Outdoor kittens, feral or just too much trouble?

About a year or more ago, I posted a blog about some cats that a friend of mine calls her Shed Buddies. They live in a shed on her property.  It's a large implement shed.  She has a heated water dish for them,  food and heated kennels for them to sleep in. She lives in the country and these "buddies" help take care of the mice and rats that gather around farms and veggie gardens. My friend has a large vegetable garden and welcomes the help in keeping rodents away. And she likes and take care of these cats.

A month ago, another friend of mine who has just moved to a small town, discovered a number of outdoor cats that seemed to be feral. One day a fluffy female showed up followed by three or four younger ones. She took pictures and sent them to me. Unlike my first friends Shed Buddies, these ones seem to have no permanent home. Or if they do they don't stay there very often.

This pretty calico or tortoise-shell has herself up a tree. There is a fluffy orange one that I couldn't see in the photographs, but she assures me these cats visit every day. She has been putting out food for any cats that are outside on bitter cold winter nights because she like my other friend has a tender heart,. She worries about them, because while they're not dirty or skinny and seem to be cared for, they are around her place in the most dreadful weather.

Are they feral?

She's been told they belong to a family nearby without much in the way of income. But this is not the first litter of kittens and there are three big tom cats prowling around as well. My friend wants to start a spay and neuter clinic so there won't be any more unwanted or uncared for kittens. She is a real cat lover, and has three that she has adopted over the years, two that were feral kittens, kicked out of a home.

Neither she nor I can understand why people get a pet without accepting or realizing the responsibility in caring for it. Way too many dogs and cats roam the streets of towns, villages and the countryside, abandoned and in many ways hopeless, trying to exist, to find food and shelter.

Many people think that cats can survive on their own and city dwellers are known to take their unwanted kitten to the country and drop it on the road near a barn. Better I suppose than drowning, but still in many ways certain death. Only a long and lingering one.

This is world-wide problem. But it doesn't make it any easier to understand, perhaps it makes it more difficult. Like many people who have multiple pets I don't get this lack of caring. If you have a female cat and it isn't spayed (neutered) it's going to get pregnant if it's outside. That's just a fact. If you have a male cat and it isn't neutered - it's going to increase the population - that's nature.

So while I can't solve this one, I am adding my voice to those who are trying to solve it. Please help the free or nearly free spay and neuter clinics in your area. Mostly they are for feral cats. But some vets understand these problems, and will help people by taking payment for spaying and neutering over a period of time. Please support them. Please also support your cat and dog rescue organizations in your neighbourhood. They take care of the health of so many abandoned and unwanted cats and dogs. They do their best to find them homes. So if you're looking for a pet - please remember another friend of mine's slogan - "Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die." She was writing about kill-shelters.

In the meantime, let's hope these little kittens can survive without reproducing themselves, and that if they have an owner, that owner will take them to prevent more wandering kittens.  I wish I had a gazillion dollars I'd be doing some massive education and helping the people who run the free clinics.

Cute kitties aren't they?

Please take me home - I'll be good!

Yesterday the dogs were due at the vet for their annual series of shots including rabies and all those other ones that happen every once in a while. It was chaos. The dogs love to go to the vet because it usually means that they're going to have a play day with other dogs in the fenced in area for dogs visiting for the day or over night. They get very excited.

So I was pretty surprised when they ignored the large dog crate with two small kittens inside - up for adoption that was placed near the front door - hard to miss. The kittens on seeing the big dogs, backed away to the far end of the kennel and tried to hide. But I had to get a photo of this little girl - a sort of grey/ginger coloured tabby - beautifully striped, very curious and busy - needing a hand to keep her in place for a photo shoot. Maybe, I thought. someone would take her home if I posted her picture?

Then I rounded up happy dogs after they had treats for being more or less good and got them back into the car. As I was going out the door, a woman came in with a carrying crate with a couple more kittens peering out. I offered to put them on my blog when I learned that the woman was part of an informal rescue group trying to find homes for these wee ones.

Then a young couple came inside and said they were interested in the kittens - so into an exam room everyone bundled, me with my camera to find the couple on the floor, reaching into the crate to pull out five kittens. I was astounded - so many in that tiny crate... but then it had only been a short trip.

Two fluffy ones and three domestic short haired. Three were ginger coloured, (one of them has a long coat)/ And there was a tiny very self-composed grey short haired tabby. A black and orange long-coated kitten with huge attitude, didn't like to be picked up, but had already won the heart of the young woman who had come to see the kittens. She thought she might take the orange long haired babe as well as the tri-coloured attitude filled mite. I don't know what happened after I left.

So I took a few photos - just in case one or two of the readers of this blog might know someone who would like to give one or two (or more) of these babies a home.

I'm not going to rant about so many kittens, the over-population of dogs and cats because of the lack of neutering but I will offer this one bit of information I learned yesterday. One young female cat, un-neutered, may, in a five year period have as many as 1200 kittens. If those all are left unsterilized and allowed to become feral - well I think it's clear what I'm trying to say. I also learned that it is cheaper to sterilize a feral cat than it is to hold it for euthansia.

Oh phooey I blew this photo... but you can see even though her eyes are blurry (my fault for jiggling the camera) how self-possessed this little girl is - and look at the tip of white on the end of her tail. So cute.

And we got the little black and marmalade calico up on the counter. What a pretty kitten - she doesn't like being held much, and she does have attitude - but several people have told me they like a kitten with spunk.








It was fun to watch them explore and figure out what was happening.

Oh where are we? What's going on?

So the short story is - if you want one of these kittens - let me know in the comments section of this blog, and I'll privately send you an email where these ones are located for now. And if you aren't nearby, but still think it would be a great idea to rescue a kitten, or a dog - please contact your local animal shelter. Or visit the Cause for Paws Animal Rescue site - www.C4PAnimalRescue.ca - or other rescue websites in your neighbourhood. You never know until you've rescued a creature from a life alone, what an amazing experience it is.

If you don't want a pet in your life, perhaps you might financially support a spay or neuter clinic in your neighbourhood to help cut down on the number of unwanted feral cats. These clinics do work and many rely entirely on donations from concerned citizens.

Thanks for reading and if you can - sharing this particular post on Facebook or Twitter.

One of my buddies - how pets touch our lives

Today as a tribute to my wonderful black cat - it seems fitting to post his photo - doing what he loves to do - lie in the sun and watch. In this photo he's watching a chipmunk that is standing on that little brick "chimney" munching on a sunflower seed and trying to decide whether it will dare the feeder beside the deck again.

Christopher is the true guardian of the property. He is a "rescue" arriving at this property when he was nine months old, skinny, starving, in early winter, weighing only five pounds and according to the vet, on the verge of dying.

He's the one that's been with me longest, sleeps on my bed when I won't let him outside or just because it's cold or wet and he wants to be comfy, and gets into fights with feral cats to protect his little "sister" Eleia. He is now recovering from a mess made of his face by same feral cat...a nasty bite that got badly infected.

But true to his warm and laid back personality (except for invading feral cats) - this boy didn't freak out in the cat cage when we went to the vet. He allowed the vet to shave his face without flinching and continues to lie in the sun, greeting me when I come back home after venturing to shop or leave the property for any reason. He arrives near the door from wherever he is, purring, tail curling slightly at its tip as if to say "Well you've been gone a long time."

He used to follow me on walks with other dogs, but the two that own us all right now - Bliss and Spirit - figure that if he goes into the pasture with them, it's fair to chase him in a wonderful game. Bliss once ran right past him he was so enthusiastic about the fun. It's the chase, not catching. And so Christopher stays on a rock or a rail watching us and greeting us on our return.

So here's to Christopher, loving black cat - and to all loving pets everywhere. They fill our lives with so much  - pleasure, interest, joy, laughter, frustration, work and again pleasure. Pets can help heal us - it's now proven. And a reminder to you all - I support a group called C4Panimalrescue.com - if you want a pet, please adopt one from a shelter near you, or a pound where they will be killed if they are not collected by their owners within 72 hours...or if you don't want a pet, can't afford one, aren't enthusiastic about all the issues around being owned by a pet, please consider making a donation to the shelter nearest you. Thanks for bearing with me in this.
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Now off my "hobby-horse" - here's to all of you - from me, on this beautiful labour day - thank you for stopping by. Thank you for your interest, your support, your friendship whether in person or virtual. All deeply appreciated. What started as a blog about pets three years ago, has become something much more... but underlying it is my love for animals and nature. Thanks for giving me a space to  talk about it all.

Fall sunrise - such a soft and lovely start to a day - cool and beautiful.

Shed Buddies

Meet "Funny Ears" - a feral cat that lives in the drive shed that belongs to one of my  neighbours who has become a friend.

There are five in the "shed buddy" clan - that's what my friend calls the cats that have found her lovely home in the country. They are the luckiest of feral cats. They don't come near, nor allow my friend to touch them, but they stick around. Probably because they have regular food, though occasionally the opossum that recently  has moved in to the shed tries to take most of it.

 They also have a heated water dish and two choices of housing, even though the shed itself is far more protection than many feral cats have. But this particular group of cats live together with an insulated and roomy dog house inside the shed and also a home made of  straw bales - which can be toasty warm in the coldest weather.

These three are the rest of the Shed Buddies except for one: "Little Kittie"  a puss that my friend didn't expect to survive her early days, she came to them in such bad shape. Now, because of the good care she's received she is doing fine thank you very much. My friend's photo of her is too blurry to post - but I'll drop by and see what we can do between us to get that little gal outside and get a picture. These three are called Tippy Canoe - he's in the foreground and you can barely see against the snow, the white tip of his tail which earned him his name. Behind him is Black and White - which while not original is perfect for this aristocratic baby... and then Snuffleguts nearest the shed - what a name! My friend doesn't lack for originality nor for a kind and generous heart.

She locks up the cat food at night these days though - because Mr. Possum is taking more than his share. And she also locks up the shed in the evening to keep prowling coyotes away. She saw one on her walk with her dog the other day. It was on the other side of the road and a bit further down, but a tad unnerving for her all the same.

While many of my blog posts are about birds, the outdoors, and all the wonderful things about nature (including our pets) that I am passionate about, I also love the opportunity to talk about the kindness of others towards those less fortunate. My friend/neighbour and her husband, as do many others that I know, care for these creatures who may have been dumped off at their side road as infants or wandered to their farm by accident. Too often in both urban and rural environments, people ignore the plight of feral cats, and stray dogs as well.

So here's a tip of the hat to my friend and her husband. I hope their example inspires others to help critters in need in some way.