outside cats

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

A rare sighting of The Hand

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Once spring arrived, most of the outside cats just seemed to disappear.  Butterscotch and Beep are around all the time, of course, since their kittens are here.  Rolando Moon comes around fairly regularly.  Nasty Crime Boy joined us a couple of times when we were doing cook outs, but we haven’t seen him in ages.

Then, there is the elusive The Hand.

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She just slinks in and out, once in a while.  I happened to be at the living room window, by the tripod, when I saw her go by and barely managed to get a picture!

She is just a beauty, and so very shy!

The Re-Farmer

Kitty videos

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Got a bunch of short kitten videos for you to enjoy!

The first three were taken today.

Butterscotch and her kittens – with a cameo from Rolando Moon.

Beep Beep does love climbing trees!  None of the others quite match her – though one of her babies is trying!

Trying to convince a kitten that the big, scary human is really okay.  A few times, it would stretch out, snuffle my fingertip, then hiss at it! :-D

This next video was taken a few days ago.

Those bright, bright eyes! :-D

The Re-Farmer

 

 

Two sets of kitties!

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While doing my evening walk around the yard, I ended up spending almost an hour, near the kittens.  I had brought out some cat food, and refilled the old pot that I am using for water near the garden shed, then just hung out.

So did the mosquitoes.

It was worth it.

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Butterscotch’s kittens love an exposed root, sitting on it or stretching themselves out along its length.  So I put a bit of cat kibble on it.

There are only two in this photo, but for a while, both calico/trourties, and the teeny tabby, where eating with their mom.  The bigger tabby showed up later.

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Beep Beep’s kittens enjoyed some kibble, too, but weren’t too sure about my being nearby!  So they hid under one of the old car seat/benches.

I suppose it’s a good thing we aren’t planning to clear this junk away anytime soon, because they love climbing all over it.

Speaking of climbing…

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That little tuxedo takes after it’s mother!

I took some video, too, and am uploading it right now.  I’ll include those in another post. :-)

The Re-Farmer

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

The things we find, and arborist update

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The arborist called about coming over today to look around at the work that needs to be done.  Since we rather suddenly have to buy a new CPAP, budget demands we have to split the work.

As I went to unlock and open the gate for him, I paused to check out the fence line from the garage to the gate.  It is along this fence that there is a power line to the gate that I was able to use to plug in the weed trimmer, not long ago.  Some of the fence posts are tipping, and the line itself is sagging, so I wanted to take a closer look.

While I was finding a top wire that was no longer attached to its post and following it along to see what was going on with that, I found something I hadn’t noticed before.  Another thing to add to the “why is this here?” list!

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Another toilet?  Really?

And this time, the tank, too.

This is next to the garage.  Where did it get hauled from?  Why did it get left in the bush?  Why is it there?

The post it’s leaning against is also part of the problem with the fence line.  It’s also tipping, and that’s why the wire I had been looking at was no longer attached to its post.

I am really looking forward to when I can move on to this section for clean up.

As for the arborist, after looking around, we worked out the essentials.  So for an estimate of $750 (half of the $1500 estimate he gave me for the whole job), this is what we will get done.

At the south end of the yard, clear some of the willow branches away from the power lines.

Just north of the house, clear some of the maple branches in one tree from the power line.

Top off the dead spruce tree so that, if it does fall, it will not hit the power line.

Top off the two maples leaning over the roof so that, if they do fall, they won’t hit the house.

Everything else can wait until spring.

So I’m thinking early October to get this stuff done.

It was funny to walk through the maple grove to look at the area there.  I joked that I’ve done quite a bit of work since he was last out.  “I noticed!!” he said.  LOL  No kidding!  We could actually walk through the area and not fight our way through a blocked off path, or have to avoid tripping over pieces of tree trunk and dead branches in the tall grass.

After he left, my younger daughter and I headed into town to go to the pharmacy.  When we got back, we saw Butterscotch coming out.  I’d left some food for her and the kittens earlier, and she was eating.

One of her kittens also came to see us.

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No sign of the other three.

I look forward to starting to clean this area up, too, but I do like the idea of leaving some sort of shelter for the cats to use, too!

Just without any grody, moss covered, rotting carpet pieces.

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