I headed out to do the morning rounds today. My daughters have been doing it so I can sleep in, but as much as I’m not a morning person, I was really missing the yard cats!
Like this little one, who followed me up the driveway.
This is the one my daughters have named Magda. She is happily socialized, except for on thing.
She does not like to be carried.
I tried picking her up to carry her so she wouldn’t be walking in the cold snow, but she didn’t like that. So I tried again and managed to accomplish this.
As long as I wasn’t holding her in my arms, she was good, and she stayed in my jacket until I poured her out in the sun room when I was done.
I tried to do a head count this morning. I got either 38 or 39.
Last night I repaired a cat collar that we found a while back and brought it out with me. I was happy to see Collin still had his – he’s the fixed cat that is the hardest to tell apart from the other white and greys. I got the collar on Nosy. We’ll see how long that lasts.
Then I found a collar in one of the cat beds on the platform. Looking around, I discovered the Judgement no longer had a collar, so I got that back on him.
Giving the cats warm, softened cat food in the mornings is something they really enjoy, but we’re starting to have a problem. The food outside freezes before they finish it! Last night, I was able to break or knock loose most of it, but there was one tray that it was really stuck to. Once it’s loose, they can eat it, but… well… it’s frozen.
This morning, I found ice in the heated water bowl in the sun room.
*sigh*
That was the one my SIL passed on to us that was left from when they had dogs. It was working fine when I checked on things last night.
We do still have two working heated water bowls; one in the water bowl shelter and one in the isolation shelter.
Anyone out there that has used these for a long time? Is it normal for heated water bowls to stop working for no obvious reason? We’ve had some last only one year. Brand or size doesn’t seem to make a difference.
Anyhow.
Not long ago, I got some messages from the Cat Lady. We are not confirmed. On Dec. 5, we are two bring two females in to get spayed, vaccinated and treated for ear mites.
I know we’ll be able to get Kohl in – among the kittens, she’s the only female we can get that’s at least 2 pounds in weight. We have a couple of adult females that we should be able to get into a carrier. We give the cats their last feeding of the day before it gets dark, which is around 4:30 right now, so fasting will not be an issue. Of course, if they do any hunting during the night, we have no way of knowing that, but there isn’t much to hunt out there this time of year, either.
Hopefully, the rescue will be able to help us get a couple more done each month over the winter, and we can trap more of the adult ladies before they go into heat. Many of the kittens are so small, we have a bit more time for them, but there are some larger ones we don’t know the gender of, so it’s hard to say.
It just occurred to me. I haven’t seen Broccoli for a while. I’ve seen Brussel and Sprout, but not their mom.
Hmmm.
Well, it is what it is. Sometimes, they disappear for weeks or months. Sometimes, they don’t come back at all. We just do the best we can.
Which is all any of us can do, isn’t it?
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 
Kitties… Always a grand adventure. 😶
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