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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 12/17/14 9:09 am • # 1 
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I noticed a stray kitty in our backyard a few weeks ago. CLEARLY related to Danny and Ittle. ( Danny's long coat in Ittle colors.) I've left a little kibble out for him a few times when it got really cold. At least I'm pretty sure it's a "him", there was a lot of spraying to claim the yard as territory recently. lol

Today, I watched as he thanked us by snatching a mole/vole (couldn't tell) right out of a tunnel. One giant pounce and it was over! lol I've been fighting them for years with no luck. Sonic chasers, mole sprays and granules and traps and several home remedies.

Turns out, a backyard kitty is way more effective. :)
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 Offline roseanne
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 12/17/14 10:32 am • # 2 
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LOL! When we moved to the country in Alabama, the side yard had dozens and dozens of mole/vole holes and tunnels. The good part about that is the soil was wonderfully acierated and rich, but I wanted to plant things. At the time, we had 3 cats and once I raked the years of leaves up, they took care of the critters. I never saw another one. If only I could've trained them to kill opossums and armadillos. :lol

Sounds like you have a new family member! You could name him Dittle. ;)
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 Offline oskar576
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 12/17/14 1:33 pm • # 3 
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Dittle or Diddle? ;)
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 03/10/15 6:46 am • # 4 
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Just an update. Backyard kitty is still here!

We've been feeding him (?) twice a day all winter long so he wouldn't freeze to death. Once the snow got deep he stopped leaving the yard and started hanging out under some pallets that are leaning against the garden shed.

We even made a rubbermaid bin/styrofoam cooler feral kitty house but so far there's no indication that he's using it. Naturally. lol

He's still never been within 15 feet of me. But usually as soon as I tap the can, he's peeking around the corner.

Now...."he" is very round lately. I'm hoping it's just all the food. :eek


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 Offline roseanne
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 03/10/15 7:14 am • # 5 
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Chaos333 wrote:
Just an update. Backyard kitty is still here!

We've been feeding him (?) twice a day all winter long so he wouldn't freeze to death. Once the snow got deep he stopped leaving the yard and started hanging out under some pallets that are leaning against the garden shed.

We even made a rubbermaid bin/styrofoam cooler feral kitty house but so far there's no indication that he's using it. Naturally. lol

He's still never been within 15 feet of me. But usually as soon as I tap the can, he's peeking around the corner.

Now...."he" is very round lately. I'm hoping it's just all the food. :eek


LOL!
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 03/23/15 8:39 am • # 6 
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STILL trying to make friends with yard cat.

This morning, cat was waiting in the open and didn't run when I opened the gate. Came within 8 feet and stopped so we talked for a minute or two. I shut the gate and stayed. Cat went to the dish and I was right on the other side of the fence, talking softly while breakfast got gobbled up.

Progress!
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 Offline roseanne
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 03/23/15 8:49 am • # 7 
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Fantastic! Soon you will be able to touch him (her?) and s/he will learn that human contact is a good thing. :)
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 Offline sooz06
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 03/23/15 9:52 am • # 8 
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I again cheer your perseverance, Chaos ~ :st

Sooz
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 04/21/15 8:28 pm • # 9 
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Guess. Go ahead.

Yup! LOL

Looked out the kitchen window about 5 tonight....and saw little paws swatting at the air, yard cat nearby. :eek2

Sooooooo.......

There's 5 scared babies in our basement right now, and a trap ready to put out for MOM in the morning. Fingers crossed that I can get our little family reunited. I really had no choice, if I waited until they were any older there's no way we'd be able to catch them! Mama cat is not happy with me right now, but she did come for supper and she's still in the yard.

I lucked out at PetSmart on my kitten formula run and ran into folks from the rescue that runs the adoption center there. (They pull cats from the shelter!) The gal in charge just happened to have a trap not in use, and loaned it to me on the spot. :happydance

4 out of 5 responded very well to being handled...but one is a little spitfire! lol They were baffled by the bottle but they did all show interest in licking at canned food with some formula mixed in. My guess is @3-4 weeks old. I don't think their bellies are quite full, but at least they had something.

Oh, and the little spitfire pooped on me. :)
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 04/22/15 8:44 am • # 10 
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Got mom in the trap this morning. Our little family is all together again. :)

She's not exactly thrilled about being in a cage, but one baby climbed out of the box and went right to mom for breakfast and she allowed it. I'm fighting the temptation to go down and stare, I know she needs peace and quiet. But I sure hope to see her in the box with all her babies by the end of the day.
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 Offline roseanne
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 04/22/15 10:45 am • # 11 
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Chaos333 wrote:
Got mom in the trap this morning. Our little family is all together again. :)

She's not exactly thrilled about being in a cage, but one baby climbed out of the box and went right to mom for breakfast and she allowed it. I'm fighting the temptation to go down and stare, I know she needs peace and quiet. But I sure hope to see her in the box with all her babies by the end of the day.


AWWWW! Post pics if you can please!
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 04/22/15 11:17 am • # 12 
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No pics yet, I didn't want to add the stress of a flash right away. Maybe tonight.

Mama ate, drank and is in with her babies-yay! :)
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 Offline roseanne
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 04/22/15 11:22 am • # 13 
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Motherhood may settle her down and become more trusting.
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 04/23/15 7:45 pm • # 14 
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Since this seems to be the place where I keep my critter diaries...lol...

Update!

The shelter was doing "spring cleaning" and put out an offer for anyone who could use "stuff" to come and get it. People are very generous with their donations, I must say...but there's only so much room to store things. So I got another nice big wire crate, a small scratching post/cat tree, LOTS of extra steel bowls (easier to sanitize) and a few odds and ends...dog shampoo and deodorant and whatnot. lol

4 of 5 babies are quite happy to scarf down soft food (I add a bit of formula too). The 5th will not leave mom yet. As soon as everyone is eating well and drinking water, I'll move the babies to their own space. That will make it easier to start handling them more frequently. They still aren't thrilled about being held by strange human creatures, so that needs work.

Mama is still very wary, but not aggressive. No problems so far opening the door and reaching in for food or litter cleanup. But I'm having doubts about her ever being a house cat. That may change once the babies move out, or it may not. That's up to her.

Oh-big event at the shelter this Saturday. I'm assigned to bubbles and hula hoops in the kid zone. I can't hula hoop to save my life. LOL
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 04/30/15 8:16 am • # 15 
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Mama cat woke up on the wrong side of the cage this morning. She was OK when I gave her breakfast-growling as usual but that's not new. About a half hour later, as I was spreading out a blanket for the babies to play on...she suddenly charged the front of the cage full force trying to get at me. :eek2

Maybe it was the blanket, maybe I moved too fast, maybe the washing machine running had her on edge. But whatever it was, it's clear that I can't let my guard down. Gotta get in touch with the rescue today and see about getting her on the spay schedule, since that's her ticket to being free again.

Had my heart pumping, I'll say that much. LOL
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/04/15 9:56 am • # 16 
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Momcat is at the vet, being spayed. I'll keep her for another couple of days after she comes home, and then...


FREEEEDOMMM!!!!
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 Offline roseanne
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/04/15 11:22 am • # 17 
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Chaos333 wrote:
Momcat is at the vet, being spayed. I'll keep her for another couple of days after she comes home, and then...


FREEEEDOMMM!!!!



Woohoo!
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/04/15 2:25 pm • # 18 
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Emergency came into the clinic. Her spay is postponed until tomorrow.

But she did let them give her fresh food/water and put some newspaper down. They'll find out in the morning that she uses the newspaper to cover her litter box. lol
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 Offline roseanne
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/04/15 4:08 pm • # 19 
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Chaos333 wrote:
Emergency came into the clinic. Her spay is postponed until tomorrow.

But she did let them give her fresh food/water and put some newspaper down. They'll find out in the morning that she uses the newspaper to cover her litter box. lol


Speaking of newspaper, I discovered that shredded newspaper makes the BEST litter. No odors and absorbent. Had a cat with paw surgery (had to remove a toe) who couldn't use regular litter while healing. Funny part is that I sat and hand shredded the paper the first time.......then remembered that we had a shredder. :o LOL! That worked much better.
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/05/15 7:04 am • # 20 
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roseanne wrote:
Chaos333 wrote:
Emergency came into the clinic. Her spay is postponed until tomorrow.

But she did let them give her fresh food/water and put some newspaper down. They'll find out in the morning that she uses the newspaper to cover her litter box. lol


Speaking of newspaper, I discovered that shredded newspaper makes the BEST litter. No odors and absorbent. Had a cat with paw surgery (had to remove a toe) who couldn't use regular litter while healing. Funny part is that I sat and hand shredded the paper the first time.......then remembered that we had a shredder. :o LOL! That worked much better.


We had to use shredded paper for several months while Draco was healing from his foot injury. And I used "Yesterday's News" recycled newspaper pellets for litter training wee ones a few times. It really *does* do a good job with odors, but then again you wind up changing it more often and I figure that helps too. lol
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 Offline queenoftheuniverse
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/06/15 8:57 am • # 21 
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I use a paper based litter for my house rabbit. It's the best.
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 Offline jabra2
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/06/15 9:07 am • # 22 
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queenoftheuniverse wrote:
I use a paper based litter for my house rabbit. It's the best.


You should try lemon, pepper, salt. Red wine, sour creme, berries and a touch of lemon for the sauce.
Yummy!
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 Offline queenoftheuniverse
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/06/15 12:53 pm • # 23 
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Thanks Jab. There are days when.... well she's kind of skinny anyway. And I think the dog has dibs.
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/07/15 1:10 pm • # 24 
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Update: Mama Cat is back, taking it easy. Spayed, ear tipped, rabies shot, Feline Lukemia negative (yay!) and flea/tick preventative applied. ( It won't last forever, but it's something.) Now to heal up.

For some strange reason, the vet put her litter box all the way in the *back* of the cage instead of by the door. They were told how hard it is to get her to let me do housekeeping. GRR!
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 Offline Chaos333
 Post subject: Re: Yard buddy....
PostPosted: 05/15/15 9:29 pm • # 25 
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Mom is free again!

Over time, she became less and less cooperative with housekeeping duties, and more and more upset at being confined. I had to do the best I could working through the bars of the cage for the past 3 days. It just wasn't safe to open the door. She'd seem to be calm, and then BAM!

So we carried the whole cage outside, opened the door and stood back. And she sat there. And we backed up. And she sat there. Hubby turned the garage light on, so she could clearly see that the door was open. And she sat there!

I took one step forward and she shot out into the night and right up and over the fence. :D

About an hour later, hubby tells me he can hear a kitty crying by the basement door. Guess who? Sorry mom, but the little ones won't be joining you.


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