It's official - I've lost my mind!
Sept 17, 2023 7:08:12 GMT -5
elnini, rosalind, and 7 more like this
Post by Lannie on Sept 17, 2023 7:08:12 GMT -5
How many cats is too many cats? Well, apparently 20 was not enough. Maybe 22 is. Maybe it's too many. I don't know. But what happened is that our old feral mama cat that has over the years showed more interest in being petted, has decided she wants to be a full-on house cat now. The last year or so, she's been begging to come in the house whenever one of us opens the door, and it's been hard to shut it in her face, but that's what we were doing. She hasn't had any kittens in a few years, and I thought she was either past the kittening age, or there were no toms left around.
Softies that we are, we decided what's one more cat in the house? She's old, she's had a hard life living outside all the time and having so many babies (we could never catch her to get her to the vet for spaying). I finally gave in and said yes, bring her in. At least she won't have to endure the cold weather out in the garage over the winter again. That was a couple weeks ago.
But then we heard a kitten mewing in the hay room, back behind the big bales of hay, way in the back corner where we can't get to. I didn't know whose kitten it was, but I was sure it wasn't Callie's. But it was just the one kitten... and her last "litter," whenever that was (I think 3 years ago?) was just one little kitten. And then the other day I saw her with a chicken drumstick she'd stolen from one of the dogs, going up over the hay bales and down in the crack. OK, so it WAS hers. Sheesh. Now I didn't feel right letting her stay in the house when she has a hungry kitten to feed. So what's the solution? RESCUE THE KITTEN! And bring her in the house, too.
So that's what happened. Rich had to dig a hole under the barn wall to get to her, but he finally got her out and brought her to the house, and now she and Callie are happily living in comfort with all the rest of the zoo animals. Here are some pics of our sweet little Gidget, who spent her whole life in a crack 6 feet long and 8 inches wide. In the dark. Poor baby. She's adjusting quickly, though! The first picture is right after we brought her in, and she was overwhelmed, to say the least.
Then she started becoming a bit more comfortable:
And even MORE comfortable, LOL! She found the "napping box."
By the next morning, she was playing. She hasn't ventured off the porch where I first set her down yet, but eventually, she'll start exploring the house. Here she is "hiding" from me behind the door threshold. You gotta love kittens, eh?
She's still nursing, but she's interested in kitten food, and thankfully, we still had part of a bag left from the last kitten. It's old and probably stale, but she seems to love it. We'll get a fresh bag on shopping day next week.
And after her snack, sitting with her mom, washing her face. I just love this little girl!
She wanted to find a cozy place to nap later and someone else was already in the napping box, so she found a spot in between the porch fridge and the wall. This is almost the same size as her original home behind the hay bales. Rich had to lighten the picture up a bit in order to see her in there, so that's why she looks bluish. Can you imagine living your life in a space this small? I'm so glad she's with us now, happy and healthy and having a whole new world to explore.
Softies that we are, we decided what's one more cat in the house? She's old, she's had a hard life living outside all the time and having so many babies (we could never catch her to get her to the vet for spaying). I finally gave in and said yes, bring her in. At least she won't have to endure the cold weather out in the garage over the winter again. That was a couple weeks ago.
But then we heard a kitten mewing in the hay room, back behind the big bales of hay, way in the back corner where we can't get to. I didn't know whose kitten it was, but I was sure it wasn't Callie's. But it was just the one kitten... and her last "litter," whenever that was (I think 3 years ago?) was just one little kitten. And then the other day I saw her with a chicken drumstick she'd stolen from one of the dogs, going up over the hay bales and down in the crack. OK, so it WAS hers. Sheesh. Now I didn't feel right letting her stay in the house when she has a hungry kitten to feed. So what's the solution? RESCUE THE KITTEN! And bring her in the house, too.
So that's what happened. Rich had to dig a hole under the barn wall to get to her, but he finally got her out and brought her to the house, and now she and Callie are happily living in comfort with all the rest of the zoo animals. Here are some pics of our sweet little Gidget, who spent her whole life in a crack 6 feet long and 8 inches wide. In the dark. Poor baby. She's adjusting quickly, though! The first picture is right after we brought her in, and she was overwhelmed, to say the least.
Then she started becoming a bit more comfortable:
And even MORE comfortable, LOL! She found the "napping box."
By the next morning, she was playing. She hasn't ventured off the porch where I first set her down yet, but eventually, she'll start exploring the house. Here she is "hiding" from me behind the door threshold. You gotta love kittens, eh?
She's still nursing, but she's interested in kitten food, and thankfully, we still had part of a bag left from the last kitten. It's old and probably stale, but she seems to love it. We'll get a fresh bag on shopping day next week.
And after her snack, sitting with her mom, washing her face. I just love this little girl!
She wanted to find a cozy place to nap later and someone else was already in the napping box, so she found a spot in between the porch fridge and the wall. This is almost the same size as her original home behind the hay bales. Rich had to lighten the picture up a bit in order to see her in there, so that's why she looks bluish. Can you imagine living your life in a space this small? I'm so glad she's with us now, happy and healthy and having a whole new world to explore.
And now we can take TWO girl cats in for spaying in a few months. (I could almost wish Gidget had been a boy, just because neutering is cheaper than a spay... but whatever it takes for our new little girl. She's adorable and we're both in love with her!)