Love is Itchy
Well, I met a girl tonight. Rudy and Maeby alerted me to her presence as she snuck past the house and back toward the grain bins just as daylight faded completely.
Now keep in mind, I’m allergic to cats. But I’m also an animal lover and a sucker, so I followed her out into the field to check on her, to make sure she was healthy and not starving or hurt. After considerable coaxing, slowly inching my way toward her, she started rolling in the dirt and allowed me to creep up beside her. Then I spent some time petting her and getting to know her.
I’m not averse to the idea of having a barn cat. I’m just concerned that come winter the thing will want to live inside and I’ll let it. That wouldn’t be good for my allergies. So I haven’t been seeking one out. But considering the circumstance, I figured this thin, feral cat should probably hang out in the barn, receive my affection, drive my dogs crazy, and take care of any unwelcome, rodental guests I may have living out there.
So I decided to carry her to the barn to get a cool drink of water and eat a little of the BBQ pork I made yesterday. She continued to purr and nuzzle me as I carried her toward the barn, holding her close despite the itching I knew would come as a result. And then I lost her and she darted out into the dark.
So we started the dance all over again. I slowly regained her trust, eventually got her into my arms, and this time carried her with a tighter grip. Things were going well — lots of purring, nuzzling against me — until once again she decided she was done with it. This time I attempted to hold on to her, and not only did her back claws dig into my arms but her front ones slashed up my face. [ Picture forthcoming -- it would seem my camera has died so I need to get it off the memory card somehow ]
At this point it was too dark to see where she ran off to. So I got the food from the barn and brought it to her. When I couldn’t get her to come out of the darkness I left it out in the open, by one of the bins. Hopefully she’ll remember the house that gave her some awesome pork roast.
I refuse to put this kind of effort into something and fail.
My face and neck itch.
Good luck with your coaxing.
I never cease to be impressed by all the goodies that my cats bring around: birds, mice, moles, rabbits, and sometimes unidentifiable organ bits or partial corpses from some of the above. Once you get over being surprised by the heads / headless remains of these pests, you really appreciate the clean-up that cuddly kittens do for a farmhouse.
Of course, if it’s really hungry, it might not leave much evidence behind.
Yeah, I’m kind of envisioning a Jeff The Giant Orange Cat situation where I have a friendly hunter who hangs around but prefers to stay wild enough that I can’t call it mine.
Loved the thread, and few write as well and picturesque as you….but I gotta admit I’m cracking up at you giving this feline object of your affection bbq pork. :)
Here’s the pic of the damage from last night. Why do I trigger this response in women?
It’s the pedosmile.
Is that bbq sauce or poop from the barn?
Don’t feel bad….at least you got some snugglin’ action. But in my professional opinion in feline manipulation, I think she was leading you on.
Mom is laughing hysterically at this picture. She’s convinced it’s fake.
No, Kelsey, tell Kathy Ive seen Bill before, and, as goofy as he looks, that IS actually him. Not sure what all the red is about though….
Vermin update?
Oh, the vermin are still present. No change there. And I haven’t heard from the cat mentioned here in this post. Apparently it was just a fling.
I added to the clan today. Since I’ve failed to attract any strays I went ahead and got a couple kittens for the barn. They’re pretty typical little cats, very playful, curious, and cute. They’ve been getting along fine today, exploring their new home out in the barn. The pups are eager to get to know them, of course, but so far the kittens have been keeping Rudy and Maeby at a safe distance. But already they’ve given a little more ground and have slowly been letting the dogs get closer and closer, so I think it’ll be okay. Besides, I don’t really care if the cats don’t like the dogs, just so long as the dogs aren’t agressive to the cats.
The long-haired kitten with more white is a boy, the darker, more tiger striped cat is a girl. So what I need is names. Here is some inspiration:
So let me hear your name ideas or I’ll be forced to name them both Kitty (Sanchez).
I’ve had a bunch of baby birds out in the barn this spring. Nests all over the place. But I’ve been surprised at how many young but large birds I’ve come across that are stranded on the ground. They look like adults, like they’d be well equipped for flight, but they can only make it a handful of feet when they try.
Anyway, I went out to check on the kittens earlier tonight and there was one of these young birds perched right by them. You gotta love the youthful ignorance of all involved here. Neither kittens knew that this was prey, and the bird didn’t know to at least take off as best it could.
That is such a cute picture, Bill. The kittens do look adorable, the boy perhaps more sinister than the girl. I am partial to the name Missy for a girl, and Mr. Peepers for a boy. Although the combination of a Peepers and Poopers has a certain ring to it…
name them trudy and dangle
Jack & Jill
Why couldn’t you have gotten two boys – then you could have named them Hank and Dean.
How about:
Milo and Otis
GOB and Lindsay
Lyle and Shawn
Dwight and Angela
Lucy and Ricky
Fred and Ethel
Barney and Betty
I shall continue thinking…
Penny and Desmond
Barney & Thelma Lou
Puss & Boots
How about Arwen and Aragorn? I can’t tell if that feels too dorky or too girly. What I do know is that there is a woman out there who gave these names to her cats. She posts videos of them grooming each other.
Even money she’s also morbidly obese and writes fanfiction.
It sounds girly AND dorky. :)
Ok, so real suggestions:
Joker and Harley
Luke and Leia
Gambit and Rogue
Gatsby and Daisy
Tiamat and Bahamut
Link and Zelda
Kate Monster and Trekie Monster
That’s actually very funny. And I’m kind of surprised that I knew exactly what you were referring to. I’ve gotten so much second-hand nerd over the years…
I actually expected you to know. Adam and Seth – don’t lie, you knew it too.
99 and Maxwell
John and Emma
eh . . hmm
Mickey and Mallory?
Now that I have had time to consider it, I am throwing my support fully behind Mickey and Mallory. They’re barn cats, so their purpose is just to hang out and kill mice, birds, bugs – whatever gets in their way.
Polls are closed.
Oh yeah, no denying that one. I see your Tiamat & Bahamut and raise you Caramon & Raistlin.
(For the hardcore, yes these are both boys’ names.)
(For the uber-hardcore, you know it’s OK because Caramon Majere was such a girl)
You may also use Laurana (girl) and Tanis Half-Kitten (boy).
I’m also fond of names like Bucket and Goat.
You could use Caramon and Tika. Or Raistlin and Crysania.
*thpppt*
Do not name anything Tanis. Tanis whined his way through two trilogies and a sextet.
So far i think you should name them trudy and otis but what do i know, even though the name otis reminds me of some old hermit who lived up the holler where my grandma lives.
other “cute” things you could name them as a pair
manifest and destiny
cookies and cream
hawley and smoot
Pete and Rose
biscuits and gravy
marty and joe (for you reds fans)
if i had a cat these are on the short list
Scorpio
Clyde
Gereral Grant
Lil’ Stonewall Jackson
Boss Hogg (or JD)
Cookie Crisp
Skeeter
Arthur Fonzarelli
McGruff (the crime cat)
Boner McFaggy-Shades (used to describe Bono from U@)
Barney (cause they live in a barn)
Jasper
Kitty Van Halen
Kitty Griffey Jr.
Millard Fillmore
Wendell Malone
Mr. Freebus
count floyd
Sheldon
Pancho
burger chef
cheddar
I thought Kev would’ve said Daisy Duke…as in Daisy & Duke
I agree with Darren’s suggestion of Puss and Boots. Very nice.
Dwight & Angela
Mac (boy) & PC (sounds more like a girl’s name)
Bubb Rubb & Li’l Sis
Bonnie & Clyde
No way Mickey & Mallory loses out to Bonnie & Clyde.
Make them fight it out.
I thought of Bubs already, but more because of Homestar Runner than Bubb Rubb. I’d also thought of Goat already too, but I think I’ll hang onto that in case I get a goat someday. I kinda like the idea of having a goat named Goat. Kate Monster and Trekkie Monster’s funny too.
Kev, you want me to name my cats after a tariff?
I am tempted to compile a list of the worst suggestions when this is all said and done though. Some of these really are terrible. No offense.
Kate suggests Lucy and Kitten.
Ellie suggests Chicken.
I will suggest Ben and Elaine.
Twisp and Catsby
How about Fric-n-Frac?
It saddens me that Ellie’s suggestion of Chicken might be the best one here…
Since my vote was seconded (and the only one that was), it should make it to the finals.
Chicken and Nugget.
I’m going to second Twisp and Catsby then. Out of spite.
I will “Third” Twisp and Catsby, out of awesomity.
And I would also like to enter the dark horse candidate: Wallace and Gromit.
Try saying “Twisp” five times real fast…almost impossible. Bill can’t name a cat Twisp if he cannot pronounce the name five times real fast. It’s a rule.
Try saying Puss and Boots five times real fast . . . you can’t, because by the second time you realize how lame it is and you start to cry.
A fourth vote for Twisp and Catsby. But I also give five of my votes to Mickey and Mallory, so it’s still winning. Sorry Seth.
What did “Twisp and Catsby” originate from? What horrible names. “C’mere Twisp”- it just doesn’t sound right. you could name them after cool cereals though, like Cocoa Crisp, Count Chocula, or Fruity Pebbles.
Thanks Mary. Besides, Stinky’s disqualified because she voted for the same name more than once. Plus you can’t second a vote based merely on spite. I’m pretty sure that’s a rule somewhere in some distant land.
Mary wondered:
They are heroes of incredible stature. Their most famous adventure, here and here.
Darren:
Man, I haven’t lost a vote this badly since the fourth grade. I didn’t realize those tactics were still effective.
Oh wow, Count Chocula just took the lead, I think. But then I wish the male didn’t look like such a dandy, maybe blacker and somewhat saber-toothed. Or did I just go from chocula to blacula?
And you are right to fight over this. If you don’t feel flush and emotional while reading then the site is not serving its purpose. However, I will note how unfortunate it is that at this point you’re arguing about whether Twisp and Catsby is better than Puss and Boots. It’s like weighing two turds on the scales. In the end they both smell pretty bad.
Just for the record, I’m going to agree that Twisp and Catsby ARE horrible names.
And what have you been calling them in the meantime? Just make a decision already. Geez…
You can vote for whatever you want based on whatever feeling you want. To my knowledge, we don’t discard ballots based on wrongthink.
Public opinion is crap anyway. A bad idea isn’t suddenly good because other people agree with you. One hundred people rallied around a BS suggestion doesn’t give you cause to reconsider the quality of the idea, it gives you cause to reconsider the quality of people’s judgement.
Down with the democratic method. Bill, if you go with my suggestion, I’ll buy you something.
Someone needs to watch more Seinfeld.
Thanks Bill. When I posted that last comment, I was thinking of that episode. That was hilarious.
I just watched Caddyshack and I thought “Porterhouse” would be a decent pet name
Flint and Lady Jaye.
Kyle, Porterhouse is a great name. Then I could yell “chop-chop” at him. (During shoe buffing, not when asking the Dude to pass the ringer.)
And the other could be T-Bone….or Co-Co the Monkey. :)
Mojo and Karma
Tiger and Lily – my daughter came up with that one
It’s Karma’s army, made up of people from all the lands of all the worlds.
Mojo and Karma are respectable names. I would not feel bad at all addressing the cats thusly.
Here’s a good Judge Smails scene for those of you who don’t know the Porterhouse reference. Additionally, Spalding is a good name too. (I’ll give you asthma!)
And from the Related Videos, Caddyshack in one minute.
Great clips….”this is Mr. Wang…no offense.”
Have you named your stupid cats yet?
Bill:
Amanda & I lost one of our cats this week. Yesterday we came up to her grandparents’ house for the 4th of July, went to the flea market today, and picked up a free puppy. After about an hour, we decided to name him Samson.
Just thought I’d mention that in case you were still operating under the assumption that this kind of thing was difficult to sort out.
Boy, I have a lot of catching up to do in this thread…
I’m sorry, Seth, I hadn’t seen that post. I know what you mean though. You just kinda hope somebody snatched her up b/c they weren’t sure where she went & didn’t wanna leave her out alone.
Wow. Where are the pictures? And keep him away from the groomer.
Well, I have stories of my own here… Early Saturday afternoon the kittens went missing. They’d just been around a little earlier, romping and playing as usual, and then they were gone. I let it go for a while, figuring they were sleeping somewhere, but the afternoon dragged into evening, and evening into night. I’d checked everywhere, all the trees, any place I figured they could’ve gotten stuck or trapped, I walked around, called, etc. I’d exhausted my options so I just had to wait.
What puzzled me the most was that they would both go missing at the same time, right smack in the middle of the day while the dogs & I were around. Doesn’t really sound like a predator situation. And my house is essentially an island in fields, far from everything, especially for very small kittens, so it didn’t make sense that they were off on an adventure either.
But around 11:30pm that night the little female showed up, absolutely soaked (so I assume she’d come from the field). But no sign of the fluffy male. I walked around again, called, left all the outside lights on to try to give as much of a beacon as I could, but nothing.
The little guy’s still not back, and at this point I definitely fear the worst. I’ve walked up & down the roads, stopped in & talked (heh, at length) with neighbors, double-checked all that I’d checked before… Yes, I do hope he was picked up, but it’s much more common for little ones like him to be dropped off rather than collected. So the fluffy black & white kitten may be gone, folks.
Now, I must also tell you about developments with the female kitten the past few days. Specifically, with her and Maeby. Something has really developed between the two of them, and all of a sudden they are inseparable. At this point whenever Maeby is outside you’ll likely see her laying down with the kitten laying between her front paws, curled up against her side, or romping around and playing with/on her. Maeby’s mother hen instincts apparently apply to others besides me, and lately she’s been very good to this cat. And the kitten has been extremely accepting of Maeby, which may play an even bigger part. I don’t know if she’s lonely now or what, but she’s been much more affectionate to me too.
I have yet to document this on film b/c every time I get the camera or get close to them one of them wants to come say hello to me and then the moment is ruined. But it’s really cute to see the kitten pouncing on Maeby’s back, attacking her tail and feet, or just curling up to her and the two of them licking each other. Yesterday Maeby was laying on the sidewalk and the kitten was laying on its back between her front legs, batting at her dog tags.
So that’s the feline update here. It’s sad, and if the little black & white kitten doesn’t turn up I may seek out another one to keep this little girl company. Although my large dog seems to be doing a good job of that at the moment.
Aww…that sucks. But I guess the whole Maeby development makes up for it slightly. Our cat does the same thing to the dog, she thinks they’re best pals and the dog just kind of looks at her like “whatever.” We got her when the dog had been here for quite awhile, so maybe it is a growing up/adjustment sort of deal for the kitten. They get along famously.
I should mention that I’ve named the little female kitten Maggie. I’ve been trying it out for a while now and I think it’s stuck.
She has turned out to be a nice little addition. She’s very affectionate, does all the usual cute kitten stuff, is an amazing climber, and gets along great with the dogs. I suspect she will also be a most excellent mouser out there in the barn, but we will have to wait and see.
So the male kitten never showed up then?
Was Maggie one of the suggestions from above? I didn’t see it. Surely, you didn’t come up with one on your own did you? After all that great feedback…..
My step-mother-in-law’s name is Maggie. We’re not real fond of each other. I don’t know if that means I will have a tendency to inwardly roll my eyes any time your kitten is near or if I will feel the urge to scratch behind the MIL’s ear when I see her. I’m hoping for the latter. It will make the rare get-togethers more interesting.
I’m very proud of our little Maggie. She had her first kill today. At least I assume it’s her first, but I suppose I can’t know for sure since she didn’t bring it up to the house… (which is fine by me)
She killed and devoured a brown field rabbit. I’m not sure how she would’ve caught a rabbit — snuck up on it, I guess — but now that she’s got a taste for blood I imagine she’ll be hunting more. She ate all but part of a back leg and two other paws. It wasn’t the most pleasant sight, and I’d prefer she focus on vermin, but I’m proud of her nonetheless. I suspected she’d be a good mouser…
Here’s a pic of the carnage.
This evening’s kill was a mole. She was playing with it like one of those little canvas mouse toys with the catnip it it. She was batting it around, tossing it up in the air… typical kitten cuteness except I suppose she was also defiling a corpse at the same time…
I made a very good decision over the weekend and got Maggie a new playmate. I’d initially wanted two kittens so they could keep each other company, look out for each other, hunt together, etc. But Maggie’s fit into our pack just fine on her own, with Maeby in particular adopting her, so I thought perhaps I’d just let it go. And although we love having her around, I’ve been worried that she’s been spending a little too much time up at the house, when really where I need her services is out at the barn. Plus she’s getting used to our company and might get a little lonely once the weather turns cold and we’re not outside as much.
And so I answered an ad in the local fish wrap and picked up a little black kitten. At first Maggie wasn’t sure what to think, but within a day they were playing together, then napping together, and now they’re inseparable. In fact, Maggie hasn’t been up to the house to see us since he came to live with us Friday evening. (I don’t mind them wandering up to the house, of course, but this in particular is good b/c I want this new guy to learn right off the bat that the barn is home base.)
And so of course I need a name. Count Chocula still seems like an amazing idea, although it doesn’t really roll off the tongue. And although I don’t know if she intended to keep the Simpsons theme going or not, Julie’s (offline) suggestion of Carl isn’t bad either.
Anyway, here are some pics. So far he’s fitting in great, and it makes me feel good to see Maggie having such a good time with him.
it’s really mean to string them up with fishing line to make it look like you actually captured an “action” pic…
Looks like a cute little guy though…
You should name him Blackula. Or Apu, if a Simpsons name is a must.
If you’re going with names from the Simpsons, the most accurate of names would be Dr. Julius Hibbert. Speaking of, Julius is an awesome name.
I’m real surprised you haven’t named anything Brak yet.
Well, I suppose I must address this… This is becoming quite the roller coaster thread.
I’m very sad to say that “little black kitten” is no more. Late Thursday night I heard something awful coming from the barn. I ran out there and found that something had attacked the little guy. He was in bad shape, but I’m a little comforted by my belief that he must’ve been in shock, and so hopefully not feeling much of it. I immediately looked for Maggie, quickly found her safe and deposited her in the house under the care of the pups, and got the injured kitten into the car and raced him up to the 24hr animal hospital at OSU. It was insanely foggy out — another one of those nights where I could barely see the barn from the house — but we quickly made it into town and they got us right in. But unfortunately they had to put him down. I probably spent too much money on a barn kitten I’d had for 6 days, but I just felt so bad for him…
So what got him? Coyotes actually in the barn? A fox? Another vet told me yesterday that there is supposedly a den of wolves — a black wolf and a silver wolf — somewhere in my area, as unlikely as that seems. They’d seen pictures too. I know coyotes are a problem, but even so, this seems like sneaky work and small prey. Perhaps a fox or a weasel…
Regardless, I’m very glad Maggie has grown as quickly as she has. I do worry a lot for her, but I suppose in most cases as long as she’s not caught out in the field where she has nothing to climb she’ll be okay. I hope so anyway. She’s really become part of the family. And this little guy was quickly fitting in as well. I feel awful. Maggie enjoyed his company so much. But it seems clear that trying to raise kittens out there isn’t a good idea, and maybe I just got lucky with Maggie.
Anyway, I hate to pass on more bad news like this, but that’s where we are.
Bill,
That sucks, really sorry to hear that. My in-laws had a lot of trouble with coyotes coming into their shed after their kittens, but you might also be on the lookout for something rabid, like a raccoon. We’ve been keeping Samson in a cage on the porch overnight because of the coyotes around here, until he’s big enough to hold his own. Given that our own 2yo cat was lost to coyotes, I’m not quite sure what you can do about that, except maybe get a donkey. Lots of people keep them with sheep for that reason, but I’m not sure if they’d distinguish your dogs from an intruding canine.
Maybe when I accumulate enough pictures of Maggie I’ll start another album for her in my gallery, but until then I’ll just post them here in this thread…
Here’s one of Maggie playing vulture:
She has taken to sleeping on the straw bales in the barn:
And this is why I’m sometimes itchy after laying in the hammock:
Bill, those most recent photos really make me want to take a vacation to Ohio! Have you considered going into the Agri-tourism business like Schrute Farms? I’ll take the Irrigation Room.
Not tourism (although guests are always welcome), but I’ve been wondering what to do with some of the land. Perhaps beets are the answer… Let me hash this out with cousin Mose.
you should grow some crops
Maggie in concrete shoes:
She’s not really a meowing cat but she does answer when spoken to. Here’s my new fav pic of her:
A couple weeks ago I really started to suspect our little Maggie might have a bun in the oven. Getting her fixed is a must, but I figured if she had one litter before I got around to it in the spring then so be it. But a couple weeks ago she went from furry winter-coated Maggie to downright rotund Maggie, so I started Kitten Watch 2009.
Last night she came to the back door, and since it was cold and drizzly, I let her go down to the basement rather than sending her back to her home out in the hay. I prepped her a box top lid with some of my old t-shirts and said good night. This morning when I hollered my greeting down through the kitchen door as I let the pups out I heard more than just Maggie’s usual response. Sure enough, Maggie had four kittens this morning: two gray tigers (like her), one black, and one light gray (possibly with a little white).
I think I just missed the event this morning, as she still had much cleaning to do. I helped her get everyone situation in the box, positioning them toward her warm, fuzzy belly. As of now, all four are nursing and doing fine, and Maggie seems to be taking to her new role well.
So either my math is bad (it is) or Maggie had another one up her sleeve (eww). She had five kittens. There’s a second gray one loitering about her teats now.
For the record, I have a total of 6 kittens here: two gray and black tiger, one black, and three light gray. I have been looking for a reasonable excuse for erecting a sign on my property though, so I finally have one: No Amish.
But yeah, six kittens seems like a lot more than four kittens (two?), and a seven-to-one ratio of cat-to-human makes my situation seem more eccentric than it is; if crazy cat ladies are even allowed the “eccentric” label. (I strive to have that label some day, so it saddens me that perhaps a person need only surround themselves with felines and not mind the smell of cat crap to be considered eccentric.)
I will say though that it’s pretty cool to see little Maggie go from kitten (in my mind) to instinctive mother all in one day. I mean, my saying “boy, Maggie, you sure are preggers” hardly prepares a pregnant cat for what is to come, and yet here she is cleaning, nursing, and generally caring for six animals that just popped out of her… body. That kind of instinct is quite impressive. Not enough for me to wish I was a woman though, I guess. Or a cat. Or Halle Berry.
It’s been three weeks and the kittens are growing like weeds. Today I figured I’d take them (in their box) out to the barn, at least just to get them out of the basement for a bit. I opened up the cellar doors this morning and Maggie came out to get some fresh air, so I took the opportunity to move the kittens. After I got them situated I called Maggie out to be with them. She came out, jumped in the box with them, looked around, organized them a little, glanced around and inspected the surroundings a little more, and immediately grabbed one of the kittens by the scruff of the neck. She carried it out of the barn, across the yard, to the house, and down the cellar stairs back into the basement. It was actually something to see. She didn’t waste any time. She didn’t like the new environment and immediately started moving her kittens. Of course I brought the rest of them back in for her, but I followed her while she moved the first one just because I was so interested in what she was doing. So I guess I’ll have kittens in my basement for a while longer. Until Maggie decides otherwise, I suppose.
The kittens had been tearin all over the basement, climbing and jumping and wrestling and just generally being mischievous little cats. Maggie’s been okay with this, and since the weather’s been nice lately I’d been opening the cellar doors during the day so she could get out of the basement and roam around a bit. This had been working fine, and at first I set up the large dog crate without the top and put the kittens’ cardboard box in that, so the little ones could wander within the crate and Maggie could jump in and out from the staircase. And then eventually I just left the crate door open.
Over the weekend I went down to check on them and saw that in front of the crate door was a pile of feathers. No further sign of bird, but clearly Maggie had brought her kittens a treat. That’s when I decided it was probably time to move the kittens from the basement to the barn. It’s too dark down in that dank basement anyway, and I suspect Maggie is ready to start teaching them some things. Clearly I’ve had bad luck with kittens in the barn though, so I’m taking precautions.
First off, since I finished the barn doors, the upstairs is closed off. That should be keeping anything large out of the upstairs. Plus I moved the crate out there for the kittens too. It’s pretty well secure, with the “bars” only about an inch apart, but just on the off-chance that there’s some sort of slithery or otherwise shape-changing predator that I’m not thinking about, I went ahead and wrapped the crate in chicken wire. So I’ve been letting the kittens roam during the day, but then at night I lock them up, and I’ll do this until they’re much older and able to climb and run and get out of trouble.
So the kittens are in the barn now. On the first day Maggie wasn’t crazy about it, and started moving one of them back toward the house, even though they’re kind of big to haul around at this point. But I think I’ve since convinced her. And so far so good, no problems. The first night I locked Maggie up with them, but since then I’ve let them be on their own in the crate and let Maggie get back to her old nocturnal activities.
During the first day, I was out in the barn sweeping while the kittens were playing on the other end. Somewhere else in the barn, Maggie caught another bird and carried it over to her little pack. I do wish she would focus more on vermin, and I definitely wish she’d kill things quickly rather than play and toy with them forever, but I didn’t step in and let her teach her kittens the joys of bird hunting.
Coincidentally, Maggie did a similar thing last night with a mouse from the barn. I watched her stalk something along the outside of the barn but became bored when she just stood still for a long time waiting for her prey to make the next move. But eventually she brought the live mouse to the doorstep for me, practically putting the thing in my lap, letting it go, chasing it and batting at it, catching it, and doing it all over again. Needless to say, I wasn’t eager to be a part of the game. Maeby did try to join in but that didn’t work. Once when Maggie let it go the mouse ran toward Maeby. She snapped once and immediately the squeaking stopped. She gave me a look as if to say, I think I broke it.
But anyway, the kittens are no longer basement cats, they are barn cats. I’m still trying to figure out which ones I’ll keep, but for those of you who are interested in having a well-trained mouser for your very own, keep in mind they’ll be ready for adoption in a couple weeks.
And here are some pictures:
That little black one is my favorite. Bill says he won’t keep it but I think it needs to go somewhere I can still visit. It’s feisty and has the ‘unsuspecting sibling sneak-attack’ move down, plus it has these sweet Yoda ears…
So every evening I have to round up the kittens and put them in the crate for the night (yes, herding cats). I tend to find them in one particular corner, back where they’re hard to reach. The past couple nights I’ve found them sleeping in an old tire back in that corner. I don’t really enjoy reaching into a dark tire and feeling around. So far I’ve only pulled out kittens, but there are all sorts of critters about. And from my experience spiders really like old tires too…
The kittens are 9 wks old now and it’s time to find homes for some of them. So if you know anybody who wants a free kitten, let me know. I’m asking folks to spay/neuter and not declaw them. I have trimmed my list of which ones I’m keeping down to two, figuring three barn cats is probably enough, even though I like them all. Through the weeks I’ve had plenty of people say they’d like one but I still have all six kittens in my barn, so I’ll try word of mouth one more time here in case I can give them to people I actually know or know through others, and then it’s off to craigslist they go.
The following kittens are up for adoption:
the first thing i would do to a cat is declaw it so i guess i can;t take them off your hands
Well, last week I found a home for the last two kittens that needed homes. Final tally: I kept 3 and I gave 3 away. I’d intended to keep 2 but the little one who looks (and acts) just like Maggie won me over, and I am a sucker. So I kept the two (female) tigers and the little (male) gray one. The little Maggie look-alike is now named Lily; the others still need names. But here are a few pics of the whole feline crew:
The most interesting things don’t happen here until it starts getting late.
I let the pups out a little bit ago and I stepped out with them. I was saying hello to Maggie when I heard a sorry sounding meow in the darkness. I kept calling, and eventually all four of my cats emerged to rub and roll and greet. All accounted for, so I turned to head in. Then the meow again, still off in the dark, not from them. I got my flashlight from inside and called again, again to be answered. It was under my car.
I found a young, orange male cat tonight (or an old kitten). He’s pretty thin, a little raspy, but the most affectionate thing I’ve met. I carried him out to the barn so he could get some cat food but at first all he was interested in was headbutting me and chasing the other cats so he could headbutt his hellos to them as well. Finally he ate though.
I checked him out real good, even though he looks normal, gets around fine, and just looks a little raggedy. Luckily I gave him one last look over before I went in, because he has a pretty decent puncture wound on the inside of one of his back legs. Pretty fresh. A spot opposite, on the outside of his leg is madded, and I assumed it was just mud or something, but it must be the other side where his attacker’s jaw grabbed him. Don’t know how such a little guy made an escape, but it would appear he did.
I had planned on just shutting him up in the barn tonight and hoping he stayed put but after seeing his injury I figured I’d better do more. So I gave him some medical attention, got his wound cleaned up the best I could, and locked him up in the fenced crate (see above) I still have out in the barn. He’s not happy about any of that, but he’s a lot better off. I gave him some hay to sleep on and some food and water, so hopefully he’ll chill out and rest up. We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.
On the way in I heard some coyotes going nuts out to the west. Hopefully they stay away for the rest of the night. Ironically though, this scruffy little orange kitten is the safest of the bunch, locked away in that crate. Except for Maggie. She’s in with me tonight. Time for an allergy pill.
You should name him Snarfer.
well, i am now officially a cat owner, the two cats made the voyage down from mansfield last night, and spent their first night in the hood last night.
and also in cat related news, her eis weird website
http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigmiaow.pl