Hunting

We are very amazed as we watch our cats go into hunting mode. This morning one of the gray kittens spied a robin sitting nearby on the porch. Immediately her body went completely still - even her hind leg which had been trailing behind and had not yet left the condo porch. Unfortunately for the cat, but fortunately for the robin, the bird flew away before she could pounce. The bird's senses were also acute.

A couple nights ago, Erv awoke to see a large dark shape cross the back of the yard. Immediately, the two longhairs, Scarface and Harley, came out of the condo and headed for the back yard, crisscrossing each other's paths as they picked up and followed the trail.

Blackie Moves In

We're pretty sure that Blackie is the two gray kittens' dad. He started to show up in our back yard at the appropriate time. At first, we tried to discourage him, but food available every day and our cat colony is a huge draw. So we have often seen this view of him sneaking up for a meal. He has now apparently achieved the ultimate. This morning when I came out with the food dishes he scrambled out of one of the condos. Apparently he is a late sleeper. The colony cats are always up and waiting for me.

Taking Temperatures

Our outside temperatures have remained below freezing so far this month, and Erv has been wondering how warm the condos are. The kittens always spend the nights in the condos, and someof the time the other cats do too. Mama Cat rarely spends the night in a condo - she still keeps pretty much to herself. Anyway, Erv found a thermometer with a remote reader and installed it in the condo. The first reading (morning) was only 20 degrees (it had been zero degrees the night before. This morning it was 34 degrees (we're in a warming trend). That's probably pretty comfortable when about 3 cats curl up together on the carpeted floor which is over a heating pad. They all have pretty thick winter coats.

New Toy

The kittens love to play. They chase plastic leaves and flowers and each other's tails. We thought they would get a lot more mileage from one of Alex's toys than he does (one sniff and Alex usually lets them alone). So we appropriated a small stuffed mouse. That mouse has been pushed around mercilessly. They steal it away from each other and sometimes the winner picks it up and takes it into the condo only to bring it back out soon thereafter.

Plowed Path

We got 7 inches of snow yesterday - on top of the 3 we already had. Jim, our handyman, stopped by late in the afternoon to clear our walk. He always checks on the cats, and yesterday he cleared a path for them so they could more easily get to their hillside.

New Water Dish

The colony now has a heated water dish. Unfortunately, the only one we could find was a dog dish, so it's quite large. The kittens can reach it, but it's also fun to climb up and perhaps dip a paw into the water. Luckily, no one has fallen in - yet. Note Blackie, the father of the two kittens, who is seriously trying to move in.

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.