Tag: barn cat

Barn Cat Freedom Day

Today was the first day our two older kittens got to play outside. They were cautious at first; but, by the evening, they were running across the back patio chasing each other and playing in the grass. When Anya went to bed, they ran up to the patio outside of her room, and they came right inside when she opened the door.

Got ’em

We finally saw the new kittens, well kitten, on the back patio. Anya put a trap out, and the curious little one walked right in. She put another trap out, and we caught the mommy cat too! We’ll get her into the vet shortly, and the barn cats won’t sprout more kittens.

Barn Cats First Trip to the Vet

We took the cats we trapped to the vet to get neutered. They were surprisingly chill in the car — not their favorite activity, but they were quiet and looking around as we drove. Dropped them off at a low cost / feral clinic in the morning, and we picked them all up a little after 4PM.

Each kitten has two days of pain killers & need to limit their activity. A neighbor will be taking the other gray kitten (the one we call Pebbles), but Ash and Fritter will be staying inside for a few more weeks so we can take them for a booster shot next month.

They are both recovering well so far — Fritter ended up having an incision in his belly, too, so Ash is recovering quicker. But they’re both happy to curl up together and nap.

Farm Kitten

This is Ash — our rescue kitten. The Cali-Kitty had four kittens. They were all around on the 27th playing and napping. The morning of the 28th, I woke up really early — just after sunrise. One of the gray kittens was sitting under our garden cart. When he saw me move, he came over to the door and started crying.

This was odd because, just the day before, Anya had observed that we’ve never heard any of these cats talk. I put his food outside (we take it in at night to avoid feeding the raccoons), and he ate while I let the ducks, chickens, and turkeys out. Throughout the day, he was staying near our house, all alone, and crying. But he was afraid of us so dart away any time we opened the door. Finally, we put the small trap out with his food in it. And, in the evening, we had a little gray kitten in the trap.

Scott spent some time getting the kitten to trust him while Anya and I got the birds into their coops. We brought him inside in a larger cage, gave him food and water, and a cat box. Anya sat next to the cage petting him (something that seemed to soothe him). By the next day, we could pick him up and hold him. He purrs when you cuddle and pet him. Anya has been taking him into the bathroom so he has a chance to explore without getting lost somewhere in the house.

The Kittens Returned

All of the stray kitties disappeared last Thursday — no Patches, no Cali-Kitty (although there may only be one grown up calico cat … still don’t know!), no Cali-Kitten, no Fritter, no Black Currant, and no Pebble.

We saw a calico girl yesterday — she ran by while we were getting the chickens and turkeys into the coop and ate — and saw Patches earlier today (she was really hungry!).

But, tonight, Anya was playing a video game and saw some movement outside. She thought there might be a raccoon or opossum … but looked again and saw the kittens.

Kittens

We’ve been feeding a calico kitty or two — still not quite sure on that one! She wasn’t around for a few days, and voila … now there are kittens. An orange and white one, two gray ones, and a mini-calico kitty. We need to find someone who does low-cost spay/neuter so we don’t get overrun with cute fluffballs!