Critters

Morning kitties

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After not seeing Beep Beep’s kittens for a while, I began to think she had moved them again.

I was right.

This morning, I caught some movement out our bedroom window and saw Beep Beep in one of the big maples by the old garden shed.  I called my husband’s attention to her, and that’s when he spotted a kitten!

The tuxedo was up in the tree, too!

So when I went to feed the outside cats, I brought food over to where Butterscotch’s kittens are, then left some for Beep Bee’s kittens, in front of the garden shed.

Then I waited.

I also got video.  It’s uploading right now and taking a while, so I might not have a chance to post it before I head into the city for our big grocery stock up trip.

So here are some stills for now.

I sat at the picnic table, and Beep Beep came to say hello. :-)

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She was torn between demanding pets, and checking out the bowl I use to carry the kitty kibble.

Rolando Moon also showed up.

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Oh, she’s a mean one!  She hisses at the other cats and bats at them fairly regularly, which I normally don’t interfere with, but when she starts hissing at the kittens, I step in!

So she went over towards the garden area and began rolling in the dirt next to a gooseberry bush.

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While taking video, I was very surprised to see an orange kitten come out!

Now I need to figure out; is this Beep Beep’s mystery third kitten?  Or did one of Butterscotch’s babies come to visit?

Butterscotch had come over, too, and I started to see her kittens coming closer, too.  Including her teeny tabby.

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So if the teeny tabby is adventuring this far out from where Butterscotch has put them, the bigger one is certainly able to go right in.

There are so few distinguishing characteristics, it’s hard to say.

The tuxedo did not come out at all while I was outside.

Oh, they are so cute!!

The Re-Farmer

Cute kitten overload!

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I noticed that Butterscotch’s kittens tend to be out and about later in the day, so I decided to head out and see if they would be out again.

They were!

Oh, they are so cute!

Unfortunately, the light makes for some poor photos.  I tried taking video, and the image quality sucked.  These are the best of the photos I was able to get.

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When I first came out, they were quite far afield!  One of the orange kittens had gone as far as the garage.

There is a significant size difference between the two orange ones.

The tinier one was in the planter near the outhouse, falling asleep, until I got too close for its comfort – though I did almost come close enough to touch!

I use the weed trimmer around the yard, in preparation for mowing, and went further in between the bushes between the old dog house and the outhouse then usual.  They seemed to like the newly cleared areas.

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The little orange one, and this calico, both looked like they could barely stay awake! :-D

For a while, I was kind of playing with the larger orange kitten while it was on the other side of the tree, on that tire.  Butterscotch kept putting herself between me and her kittens, demanding I pet her, and ended up on the tire as well.  Her kitten immediately started going for her tail.  When I had the chance, I started wiggling my fingers around the tree, and it went for them. <3  That was all it was willing to put up with, though!

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This brave little one climbed higher for a better look at me. :-D

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Sooo sleeeeepppyyyy…

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Tired baby!

I am hoping they will start feeling more confident and let us play with them.  I really want these to be less feral than the rest of the outside cats!

The Re-Farmer

Some little things

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Not a particularly productive day, but a good day for little things.

And pretty things.

I’ve noticed quite a difference in behavior in the birds as they visit the feeder now, compared to when we were still just putting seed on the frozen ground.  They seem a lot more chill and relaxed!  The bird in the photo on the left was just hanging around in the feeder, pecking at a seed every now and then, shifting position now and then, but otherwise just sitting there.  Even on the planter feeder, the birds more frequently take just sit around and take their time as they feed.  Rather nice. :-)

Earlier today, my younger daughter and I made an unplanned trip to the city.  When we got home and were walking to the door, we saw Butterscotch coming over, and could see her babies over by the old dog house.  So I grabbed our things and went inside while she topped up the cat kibble, and took some over for the kittens, too.

When I came out again shortly after, I found her over by the storage house with Beep Beep.  We now know where she moved her kittens to!  They are under the storage house.  My daughter brought some kibble for them, too, and they were quite happy to scarf it down.  They are much more nervous than Butterscotch’s kittens, though, and quickly hid themselves as I walked by, even though I didn’t go towards them.  No chance for photos!

I’m happy to know where Beep Beep’s babies are, and that they are eating solid food now, too.

It’s good to enjoy the little things in life.  Especially if those little things also happen to be furry and adorable! :-D

The Re-Farmer

Our green friend is back

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Our froggy guest had been staying in our kitchen window daily, leaving at night and returning by morning, for a few days.  Then it didn’t come back and I thought that would be it.

A couple of days ago, it started coming back again, and I am so happy to see it!

So cute!

The Re-Farmer

Fun photos

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A couple of fun photos to share with you today.

This one is from yesterday, after picking my daughter up from work.  She rescued a snowberry clearwing moth, aka hummingbird moth, while at the pharmacy.

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Then it just sort of chilled on her hand and didn’t want to leave! :-D

I got this one just a few minutes ago.  I noticed the water in the cat bowls outside was completely gone (it was another hot one, today, and the bowls are right in the sun), when I came out to see why Beep Beep was being so talkative.

After filling the bowls, I looked around for her and found her…

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I guess she didn’t want to wait! :-D

I don’t think I’ve ever seen any birds use that thing.  Maybe now I know why! :-D

The Re-Farmer

Getting closer!

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While doing one last walk around the yard at the end of the day, while there was still enough light, I got to say hello to Butterscotch by the food bowls.  I was even able to give her some cat treats.  Then Rolando Moon showed up – it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen her! – and even she got a few treats.

I decided to see what would happen if I went around the house and just sat in the grass, near where Butterscotch’s kittens are.

When Butterscotch noticed me there, she came running over for pets, mrrr’ing and meowing away.

At the sound of their mother, one of the orange kittens came running out of the bushes, almost right up to me, suddenly seemed to notice me, then ran back to the edge of the bushes!  Three other little kitty faces also began peaking at me.

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I stayed for perhaps half an hour. I had Butterscotch enthusiastically rubbing against my arms, demanding pets, while the kittens watched.  After a while, they became comfortable enough to play with each other, eventually all coming down near the edge of the bushes.  Rolando Moon came by, but she clearly does not like the kittens!  She hissed when she saw them.  One of the orange kittens really wanted to go to Rolando Moon, though, and at one point, got really close.  When Rolando Moon started hissing and growling, I got up to shoo her away.  Rolando Moon has attacked the other cats, and I didn’t want to take a chance she would hurt one of the kittens, even if it meant I scared the kittens into their wood pile in the process.

Thankfully, they did come back out again, and I even got to touch a couple!  Butterscotch was on the wood pile and I went over to pet her.  The kittens kept popping their heads out to watch, in between playing with each other.  One even went for my fingers. :-D

They were so adorable!!

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The Re-Farmer

The Call of the wild… mama

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Our mama cat has been very vocal for the past while.

That, in itself, is not unusual.  Her boy is a very quiet cat, but she has always been more talkative.

What was unusual is that as I moved around the house, she would run ahead to whatever window she could reach in the area.  I go to the entry, she’s at the outer door, meowing out the window.  I go to the kitchen, she’s up by the aquarium, yowling out the screen (where we still have that frog; it’s been leaving every night, then comes back by morning!).  I go to the living room, she follows me there…

Which was when I noticed Butterscotch’s kittens were out and running around.  They were brave enough to come up to the steps of the house.  I even got a few pictures, though I only saw three of the four kittens.

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Then I moved to the front door to see them better.

When we open the inner door, we put our little step ladder in front of it, so the cats can sit at it and look out the window.  Because we’re sucks that way.

As soon as I got to the door, our mama cat was on her ladder, front paws on the screen, yeowling away.

Which is when I realized, she wanted the kittens!  In the past, when I’ve been looking at YouTube videos of kittens that were meowing, she would come running into the room, looking for the kittens.  She seemed so upset not to find any that I stopped watching these videos unless they were muted!

Our mama wants to be a mama to the kittens outside!

The kittens have a very good mama already taking care of them, though.

This is from yesterday.

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As for today, when the kittens heard us at the door, they stopped to watch us for a while, then ran off to their nest in the wood pile.

Our mama is still calling for them every now and then!

Oh, how I wish we could get close to the kittens to socialize them! :-)

The Re-Farmer

 

Three Little Kittens…

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… have come out to play.

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Three of Butterscotch’s 4 kittens came out to play this evening.

I haven’t seen Beep Beep’s kittens in a couple of days.  I hope she didn’t move them.  They’re a bit big for that, and she’s a tiny cat!

The Re-Farmer

More Kittens!

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This morning, we finally saw Butterscotch’s kittens!

All four of them.

Looks like she found a nest for them in the pallet pile.  Which means we can see the area from our living room window.

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Mama was being very watchful!

Click on the pictures to see bigger versions.

Two orange tabbies and two are…

Is that called calico or tortoise shell?

It does make me wonder about Beep Beep’s kittens.  She has a tuxedo.  We have not seen any tuxedo cats outside.  Not even at my brother’s.

Anyhow…

My apologies for the poor quality pictures.  I was taking them through reflections on the glass.  I tried to take out the glare as much as I could when I cropped and resized the photos.

They are SO adorable!  I can’t wait until the two sets of kittens connect.

Our outdoor cat population has gone up by at least 6.  Maybe 7.

What are we going to do with them?

The Re-Farmer

More Kitten

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I had a chance to sit outside on the steps the kittens are hidden inside.  I was able to give Beep Beep some cat treats, and her little ones came out to see what was going on.

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The tuxedo came out first.  It seems to be the more adventurous one!

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It even went for my fingers! :-D

You can see a ball of ice at the bottom of the picture.  This is from my water balloon experiment.  I still don’t know if it’s working!  I’m not around to see if Beep Beep does anything with is (if nothing else, it’s watering the bush a bit), and I haven’t been around to see if the cats are checking out the larger one I left in one of their water bowls.

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The tuxedo even went farther afield while I was there.

The grey tabby did eventually come out and stay out, but by then it was too dark for photos.

The Re-Farmer