Awwwwww!!
Quite a week on the farm-o-cats so far. This weekend, my HVAC system decided to emulate Calvin Coolidge and choose not to run. I couldn’t believe it. Remember, the new house is only two years old. That system couldn’t have any real problems yet, I thought. Anyway, I waited out the weekend to get to regular day rates, then called a service company yesterday. Very thorough tech went all over it and said that I had a bad contactor which was shorting out. Quite possibly this is related to an episode last week where the power for this whole neck of the woods was out for 45 minutes, long enough that I called the outage line, and they had a message that said they were working on it. Something major went wrong on the grid, not just a little blip. The HVAC guy said that could have killed the contactor. At least it wasn’t a major problem, little part, and he had one on the truck.
But Pilgrim cracked me up. He’s my tuxedo scientist, always into analyzing his world. He thought it was absolutely fascinating when part of the wall got unscrewed, and he was an interested supervisor for this whole repair job.
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So much for Monday. Today, Tuesday, was brought to us by Cory. The last several days, I have found clouds of Cory tufts here and there around the farm, as if she had a fight with herself. No other-colored tufts, so not a two-way fight, and she was the only candidate in that color. She seemed fine, appetite good, acting like herself, but something wasn’t right, so I called the vet last week. They were booked up to overflowing but said I could bring her to drop-off this morning. So she got rounded up and went to the clinic to stay the day. It turns out, as I figured, she had gotten into something, who knows what, that she was allergic to. They gave her Depo-Medrol and Convenia shots. She had chewed into herself a bit too far at one spot, and vet didn’t like the look of it so added the antibiotics. They want to see her again next week for recheck and to top her off again with another round of shots. At least I got an appointment for that, so I only have to make one trip, not a drop off and return.
Here’s Cory this evening after I brought her home. Note my nursing home friend’s happy rose, by the way. I had just asked Cory if she had had a tough day, and she replied politely and walked over to me. Animals could give us lessons on trust. Today, I have grabbed her, stuffed her in a carrier, driven her away from home, and left her in the clinic all day. But she still will come to me.
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My older mare has had some tooth issues lately, so she’s been getting soaked meals. This morning, she had finished, and I put her back in with her (gelded) boyfriend, then turned around to pick up the dish and saw three of the cats investigating it. They were like the woman on that old commercial. “Where’s the beef?”
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And here’s Rascal posing next to the rose, Bagheera in the porch chair. The cats love that porch chair, and it’s almost always occupied. I’m tempted to buy another one for me, but I know what would happen if I did.
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My porch. I think I have a theme going here.
From closest on out, this is Sarge, Bagheera, Cory, Rascal, and Satin.
The carrier doesn’t always live here, but Cory cat has to go back to the vet on Tuesday. Better to leave it out in between than to bring it back out that morning and set off her radar in advance before I get close enough to grab.
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And this was the view when I was working earlier today and happened to glance down at the small crack between the desk and the printer cart. Reminds me of the song, “I always feel like somebody’s watching me.” Usually I’m right, too.
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LOL! I love the eye. Just looking at you. “I see you. Yeah, you. And don’t you forget it.”
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Exactly. The eye goes with Solo. She has plenty of tortitude! She’s one of my few intentional cats, where I acquired a cat with first-degree pet premeditation. She’s from a local TNR, and they thought she was young enough to be civilized when she was trapped, so they listed her on their website instead of releasing her back. I was looking something up on the website for a client, and her picture struck me. I thought about it a day or two, then called. I didn’t know then why that particular cat grabbed me so much, but I do now. She reminds me of Mom. She’s fiesty, sweet but not entirely safe or predictable, and she’s proud of it.
Funny cat moments from the day.
Today, I had visitors. This is unusual out here in the middle of nowhere, and the cats aren’t used to visitors. But my dad and stepmom came for my birthday. They brought a chicken dinner, and we were all around the table. The birthday card they gave me had one of those decorative cords along the edge of it with a nice bow, very pretty. In other words, a string. Pilgrim was up on the table since he was finally being allowed to have a few bites of chicken (refer to the Second Feline Commandment. Food in my possession is mine, period, amen, and they don’t get even a crumb until I am done. They know this. Pilgrim was the only cat not in hiding, and he was very interested in the chicken, but he waited until invited to move all the way in to get a nibble. I may allow them on the table, but I refuse to eat under attack; they must be mannerly and wait). So he was on the table and had finished the tidbit of chicken we gave him, and then he spotted that card with the STRING!!! Fastest paw in the house, he is. He and I got into a tug-of-war over that birthday card while Dad was protesting across the table. It had not occurred to me that that card actually in effect had a STRING!!! It sure occurred to Pilgrim.
Then we went outside, and Dad wanted a tour of the baby landscaping. This took several minutes; it’s a decent walk around, even just the yard part, and he isn’t that fast of a walker anymore. So we were out there quite a while. Ended the tour, and Dad started to talk about leaving. Stepmom wanted to make a pit stop first, so she went back into the house alone while Dad and I stayed in the yard and talked. She came out a few minutes later laughing. Apparently, we had been outside long enough that all the housecats came back out of hiding, thinking that the invasion of strange people was over. They were right out there in the open, arranged around the living room, and she walked in alone. They looked up casually, obviously expecting me, and then went into red alert, froze, and scampered. She said, “I have been informed that I am definitely not Mom.”
Good visit. I’m glad we did this. Dad is definitely not what he was pre cancer, even on a good day. This trip was his idea, and I’m not sure how many more years of opportunity he will have. Come what may, many years or the last one, we’re okay with it, but it is a sobering thought to see your parent looking fragile.
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Chicken leftovers for breakfast. They know the rules. They may watch, salivate, covet, whatever, but they may not make a bombing run on the plate. I don’t mind cats on the table if they just sit quietly and lust. Which Solo is doing, but look at the eyes. She is parked right at the limit of my tolerance, and they all know that distance to the inch, too.
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Happy birthday! Glad it was a lovely visit! My kitty is also like that with strangers though she’s getting better about coming out to visit for awhile.
P.
Cory, Bagheera, and Cotton in the shade on a hot day. Bagheera is such an absolute specimen of a mini panther.
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Cotton on the Bench of Purring.
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In honor of International Cat Day a few days ago, I gave the indoors a treat of tuna. There is a plate in the middle of that huddle. Clockwise from Pilgrim (white feet) are Solo, Pharaoh, Atticus, and Mystery.
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And Pharaoh and Mystery (Mystery facing camera) in the hammock and not practicing social distancing.
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You have made heaven on earth for them. Love it. Makes my heart happy.
And yes to not eating under attack. My kitty Duncan does that. He will sit on the couch with me (where I have to eat having no table or room for one) and he will wait til you take your eyes off him and the plate for a split second and then BAM! goes the paw and he is grabbing stuff. He figures that if he smacks his paw into the middle of it or knocks it off the plate or better still, spills it all, he gets it. Um. No. I have taken food right out of his mouth and eaten it. He is trying to learn that if he waits sometimes I will let him lick the plate, but…but …but…Mooommm it’s. SO. Hard.
Satin just cannot understand this concept of breakfast. You can see a bit of Twister’s tornado here, which is why my senior mare is Twister. That’s not her real name, but it was clearly too perfect to pass up. She came to me with that barn name already. It spins off to the right; I’d have to be a little over to capture all of it.
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Rascal yesterday. I love this cat.
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This came up in my FB memories today. Three years ago at the solar eclipse. Bagheera is a very glossy black, and he apparently made a perfect eclipse reflector.
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Salmon, milk, and pineapple for supper. Two out of three high-value items.
They sit quietly. I don’t mind cats on the table, but they must be polite and respectful, and the food belongs to me. I might give them a tidbit at the end, only after I’m done. I might not. Either way, that’s how it is, and they must accept it.
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Cats on the Bench of Purring: Satin, Cotton, and Bagheera. Rascal is proudly aloof below.
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Introducing the three amigos. The mom cat was a feral and was killed. These are too young to be on their own but are eating. They are curious and exploring, though clearly having a traumatic week and unsure about the world right now. I have them shut in my guest room for the moment. The black is the ringleader. The calico watches, not forward but not as wary as the tortie. The tortie is extremely spooky. I think they will be socialized very easily; they are quite young. The black does seem to have a minor wound on one paw, not limping but missing a patch there. I’ll take them all to the vet to get rough ages, exam, advice, and also genders. Sexing kittens has never been my forte. I’m assuming the calico and the tortie are female, but I want a firm answer on the black before I start narrowing down names.
I need to pick up a few 2 x 4s and build a screen door in a day or two. That will let the big cats and these sniff through it and start to get used to each other. Will give the kittens a few days to decompress first, though, and to get more comfortable with me. In this picture, I’m lying on the floor about four feet away, just letting them be aware of me. Tomorrow, I’ll add a string toy and go fishing.
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Awwwww…kittens!
Thank you for taking them in, will they be going up for adoption?
We’ll see. Right now, they need to grow some more first.
I’ve got a vet appointment this afternoon for the amigos. Will get more info then. I’ve tentatively named the calico Psalm.
They all ran when I came in the room this morning, but once they realized I had food, the black and the calico did a 180 and decided I was just fine. The tortie is very spooky and is going to take more time. They are eating well, and the level in the water dish was down overnight. And they are using the litter box I left out. They seem on the thin side to me – you can clearly feel ribs, although they are a little potbellied, too. Will get the vet’s opinion/advice, but they are doing fine, more active this morning.
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oh great, now we have 3 more characters to follow. where were they born, do you know? Had you been feeding the mama?
thanks for being the good samaritan and taking them in. I foresee needing an addition to the outside shelter, or will they be indoor kitties?
The amigos are 5 weeks roughly and a thin 5 weeks at that. Not good but could worse. They have fleas but are too small to treat. He wormed all three with a gentle wormer. There are better ones, but they couldn’t tolerate those. Too small for shots. Mainly they just need to eat at the moment. The black is a male, the calico and tortie female.
And I might have a theme to explore for a name for the black. Toward the end of the appointment, the vet was talking to me. The kittens, who didn’t like being wormed, went back in the carrier. I wasn’t sure the vet was totally done with them, so I didn’t shut the door yet, but I was blocking it with my hands spread out, one on top of the other, because the kittens had been a little bit of a three-ring circus so far, going every which way and challenging me, assistant, and vet to keep them from falling off the table. Anyway, I had a double hand vertical obstacle across the door. Just a little gap at the top. Suddenly, as the vet was talking, the black jumped out through that little top gap, neatly clearing both of my hands. The vet barely caught the fly ball (fly kitten?) as he erupted. We were all impressed at how he lined up and took that shot, and he did clear it. It reminded me of a cross-country obstacle, those where you jump through a window or something with a top bar.
So now I need to think up true black eventers. Maybe there’s a name in there that sounds right for him. Worth trying them out on him, at least.
The tortie even at the vet was the hardest to get hold of and the spookiest. The calico has some spirit in her, too. They are definitely more active today; they drank an entire cereal bowl of water overnight.
The black and the calico are totally converted at this point (though with friskiness increasing as they eat). This tortie sits off and watches. In a way, her attitude reminds me of Rascal. Psalm fits the calico, but I’ll have to think a while to get just the right name for the other two.
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Marla, I hadn’t been feeding the mother, although I know there are cats back in the woods, and I have no doubt that I am feeding more than I am aware of. The mom cat is from a feral colony on the outskirts of the city. I was down that way yesterday volunteering at the library book sale and picked them up then. For right now, they are definitely indoor kitties. Way too little to be out. We’ll see what happens down the road.
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