We have some happy kitties this morning!

There’s even two of them tucked under the kibble house. 🙂 I’m glad they like being able to do that!

Since we are not using the sun room as a cat shelter this winter, we will not be putting the rigid insulation against the windows inside again. With the doors now closing properly, we can get away will keeping the light, and any passive solar we might manage to get this winter, instead.

Which means we can re-purpose some of the insulation. There should be several large enough that we can cut one to fit under the floor of the kibble house. It won’t do much for insulating, but it will make things a bit less wiggly. It would be nicer on their little toe beans to have the insulation on top of the floor, but the cats just LOVE using this stuff for scratching, and can tear it apart rather quickly!

After that, I can look at whether I still need to put something across the front, to keep the kibble containers from being knocked out. They’re not being knocked out every day, so I may not need to.

This morning, I was able to give the outside cats and extra treat with their breakfast; the pan juices from some pork we roasted, including some much needed fat to help them build up their reserves for the winter.

Yes, we’re careful about what’s in those juices, and I make sure not to cook with anything that might be harmful to the cats when I am planning to give them the meat juices.

This picture was taken as I was finishing my rounds and heading back in, well after that initial mad rush when the kibble is first brought out. 😀 They are a lot more peaceful and contented at this point!

Peace and contentment is what I’m hoping we’ll get for today, but I don’t know what to expect, really. Chances are, our vandal will get served for the court date regarding the restraining order today. I also sent an email – a group email, that included family members who need to know what’s going on – pointing out the escalation of his behaviour, and telling him he needs to get help. Long ago, I had to tell him to not only stop coming here, but to stop phoning and texting. Email was the one method of communication I left open, even if it’s through his wife. Yes, she was included in the group email, too. I don’t know how much she knows of what he’s been doing.

Things can go one of two ways, at this point. Either he’ll back off completely and keep playing the victim. Or it’ll trigger him into doing something stupid, and he’ll still keep playing the victim.

Meanwhile, we’ll maintain higher vigilance. Thanks to Silk Cords‘ comment, I decided it was worth adjusting the security camera on our garage. I have had it zoomed in and focused on the gate, as much as possible from that angle, since the gate itself has been such a physical target. An obsession, really. Now I’ve got it zoomed out and adjusted so that, in my live feed, I can see the driveway inside the gate, the old hay yard and most of the barn. It’s unlikely he’d go in through the barbed wire fence to access the barn, since he’d need to bring a vehicle in to take what he wants, but who knows what he’d do if he gets triggered. Between all the cameras, we have his key targets covered.

If all goes well, they will all be completely unnecessary.

The Re-Farmer