Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[pinkandsparkly13]

The yellow one was out this morning. 

[Bastet]

Did you find out if there's an organization in your area who can help you TNR everyone (once the kittens are old enough)?

[oliviabenson]

To everyone who feeds the feral animals: thank you. You saving the sweet souls.

[pinkandsparkly13]

On 5/22/2024 at 3:49 PM, Bastet said:

Did you find out if there's an organization in your area who can help you TNR everyone (once the kittens are old enough)?

Yes I've been looking into it, and I found a couple places in town we can go to when they're ready. 

And guess what? Another one appeared today. Lol

[SoMuchTV]

3 minutes ago, pinkandsparkly13 said:

Yes I've been looking into it, and I found a couple places in town we can go to when they're ready. 

And guess what? Another one appeared today. Lol

Just be aware - they can become teen moms (or deadbeat dads) much sooner than you’d expect!

[peacheslatour]

17 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Just be aware - they can become teen moms (or deadbeat dads) much sooner than you’d expect!

We think that's what happened with Elizabeth. The people we got her from said they saw her and her mother around a lot before she "waltzed into their kitchen" one morning. We think her mom was pregnant again and looked around for the best home she could find and then just kind of kicked her out.

[pinkandsparkly13]

I saw a 4th one this morning. Oh boy. Lol

[peacheslatour]

26 minutes ago, pinkandsparkly13 said:

I saw a 4th one this morning. Oh boy. Lol

They're adorable! 

[supposebly]

20 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Just be aware - they can become teen moms (or deadbeat dads) much sooner than you’d expect!

Yes, as early as 4 months although it's more common by 6 months. I volunteer for a rescue and we get so many teen moms with their kittens. The moms often don't grow much if they have kittens so young. It's hard for them to feed their young when they're so young themselves. 

Also keep in mind, cats have no problem with incest, both with siblings and parent-kitten incest. So, spaying/neutering as soon as possible is very important. Also to prevent inbreeding which comes with additional problems for the next generation.

Hope everything goes well with the TNR! For mom and kids!

Edited May 24 by supposebly

[pinkandsparkly13]

OMG, there are 5 now! Lol 

Love this. 

[Bastet]

The only thing in the world cuter than a cat is a kitten.  That last picture is absolutely adorable.

Are you able to interact with the kittens?  Even if Mom is feral, they could be socialized to be adoptable as indoor cats.

[pinkandsparkly13]

Yes, the Mom is actually pretty friendly. She's very vocal when we go out there. Lol she lets me pet her all the time. I've been able to pick up a couple of them. The first yellow one that appeared with the black spots on the nose seems to be the most friendly so far. The dark grey one let me pick it up and hold it for a few minutes yesterday. The grey striped one is a hisser. Lol 

[Gramto6]

On 5/21/2024 at 9:43 PM, pinkandsparkly13 said:

We saw another kitten tonight. 🐈 Haven't seen the yellow one since last time. The kitten was climbing up on the door and the dogs were checking it out. Hah

So cute! That is what all my feral cats have done. One day one comes out looks around a bit and disappears to wherever "home" is. Then another day a different one will do the same, and if there are more each will debut individually. Pretty soon they will be brave enough to all come out together!  Mine came from under the deck so it was kind of funny seeing these little bitty kitties trying to navigate the steps! 

I'd mark my calendar each time a new one came out with a rough description, like gray, buff, black, etc.  It wasn't until they all came out that I was able to tell which babies belonged to which moms.  It was hysterical watching them play. Take photos cause they don't stay tiny long!!

Thanks to a wonderful TNR association, I won't have that fun any more, but I am happy with the cats I do have now!!

This is Mama Millie (the OG cat of my colony, now a house cat) first litter here in 2021:

 

Edited May 25 by Gramto6

[Gramto6]

2 hours ago, pinkandsparkly13 said:

Yes, the Mom is actually pretty friendly. She's very vocal when we go out there. Lol she lets me pet her all the time. I've been able to pick up a couple of them. The first yellow one that appeared with the black spots on the nose seems to be the most friendly so far. The dark grey one let me pick it up and hold it for a few minutes yesterday. The grey striped one is a hisser. Lol 

They are all adorable!!  See what I mean about a single debut? I posted before I finished reading the thread. You have some real sweeties there!!

[luv2lurk]

I think I would put all the kittens up for adoption - they are so cute!  

8 weeks is the practice to be separated from mom, if you can figure that out. Although my first 2 kittens were younger than that when I adopted them. (5-6 weeks)

The mother cat looks like my 2 year old tortie  - it is amazing how her kittens look so different - not a calico or tortie among them. But 5 should be right for the kits.

And yes 5 months before you can "fix" them

[Bastet]

18 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

This is Mama Millie (the OG cat of my colony, now a house cat)

I didn't know you'd brought one inside - how wonderful!  I know you often said the ferals gave you your kitty fix when you weren't yet ready to open your heart to a pet cat after losing your previous cats, so I'm glad to hear you've reached this milestone in the healing process.

9 hours ago, luv2lurk said:

And yes 5 months before you can "fix" them

For indoor cats, it's usually four months as the recommendation, but with community cats the common practice is to do it once they hit two pounds, which happens between 8-10 weeks; at that point, a pediatric spay/neuter is considered safe, and the younger they are (once they've hit that benchmark, assuming normal health) the faster they recover, so for cats in colonies most TNR organizations and vets serving them opt to do it as soon as it's safe to do so.  (Some opt to wait for three pounds, which is generally at 12 weeks.)  You wouldn't want to risk going past four months if you can help it, as females can go into their first heat cycle that young*.  The mom can be spayed even while still nursing, but it's best to wait until the kittens are weaned, which is at 5-6 weeks.

*Which is why four months is not a bad idea even for indoor females, as spaying before the first heat cycle makes her chance of later developing mammary cancer almost zero (the risk increases with every heat cycle).  But five or six months is a more typical age for the first heat cycle, thus not an uncommon age for spaying an indoor kitten. 

(For male cats, the benefits of neutering in a timely fashion are mostly behavioral, as testicular cancer is rare in cats, even those never neutered.)

[Anela]

My two cats might be my last.  I’m terrified of FIP now.  Also feline leukemia. I lost four cats to that, in 2011.  

I’m also feeling a bit of kitten fever from all of these pictures.  ❤️ so, maybe that feeling won’t last.  My dad didn’t want me to bring mine in, in 2013, but it had started snowing, and they were all grouped at the back door, staring at me.  I couldn’t leave them out there.  

[Gramto6]

 

 

On 5/27/2024 at 6:56 PM, Anela said:

but it had started snowing, and they were all grouped at the back door, staring at me.  I couldn’t leave them out there.  

This is where I started on the road to the final resolution of giving half of my garage to the kitties.

First I set up all the coolers on the back  and front porch with straw for them over the winter and then one step further to the garage home that we completed early this month. It just hurt my heart to see them out in the snow even thought they did have individual shelter places.  Now they have a home and even this Spring I have gone out to feed and found a bunch sleeping inside boxes cuddled in groups and even individually in the coolers.

 

Edited May 29 by Gramto6
typo

[pinkandsparkly13]

Hanging out this morning. 😸

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, pinkandsparkly13 said:

Hanging out this morning. 😸

"If it fits, I sits!"

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, pinkandsparkly13 said:

Awwwwwwwww, this kitty looks like my cat Mitsi :D. 

So cute. 

[Gramto6]

17 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

"If it fits, I sits!"

Sooooo true!!!

Sweet kitties @pinkandsparkly13!!

Another example:  I caught this kitty last Winter sitting in the warming water bowl (it was empty) I guess it was warm enough!! And it fit!!

[pinkandsparkly13]

[pinkandsparkly13]

Some kitten pics. 

[BetyBee]

I've been a lurker here, but I don't think I've posted before. Early this year, we lost our nearly 19 yo black kitty. He was a very social boy who never hid from guests. We honored his memory by getting a sweet, orange kitty a few months ago. I'm including a pic for pet tax! He is fine with me and my husband, but fearful of visitors. We thought he was mostly opposed to males, but a female friend stopped by on Friday and he was reluctant to come out. She's a bit of a cat whisperer, so she won him over within a half hour. Then our daughters came to spend the night to celebrate Father's Day. They are also cat fans. He was terrified of them and went to his favorite hiding space - BEHIND THE STOVE! I hate when he does that. He did it the first night we had him and a couple of times when we had visitors. We tried blocking it with pool noodles, but they could not deter him. We provide plenty of other hiding spots, but he's rather single minded. We may have to build something made of wood to block that space. Our stove is rather oddly placed in a corner, so he has access from the top and sides. (The stove looks cute like that, so I get why it's in that spot.) I'm terrified that he'll damage the gas line! We got a Feliway dispenser, hoping that would keep him calm, but so far nothing has worked. Any suggestions?

 

[Suzn]

That's a beautiful boy!  What's his name?

[BetyBee]

11 minutes ago, Suzn said:

That's a beautiful boy!  What's his name?

Leo. He's a sweet, cuddly boy. I'm thankful for him every day!

[Ancaster]

Spray bottle?

[secnarf]

He is so cute!

In my experience, that initial "safe" place becomes the safe place pretty much forever. I think the only way would be to totally block access.

As for coming out for visitors, again some cats are just shy. I'm not sure there is anything to do there other than ensure he has access to a safe space.

[supposebly]

He might improve, he's still young. I have a shy one that used to take days to get used to visitors. After 5 years, she's down to hours. She's 8.5 years old.

And yes, I'd block access to behind the stove. That sounds dangerous. He'll find another favorite if he needs to.

[BetyBee]

18 minutes ago, supposebly said:

He might improve, he's still young. I have a shy one that used to take days to get used to visitors. After 5 years, she's down to hours. She's 8.5 years old.

And yes, I'd block access to behind the stove. That sounds dangerous. He'll find another favorite if he needs to.

He's nearly 5 yo, but the shelter found him as a stray, so we have no idea what his life before was like. We knew he wasn't a fan of men, but he warmed up nicely to my husband. Our guests have all been female and it surprised me that he was so afraid of them. We have lots of good safe places, but he does seem focused on behind the stove as that was his first safe space. I believe we'll take @secnarf's advice and figure out a way to permanently block the stove. How I wish he had chosen under the bed or our closet instead!

[meep.meep]

When I had kittens and they decided to go behind the stove, we built a big tall wall of styrofoam to block it off.  It worked but with a bigger cat, he might end up going onto the stove instead which you really don't want.

[SoMuchTV]

10 hours ago, BetyBee said:

I believe we'll take @secnarf's advice and figure out a way to permanently block the stove. How I wish he had chosen under the bed or our closet instead!

I can’t quite picture how your stove is positioned and what the feline entry points are, but I hope you can construct something to block things off. I have a stack of cardboard boxes behind my dryer for that very reason, but cardboard + oven wouldn’t be the best idea. If he’s going in from the top, can you extend the countertop with cutting boards or something similar? 

[peacheslatour]

5 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I can’t quite picture how your stove is positioned and what the feline entry points are, but I hope you can construct something to block things off. I have a stack of cardboard boxes behind my dryer for that very reason, but cardboard + oven wouldn’t be the best idea. If he’s going in from the top, can you extend the countertop with cutting boards or something similar? 

We used large cookie sheets. 

[Bastet]

On 6/17/2024 at 8:07 AM, BetyBee said:

I'm terrified that he'll damage the gas line!

In the typical set-up, that isn't a danger -- the cat can't dislodge the gas line where it connects, or cause a leak in any flex line by scratching/chewing.  What is your basis for concern given your particular configuration?

[BetyBee]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

In the typical set-up, that isn't a danger -- the cat can't dislodge the gas line where it connects, or cause a leak in any flex line by scratching/chewing.  What is your basis for concern given your particular configuration?

I don't think there's anything unusual in our set-up. I've only seen it once though, when the stove was pulled out to install a new floor. I do think that because our stove is cornered, there's more space for him and that's why he chose it for his "safe space". Once he's behind the stove, he also has access to go behind the dishwasher and I'm guessing there's a lot of wires back there. I just don't want him back there. He's a big guy, about 17 lbs. I wish he'd choose a more reasonable hiding place!

[Mondrianyone]

I'm imagining a triangular space between the stove and the corner. If that's right, can you have someone cut a piece of cement board or some other fireproof material to fit the space? Something you can lift out when you need access, I mean. I would probably tile it or create some other usable surface to hide that substrate.

When our cat first came to us, she hid for several days. My husband was out of town, so I was on my own searching the whole house. When he got back, he looked behind the TV cabinet, which is catty-corner (the obvious joke was lost on me) to the wall, and that's where she was. I agree that you don't want a cat anyplace where there are lots of wires. God knows what could happen.

[EtheltoTillie]

Many newly adopted pets hole up somewhere at first.  They say there's a 3/3/3 rule--three days, three weeks, three months, for various stages.  Or something like that.  But let them alone for at least three days to accustom themselves.  My dog hovered under the dining room table for three days when we got her. 

Pictures of Trixie for tax.  First one last Friday after a traumatic vet visit for vaccines.  She's so anxious.  Then she had to have a bath because she had released anal glands. Since it's warm weather now, we could use the hose in the back yard.  In the first picture she is drying off.  Then we treated her to a new rubber hedgehog.  her new favorite.  Upper right in same picture:  abandoned blue hedgehog.  We also have red and green ones.

 

Edited June 21 by EtheltoTillie

[ginger90]

39 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Pictures of Trixie

She’s adorable!

[Gramto6]

On 6/20/2024 at 6:53 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

Pictures of Trixie

What a sweetheart!   I love your rug!!!

ETA: The green one!! The first one is nice too but the green is my fav!

Edited June 24 by Gramto6
added on to post

[Gramto6]

 

These are 2 of the 3 newly found kittens. They are with my friend who is socializing them and getting some weight on them. I still have to catch the 3rd one that looks remarkably like these two.  It has been very elusive around the trap and wriggled out twice now as the door was closing on it. Sneaky little kitty!!  They are all too small to fix yet, around 4 weeks, so I really want to get the 3rd one as soon as possible so it can get socialized too and join its siblings. That way they can get real homes and not join my colony of 42 cats.

Edited June 24 by Gramto6

[Anela]

One part of my cleaning problem: my cats have been pooping all over the place.  On the floor, on books, and now on the coffee table.  They are back on probiotics, I have a foam cleaner, they are going to the vet as soon as we can get them in.  It’s mainly Cutie.  
 

today, I’m dealing with all of the books that can’t be cleaned, and have to be thrown away.  They were in piles on the floor, so the book shelf could be moved last year. Dad left them there, and the cats pulled the piles down, and George got into a bedside cabinet and pulled things out of there.  

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

One part of my cleaning problem: my cats have been pooping all over the place.  On the floor, on books, and now on the coffee table.  They are back on probiotics, I have a foam cleaner, they are going to the vet as soon as we can get them in.  It’s mainly Cutie.

Do they eat dry or canned food?  If dry, are they good water drinkers?  Sometimes pooping outside the box is simply a result of not being adequately hydrated -- that makes poop hard, which makes it difficult to pass, which makes pooping unpleasant to painful, so they associate the litter box with discomfort and avoid it.  When you come across poop while it's still fresh, is it hard?  If so, that may very well be what you're dealing with.

If they eat canned, adding a little psyllium husk (for fiber) and water to the food can help.  Or canned pumpkin, if they like that (some cats will gobble it up on its own, but some don't even want it mixed into their food).

I hope the vet finds the cause and it's something simple to treat.  Good luck, and let us know how it goes once you're able to get them in.

[EtheltoTillie]

Hope all pets are doing well with the fireworks around them.  We were able to hear the noise from the nearby professional display.  Fortunately, our Trixie is not really scared of fireworks, so she did okay.  Here on the East Coast the noise is over.

[Mindthinkr]

I’m glad that Squeaky has gone deaf on days like yesterday. She used to be scared and the fireworks discombobulated her. Now she couldn’t care less. She will be 21 in 3 months. 

[Writing Wrongs]

My mom said Daisy has been having a rough time with the fireworks. The other night she was shaking so bad and crawled up the bed to lay on my mom's head for comfort. They had to give her a pill and my stepdad held and petted her until she fell asleep. Same thing last night.

[Anela]

My dog refused to get out of the van for a walk last night, after hearing fireworks not far from the school.  He wasn’t going to get out at all, until he realized that we were home.  Squeezed around my feet, and then I spent part of the night on the bathroom floor with him, in the dark, in front of a fan, because we got home to neighbours setting them off. We moved to the landing later on.  

[Gramto6]

My feral colony seemed to do OK with the type of fireworks that just go BOOM! My neighbor has a welding business and has large noisy trucks and things like irrigation pipes banging all the time in the yard and they have learned to just ignore all that noise. So to them I guess the BOOMs were just more of that.

The sky burst rockets were a different story. Fortunately most of those were far away and though scared and hiding some still were out and about. Just as I was going to bed at 11PM my neighbor right across the road started shooting off huge sky burst rockets for a whole hour. They literally lit the sky like the sun. It was too dark to see what the kitties were doing but I expect hiding.  I didn't like that kind at all, especially so closeup!

Millie, my inside cat was mildly annoyed but basically dozed on my lap through most of it and then moved to her cozy chair and slept.

What did startle her was the earthquake we had at about 4:45am!! Me too! It was only 3.9, about 80 miles by road from me. It woke me up from a sound sleep and found Millie right in my face!! Coming from CA, I know earthquakes and know this one was small, but it still gets me in the pit of my stomach...

[oliviabenson]

On 6/17/2024 at 11:07 AM, BetyBee said:

I've been a lurker here, but I don't think I've posted before. Early this year, we lost our nearly 19 yo black kitty. He was a very social boy who never hid from guests. We honored his memory by getting a sweet, orange kitty a few months ago. I'm including a pic for pet tax! He is fine with me and my husband, but fearful of visitors. We thought he was mostly opposed to males, but a female friend stopped by on Friday and he was reluctant to come out. She's a bit of a cat whisperer, so she won him over within a half hour. Then our daughters came to spend the night to celebrate Father's Day. They are also cat fans. He was terrified of them and went to his favorite hiding space - BEHIND THE STOVE! I hate when he does that. He did it the first night we had him and a couple of times when we had visitors. We tried blocking it with pool noodles, but they could not deter him. We provide plenty of other hiding spots, but he's rather single minded. We may have to build something made of wood to block that space. Our stove is rather oddly placed in a corner, so he has access from the top and sides. (The stove looks cute like that, so I get why it's in that spot.) I'm terrified that he'll damage the gas line! We got a Feliway dispenser, hoping that would keep him calm, but so far nothing has worked. Any suggestions?

 

He’s a gorgeous boy! 

[Bastet]

Riley doesn't care about fireworks (Maddie is the only cat I've ever had who did, but once she hid under the bed she was okay and could even fall asleep; thankfully she was not under there trembling in fear), but we had fireworks last weekend, then a shit ton of them last night, and I know we'll continue to hear them tonight through Sunday.  It's a ONE-DAY holiday, people! 

Even though neither my cat nor I are personally affected, I have the basic compassion to feel terrible for all the people, pets, and wild animals who are harmed (emotionally and/or physically) by this barrage of explosions that seems to go on longer and longer each year.

And I can barely stand to look at NextDoor on July 5th, with all the posts from people saying their dog got out and has anyone seen him/her?  Every goddamned year there are reminders in the days leading up to the holiday that no matter how "bullet-proof" you think your dog is and/or how secure you think your yard is, they may still get spooked and manage a frantic escape so please bring them inside.  And then when a shit ton of those dogs are found and turned into the shelters that are already filled to capacity, guess what happens -- dogs hoping for a home get killed to make space so the dogs people failed to bring inside can sit in a scary cage for a day until the owner comes to retrieve them.  Some shelters euthanize in advance of the 4th, so they have cages available as soon as at the dogs start coming in.  It all makes me sick.

The fireworks were over around midnight last night, and about an hour after that there were some coyotes howling nearby.  I gave Riley, snoozing away tucked into my armpit, extra kisses, so happy she's safe and sound and wishing all cats could say the same.