Critters

Beep Beep: Mighty Huntress

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(Circle of Life warning)

Of all the outside cats, Beep Beep is notably the smallest, in every way.  Yet, now that she’s got kittens to feed, she is proving to be a Mighty and Prolific Huntress.

Case in point.

Earlier today, I was hearing an odd meowing outside my office window.  A very unusual sort of meow.  So I went outside to look at see what was up.

It was Beep Beep.  Doing this.

The odd sound I was hearing was her meowing with a mouth full of dead chipmunk.  Usually, I see her with a vole, sometimes with a bird.  This is a first I’ve seen any of the cats with a chipmunk.

Then, this afternoon, my older daughter noticed some odd meowing and went out to see.

Yes, it was Beep Beep again.  This time, with a bird.

Both bird and chipmunk remain beside the bowls of cat kibble.

As the kittens have starting coming around the house to the food bowls, I am no longer going to be putting food out for them by the garden shed.  Which means, kitties have a meaty lunch waiting for them when they come around.

The Re-Farmer

Oh, my shaggy friends!

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Driving home from town this morning, I was happy to see the bison were by the fence – on a day when I had the DSLR with me!

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Though the orange haze of this morning was fading away, it was still smokey, as you can see in the background.

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This adolescent bison seemed rather curious about me.

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What a beautiful, shaggy face!

Oh, how I love seeing these beautiful creatures!

The Re-Farmer

Kittens, kittens, all of the kittens!

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Butterscotch seems to have moved her kittens again, and from seeing her yesterday evening while I was clearing the bush, I am afraid she may have moved them off our property entirely, and to the neighbour’s across the road (no one lives there, as far as I can tell).

This evening, I brought food and refilled the water for Beep Beep and her kittens, by the garden shed.  There was no sign of them, and I went on my way around the yard.  As I made my way back, I found Butterscotch and all her kittens!

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I had to zoom in with my phone camera quite a bit, as they did not seem comfortable with me coming closer.

Eventually, I came around again and saw Beep Beep at the food.

Except it wasn’t Beep Beep!  It was her grey tabby!

I sat at the picnic table and, before I knew it, I had all 6 kittens around!  Butterscotch was still around, some of the time, too.

Here is some video I got while I was there.

Just before I was ready to leave, I did finally see Beep Beep.  She was carrying a bird in her mouth that was almost as big as her head!  She didn’t come close, though.  Her tuxedo saw her and ran after her, wanting that bird, but she continued carrying it through the garden.

It looks like she may have moved her kittens across the road, too. :-(  This concerns me.  While we are pretty isolated, that road is a main artery West from the highway, and is quite busy for a gravel road.

At least they know to come back here for assured food and water!

The Re-Farmer

Bribery will get you everywhere

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We have had little success in getting the kittens more comfortable with us, though we have been able to touch the odd one.

This evening, we resorted to outright bribery.

Wet cat food.

It worked.  Kinda.

Beep Beep and her kittens were out, and we started off with a can of paté.  They quickly finished it off.

So I brought out a second can of chunks in gravy cat food.

I even found a broiler pan in the old garden shed to put the food on.

Why there was a broiler pan in the garden shed, I have no idea.  But I will leave it there to put the cat kibble on, instead of in the dirt, until the kittens start regularly coming around the other side of the house to the food bowls there.

My daughter was able to pet BOTH of Beep Beep’s babies!

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Once their bellies were full enough, they were no longer willing to let my daughter pet them.  The tuxedo is a little more willing, but it will step back and hiss when touched.  The tabby just runs off.

They are getting so big. :-D

We won’t be able to keep this up, since canned cat food is so much more expensive, but I hope we’ll eventually get them associating us humans with good things, and that they will become more socialized.

The Re-Farmer

All in a row

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I’ve started a routine of putting cat kibble out for the kittens in the evening, when we tend to see them out more often.

When I came out through the sunroom, where we keep the cat food and bird seed, I startled Butterscotch and the one kitten that followed her to the food bowls by the house, so I made a point of putting kibble out near where her kittens are, first.  Then I went around to the garden shed, where Beep Beep has her kittens, and put more there.

I never saw Beep Beep’s kittens, but in the time it took me to move from one area to the next, Butterscotch and her babies were hungrily eating together!

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The bigger orange tabby couldn’t squeeze her way in, so she went around the other side.

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Too cute!

If it weren’t for the size difference, we probably couldn’t tell the orange tabbies apart!

I also got video. :-D

That was about as close as they would let me come, though Teeny Tabby did let me touch her (his?) back while eating, a couple of times.  I’m not sure if Teeny was being braver than the other kittens, or hungrier! :-D

The Re-Farmer

New Bird Visitors

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I had a lovely surprise this morning, under our bird feeder.

The first was a norther flicker, right under the bird feeder.

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The only other time I’ve seen one was quite a while ago, and well away from the house.

It was quite thoroughly drilling into the dirt!

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Look at those bright yellow streaks in the wings!

Unlike the one I saw last time, this one did not have the distinctive black big marking.  The difference between male and female, perhaps?

Then, while the girls and I were watching the norther flicker, a humming bird showed up!

I tried to get a photo, but it was moving so fast, I could barely get it in the camera frame, and it would be gone.  Focus?  What’s that!

However, I did get this shot that I really like.

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Completely out of focus, but has an artsy feel to it that I really like.

I’m told we only have one variety of hummingbird in our area; the ruby throated humming bird.  This one, which had no red on it, and its back was very green and shiny, would have been a female.

In the near future, we intend to plant a butterfly and hummingbird garden.  :-)

The Re-Farmer