Just a quick post before I head out.
I have noticed the feral kittens are starting to go into the catio more often, and even going into the isolation shelter. Last night, I saw the little calico in the bottom of the isolation shelter, but it got really spooked by me and kept trying to run through the mesh walls, even though I stayed well away. The calico and torie are much shier.
The orange one, however, is getting really brave! So is the white and grey.
They were under the shrine, eating kibble, as I came closer with the kitten soup bowls. There was a third kitten – the calico, I think – that ran off and hid behind the tree. As I came over with the bowl, the Colby (the orange one) started coming right back! The white and grey followed, almost immediately, even as Sprout sat there, hissing at me. I might even have been able to reach out and touch Colby, except Hypotenose came over to eat the kitten soup, even though I’d already left other bowls all over the place, closer to the house. I tried to shoo him away, but that was too disturbing for the kittens, so I just left them be and put the last bowl in the isolation shelter. Eyelet was napping in there again. 💕
Coming back to the house, I heard some very distinctive crunching.
A stinky kitty was already there! This is one of two very little skunks I’ve been seeing. There’s a big one somewhere, too, but it doesn’t come out as often.
The big mama racoon and her two babies were in the sun room again last night. I used the critter cam to chase them out and saw there was a skunk, too. By the time I got to the door, the raccoons were out, but the little skunk squeezed itself under the counter shelf.
I went to see how far the raccoons when, and could hear growling and snarling. I found that one was peeking through the opening that the critters use to get under the storage house. There was another hidden in the lilac bush in the corner – and they were growling at each other! I used a garden hose to chase them off. I didn’t see the little ones, so I’m guessing they were already under the storage house.
As I continued my rounds, I made a point of checking the lean to on the garage, where we store our mowers, etc.
I heard a noise and finally spotted it. For the first time, I saw the kitten my brother said he’d seen, about a week ago.
It was difficult to get a picture, and these are the best I could do. I don’t understand why the mama hasn’t brought this kitten to the house, yet. She comes over to eat regularly, before coming back to hang out in the garage. There is no food or water around this area, so the kitten is getting only what the mama can bring it – and at this size, it’s probably not enough!
My brother gave us several traps, including two small ones. Perfect to catch a kitten! I’d like to set up a camera that’s got a live feed on it, then set up a trap.
Not right away, though.
Time to get ready to head out. It’s going to be a long day at my mother’s, today, I suspect.
Ah, well.
At least today is going to be cooler. We might even get a bit of rain. The smoke is really bad, though. There are so many fires up North this year. We could really use a LOT more rain!
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 