cute kitten

I found babies!!!

/ Re-Farmer / 3 Comments

I was late putting food out for the critters this morning, though I had put some extra out last night, so I knew they would be fine.

While refilling their water bowls, Butterscotch came out of the sun room and I cuddled her a bit. After putting her down, I found bird feathers on my chest, from her paws! Then she took off.

I figured this would be a safe time to peak behind the box we used as part of our cat shelter in the sun room, and see if that’s where her kittens were.

I was wrong.

They weren’t hidden behind the box. I picked up the corner of the blanket, and they were just there on the swing bench cushion!!!

20190429.new.babies

There’s nothing but the big crochet blanket to hide them.

Oh, my melting heart!

I can also see where the feathers came from. Butterscotch is still the mighty hunter, bringing food back with her when she returns to her kittens.

Over the next little while, I’m hoping we can find a way to close up both Butterscotch and Beep Beep, who should be having kittens pretty soon, in the sun room, with their own food, water and a litter box. Of last year’s kittens, there are still 3 that we were unable to socialize. I’m hoping we can avoid that, this year.

The Re-Farmer

Checking out the new digs

/ Re-Farmer / 1 Comment

Played around with a set up for the outside cats, in the sun room.  This is what I’ve come up with.

20181122.check.it.out

I had another crocheted blanket that we used as a car blanket hanging around.  I decided to try draping it from the back of the swing bench to the back of the transfer bench.  It’s incredibly heavy, so I knew it would need support.

I have some sheets of foam insulation among my craft supplies that I thought would work.  Unfortunately, a sheet is just barely long enough to reach the backs of both benches – which means a stiff sneeze would have knocked it down, never mind rambunctious cats that are sure to jump on top of it.

After going through what was available in the room, I ended up putting one of the unused, home made plant stands on the transfer bench.  That would support one end of the sheet of foam insulation.

After draping the blanket over, I folded up one corner for access, and it immediately drooped into where the cats like to sit.  So I found another plant stand to hold that up.

As you can see by the photo, Doom Guy and The Outsider were quite ready to check out the new digs!  In fact, Doom Guy surprised me by already being in there when I first picked up the corner to open it up.  I never even saw him jump under while I was laying it out!

My husband was checking it out through the bathroom window just a little while ago, and he tells me Doom Guy was on top of the whole thing.  The foam insulation is rather bendy, but it has enough support that it should hold.  I’ll have to check it out, later, to adjust things, if needed.  I can just see a cat trying to walk across a part that doesn’t have support and pulling things down. :-D

I don’t think there is going to be much hesitation for the cats to use it.  Especially today.  Though the temperatures have warmed up, there is a nasty, bitter wind out there.  I think everyone, human and animal alike, will be staying indoors as much as possible today!

The Re-Farmer

Little Ball of Floof

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

Here are some of the photos I was able to get of The Outsider this morning, after the deer left.

2018-10-09.kitten2

Those incredible eyes!

2018-10-09.kitten3

He is getting more comfortable with my husband – more so than some of our own kittens.

2018-10-09.kitten4

I don’t know where he came from, but I’m glad to see he’s making himself at home with us.

2018-10-09.kitten5

He’s the only long haired cat hanging around.  We thought he was from my brother’s place, which is the closest occupied home to us.  My brother’s dog has started to visit more often, and he loves the cats.  Most of our own have started to get used to him, but this kitten took right off as soon as he came near.  There was no familiarity there at all.

Oh, what an adorable little floof!

We have been finding ways to prop the doors into the sun room so that the cats can get it, but still keep most of the weather out.  If it works, we’ll start keeping their food and water in there, instead of outside, this winter.  I even found an old dog food-and-water bowl that we can use for the water, as the containers we used last year should probably be thrown out.  The cardboard from a flat of drink cans serves for the dry cat food, and is large enough for pretty much all of them to eat at the same time.

We are such sucks. :-D

The Re-Farmer

Ouch

/ Re-Farmer / 4 Comments

Ah, what a day!

Before I get into it, however, I will share some adorableness! :-D

I was outside and decided to check the sun room, to see if it was safe to close up the doors for the night.

It wasn’t quite there yet…

20180927.jim

Continue reading →

So many kits!

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

It seems my husband has made pretty decent progress in socializing the kittens!

He spent some time in the sun room, with the outer doors open, this morning, and got all sorts of visits.  Doom Guy is quite happy with attention now, and even Corvo isn’t immediately running away.

Before I started working on cleaning up the old dog house for the cats, I made a point of sitting in the sun room for a while, so they could get used to me, as well.

Someone else was very interested.

20180925.bathroom.window

DahBoy likes to sit at the bathroom window to watch whoever is in the sun room.  Including the outside cats!

20180925.kittens1

I went in and out to top up the bird seed, and found Doom Guy lolling on the ground in front of the sun room.  He even played with my fingers.

I put a bit of cat food on the floor to tempt the kitties, then sat on my late father’s favorite chair to see who would show up.

20180925.kittens2

The answer is. all but one of them!  Only one of the calico torties came over.

20180925.kittens3

Corvo is now willing to at least come close to me while going by, even if he won’t let me touch him.  He was having fun chasing the flies on the window.

20180925.kittens4

Doom Guy even joined me on the chair. <3  Such a cutie!

Even the moms came out while I was working on the dog house.

When I finished with the dog house, I went back inside through the sun room, and found this.

20180925.kittens5

Doom Guy has claimed my butt spot!  He was snoozing when I came in and startled him, but he didn’t leave his spot. :-D

This one, at least, has gone from “semi-feral” to “semi-domesticated.” :-D

The Re-Farmer

Prep for winter: the old kitchen garden

/ Re-Farmer / 2 Comments

Well, today was certainly a productive day outside!

I decided to see how much I could get done on the old kitchen garden today, and ended up finishing the job!  So I’m happy. :-)

When I came out of the house, I startled cats in all directions, including that new grey ball of fluff.  A few of them even hung around while I moved things around the garden to prepare.

Continue reading →

Hello, down there

/ Re-Farmer / 6 Comments

20180921.hello.down.there

The larger of the orange tabbies now has a name.

Meet Jim.

I’m told there’s a tangential story behind this name.  I don’t know what it is. :-D

Jim wasn’t too keen on me coming closer to get his photo, and kept moving around.  From here, though, you can see the “platform” the cats like to sit on, to look into the kitchen.  This is where this tree had been cut down before.  There are also places where I can see larger branches had been cut down, too.  And yet, in a remarkably short time, when it comes to growth speed of trees, it is once again overhanging the roof.

Which is why we have decided that it’s going to need to come down completely, to protect the house.

While that will solve one serious problem, taking it down is also going to loose a lot of the shade it provides, which is why it was planted there in the first place.

It also means taking away one of the cats’ favorite spots.

I’m still entertaining the thought of leaving a trunk tall enough to make it a table.

The Re-Farmer

 

Not moving for anything…

/ Re-Farmer / 3 Comments

While coming out of the house through the sun room, I startled a whole bunch of kittens that were at the food bowls.

All but two ran off, and I just had to laugh at what I saw.

20180914.kittens.eating

Corvo was lying IN the food bowl, looking at me, before going back to eating.  Then he cousin joined him.

Too funny!

The Re-Farmer

The power of cat treats

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

Beep Beep and her Tuxedo were around the house yesterday evening, so I decided to get a bit more aggressive about this whole luring of kittens thing.

I brought out the cat nip and the cat treats.

They ignored the cat nip.

They went nuts over the cat treats!  Beep Beep was after them to the point that she would eat what I gave her, then find the one I gave to her kitten and eat that one, before he even figured out where it was.  She’d even push him away!

We have a house guest for the next while, and she and my daughter came out to help, and to play with the cats.  By the time they came back in, Rolando Moon, Teeny Tabby, Butterscotch and one of the calicos made a showing, too.

20180827.tuxedo.treats

We did actually get to pet the tuxedo.  He’d jump a bit and look, but would quickly return to hunting treats.  He’d even try and take them out of my hand, sometimes, but he was slower about it and his mother would usually push her way in and take it first, no matter how we tried to distract her with others, so on the ground they went.

While in the area, I paused to take a look at my mother’s white roses.  They have the darkest rose hips!  So deep a read, they are almost black.

20180827.whiterose.hips

The Re-Farmer