I still haven’t gotten around to processing photos from the DSLR for my critter of the day pictures – partly because, until I can pay to upgrade my WordPress account, and have almost filled my flickr account, I don’t really have anyplace to upload them all. :-/
So once again, I have kitten pictures for you. I hope you don’t mind. ;-)
Check out Beep Beep’s babies!
Yes! All their eyes are open now! Well. Mostly open. :-D
Butterscotch, I am happy to say, has been joining her kittens in the box nest that I made more room in, and so far, she hasn’t tried moving them again.
My heart melts every time I see that little skunk-stripe nose!
Yesterday, after moving Butterscotch’s babies out of her most recent hiding place and putting them with Beep Beep’s babies, I check on them several times throughout the day.
I also got some adorable videos.
The babies were clearly quite content with the set up. Beep Beep was also quite good with all the babies.
Butterscotch, on the other hand, was not happy.
She and Beep Beep don’t get along at times, but I hoped her own kittens would be enough for her to make the effort. There’s lots of room in that cat cave.
At my last visit with them, however, I changed my mind. I was able to pick Butterscotch up briefly, but she was very nervous and jumped down. Not before I could feel that her teats were engorged. The kittens were fine, which means Beep Beep must have been nursing them, too, because Butterscotch sure hadn’t been.
The last thing I want is for her to end up with mastitis, or lose her milk. So I put her babies back into the box nest, so she could nurse them in peace.
Ah, well. The kittens are getting more active as they get bigger, and will be able to cuddle and play together soon enough.
This is a story that began yesterday, when I found Beep Beep like this.
Yup. The family has finally outgrown the nest I’d made inside the “cat cave” box. Time to open things up again!
Aaahhhh!!! Much better! Lots of room to spread out.
This morning, I discovered Butterscotch had moved her kittens again. With the blanket she’d put them on before now gone, she just used a shelf.
Poor little things!
I had to move the cat cave set up – with Beep Beep and babies inside! – to get to them.
So I took advantage of the situation.
I put them all on top, then after pushing the whole set up back again, I checked out the babies.
It looks like all 4 of them are male.
I had also opened up the box nest that Butterscotch’s babies were in, taking the smaller box out and putting the pillow and little cat bed back inside the bigger box, but should I even bother putting the kittens back in there?
Where would be a good place to put them, instead?
In with the other kittens sounded like a good idea.
Beep Beep came over to sniff them and immediately started to groom them, so she’s fine with it. As you can see, Butterscotch’s babies are real chill about it, too.
Checking them after doing my rounds, I see the kittens seem fine with it, too – one of Beep Beep’s kittens is cuddled right in with its cousins!
Butterscotch, on the other hand, wouldn’t even let me show her where I’d put her kittens. She and Beep Beep aren’t exactly best buddies, so I’ll be checking frequently to see how things are.
When starting my rounds this morning, I had both mamas looking at the door, waiting for me in the sun room! As soon as I opened the second door from the old kitchen, Beep Beep ran right in, then looked at me… waiting…
For what, I have no idea, but it gave me a chance to peek at her babies.
Just look at them! They’re like an adorable row of furry sausages. <3
Then I looked into the box nest for Butterscotch’s babies.
I still haven’t had a chance to process a new batch of critter pictures from the living room camera, so here is a kitty picture for you to enjoy! :-)
When I went into the sun room this morning, Beep Beep actually came out from her nesting box to say hello. This made for an opportunity to get a picture of her kittens without them being half hidden by mama.
Such adorable snoozies!!!
Butterscotch, on the other hand, came out from under the plastic couch against the wall.
Her nesting box was empty.
She had moved her kittens to a corner by the window. Long ago, I’d put an old seat pad on the dresser I use for tools for the cats to sit on, but they kept knocking it off. Eventually, it got knocked into that corner, where I couldn’t reach it without moving furniture. There is a homemade plant stand there as a shelf, and the pad was on top of its base.
That’s what the kittens were on.
Unfortunately, there is also broken glass from something the cats had knocked off a shelf back there that I can’t clean up until we’re able to empty the room for a total cleaning.
I ended up shifting some things around, got to the corner, managed to get the plant stand out, scooped the kittens into a little sling I made out of my shirt to carry them all at once, and moved them back to the box nest.
Butterscotch was not impressed.
Tough beans, mama. Your babies are going to be socialized this time!
As I was putting things back, and moving the homemade plant stand into the corner, I got what felt like a sliver. Checking it, however, I pulled out a little shard of glass. !!! It was a small wound, though, so I continued on.
Next thing I realized, I was leaving drops of blood all over the place. :-/
I am going to have to find some way to clean up that glass before a cat gets hurt. :-( They don’t normally go under there, but if Butterscotch is going to be trying to move her kittens, this could be a problem.
This isn’t the first time she tried to move them in the last day.
Yesterday, it was getting very warm in the sun room, but the old kitchen stays nice and cool. I was going to open the window in the storm door between the two rooms for some air circulation, but it wouldn’t budge. So I just left the doors into the old kitchen open and got the ceiling fan going in the sun room. I shut things down at the end of the day, but when my daughter went in later to do the cat litter, Butterscotch was at the door to the old kitchen and even sort of growled at her.
Then she heard the mewling coming from the wrong direction.
One kitten had been moved into the old kitchen, into an area by the old wood cook stove that is hard to get at. She found the kitten and had to move a bunch of things to get at it, then put it back into the box nest with its siblings.
After that, she did a head count of both litters, to make sure no others were missing!
I just love that little skunk stripe on the tuxedo’s nose!
Later, I was able to handle and cuddle each one of them.
I got quite a laugh at the timing of this photo, while Beep Beep was stretching her paw out.
I was able to cuddle the tabby (tortie?) in front for a bit. As I was putting it back, I was just in time to catch the orange tabby he was on top of, as it suddenly rolled off the blanket!
This morning, I had what has increasingly become a rare sighting of Doom Guy. I was able to pet him briefly, but he was much more interested in the food. Bob is around more, but very antsy of late, and not willing to stay still enough for much pets. I also saw Rosencrantz getting some food. She almost ran away when she saw me, but I didn’t try to come any closer, so she went back to the food. I hope her kittens are doing well.
It seems really strange to be outside and not have cats all over the place, all the time! Once the babies are big enough, that’ll change, of course, big time! :-D
Here is another photo from late April. Our summer birds were starting to come back in quite a rush by then.
We were still putting out the deer fix mix at this point. The deer were already coming by less frequently. Now that we’re in May, we hardly see them at all. There is still evidence that they are coming by – and sometimes I see them going through the driveway gate, on the trail cam. Right now, we are getting massive crowds of these fox sparrows.
Butterscotch’s babies have been easier to get pictures of; they are old enough that Butterscotch will come out more often.
This is the first picture I’ve been able to get of Beep Beep’s babies, without having to try and get around Mom.
I admit, I did quite a double take when I uploaded the photo and saw that one kitten’s nose.
No. It is not blood or a wound. It is just skin and fur colouration.
*phew*
This next picture was actually taken the evening we had the trees taken down.
I saw Rosencrantz looking very agitated, so I had to check on them.
Note that there is only three in the picture.
I took this next photo, the next morning, while putting the cat kibble out.
Alas. They are gone. :-(
I admit to being part of the problem; while I tried to keep my distance, she was not happy with anyone coming near the dog house. All the noise and activity while the trees were being cleared – especially when they moved the equipment into the south yard – was just too much for her.
I think they are now under the storage house. I’m hoping she found something to serve as a cat cave, because it’s mostly open under there.
It may be weeks before we see this litter again. :-(
Ah, well. Such is life.
Speaking of which…
Our other outside cats have all but disappeared, too! I saw Bob last night, but have seen Doom Guy only in passing (as I write this, I can see him way up on a tree branch). I haven’t seen Big Jim or Rolando Moon in days. In fact, we’ve been seeing the visiting toms more than our own resident cats of late.
I get that, now that the weather is better, the young males in particular will be wanting to explore. It’s just that a lot of the cats we were feeding last winter did the same, and most have not returned.
So while we now have 12 new kittens, we have less adult cats outside. Next year, we can expect much the same to happen again; some will stay, some will disappear.
I’ll just have to keep taking lots of pictures. :-)
My critter of the day photo is late today; I have a whole bunch of photos from the living room camera to go through, but had my computer off until just a little while ago. Just as a precautionary measure. The arborist was in to clear the trees today! I am so thrilled! I’ll be posting photos from that later on. I have lots to go through!
Until then, enjoy the wonderfully maternal Beep Beep and her little wormy babies.
The Re-Farmer 