making regular visits to a nearby home, Yu hopes residents can once again step in before another litter is left to fend for itself.