In the first photo of the slide show, you can see the fluffy lady – we haven’t named her yet – nursing three kittens. They are not hers. She is the one that dropped her very late litter all over the yard and left them, so she had no surviving kittens of her own.
If you click through to see the video clip, you can see what seems to be the same three kittens going for nip, while being thoroughly mothered!
I no longer see any of the other mothers nursing. They’ve weaned all the babies off themselves. It seems these three kittens weren’t ready to be weaned, and somehow managed to get the fluffy lady to let them have nip! I am just sort of assuming they started this soon enough after she lost her kittens to start and maintain lactation, though we didn’t see her nursing them until weeks later.
We are so close to her letting us touch her, even when she’s not at the food bowls! If we can get her at all friendly, we can get her into a carrier, to a vet and spayed. It’s very touch and go right now.
While I was outside today, watering the garden, my daughter was a sweetheart and did some sewing for me. The torn cat hammock in the catio could not be repaired to be used in there again, but the fabric itself was still in good shape. It only had frayed edges. My daughter trimmed all the frayed parts straight, then hemmed all the sides. My husband had a grommet kit among his leatherworking tools, and she added a grommet to each corner. It will now be used inside the cat isolation shelter. I plan to set up hooks to hang it from. It’s smaller than the space, but we can just add cord loops to the grommets and use that to hang it off the hooks. It can then be easily removed for cleaning in the future, as needed.
I had scrubbed the floating shelves in the catio earlier, and they were dry by the time my daughter was done. She then started painting the inside.
She started off with the paint roller to do the wire mesh and most of the bottom of the frame, first. It would be touched up with the brush, later. The floating shelves would be done last, after those staples and bits of frayed fabric got removed. Once the inside is finished, the outside can be finished. The bottom was done first, so we could flip it upright and not have to flip it upside down again. Then the top was done, so the roof could be added. That leaves just the middle of the outside that needs to be done.
My daughter had to close up the door while she was in there, because the cats kept trying to go in with her. She was still in there, having moved to the other side, when I tried to take a picture from outside the catio. The mesh’s original paint it white, though, so there was no way I could get a picture of progress inside, so I opened the door, took a quick picture, then closed the door again before going inside.
I few minutes later, I got a message from my daughter.
I had locked her in!
Out of habit, I’d closed the latch on the door. There’s no way to reach it from inside!
It’s a good thing she had her phone with her!
While I was writing this, my daughter came by to update me. The inside is now completely done, except for the inside frame of the door. Rolando Moon wouldn’t leave her alone, so should couldn’t finish painting it, without also painting a cat!
Which means all that’s left to paint is the outside of the catio, and the inside frame of the door. Once that’s done, a new cat hammock will be added to replace the torn one, and then it will be finished!
The cats already love it. That will make it so much easier for when we need to keep a cat isolated in there for short lengths of time, in the summer.
The cat isolation shelter that’s still under construction will have insulation and a heat source in the upper half, so that one will be used in the winter.
Hopefully, to keep spayed females safe and warm for their 2 week recovery period.
Oh, that reminds me. I got an update from the Cat Lady about the family that was interested in adopting Gouda as a barn cat.
I think I’m going to have to take a pass on them!!!
I appreciate that they were honest, but good grief! It turned out they went through 8 barn cats.
In ONE YEAR!
One of them was a mystery loss. They came home and found it unresponsive. They took it to the vet immediately, but they could find nothing wrong with it. They gave it the standard antibiotics, etc., and told them to take the cat home and watch it closely. It passed away two hours later, and they never found out why.
The other seven…
Engines.
Seriously. Who lived in the country, with barn cats, and doesn’t do a cat check or bang the hood? Once, I can see, but SEVEN times?????
In ONE YEAR!!
What this also means is that they don’t have any sort of warm shelter for their cats, so they’re going into the engine compartment, instead. The woman the Cat Lady spoke to says they know better now, but it shouldn’t take SEVEN cats for them to learn their lesson.
Nope. I don’t want Gouda going there. He’s never tried to go into the engine compartment on our truck. He’s not even interested in going under it and exploring the undercarriage – but he has lots of other more comfortable shelters to use, in all seasons and all weather conditions. Including the catio, which he now loves to hang out in. Who knows what he would do, if he didn’t have any of that available.
We may have way too many cats, and need to adopt out as many as we can, but we still want them to go to the best situation we can find for them. The Cat Lady follows up on the cats she’s adopted out – many of the adoptees happily share photos of them with her, regularly. The few we’ve had that went to farms are all doing very well. Some of them are now indoor cats, they adapted so well.
That’s the sort of thing I’d like Gouda – or any other yard cat that becomes someone else’s yard cat – to have.
Gouda was one of the friendlier yard cats, but not overly so. Since he’s gotten his nibs nipped, and is now out of the catio, he has taken to following me around when I’m outside, wanting pets! He’s even allowed me to pick him up and hold him, briefly. That will make him much easier to adopt out, too!
Hopefully, as we start getting the females done, they’ll become more friendly, too.
With my brother and his wife on the way, I made sure to have the gate open for them, then started working on things outside, so I could keep an eye on things.
I didn’t realize until late last night that, in one of my posts yesterday, I’d said I would give an update on what’s going on with our vandal, but completely forgot about it when I hit publish.
Our vandal is out of the hospital, and I’m suddenly seeing him on the trail cam files quite frequently.
Granted, he has to go past our place to check on his fields, but considering he just had major surgery, it’s rather odd that he’d be doing this so often, when he’s just back from the hospital. I’ve seen his wife doing it while he was in the hospital, so it’s not like he’s the only one that can get it done.
There’s more to it than that, though.
Other than seeing him go by on the cameras, we’ve had no contact with him, even after the restraining order expired. He knows that I am willing to do things like that, and press charges for his vandalism. He’s not used to having someone stand up to him, rather than make excuses for him, so he stays away. I’m happy with that, as I really didn’t want to apply for it again. With the horrible messages and calls to my mother he’d been making, his number was blocked on her phone. My brother also blocked his number.
Yet, somehow, he was able to leave a message on his voice mail a few days ago.
We still don’t know how.
I have a copy of the recording, but could barely make it out. Probably because I was trying to listen to it on my phone. My brother was able to transcribe it, though.
Most of it was the usual weird stuff. He has invented scenarios in his head about what he thinks we are doing, and yells about it. This time, apparently my brother has a thousand dollar bottle of wine with which to celebrate our vandal’s death that he will have to put away for now. Oh, and my brother wants to put him in jail, apparently.
As always, he’s obsessed with this farm.
The property we’re on consists of two quarter sections. The one we’re on is all rented out except for the corner the house is on, which we are responsible for (and to keep an eye on the rest, in general). The other quarter, which is a half mile up and across the road, has no buildings or even fields on it and the whole thing is rented out to the same person. He, the renter, uses it for pasture and rotates his cows from there to here, regularly, along with other pastures he’s got for them. He’s very responsible when it comes to the land, whether it’s how he takes care of our field he grows crops on, or ensuring the pastures are never over grazed.
Well, our vandal had driven past the other quarter section recently (I only know this because my mother had tried calling him – which she should not have done – and spoke to his wife). In the message to my brother, he said that there’s a particular weed taking over and was ranting on how he took care of that piece of land for years – but also that he was fighting this weed on his own property. He was conflating the two things, so it’s hard to tell exactly if he meant he picked this weed on that quarter, as well as picking it on his own property right now, or just on his own property right now.
Either way, how could he have been taking care of that property for years, when it’s been rented out to the same farm family since my parents mostly retired from farming? I mean, we’re talking two generations renting from our family at this point. Plus, with the renter having his cattle grazing there, he would be on top of any invasive weeds that would affect the quality of the pasture, if they were there. So I honestly don’t know if this weed is actually there, or if our vandal just thinks that’s what he saw as he was driving by.
It’s also none of his business.
Either way, he ranted about how it’s going to ruin the farm, and that my “porkchop” daughters should go out there with a push mower to get it under control.
Yes. He said we should be mowing a pasture with a push mower.
Then he had a whole bunch of nasty stuff to say about me and my daughters (apparently, my husband doesn’t exist), with his usual lies about us having never worked a day in our lives (and by “work” he means a job he thinks is a “real” job, apparently), and trying to put him in jail, while demanding to talk to my brother about me, face to face.
It was how he ended the message that was the most concerning.
It was with a threat.
But of what?
Whatever it is, apparently he has something planned for before he dies, or after he dies, that is so big, even “the Pope will read it in a magazine,” about what we’ve done to him.
So his cancer scare and brush with death certainly hasn’t changed him in any way. If anything, he seems even more obsessed with the property – he is an example of what it means to “covet” something – and me, and my family. He has convinced himself we are trying to destroy him, so he is planning something to harm us as some sort of revenge.
*sigh*
I was hoping we’d be able to start relaxing a bit, but nope.
So while the gate was open, I wanted to be outside to make sure our vandal didn’t just suddenly show up.
One of the things I did was finally unwrap the sheets of clear plastic roofing material. I set up the saw horses and cleared space on the work table to support their 8′ length. They needed to be cut to 4′ lengths.
I marked out the centre of the panels, but wasn’t sure of the best way to cut it. I left it be, though, and went inside to have breakfast before my brother and his wife were supposed to arrive.
I timed it just right, too.
After they got here and my SIL was loaded up with tomatoes and a cantaloupe, she headed back home, and I went to help my brother.
He had a surprise for me.
One of the last times he was he, he checked on my mother’s car. We were able to get the compressor hose through a hole in the wall on that side of the garage, across the middle, section, and just reach the flat front tire on her car. We couldn’t reach the back tire, though.
He got me an extension for the compressor hose. One of those coiled ones that can stretch to 50′!
We can now easily reach the back tire on my mother’s care (which is starting to look low again), and I can even top up all the tires on our truck, without having to turn it around to reach the other end.
He is so thoughtful!
Meanwhile, since he was there, I asked for his advice on how best to cut the roof panels in half. After asking and seeing what I had, he suggested the jig saw, but to put painter’s tape over where I’d be cutting first. The jig saw, I had considered, but I would not have thought of the tape.
The hose extension set up and done, I helped him tie down a new tarp on the box of his dump truck, to keep the elements out, and the old tarp was getting worn out. The winds get really high out here, so we really wanted to make sure it was solidly tied down.
He’s already unhooked the piece of equipment he’d hauled out here, so as soon as the tarp was secure, he was off again. He wanted to come back with another load on his trailer before it got dark.
As for me, I followed his advice and used the painter’s tape over the line I’d marked. I could still see the line through the tape, so I didn’t have to measure and mark it out again.
Using the jigsaw worked, but WOW did it vibrate like crazy! So much so that the jigsaw blade and the line I was trying to follow were like trying to see with double vision! I was able to get it done, though, and pretty straight, too.
The cut edges were rough, though, so after removing the tape, I sanded the edges.
Leaving the panels still on top of each other, I left one end on top of the isolation shelter for later, then took the other end out to the catio.
Before starting on the roof, though, I brought over some of the wire that was used to hold the welded wire mesh rolled up. The bottom half of the catio is new mesh, with about 9 or 10 inches of overlap between old and new wire mesh. My daughter felt that some of the smaller kittens, should they require isolation in there, could potentially squeeze between mesh and get out, so I wanted to use the wire to “sew” it closed across the top.
Once he got over the scare of not being able to get out, he seemed to really enjoy his time in there. The Cat Lady thought she might have someone that could adopt him, but hadn’t heard back from them yet, so there was no point in keeping him in there longer.
When I opened the door for him, he didn’t even try to leave right away. As I was going back and forth with things, I suddenly realized, he was back in the catio, watching me!
Him and several kittens.
The cats quite like the catio! Especially the kittens.
Interestingly, after letting him out, Gouda seems to be extra calm, and wanting human attention more. He reaches out to my hands to get me to pet him – but if my hands are busy and I don’t pet him, he reaches out with his teeth!
This little kitten was all over the top of the catio! When I was bent over to lace the wire through the mesh, she kept batting at my hat.
Yes, this is a she, and she is friendly!
I had other cats rolling around on the top of the catio while I worked, but this one, I sent pictures of to the Cat Lady, mentioning that she’s friendly. She seems to be the only female kitten that is friendly. All the rest of the friendly ones are male, as far as I can tell.
The Cat Lady responded that we should get her fixed soon, while she still is young enough to qualify for the special pricing for spays at the vet clinic we took Gouda to. That would be awesome! So, maybe next month, we’ll be doing her instead of two males.
I did as much as I could with the wire wrapping, but had to stop for a while. I ended up going into town to refill three of our big water jugs. I should have done a dump run, too, but after driving over that glass jar last time, I really don’t want to risk my tires. People on the local RM Facebook group I’m on have been talking about how bad the conditions at the dump have become in the last little while.
So I decided against going today.
Since I was not going to be around to supervise, I had to make sure the gate was closed up.
The good thing is, my brother has his own key.
By the time I got back, my brother was hear and had already started to load. After unloading our truck and leaving a daughter to put things away, I went to help my brother unload his trailer. He didn’t stay long after that, as he needed to start loading the trailer again when he got home, before things got dark. Nothing that’s coming here, though, so we shouldn’t be seeing them again this weekend.
Once we were done and he left – and the gate was locked again – I went back to the catio. I finished off with the wire wrapping, then brought over the hose. It had taken Gouda a while to figure out the litter box, and he’d made a mess on the cat hammock. I got that cleaned off before finally starting on the roof.
The screws all have washers with neoprene seals on them, so water shouldn’t leak around them.
Since no cat will be in there overnight, I removed the empty food bowl, but didn’t bother removing the water bowl. The box nest went back in, though, as did the litter box, just to keep it out of the elements until I empty it and clean it for the next time it’s needed.
After this, we can finish painting the rest of it black, and replace the torn cat hammock that was removed. It will then be officially done!
Then I can get back to working on the isolation shelter. I really need to get that finished. Not just for the cats, but so I can get everything out of the garage and cleaned up, so we can park the truck in there again.
For now, I’m just glad to have that roof on. We’re supposed to get thunderstorms at around 5am. This gives the cats a bit of extra shelter they can tuck into.
After two weeks or driving all over, I’m happy to have one week of almost no driving at all, before it’s back to running around. This coming week, I expect to do grocery shopping for my mother at some point, but that’s about it. That will give me time to work on projects, but also get caught up on things like lawn mowing, and getting the loppers out to clear away saplings that are starting to take over some areas again.
Maybe even finally get back to working on those raised garden beds we’re supposed to be harvesting trees for!
If the weather holds. We may not be expecting frost, but by phone’s weather app is predicting thunderstorms on at least three days next week.
We shall see how it goes!
I’m just happy with whatever progress I manage to get right now.
The rescue covered the neuter, a set of vaccinations, ear mite treatment and deworming. We were sent home with medication to give him tonight, then another dose in 2 weeks.
He will be staying in the catio for a couple of days – if we can keep him in there! – so we can keep an eye on him. I found some reinforcing plates for the upper corners of the catio while Gouda was getting his surgery. Once those are on, and the top is painted, I also found neoprene lined washers to use when screwing the roof panels on, to prevent water leakage.
The Cat Lady and I were messaging and talking to each other throughout the morning. As I was waiting for the pick up time, she started asking me questions about his behaviour and how socialized he is.
She might have someone who can adopt him.
This is someone who needs a barn cat that is friendly, but not too friendly. She doesn’t want a cat that will get under the feet of people coming in to the horses. He might get under the feet at feeding time, but when there are other people around, he’s not to be seen anywhere. Which may be exactly what she’s looking for.
This wouldn’t happen for about a month, though, as we are to continue observing Gouda – in particular, his ears – over the next month. As expected, he had ear mites and, as seems to be usual, it was pretty bad. He’s going to need time to heal, and we are to try and see if there is any leaking.
We’ll do the best we can!
As I was picking him up and they were finishing off the invoice, the processed the payment from the rescue. I asked, trepidatiously, how much it cost. With the extra treatment and medications, plus the cost of the neuter, I was expecting it to be over $300.
It turned out to be a bit over $160! Which is an amazing price! The rescue gets a really good deal with this vet! Most vet clinics do offer discounts for rescues, but this one seems to be making the extra effort to make spays and neuters affordable.
If the rescue can also find a new home for Gouda, that would be really something. Especially after the person that was going to adopt Button backed out!
I don’t have any dates yet, but the Cat Lady said she had us booked for 2 more males next month.
Today is our average first frost date. Thankfully, there is no sign of frost on the horizon! As I write this, we are at 27C/81F, with the humidex making it feel like 30C/86F, which I think it down from the predicted high of 28C/82F – or perhaps we haven’t reached the high, yet! Today’s overnight low is expected to be 11C/52F Starting tomorrow, and for the next week to 10 days, the overnight lows are expected to be about 15C/59F or higher, while risk of frost might not happen for most of this month at all, though we might be dipping pretty close by the last few days of September.
While doing my morning rounds, I took recordings for a garden tour video, then did a harvest.
It was while I was recording that I spotted the melon that had split overnight, so I made sure to pick that one, even though it was still tightly attached to its vine. The other one, however, turned out to have already dropped from its vine on its own!
There are a few Royal Burgundy bush beans, and a few of the green Seychelle pole beans. No Carminat pole beans today. I picked a couple of Purple Beauty peppers, then some Forme de Couer and Black Cherry tomatoes.
With today expected to be so hot, I also did a deep watering of the garden beds.
While I was watering in the old kitchen garden, I decided to actually taste one of the Black Cherry tomatoes. Just in case this is a type I can eat.
Nope.
Gag city. Ugh!!!
Since I was still watering, I was able to wash my mouth out with the hose. Even then, I went hunting among the tiny strawberries to find some I could eat to get the taste out of my mouth.
So far, the tiny Spoon tomatoes are still the only tomatoes I can eat fresh, without gagging. At least I can eat tomatoes after they’ve been processed into a soup or sauce or something, unlike peppers. Thankfully, it’s not an allergy, so if they’re processed in a sauce, as long as I can’t taste them, I’m fine. If they’re still in chunks or there’s enough that the taste is noticeable, I still can’t eat peppers, no matter how appetizing I find everything else about them!
At least the family likes them!
While I was back inside and having breakfast (at lunch time…) I got a lovely surprise phone call.
The roof panels I ordered for the catio and isolation shelter were in!
Since I’m going to be out for the next couple of days doing other things, today was the day to pick them up. First, we had to get some things ready, and move the catio beside the house.
I had already moved the pots with the summer squash in them to make room. My daughter and I moved the swing bench into the garage, then we cleared and swept the patio blocks.
How to carry the catio was a bit of a conundrum. There’s really no way to grip it well, except by the very bottom, at which point, it’s not very stable.
At some point, I should add pairs of handles to the frame.
My daughter had the solution, though. She went inside the catio, where she could lift the whole thing herself by gripping the frame on each side with her hands, and using her head on the roof mesh to lift from the middle! The only thing that made it difficult was the plastic that’s covering the top for a temporary roof. There was just enough of a wind to catch on it and try and blow it away. My job was just to stabilize it while she carried it over to the house.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t set the back against the house, as we wanted. Thanks to the elm tree planted in front of the house, some of the patio blocks are lifted out of place by the roots. The catio is just wide enough that the front rested over the highest point, making the whole thing wobble. We ended up rotating it so that the back now faces the concrete steps and landing by the main doors.
My daughter put food and water bowls inside while I ran into the house, because the phone was ringing.
As for the phone, I’ve been playing telephone tag with the guy that heads the local home care department. I had called and left a message this morning, and sure enough, this was him, calling me back. I wasn’t fast enough, and he’d left a message. So I called back right away… and left a message! I was expecting to leave for the hardware store soon, so I told him how long I expected to be. Then I remembered that I will have cell phone signal while away, so I called back and left my cell phone number.
Thankfully, he was able to call back before I left!
I told him about what was going on with my mother, including her actions that may lead her to being evicted. We tried to make an appointment to get together, but the day he suggested this week is when I’ll be taking a cat to the vet to get its nibs nipped. The week after that, he’s away, while the following week, I had only one day available for sure – that’s the week we can expect the exterminators to be coming out to my mother’s again, and I want to make sure I’m there, so make sure things actually happen, and she doesn’t get evicted. After that, I’ll be doing our stock up shopping.
Given the situation with my mother’s possible eviction if she doesn’t let the exterminator in to confirm the bed bugs are gone, he asked if I were available this Friday morning.
I said yes. I didn’t even care what time. We need to get this process started!
I’m not going to be getting much sleep this month.
So on Friday morning, I will go to his office, and we’ll do as much of the paperwork as we can. My mother will likely need to make another doctor’s appointment, but she’s now refusing to see her doctor, because her doctor is black and female. My mother did have the chest X-rays they need within the past few months, though, so we might be able to skip that. She is still supposed to get a brain scan, and that’s on the waiting list, so that would just need a confirmation.
After I see him, we’ll go to my mother’s place to go over the paperwork, explain things to her, and get her to sign the necessary authorizations. Which should include at least having home care meal preparation done. I’m hoping to convince her to add medication assist, too, to make sure she takes her meds when she is supposed to.
So that is all arranged for Friday.
Once that call was done, I headed out to my mother’s town and went to the hardware store. Before picking up the items, I got a quart of black outdoor paint for the catio, as well as galvanized steel strapping to secure the last section of mesh, next to the door hinges. I was thinking of nailing through the steel strapping, but it’s too thick, so I picked up a box of the smallest wood screws they had that will still be secure in the holes of the strapping. Finally, I picked up some screw hooks, which will secure a cat hammock in the cat isolation house. While I was paying for those, I gave my receipt for the stuff to pick up to the cashier, so she could complete the invoicing part of it (it was already paid for), then call the folks in back to let them know what was about to be picked up.
The roofing material turned out to be in an 8ft long roll, which is longer than my truck box. I rolled back the cover so that it could sit on top of the tail gate, then secured it against the tailgate with a Bungee cord.
I’m so glad I picked up that set of cords, the day we got the catio!
I also got my two bundles of wood lathe, which I hope will be the last I need for the current projects.
Once all was secure, I headed home, remembering to stop at the mail along the way, in case an Amazon order came in early, which they sometimes do. There were a couple of parcels waiting that seemed oddly shaped. They turned out to be stuff my husband had ordered elsewhere, so we’ve still got Amazon packages to come in. The store the post office is in closes at noon tomorrow, though, so I won’t be able to pick anything up until Thursday. We’ll see what time I come back from the vet with a groggy cat!
The catio will need to be painted before the roof is put on, though – or at least the top of the catio needs to be painted before the roof is put on. However, I want to paint the bottom of it, which means flipping it, so that needs to be done first.
If I get out there fast enough, I cat get that done tonight. The paint should then be cured before it gets dewy during the night. I’ll talk to the girls about painting the rest while I’m gone, tomorrow. My younger daughter is the only one that can go in, to paint the inside.
Which means, I need to finish this off, get out there and get painting!
I honestly didn’t think I was going to get more progress on the isolation shelter today. After helping my brother and SIL unload their trailer, I went back to watering the garden, then stayed to do as much weeding around the winter squash as I could. I was feeling the heat and probably should have called it a day. I didn’t want to push myself too much, which I apparently did yesterday.
I was finishing up on my computer when I tucked my foot under my chair, only to get hit with a Charlie horse in the back of my thigh! Thankfully, I was able to stretch it out before it got bad, and managed to hobble over to take some ibuprofen. I was eventually able to sit down again.
Then I moved to tuck my right leg under my chair, and got another one!
I was able to stretch that one out, too, but I spent most of the night having to sleep with my legs stretched straight. Any time I tried to bend my knees, I could feel the muscles starting to cramp again. I even ended up sleeping on my back, which I never do, because it hurts.
Not as much as a Charlie horse, though!
In the end, though, as I was putting something away in the garage, I figured I could at least do the painting.
The other side of the ramp/door pieces were done, as where the last sides of the box “nests”.
In the second photo of the slideshow, you can see that I also decided to secure the scratching post/ramp to the second level.
At which point I figured, may as well keep going!
I moved the shelter to the doorway, so I could work in the sunshine. The light was much better, but by the time I was done, I was really feeling the heat!
The first image in the slideshow, I just tacked on the sheet of insulation I’d cut to size previously. You can see a patch I made near the top left corner. A piece was broken off there, so just cut it more or less square, than cut a piece from some of the excess insulation to fit. One edge of the sheet needed to have a bit of excess trimmed off to make it straight.
The insulation has a crack in it, and a few holes but, for the purpose, it should work fine.
In the next image, you can see how I’ve attached the first piece of 4′ wood lath. Once I made sure it was straight, lined up with the width of the shelter and secured with nails, I trimmed the rough edges of the insulation to be flush with the top of wood lath.
After that, each piece of lath was lined up with the one above and nailed in place, first in the centre, then on each end. I just found it easier to start in the middle.
In the next picture, you can see how it looks with the back completely covered.
The next thing to do was to secure the wire mesh in the lower level. For that, I had some painted wood lath that were a quarter inch shorter than they should have been. I cut one of them in half for the sides, then checked the length I needed. I wanted them to be flush with the pallet at the bottom, and the top edges extended a bit under the lath above, where there was a gap where the insulation ended. They were then lined up with the inside edge of the shelter frame and nailed in place. I positioned the nails as best as I could estimate where the mesh was, so that if the mesh gets pulled or pushed on by critters, the nails will prevent the wire from getting pulled out from between the wood.
Once those were secured, I measured and cut my last two painted pieces of wood lath to fit in between the side pieces. Those were also lined up with the inside edge of the frame, and nails were placed to ensure the wire mesh can’t be pulled loose.
You can see the finished frame in the next photo.
I then spent a bit of time considering what to do about the middle. There were only a couple of staples holding it in place. With the frame in place to secure it, there really wasn’t much concern that the wire mesh could be pulled off. However, if the middle were pushed loose from the inside, a cat could potentially get stuck between the vertical support and the mesh.
I could have added more staples, but I don’t trust those.
I decided to add one more piece of wood lath. The next image shows the entire back of the shelter, including the extra piece. The next time I will be painting things, I’ll paint that piece, too.
There is so very little paint left, though! I would be amazed if there was enough to finish painting the upper level, when it’s enclosed. Unless I manage to acquire the clear plastic I’m looking for to use instead of wood, to use as windows.
That brick on top isn’t supposed to be sitting on the frame. I had to move it while I was rolling the shelter out of the garage, because it was bouncing. I have the painted piece of wood that was originally going to be part of the floor up there. It will be used to raised the roof slightly in the front, to create a low slope – and will be what I attach hinges to, so we can lift the roof from the back. What I noticed is that the piece of wood is slightly bowed in the middle. If it had been used in the floor, as originally intended, that would not have mattered. It would have been screwed to the floor joist in the middle, which would have pulled it flat. As the hinged part of the roof, it might make a difference. So I’ve got it sitting across the top of the shelter, with the brick weighing down the bend, to slowly straighten it.
The next photo is of the upper level. The insulated box “nest” can fit under the resting shelf, or can be moved wherever is needed. Food and water bowls can go under the shelf as well, accessible through one of the access panels/door – whatever I ended up making.
When the doors/access panels are added, I plan to have one in the opening near the back and the other in the opening near the front. I’m still hoping to be able to make sliding doors as access panels, rather than hinged doors, but it will depend on what materials I find.
The bottom level is shown in the last photo. The sides will be enclosed with mesh, as well as the non-door half of the front.
I’m debating adding a mesh to cover the floor. It occurred to me that, if we ever have a mama with kittens in there, really small kittens could squeeze through those gaps between the pallet boards. I have some plastic mesh a friend sent to me that would be perfect for this. The mesh is fine enough that it won’t be a problem for little toe beans, but will also allow debris to fall through, such as anything kicked out of the litter box that would be on this level.
The non-insulated box nest will fit in this level. Eventually, both levels will get cat blankets or beds.
I’m still thinking of where to add a cat hammock of some sort. As I look at the photo of the shelter from the front, I’m thinking across the larger opening, maybe covering half of it, would work. This would help keep the upper level warm in the winter, and if I can cover the entire front with clear whatever I find, a cat could lay on it and enjoy looking outside.
Winter is something else to think about, when it comes to keeping things warm. The mesh on the bottom can be wrapped with plastic sheets to keep the weather out, and at least some of the cold, in the winter. As long as the top has a heat lamp or something similarly safe, it will be a welcome shelter for the cats, in addition to what we already have. If no cats need to be kept isolated, we plan to just leave the door/ramp on the bottom open, so they can go in and out any time they please. That way, when we do have to isolate a cat, it will already be familiar with the shelter, and not afraid.
At least, that’s the theory!
I’m glad I was able to get at least this much done on the shelter, since it will be a while before I can work on it again. I’ll be away most of tomorrow, I’ve got one day at home, then two days of driving around. In that one day I’ve got, I need to find a way to secure the broken mesh on the catio. The girls and I will be moving the swing bench away from the house and into a spot I prepared for it in the garage, in front of my mother’s car. It will finally be out of the weather, and kittens can still enjoy sleeping on it in there.
Once the area the swing bench is currently on is cleared and cleaned up the catio will be moved there. Any last work that needs to be done on it can be done on site. Plus, we should be able to see into it from the kitchen window.
Knowing the yard cats, they’ll be climbing onto the top and looking back at us!
I’d hoped to have the isolation shelter done by now, but it will be some time before we have all the materials to finish it. If we need to isolate a cat, the catio is what we have to use. All it needs is to get that torn mesh secured. It’s unlikely a cat would go through there, but it is possible.
We’re booked to get one male’s nibs nipped in a few days. If we can get one of the males in there for the overnight fast, with one of the carriers in there as a bed, that might make things easier for us!
I hope.
Next month, the rescue has us booked for two males. If all goes well, they’ll be able to lend us a trap (I think the last person they lent it two is still ghosting them) and we can start getting the females before they go into heat in the spring!
It’s slow going, but we’re finally getting some progress on getting more yard cats fixed!
This clinic also has a new program they’ve started. Any females up to 5 months old will be spayed for only $150, including shots and tattoos. Cats can go into heat as early as 6 months, so they’re trying to encourage people to get them done young. Getting a spay typically costs about $350 – $375 – some places almost $400! Which makes it really difficult to get strays, ferals and semi-ferals done. Especially at a time when people can barely afford to buy food for themselves. Neuters are typically half what a spay is, so this deal is pretty much getting a spay for less than the cost of a neuter.
Some of our kittens may already be too old for this program; the ones born in late April/early May, like Kohl and Rabi. Some were born in June and would qualify for another month or so.
Which would be a good time to remind readers that there is a donation button at the top of the page! The rescue has been very helpful in covering costs, but they are struggling, too. If we can take advantage of low cost spays, that would be amazing.
The irony is not lost on me that, if we weren’t spending so much money on cat food, we would be able to do at least one spay a month, if we had to, and we wouldn’t have this over population problem!
What can I say. We’re sucks for the cats! We’re certainly not going to stop feeding them. Given the condition of some of the cats we see when they come back for the winter, they wouldn’t last long if they had to live on their own hunting, and starvation is a horrible way to go. Nope. Not gonna happen here.
He looks so utterly content on that cat hammock in the catio! I could certainly relate to wanting a nap, that’s for sure!
This reminds me. I have been trying to think of ways to set up something similar in the cat isolation shelter. I expect to have a cat bed or two in there, anyhow, but I’m sure any cats in there would enjoy something like this!
We need to see if we have suitable fabric. Either that, or we can crochet something. I think I have enough strong, cotton yarn for something like this.
Speaking of the isolation shelter, I finally got some work on it today, which I’ll talk about in my next post. Since my brother was coming over with a couple more loads of equipment, I stayed outside so I could help as much as possible. With the first trip, they came and went very quickly. The triple axle trailer was just big enough for my brothers 1947 Chevrolet Loadmaster dump truck. !!! They had both trailers unloaded and were gone almost before I could get outside.
When they came back later, they unloaded the triple axle trailer first, so the guy could leave earlier – he charges by the house. It looks like this was the last load that needed the triple axle trailer. Anything else can be brought using my brothers own flatbed trailer. I helped him out as much as I could. It wasn’t a lot, but enough that he could get things done and could leave while it was still light out.
After doing all his own stuff, he also did a couple of things for me. When he came back the second time, he drove past me standing at the electricity meter, using my phone’s camera to try and get a picture of the reading. It was supposed to be sent in by yesterday, but I completely forgot. Being rather short in stature, I’d set up an old tire, still on the rim, under the meter so I could get a better angle on the camera. I still have to take several shots, and hope to get at least one where I can actually read the number.
One of the things my brother brought out last time was a step. Just a single step, about 4 feet long, that can be set up temporarily wherever needed. We brought it out, move the tire out of the way, and set it up. The ground is hilled around the post, and the middle of the step was on that mound, so it couldn’t sit flat. I was able to make use of some of the long pieces of wood salvaged from a pallet I’d cut apart. I cut 6 lengths that were about the same as the width of the step, though I ended up needing only four. I stabilized it with 5 pieces at first, but when I got on the step to test it out, I realized it was way too close to the post. I had to lean back, so as not to hit my head on the meter. After adjusting it a few times, I even found relatively level ground to set it on. The lengths of wood I put under it were not needed to stabilize it anymore.
They were added because I’m short. Now, I can actually look right at the meter and read the numbers! Yay!
The other thing my brother wanted to do was check under my mother’s car. It still had one completely flat tire in the front, too. It leaked air faster than I could pump it manually. After my brother tried to see under the back end, where the banging I’d heard was coming from, he asked about the compressor. I told him, the hose doesn’t reach, which surprised him.
It turns out there are several hose extensions hanging on the wall near the compressor, but none of them had ends that fit what is being used.
We ended up running the hose through the hole in the wall my brother had cut for the power cord. He threaded it through the wall by the compressor, while I pulled it over towards my mother’s car.
It was juuuuust long enough to reach the tire, once the nozzle was put back on.
It worked, too. The compressor got the tire pumped up faster than air could leak at the rim. Once there was enough pressure, it resealed itself, and now it no longer leaks.
Well. Somewhat. The tires went flat for a reason. The rear one that I’d pumped by hand (the compressor hose cannot reach the back tires) is still holding air, but it wasn’t as completely flat as the front tire was.
With that done, we left the compressor hose set up in the middle part of the garage, which is currently my workshop. It’s long enough that, once the truck is parked in the garage again, it should be able to reach all the tires.
As for checking under my mother’s car, there was nothing my brother could see that could have made that banging noise. Whatever made it is not out in the open. He thinks it’s probably something small, and not a major fix. The problem is, something small is something big, when we can’t afford to get it fixed. Unlike my brother, we can’t do this stuff ourselves! Even if I knew how, we don’t have the tools.
Ah, well. At least we got that tire pumped up! I’m much happier now. It’s not good for a tire to be flat like that for so long.
After that, we said our good byes, and he rushed off to drive home. I got a message from my SIL while I was working on this blog post, letting me know he arrived, safe and sound. It was full dark by the time he got home!
I don’t know if they’re going to try another trip this weekend. I hope my brother is able to take a day of rest, instead, but knowing him, he won’t! 😄
My brother is just amazing. He seems to be able to keep going, not stop, all the time. He’s always been like this, but he’s in his 60’s now, and still hasn’t slowed down! I don’t know how he does it. Even the guy with the triple axle trailer they hired had a hard time keeping up with my brother, and the guy with the trailer is only 17 years old!
Me, I’m lucky if I can manage to do half of what he gets done, and even then, I end up like Syndol, there, snoozing! Just not as cute. 😄
I tried going to bed early last night, which actually worked for a change, so I was able to get out and in the garden early. We were getting warnings for a possible thunderstorm (which never happened), so as soon as my morning rounds were done, I wanted to work on my tomatoes.
The first of the Instagram slideshow photos is as far as I got with the San Marzano tomatoes in the main garden area.
I was even able to pick a few tomatoes, first. They were so tightly packed in with the vines, a couple were weirdly misshapen, having had to grow around stems and even one of the bamboo supports.
With this bed, though, only the main stems were supported by the stakes. These weren’t pruned, so they all have suckers on them. The three southernmost plants (in the foreground) had suckers spread out and lying on the ground like a thick, green spider’s web! You can see a bit, how I added support to those vines.
For most of them, I couldn’t reach the stake in the middle, so I loosely tied jute twine to the stem I wanted to support, under a leaf stem, or the nub of one, if it was one that was broken off. I did prune some of the bottom leaves away, awhile back, as they were crushing the onions planted around them. The twine was then wrapped around the stem, with extra wraps near the base so it wouldn’t pull upwards. I didn’t skimp on the wraps all the way up, and made sure that any branches with clusters of tomatoes on them had wraps above and below. Once near the top, the whole thing was gently lifted, and the top tied to the support.
With so many of these branches splayed out around the main stem, I alternated sides as I worked, to more evenly distribute the weight. I also moved the metal posts that were marking the corners of the bed, as I was shifting it over. Those were brought closer in and pushed deep into the soil, so they – hopefully! – wouldn’t be pulled over. I then anchored the stake at the end of the row onto them.
As I worked on the next two tomato plants, I also straightened stakes that were being pulled down by the weight of the main vine, and secured them to the previous stake. With one plant, I could access the stake as I worked, so the jute twine was anchored to the stake at the bottom, rather than the base of the stem I was working on. A couple of vines were even anchored to the stake about half way up, as they were being wrapped. Not too close against the stake, though, but with space for air flow.
The three at the south end got done, but it took so long, I had to move on. The others don’t look like they will need individual wrapping like this. I’ll see, when I get back to them.
The second photo in the slideshow above is of the Black Cherry vines in the Old Kitchen Garden. They are getting so big and heavy, the lilac they are climbing is bending from the weight! These are already tied off and supported as much as can be, though.
Note for future reference. Find a way to incorporate stakes into the wattle weave to support things like this! The lilac can handle supporting the luffa vines just fine, but these tomatoes are just too big and heavy, and those branches are not near the main stems of the lilac.
It was the bed with the Forme de Couer tomatoes that needed help. I had to post this photo separately on Instagram, because it’s oriented differently. It was the bamboo stakes that had to be helped.
Each plant has a pair of stakes to support it. The pair in the bottom right corner of the photo were so heavy, the stakes were twisted around and starting to lean into the bath between this bed, and the wattle weave bed with the Black Cherry tomatoes. You can even see a bit, just above where the jute twine is tied, that one of them had started to split and bend. If there hadn’t already been some twine holding the pairs of stakes together, there’s no doubt the whole thing would have broken and fallen into the path.
That one got attention first. I was able to carefully pull the stakes upright again, then anchored them to the opposite corner of the raised bed. More twine was added to the pairs of stakes along one side, anchoring them to each other, then to the corners of the raised bed at the other end, before being tied off on the last pair of stakes on the opposite side. The other stakes on that side had already had support added to them and did not need more.
Once that was done, it was time to clean up and head into town. My friend from out of province had time to meet for lunch, one more time before she had to go home.
I left early so that I could stop at the dollar store, first. With one of the yard cats going in for a neuter next week, we have to start deciding which one we’ll be trying to catch. The friendliest ones have already done, but one of those is really hard to tell apart from others, now that the wound on his front leg is completely healed, without even a scar visible through is fur.
What I’ve decided to do is to try and put break-away collars on the four that have already been neutered, then another to add onto whichever cat we manage to catch and bring in next.
The store had only one style with breakaway snaps on them, so that’s what I got. They all have bells, which will need to be removed. These are outdoor cats, and they earn their keep by keeping the rodent population down. Having a bell would defeat the purpose, plus make them easier targets for coyotes.
After that, I hung around and enjoyed the day until my friend and I met up and went for lunch in the fish ‘n chips place that reopened not long ago. They’d been closed for many months, repairing and renovating after a fire (when I first saw the boarded up building, I actually thought they’d been vandalized). It’s the same owners using their same recipes, and their food was every bit as delicious as before. We quite enjoyed our lunch – and the portions were generous enough that both of us got take out containers to bring the leftover home!
My friend still had some time left before she had to go, so we got to walk on the beach for a while – a nice quite beach, now that the summertime crowds are done, and it’s the middle of the week! Then she had to head back. She’s leaving very early in the morning, and has a long drive ahead of her, so she had lots to do to get ready. Including a grocery shopping trip for her mother.
That sure sounds familiar! 😁
While I was in town, I got a message from my husband, letting me know the feed store had called, and the lysine they’d ordered for me was in. So, after we said our goodbyes, I headed to my mother’s town to pick it up, along with more kibble for the outside cats.
This morning, I tried to do a head count of just kittens. That’s a bit of a challenge, as some of the adult cats are pretty small, and the older kittens are almost as big as they are!
I counted twenty.
I think.
In the photo above, with the kittens, you can see the bright white granular type lysine on the bottom of the kibble tray. That is why I was wanting to have a finer powder, like I had been able to get before, but is no longer available.
If you look at the second picture of the slide show above, you’ll see the lysine I got today. I opened one of the tubs right in the store, as soon as I paid for it.
This bulk lysine is sold for horses, so I guess they don’t bother bleaching it white, like for human consumption! It’s still granular, though. Lysine is lysine, though, so it is otherwise the same.
I think what I’ll just have to do is use that Magic Bullet set we were gifted with, and just process the granules into a fine powder. This will coat the kibble better, and the cats are more likely to actually get a dose of the stuff. Thankfully, aside from eye baby, there don’t seem to be any sick cats out there right now. Just a little bit of crusty bits visible in the corners of some of their eyes, but nothing major. None need to have their eyes washed. Even eye baby’s messed up eye isn’t leaking much. It’s just really… gross.
No, I will not inflict you with a photo!
Anyhow.
Along with the lysine (I got two 1 pound tubs, which cost just under $20 each), I got the bag of kibble I’d paid for last time, but they turned out to have only two bags in stock, not three. Then I got one more on top of that.
Once done at the feed store, I headed home.
I don’t know what’s been going on with me lately, but during the drive home, a wave of tired just hit me. I don’t mean physically tired, or even mentally tired. I mean sleepy tired!
I did get a good night’s sleep! Honest!
Once I was at home, I unloaded everything but the 40 pound bags of kibble in the box of the truck, then went for a nap. When I woke up after a couple of hours, I was feeling even more groggy than when I lay down in the first place!
So I just did my evening rounds, but let my daughter that was going to help me, know that I wasn’t up to finishing with those last San Marzano tomatoes. They will be fine for another day.
Meanwhile, the writing of this paused just had a pause to it, as I dosed and fed eye baby, while my daughter held him, wrapped up like a purrito – and there was much purring happening!
Gosh, I wish all cats took their meds as well as this little guy!
I gave his face a bit of a wash around the eye, and just laid a warm, damp cloth over the eye itself, before giving him some saline drops. I wish I knew what I was looking at with that eye. All I can say for sure is, it’s getting better – as in, it’s not sticking out as much, and not leaking like it had been, when we first started treating him. He even seemed to enjoy the cleaning.
That is now done for the night, and that’s as much as I have energy for. I’m done for the day. My younger daughter and I have plans to watch Columbo together tonight.
After helping my brother unloading equipment yesterday, I was still in a lot of pain this morning. My daughters were sweet enough to do the morning feeding of the outside cats, so I didn’t see them until much later. That is when I spotted this surprise.
I had to slowly, carefully walk around to be able to confirm what I was seeing.
That kitten is actively nursing.
That cat is not a mama.
This is the cat that dropped her litter around the yard and abandoned them. She never nursed any newborns. Which means she shouldn’t have a milk supply.
Yet there she was, with one of the older kittens attached to a nip, and actively nursing.
Which can happen, of course, but for her to have any milk now, she would have had to be allowing at least one kitten to nurse, right after she lost her litter, and we saw zero evidence of that until today.
Very strange!
I did end up having to give the outside cats a small feed – mostly making lots of noise to lure them away from the truck, so I could leave!
I wanted to go back to the feed store to pick up more kibble, including one bag that I’d already paid for, and the lysine they ordered for me. I didn’t know when their delivery truck was supposed to arrive today. Just that it was supposed to arrive, today.
I called my mother shortly before lunch time and asked if she wanted me to do her grocery shopping for her, since I would be in town, and could do it before running my own errands. So that was my first stop.
We had started a list, but as we went over it, she remembered more. I ended up rewriting the list, partly due to her increasingly creative spelling. Even her little doodles are getting harder to identify.
She is now all stocked up, though. I’m glad I called her ahead to do this, because she has a terrible habit of waiting until she is out of lots of things before calling me to shop for her.
On this day of the week, there are social activities in her building, and those had already started when I got back with her groceries. We visited for a bit after I put it all away, but she still wanted to join the group for coffee, at least, so that worked out.
I went to the feed store but, unfortunately, their delivery hadn’t arrived yet. I spoke to the guy that ordered the lysine for me, and he couldn’t be sure when they would come in. We confirmed that they had my number, and he said he would call me.
My next stop was at the hardware store. I wasn’t expecting the clear roofing sheets to be in yet, but I asked, anyhow. When I ordered it, I knew it was past their order cut off time, but sometimes the supplier has them in stock. If so, it would arrive this week.
I guess they didn’t have it in stock, because when the cashier went to ask for me, she was told it will be 2 weeks.
Which is fine.
What they DID have in stock was hardware cloth/welded wire mesh!
I had gone through the store and never saw any, but when I was asked if I needed help and told what I was looking for, the cashier took me into a part of the store I didn’t think customers were even allowed in! I always thought it was one of their inventory storage areas.
They had quite a bit of wire mesh, and the quarter inch mesh I was looking for came in 3′ x 25′ rolls!
Unfortunately, it was well out of budget.
There was, however, 3/4″ mesh, also in 3′ x 25′ rolls – and it was almost half the price!
This size would still be small enough to keep cats or kittens from getting through. I decided to get a roll.
Thinking about it as I was driving home, I decided that the 3/4 inch mesh will be used on the cat isolation shelter I’m building. The donated catio is already enclosed in 1/2 inch mesh. I have two 5′ rolls of 1/2 inch mesh that are 3 feet wide. I had intended to have one longer piece, covering the space where I’d removed the old mesh with openings in it, plus wrapping around one side to cover a corner of damaged mesh.
The length of the opening that needs to be covered is over 5′ long, but the width is only 20 inches.
So my plan now is to cut lengths of about 24 inches, to overlap the remaining mesh on the catio. I’ll need to “sew” the pieces together with wire to make sure there are no gaps a cat, or other critter, could get through.
If I can find a piece the right size, I’m thinking of adding a center support on the back of the catio. That will give me something else to attach the mesh to, making it even stronger.
We shall see.
As for the 3/4 inch mesh, I will use that on the isolation shelter.
I have time to get these done, though. The Cat Lady confirmed with me a date for a neuter, not a spay, this month. This means we will not have to isolate a cat for a 2 week recovery period. The males just need time to recover from being under anesthetic, and they can do that in a carrier.
So that’s the plan.
For now!
By the time I was heading home, the post office had reopened for the afternoon, so I made sure to stop and get the mail – just in case my Amazon order of lysine came in early.
It did.
So we at least have lysine again! We have a bit left, but where saving it to use in eye baby’s cat soup feeding. Now I can start dosing the outside cat’s kibble again.
Once at home, I didn’t stay long. Today was our day to order in my husband’s birthday dinner from the Chinese food place. Everyone had already marked off what they wanted on the take out menu, so I just confirmed those, called the order in, then headed out.
We got enough to last us for two or three days! This is a real treat for us, so we save up and don’t go half way on it!
I must say, the drive home from picking up the food was pure torture. I was getting really hungry by then, and the food smelled soooo good! We’ve already had our celebratory dinner.
I’m just going to do my evening rounds now – and then go for seconds!
Some time ago, he showed up with his cheek badly injured, a flap of skin torn off and hanging. While he would sometimes allow me to pet him while he was eating, he wouldn’t let me get a good look at him, and certainly not anywhere near the injury. For weeks, he’s had a piece of dead skin dangling off his face, but that finally fell off a few days ago.
This picture is one of the best looks I’ve been able to get of it for quite a long time. There’s no doubt that he’s going to have a massive scar there, but it seems to be closing up and healing well.
That cat is indestructible!
After I got this picture, while he and the other cats had gathered around for breakfast, I tried for a head count.
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
My first count was 44.
That’s right. Forty Four!
My second count was 37, and then 40, but I’m pretty sure that first count was accurate, and that some cats hid on me when I tried counting again.
One of these mornings, I should try to count just kittens and just adult cats. Not an easy task, but it would give me a better idea of how many of the adult cats have disappeared over the summer.
That is totally insane and unsustainable.
The rescue is helping us as much as they can, but with so few people adopting or donating for spays and neuters, there’s only so much they can help with.
Meanwhile, the girls just updated me on how treating and feeding eye baby went. I was just too exhausted and in too much pain to help out tonight. His eye still looks really horrible, but is definitely getting better. We have some plain eye drops – the same that’s used on humans for dry eyes – that we can at least use on the messed up eye. It doesn’t seem to be bothering him or slowing him down in any way, and he is just as active and playful as any of the other kittens. A real trooper!
Given that he is a descendent, direct or otherwise, of Shop Towel, I suppose that’s not a surprise!
I also got some updated on Button from the Cat Lady. Not only have they had to put a bell on him, but now have post it notes all over the place, including the bottom freezer drawer on their fridge, reminding people to check for Button before closing things. He’s just way too tiny!
There is a possible cause for this, though I am just guessing. He has been dewormed and massive amounts of them are being cleared out of his system and into his litter box. She’s never seen anything like it before!
Just a little bit longer and, as long as there isn’t any sudden backing out on the arrangement, he’ll be ready to go to his forever home.
The Re-Farmer 