- Joined
- Dec 5, 2022
- Messages
- 18
- Purraise
- 75
A big furry hello from Washington State.
I've been a long-time cat "owner" though I question who owns who with every cat. Kitties find their way to me and right now, the latest three are curled up behind me purring contentedly.
I grew up on a subsistence farm with all kinds of farm animals, cats included. I can pull out any family photo album and look back at all the kitties who have graced the farm's days. I am currently living at the farm and looking after my aging father, who is now in the most recently recognized "stage 4" of dementia (previously late stage 3).
Kitten 1
Last year, one of the caregivers adopted a kitten that didn't fit well into her household. She didn't know what to do with the kitten, but her first thought was that I would certainly know what to do. She arrived with the kitten in his cardboard carrier, a bag of kitten food, and an aluminum pan with litter. Of course, my kitty-loving heart knew what to do, and certainly couldn't turn down a kitty baby.
Tracking back, it's been quite awhile since I had cats in my household. My late husband developed an allergy, so he and I created an outdoor kennel for the two I had. Those two eventually had a really nice kennel in the barn at the family farm for their "retirement." Even my folks had not had cats here since those had long been buried in our pet cemetery.
Except one. Dad did adopt a beautiful ginger tabby for mom. But between mom trying to let the cat out all the time and dad not knowing where she was, the cat ended up outside one night alone. She was familiar with the farm as she'd follow dad on walks, but she wasn't familiar with farm life. Particularly wildlife, in the form of a hawk. Anyway that was around 7 years ago and no kitties until August last year.
When I took the kitten in, I had to introduce him slowly to the beagle-mix dog I have been caring for. I gave the kitten time to establish his "safe spots" before allowing them to sniff noses. Now he's a big beautiful 13.7 lb sweetie that takes no nonsense from the dog.
Kittens 2 & 3
A month later I was expecting a male ginger and white tabby to raise with the first kitten. The owners decided to keep him (named him Hobbes) and sent two litter mates instead. They were nearly all black with tabby face markings. After their adjustment period, all three kittens played and bonded. The two black ones are now big beautiful black classic tabbies. The male is 14.7 pounds and has golden undertones, and the female is 11.3 pounds and has silver undertones.
After their first birthdays, a sibling from a litter after the black tabbies gave birth to 7 babies - 5 dark color and 2 light color. The caregiver had been successful with introducing this momma cat and her brother as kittens. The male had suffered a lifer threatening injury when they were 5 months old. And during the last few days of his life, the female had snuck out. They had both been scheduled for neutering at the time. Of course her spay had to be delayed until after kittens were weaned.
When it was time for the kittens to be born, she called me and I talked her through the process as she'd never witnessed kittenbirth before. I have baby pictures and videos of these kittens.
Kitten 4
This same caregiver, who is an animal lover herself, had some strays (apparently a litter) near her house. One decided he didn't want to be homeless anymore and approached her after she'd offered food to all of them. Again she brought this kitten out to me after she had him examined for a chip. Since he was already used to outdoor living and I have 3 inside already, he'd be a good candidate for an outside cat. He spends his unsupervised time in the greenhouse with all his amenities. He follows me (or I carry him) around to do outside chores. He's now a 7 month old grey mackerel tabby with strong Maine Coon features (semi long hair and large size). Within on week of arriving, he'd visited the vet for vaccinations and neutering. He's a real love-bug.
Kitten 5
Now I had been expecting to get two babies from the litter of 7. At 7 weeks, a grey spotted tabby female arrived; her light colored brother was still nursing.
Out of the 7, one was very dark and showed almost no tabby effects (possibly agouti). Two were close in color to their aunt and uncle here, although they appear to have mackerel pattern. Two were grey tabby like their mother, who has a mackerel pattern. And the two light colored ones began showing their points just after a month old. The female was adopted by another caregiver and is showing lynx-point with her lilac color point markings. Their father has been determined to be a siamese in that neighborhood, and the others are potentially fathered by a large grey and white tomcat.
The female I received was the lightest colored of the grey ones. During her adjustment period, she would come through the gate in the hallway to see her older family members who were less than enthused by her presence. But she's quite the go-getter. She won the hearts of all three and they all play together.
Kittens 6, 7 & 8
The day before the momma cat was finally due to be spayed, I was to get the little male. As the caregiver was preparing to bring him out, one of her neighbors asked her to find homes for two kittens her momma cat had given birth to just a week after these had been born. The caregiver hurriedly placed all three into her carrier and sent me a text "be careful what you wish for" then asked if I could meet her at the driveway as she needed to make it quick in order to take care of other tasks before her shift that night. Apparently they adjusted quickly to each other, from the hissing she heard all the way out. When I picked up the carrier from her passenger seat, they weren't even hissing. And never have since.
These are the three I share in the polydactyl/ bobtail post. Since the large grey and white tomcat is clearly father to these two, there's a potential family relationship between the newest grey and white kittens to the color point and his grey tabby sister. All will be neutered, regardless. And there's plenty of room on the farm for 8 kitties. But unlike mom (who often had 11-13 cats here), I say "Eight is Enough"
I'll share stories and pictures in the future.
~Ref
I've been a long-time cat "owner" though I question who owns who with every cat. Kitties find their way to me and right now, the latest three are curled up behind me purring contentedly.
I grew up on a subsistence farm with all kinds of farm animals, cats included. I can pull out any family photo album and look back at all the kitties who have graced the farm's days. I am currently living at the farm and looking after my aging father, who is now in the most recently recognized "stage 4" of dementia (previously late stage 3).
Kitten 1
Last year, one of the caregivers adopted a kitten that didn't fit well into her household. She didn't know what to do with the kitten, but her first thought was that I would certainly know what to do. She arrived with the kitten in his cardboard carrier, a bag of kitten food, and an aluminum pan with litter. Of course, my kitty-loving heart knew what to do, and certainly couldn't turn down a kitty baby.
Tracking back, it's been quite awhile since I had cats in my household. My late husband developed an allergy, so he and I created an outdoor kennel for the two I had. Those two eventually had a really nice kennel in the barn at the family farm for their "retirement." Even my folks had not had cats here since those had long been buried in our pet cemetery.
Except one. Dad did adopt a beautiful ginger tabby for mom. But between mom trying to let the cat out all the time and dad not knowing where she was, the cat ended up outside one night alone. She was familiar with the farm as she'd follow dad on walks, but she wasn't familiar with farm life. Particularly wildlife, in the form of a hawk. Anyway that was around 7 years ago and no kitties until August last year.
When I took the kitten in, I had to introduce him slowly to the beagle-mix dog I have been caring for. I gave the kitten time to establish his "safe spots" before allowing them to sniff noses. Now he's a big beautiful 13.7 lb sweetie that takes no nonsense from the dog.
Kittens 2 & 3
A month later I was expecting a male ginger and white tabby to raise with the first kitten. The owners decided to keep him (named him Hobbes) and sent two litter mates instead. They were nearly all black with tabby face markings. After their adjustment period, all three kittens played and bonded. The two black ones are now big beautiful black classic tabbies. The male is 14.7 pounds and has golden undertones, and the female is 11.3 pounds and has silver undertones.
After their first birthdays, a sibling from a litter after the black tabbies gave birth to 7 babies - 5 dark color and 2 light color. The caregiver had been successful with introducing this momma cat and her brother as kittens. The male had suffered a lifer threatening injury when they were 5 months old. And during the last few days of his life, the female had snuck out. They had both been scheduled for neutering at the time. Of course her spay had to be delayed until after kittens were weaned.
When it was time for the kittens to be born, she called me and I talked her through the process as she'd never witnessed kittenbirth before. I have baby pictures and videos of these kittens.
Kitten 4
This same caregiver, who is an animal lover herself, had some strays (apparently a litter) near her house. One decided he didn't want to be homeless anymore and approached her after she'd offered food to all of them. Again she brought this kitten out to me after she had him examined for a chip. Since he was already used to outdoor living and I have 3 inside already, he'd be a good candidate for an outside cat. He spends his unsupervised time in the greenhouse with all his amenities. He follows me (or I carry him) around to do outside chores. He's now a 7 month old grey mackerel tabby with strong Maine Coon features (semi long hair and large size). Within on week of arriving, he'd visited the vet for vaccinations and neutering. He's a real love-bug.
Kitten 5
Now I had been expecting to get two babies from the litter of 7. At 7 weeks, a grey spotted tabby female arrived; her light colored brother was still nursing.
Out of the 7, one was very dark and showed almost no tabby effects (possibly agouti). Two were close in color to their aunt and uncle here, although they appear to have mackerel pattern. Two were grey tabby like their mother, who has a mackerel pattern. And the two light colored ones began showing their points just after a month old. The female was adopted by another caregiver and is showing lynx-point with her lilac color point markings. Their father has been determined to be a siamese in that neighborhood, and the others are potentially fathered by a large grey and white tomcat.
The female I received was the lightest colored of the grey ones. During her adjustment period, she would come through the gate in the hallway to see her older family members who were less than enthused by her presence. But she's quite the go-getter. She won the hearts of all three and they all play together.
Kittens 6, 7 & 8
The day before the momma cat was finally due to be spayed, I was to get the little male. As the caregiver was preparing to bring him out, one of her neighbors asked her to find homes for two kittens her momma cat had given birth to just a week after these had been born. The caregiver hurriedly placed all three into her carrier and sent me a text "be careful what you wish for" then asked if I could meet her at the driveway as she needed to make it quick in order to take care of other tasks before her shift that night. Apparently they adjusted quickly to each other, from the hissing she heard all the way out. When I picked up the carrier from her passenger seat, they weren't even hissing. And never have since.
These are the three I share in the polydactyl/ bobtail post. Since the large grey and white tomcat is clearly father to these two, there's a potential family relationship between the newest grey and white kittens to the color point and his grey tabby sister. All will be neutered, regardless. And there's plenty of room on the farm for 8 kitties. But unlike mom (who often had 11-13 cats here), I say "Eight is Enough"
I'll share stories and pictures in the future.
~Ref