The feral cat saga continues

[joec]

Well most of you know my wife and I run a self storage facility in Lexington Kentucky. Well since we have been here there have been a couple of feral cats that have hung around here. Well we have put out food but never could get any of them with more than a few feet until the last litter born here. At that point I started putting food on my back porch and got the two their momma allowed to stay a little female and her brother. Well the kittens sleep at night on our back porch but the female had a litter of kittens herself May 5th. We set up a place for her in our storage space right off my back porch. Well today June 5th we saw her kittens for the first time. Now I've since gotten my camera ready to catch some pictures but so far only gotten pictures of Tabby (the female) and her grand mother. I will get pictures next time the 4 kittens stick their heads out of the space but their mamma has made a point of coming to me so they can see though she still runs from anyone else. Below is a picture of the grandmother followed by 3 of Tabby. Hopefully I can get the 4 kittens after they are weaned and momma runs them off to get them fixed and find them homes. I will when I can get some pictures of the kittens asap.

 

[joec]

I got pictures of two of the 4 kittens.

 

[Cooksie]

Awww, they're sooo cute!

 

[joec]

This is Tabby's brother both are about 9 months old though Splotch as we call him is considerably larger. Tabby is a very small little cat. The screen effect is due to me taking the picture through my front window. He loves to lay out there during the day under the bird feeder.

 

[QSis]

Joe, you may want to look into getting some local help to trap ALL the cats to get them fixed!

Unless you want to be continually in this situation.

Lee

 

[joec]

Joe, you may want to look into getting some local help to trap ALL the cats to get them fixed!

Unless you want to be continually in this situation.

Lee

To be honest OSis we never have more than 3 females and 3 males here in the 9 years we have been here. The females run off all the males almost as soon as they are weaned and rarely allow another female to stay unless they are old or sick.

We have had people come around and ask to put out traps, but when pushed you find out they want to use them for testing for cosmetics. The males also tend to just pass through here for the most part. Over the last 9 years we have had 4 females with only one small litter per year and not all of them. The last two years for example the Grandmother hasn't had a litter at all and last thing she raised was three coon cubs. Tabby's mother is now about 6 years old and hasn't had a litter this year either.

Keep in mind that they tend to run from people or even the scent of people that is up until this last litter was born when I got two Splotch and Tabby to come to my back porch. I still don't recommend even trying to pet Splotch more than a quick stroke as if you touch him the second time he scratches. Tabby on the other hand has gotten genital enough for me to even pickup. I'm hopping her kittens can be approached also and I will catch them if I can. If so I will get them fixed and find them homes. Tabby will be getting fixed as soon as she weans this litter also. I've got her tame enough to put her in a cat box but will bring her back as an outside cat. She did get a pesky chipmunk that has been digging up my garden for the last couple of years recently.

 

[joec]

Here are a couple more got another one venturing out of the space as well as Tabby and Splotch's mother the black cat we call Mew Mew. The two center pictures are the same cat taken 2 sec apart. It fell on its face in the first then stood up and looked around as if to say, you didn't see that.

 

[chilefarmer]

Joe, great story, love the photos. CF

 

[Leni]

Beautiful little gray kitten. Would love to adopt it.

 

[Ian M.]

Joe - The kittens and cats you care for are such a healthy-looking group and the kittens are so cute! You do such a special thing, caring for them all like you do. The photos are great and we've really enjoyed seeing them all. Thank you for sharing all of them with us.

We have finally found our searched-for marmalade cat to fill in the void that our dear little Mickey left behind! He is a very large Angora - orange tabby color and long-haired, of coarse. His beautiful plume of a tail is so gorgeous...and boy does he know it. His name was Murphy when we got him (a private owner who had to give up his two beautiful cats as he's moving to Connecticut and can't take them along.) Anyway, Murphy knows his name and we like it, so Murphy he remains. So far, Toby Bear and Sassy are both leerie of him and he's still in hissing mode toward them but a couple of days of negotiations and all should be calm in the household, we hope. Murphy loves us to death and is eating well - so that's half the battle right there. Just as soon as everyone calms down I'll take some photos of him to share with everyone.

Ian

 

[Ian M.]

The first photo is of our new friend, Murphy - Isn't he a beauty?
The second photo is also Murphy, displaying his enormous paws
Last but not least - Sassafras and Toby Bear, playing "train" trying to sneak up on Murphy to size him up. Together, they aren't as big as he is!

Ian

 

[joec]

Ian that is a pretty good size pride you also have. The feral cats kind of came with the property and those cats earn their keep for sure. They keep the mice, rats and chipmunks as well as other small pests. Now if I could find one big enough to take out the ground hogs but perhaps some of the foxes, racoons or possum around here would. I expect to see the picture below happen any day now.

 

[Ian M.]

Joe...That photo is too funny! I just wonder if it's photo shopped or if the racoon was really carrying the cat like that. If so, how did someone actually get them both to go for it. I could see that happening, though. Especially in your herd. Yes, ours gets bigger all the time. I was once a strictly dog person but these guys have wormed their way into my heart. I'd have to say that our new guy, Murphy is every bit as big as a small dog, anyway.

Maybe now that all the festivities in London are over for the time being, perhaps I can finally get some work done around here! I've got some plants to give Miracle Gro to and a bit of carpentry work to accomplish for DW before I head out to the resort for the afternoon. She'd like to have a chicken wire fence put up around the patio to allow our herd to go out there and keep an eye out for visiting chipmunks and squirrels. We don't have that much of a problem with the chipmunks but the squirrels are really a bunch of pests, also all the pigeons that raid the bird feeders in the complex. We've heard rumors that management is wanting people to take down their bird feeders so that the pigeons and squirrels will go away. Good luck with that! We also have a ton of seagulls that do flyovers and decorate our cars daily. Talk about pests! They particularly like light colored cars like mine to leave their calling cards on. Yuck!

Fallon's making some herbed flat bread today - now that's something I'm really looking forward to.

Ian

 

[joec]

Well all I know is cats and racoons seem to coexist fine together as well as feed together from the same dish of food. As I said the Grandmother of these cats here had 3 small racoons she was nursing about a year ago and they often still come up to eat in the evening in the front where we leave the food for the cats. We also get a possum and very large ground hog come up and eat the dry cat food also. The cats seem to just ignore them or act like another cat. As for the picture I just thought it was funny myself Photoshopped or not. Oh and I'm a converted dog lover myself.

The bread sounds great to me also.

 

[joec]

Well folks, 1 day shy of 6 weeks mama brought them up to the porch for the first time and they ate solid food. All 4 kittens, whom I've already named. Mama (Tabby) came up as I was sitting on the swing and hopped up beside me while her kittens just looked and stared. A couple of minutes later she jumped down and started to eat and they joined her. She then hopped back up beside me and went to sleep while they pigged out on the food I just put out for her.

 

[QSis]

Geez, Joe, that sounds pretty domesticated. Congratulations!

How about a few more pictures of the kittens?

Lee

 

[joec]

Geez, Joe, that sounds pretty domesticated. Congratulations!

How about a few more pictures of the kittens?

Lee

I will try to get some more today. I just put out a bowl of food and they came out from under the BBQ grille. They and their mama is rolling around in the back yard this morning with the exception of 1. That one ran back to the space and is in there crying like crazy since it is all alone for the first time in its life. At any rate the kittens have never played in grass till this morning so they are really running around the yard like typical babies.

As for the mama I got her pretty much domesticated at least enough for me to even pick her up. She was still pretty skittish around me when she got pregnant but after she weans these guys I will catch her and get her fixed. She is just about 8 months old herself and I remember her mother carrying her to the a new area when her eyes where still closed.

 

[joec]

Here are two that I caught just out of their afternoon nap. The first picture is Socks, second is Blue and last is Tabby bringing Blue out of hiding for me.

 

[joec]

Well as sad update to this post. Had a group come and trap 1 litters of 5 black kittens and their momma. The momma there is the mother of the young gray tiger strip that had the litter that I let stay in my storage shed. Now they where born on May 5th and one vanished about 10 days ago the runt. We called it Tiger as he was the quickest to play. The followed their mother out for her walk about and he never returned. The one we called Blue (mostly blue colored) died about a week ago with no idea way. Now the mother has gone to leaving them for a couple of weeks now only here at night. Now Smokey the little turns out a female stays close to its mother and still haven't gotten with in a couple of feet of her.

Now today one of my wife started our car and some how Socks (male) shown in post #18 first picture was in the engine compartment. My wife new immediately what had happened when she heard the sound. She came in the house and got me thinking she had killed him. He was lucky in a way as he lost his right ear as he was caught in the pulley. I took him to the vet and they had to remove the part of his ear that was broken. It is the second time I've ever been able to touch him. The vet checked him over after putting him to sleep to perform the operation. I went back and got him about 4:30 today and he will be OK with minor problems. Due to losing that part of his ear she felt he would be very likely to get ear infections if left loose. He is now drugged up in my shower and will be for a couple of weeks. We will have to give him measured out pain and antibiotic cocktail in syringe we have to pump into him orally. I've made arrangements with a friend to take him who has wanted him since he saw him the first time. They said they will get him fixed and shots so after he heals up from this he will get a great home with two serious cat lovers who will take great care of him. I might add he will fit in with another kitten they got about the same age.

 

[QSis]

Geez, Joe, what a story!!

Some sad, but with a happy ending for Socks!! You, your wife and your friend are such wonderful people with huge hearts!

Lee

 

[joec]

Geez, Joe, what a story!!

Some sad, but with a happy ending for Socks!! You, your wife and your friend are such wonderful people with huge hearts!

Lee

Thanks OSis. I still need to catch Smokey before she gets hurt too. I set a large cat box on the back porch where they eat with a bowl of food in it. Hopefully I will go out and she will be in there and I can then get her. Her mother isn't a problem to pet just a bit painful when the claws come out picking her up.

Socks by the way seems to be coming around a bit this morning. He figured out the litter box and ate this morning. We have to give him meds for pain every 8 hours which pretty much puts him out for a couple hours. He has gotten good about being picked up though.