Cat Highway

The sun has been shining, enough to melt down snow on the flat stone borders to the flower gardens. The cats are no fools, and these highways help keep their feet dry.

Mama Returns !!!

This morning Mama Cat returned! She looks to be in good health. We are sooooo happy, since by now we had become very concerned.

More Snow

More snow fell; and our cats were tummy deep in the stuff as they trekked across the back yard, which is now littered with tracks. The cats seem to love the stuff, but perhaps they are also looking for Mama Cat, who has not yet returned. We, too, are getting worried.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Special things were happening at the cat colony on Christmas Day. For starters, the eagerly anticipated dishes of food served each morning came out topped with appetizing little morsels and were readily devoured. Alex probably communicated to them that these are special cat treats (that he, as the house cat, gets every day). When gifts were opened, there was a special blanket gift for the cat colony. The roof of the condo, a favorite perch, now looks like such a cozy place to sit thanks to Aunt Jenn and Uuncle Rob. (Unfortunately, nobody is showing a desire to jump up there. In the evening magical snowflakes began to fall, something none of the kittens had ever seen before. The only damper on the day was the absence of Mama Cat, who disappeared immediately after her return to the colony two days ago.

Mama Cat is Back Home

We brought Mama Cat home late in the afternoon today. She was very quiet and rested comfortably on a blanket at the back of the cat carrier. We set the carrier outside by the condos and cat food dishes and opened the door. Nothing. We left the door open, but she did not seem ready to leave. The light gray kitten came up and checked out the carrier, and then went inside, but Mama Cat did not move. The gray kitten left. Shortly thereafter Mama Cat was gone from the carrier. We did not see her go. At least we know that she had the opportunity to establish rapport with one of her kittens. It's raining here, so we hope that she is smart enough to spend the night in her heated condo. We'll be watching. Sorry, no reunion pictures are available. We waited with camera in hand for over an hour. She didn't leave until we, and the camera, were gone.

When All Else Fails

Last evening we were surprised to see the light gray kitten up in the tree in front of our house trying to get to the suet and seed we hang there for our woodpeckers. Harley was on the ground, presumably giving instruction. Perhaps Mama Cat has instilled this last resort action in all of them, and they were practicing - just in case. Oh yes, the kitten shimmied down the trunk of the tree with ease.

Mama is recovering

We got word from the vet that Mama Cat had surgery this morning and is on the road to recovery. At 2 PM she was awake and huddled in the corner of her cage. Because she will be returning to live outside, she will stay at the vet an extra day so she has more time to get back to normal. We're planning to bring her home on Wednesday.

Possum Visits the Colony

We've been taking the catfood inside in the evening, since after dark the raccoons like to visit and have a little dinner. Last night I opened the back door and a possum looked up from the food dish. He ran away slowly - probably because he is so fat. We think he has been eating out at the colony restaurant for some time.

Harley Moves Up

After breakfast this morning, the cats had a bit of excitement. Suddenly Scarface and Harley raced across the backyard to the deck with a small gray kitten following them. They sat there motionless for a couple minutes and then Harley raced to a large tree and began to climb. She got about ten feet up before she stopped and looked down. Oh no! We don't think fire departments come to help get cats down from trees anymore. But fearless Harley was not bothered. She just jumped down. Apparently they had spotted a squirrel, but it got away. Theyre not very good at hunting (life for them is pretty easy), so the rest of the wildlife is pretty safe.

All is well

We were a bit worried about the kittens' welfare since Mama is at the vet. Erv was happy to see Scarface walking to the back of our yard with the kittens at about 2 am this morning (bathroom break, we presume). This morning all 5 cats streamed out of the condo when breakfast was served.

We caught Mama Cat

We Caught Mama Cat !!!

This morning I took 2 bowls of cat food out to the condos. Mama Cat was sitting in front of the one she occupies with her kittens. The rest of the cats were milling around. Mama usually hisses at me when I bring the food, but this time she lashed out with a paw (and long claws) at the same time. I said, “Well, now you will have to wait for breakfast,” and took the food back inside the house.

Scarface went over and sat down facing Mama and just stared at her for the longest time. We think he was telling her, “Now see what you have done!”

I had an appointment, so the cats had to wait to eat until I got back. Then Erv and I put some food in the capture cage, covered it, and set it on the porch. To our surprise, Mama Cat sniffed around and then went inside – gotcha! Mama is off to the vet…