Stray Cats

[so lucky]

Last week we had buckets of rain. One morning when we let Penny out, she cornered a tiny kitten on the front porch. It was drenched, dirty, and very wild. I captured it and wrapped it in a towel, then put it in a ventilated tub while I tried to decide what to do with it. Penny was dying to have it for a snack, so I ended up putting the little kitten with the towel and tub in the fenced off area under our deck, where we store garden tools, etc. It's dry and off limits to Penny and the chickens. Well, the kitten didn't stay in the towel for long, and the next day, DH spotted it (we thought) darting across the road, barely missed by two cars. The new neighbor across the road gathered it up and took it inside. Probably his cute young girlfriend instigated that.

Also, I spied another one smashed on the road just beyond our house. Then the one under our deck began meowing. (Surprise!) So I fed it tuna mixed with bread and water, not having any cat food handy.
I guess three was all that was dumped, because that's all we have seen. I fed the little scaredy cat for a few days, then Friday morning it came out and rubbed up against me, purring and meowing. Friday afternoon our daughter came with her 4 kids to get some info on keeping chickens. I mentioned the kitten, telling the girls "If you can catch it, you can have it." That's all it took. Haley (age 11) caught it and it was love at first sight. Their mom was hesitant, but she's an animal lover, so it was not too much of a stretch for her. The poor kitten was covered in fleas, but the report is that she has been bathed and combed and is being treated like the princess she probably is. Happy ending!

 

[Nyboy]

You have such a big heart, small kitten willn't last long on its own. Google stary cat help with your zip code, many clincs will do low cost vet care for strays.

 

[so lucky]

Last time a litter was dumped here, the kittens lived in our shrubbery for about a month before we were able to trap them. We took them to the Humane Society. I doubt if they ever tamed down enough to be adoptable, except the last one of that litter we caught. We took her to a "no kill" shelter.

 

[seedcorn]

Because we live be in country, people dump,cats on us all the time. Could be worse, use to be dogs.....everything from terriers to borders to a Dane cross.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

They dump rabbits around here.

 

[digitS']

I'm enjoying having 3 (three!) new, adult, spade female cats in the neighborhood. DW, not so much.

I've always been partial to female cats. They aren't bullies and they aren't idiots. Just being cats. They will talk to me and are obviously willing to be pet. Not going that far ...

Bad smell under the deck ... located the gathered together dirt. Discovery! A good sprinkle of Epsom salts takes care of the odor. Yes, lye and agricultural lime ...but, I used the last of that on the now, long-vacant hen house.

Steve

 

[Beekissed]

The three kittens I took in are thriving and having a ball here, growing lanky and long legged. They have the life of Reilly here...they have all the food they can eat, fresh water, a shelter in which to live and wonderful places to play. We are really liking their personalities...not too moochy and needy, but friendly and calm. Not underfoot all the time but will join us on the front porch when we go out to socialize, but mostly they stay in or around the wood shed. They seem to really love the safety of that place.

LOVE watching them playing with one another....they are at that stage where it's all a comedy to watch, as they sharpen their stalking and pouncing skills.

The little female is quite the hunter, already catching cicadas and other insects and eating them. All of them are smart enough to avoid vehicles and they stay far away from the dogs.

 

[Nyboy]

Bee I love a happy ending.

 

[so lucky]

Steve, was the bad smell under the porch from the cats using it as a litter box? Sometimes it's really hard to break a cat from using a particular area. I used red pepper flakes and moth balls when the neighbor cat used my parents porch crawl space. And large wood mulch chunks. Worked great.

 

[digitS']

Yeah, that was it.

I like seeing them around. The calico is real pretty; the greys are really fat .

They will hide in the flower beds in the front. I don't think they are using that as a litter box. The plants are dense, this year.

Steve