contender
Ruger Guru
Most of y'all know I have a few cats. Especially those who've visited the Gathering.
Over the years,, we've had as few as 2 and as many as 6 at one time. Well, last fall we went down to 3 & we were ok with that.
Fast forward to Jan. and I saw a few cats on my cameras at the range. I had some older cat food given to me,, so I put out a little. It didn't take long to see a sleek little black cat becoming a regular. In short order,, she got to where she would be waiting on me to put out her food. She's feral,, but got used to me somewhat. I can't touch her,, or anything,, but she would come to me, and eat while I sat with her.
Along about April,, I saw she was nursing babies. That's when I knew that she was a she!
Well, she kept going to (2) different places after eating,, so I knew about where the kittens were. She settled on my old house,, on my range.
I put a few cameras in there, and sure enough,, I saw her & a couple of babies as they were beginning to run around. It was kinda hard to tell how many I had at first,, because I eventually learned that she has (3) pairs of almost identical kittens. (1) pair all black,, except I learned one did have a small white spot on it's chest. (1) pair,, a gray peppery look to them. VERY hard to tell them apart. Then the 3rd pair,, gray & white but the markings were very similar. I was able to figure out which one was which.
Of course,, a litter box & extra food & water for them to learn things was in order.
Followed by catching them & putting them in a kennel cage to give me easy access & the ability to handle & pet them. Getting them used to people, so I could find them good homes.
Luckily,, I was able to get a pair sent to one home, together,, to a lady who'd recently finished cancer treatment, and she wanted another cat or two to go with the one she already had. Two down,, 4 to go,,, sorta.
Now,, Miss Penny had had a dream early on about one of the gray/white ones. In it the kitten was named "Gizmo." In the dream there was one of the peppery ones too. But Gizmo was a standout.
Then I found a young couple, shooters,, where the girl was actually wanting a cat. At my June match,, she decided she wanted one,, and her hubby said "no problem!" But as she was trying to pick one,, she decided to take a pair. Off went my black one with the little white spot, and the last peppery one.
That left us with a pair. A solid black little female, and Gizmo. We had given the nickname of "Shadow" to the black one.
Fast forward to now.
I thought I'd found a home for Shadow,, but the lady chose to not take her. And with them getting bigger & all, we decided to bring them home to us. Yesterday was their first vet visit, wellness check, first round of shots & all. They are both just fine. So we moved them home with us.
I've been keeping them in a kennel cage so I figured it would be fine here. I knew that our other 3 would need time to get used to the kittens, and the kittens needed a little time to get used to the new home. The kennel does have bigger square holes along the bottom, that I had attached other wire to cover those "escape holes" to prevent them from exiting the kennel.
Well,,,,,,,,,,, I figured they were now big enough to not need that wire,, as I had to take it off to move the kennel. I didn't put it back on when I brought them here.
Big mistake.
A little after 6 am,, I heard them rattling around the kennel, and even meowing a little. All went quiet,, and I didn't immediately get up to check on them.
Miss Penny got up soon after & discovered the kittens were not in the kennel.
The search was on.
It took a bit,, but we finally found them in hiding in Penny's sewing room. Shadow is a cuddler,, but she's also a bit timid. Gizmo is a lot more active & will also cuddle. But she wants to get out & explore.
After getting them out, cuddling them a good bit,, Penny decided to take them into her "Happy Room" where there are fewer places to hide, and such. We let them roam a bit,, and I went to get the wire to fix the holes to prevent future escapes until we can turn them out with the others. When I returned,, it was once again a chore of herding cats to round up the pair of them, in a very small very tight space,, they had snuck into.
So about 2 hours of my morning was spent searching for, finding & recovering & herding a pair of new kittens to our clan here.
But they are doing just fine,, and when being held,, are quite comfortable & loving. The next few days,, I'm sure will involve a bit more herding as well.
WHEW!
Over the years,, we've had as few as 2 and as many as 6 at one time. Well, last fall we went down to 3 & we were ok with that.
Fast forward to Jan. and I saw a few cats on my cameras at the range. I had some older cat food given to me,, so I put out a little. It didn't take long to see a sleek little black cat becoming a regular. In short order,, she got to where she would be waiting on me to put out her food. She's feral,, but got used to me somewhat. I can't touch her,, or anything,, but she would come to me, and eat while I sat with her.
Along about April,, I saw she was nursing babies. That's when I knew that she was a she!
Well, she kept going to (2) different places after eating,, so I knew about where the kittens were. She settled on my old house,, on my range.
I put a few cameras in there, and sure enough,, I saw her & a couple of babies as they were beginning to run around. It was kinda hard to tell how many I had at first,, because I eventually learned that she has (3) pairs of almost identical kittens. (1) pair all black,, except I learned one did have a small white spot on it's chest. (1) pair,, a gray peppery look to them. VERY hard to tell them apart. Then the 3rd pair,, gray & white but the markings were very similar. I was able to figure out which one was which.
Of course,, a litter box & extra food & water for them to learn things was in order.
Followed by catching them & putting them in a kennel cage to give me easy access & the ability to handle & pet them. Getting them used to people, so I could find them good homes.
Luckily,, I was able to get a pair sent to one home, together,, to a lady who'd recently finished cancer treatment, and she wanted another cat or two to go with the one she already had. Two down,, 4 to go,,, sorta.
Now,, Miss Penny had had a dream early on about one of the gray/white ones. In it the kitten was named "Gizmo." In the dream there was one of the peppery ones too. But Gizmo was a standout.
Then I found a young couple, shooters,, where the girl was actually wanting a cat. At my June match,, she decided she wanted one,, and her hubby said "no problem!" But as she was trying to pick one,, she decided to take a pair. Off went my black one with the little white spot, and the last peppery one.
That left us with a pair. A solid black little female, and Gizmo. We had given the nickname of "Shadow" to the black one.
Fast forward to now.
I thought I'd found a home for Shadow,, but the lady chose to not take her. And with them getting bigger & all, we decided to bring them home to us. Yesterday was their first vet visit, wellness check, first round of shots & all. They are both just fine. So we moved them home with us.
I've been keeping them in a kennel cage so I figured it would be fine here. I knew that our other 3 would need time to get used to the kittens, and the kittens needed a little time to get used to the new home. The kennel does have bigger square holes along the bottom, that I had attached other wire to cover those "escape holes" to prevent them from exiting the kennel.
Well,,,,,,,,,,, I figured they were now big enough to not need that wire,, as I had to take it off to move the kennel. I didn't put it back on when I brought them here.
Big mistake.
A little after 6 am,, I heard them rattling around the kennel, and even meowing a little. All went quiet,, and I didn't immediately get up to check on them.
Miss Penny got up soon after & discovered the kittens were not in the kennel.
The search was on.
It took a bit,, but we finally found them in hiding in Penny's sewing room. Shadow is a cuddler,, but she's also a bit timid. Gizmo is a lot more active & will also cuddle. But she wants to get out & explore.
After getting them out, cuddling them a good bit,, Penny decided to take them into her "Happy Room" where there are fewer places to hide, and such. We let them roam a bit,, and I went to get the wire to fix the holes to prevent future escapes until we can turn them out with the others. When I returned,, it was once again a chore of herding cats to round up the pair of them, in a very small very tight space,, they had snuck into.
So about 2 hours of my morning was spent searching for, finding & recovering & herding a pair of new kittens to our clan here.
But they are doing just fine,, and when being held,, are quite comfortable & loving. The next few days,, I'm sure will involve a bit more herding as well.
WHEW!
