Something lurking in the woodpile ... :-/

[Leg End Reject]

"This woman on the internet says my thoughts of you are responsible for filling my life with sexy pussies since we last met?"

My advice would be to word it a little more delicately.

I love all the updates on this thread, the pictures and the story of the cats accepting you as their human. You have a lovely writing style, you could write children's stories - sans any mention of Czech ladies.

[isha]

You have to be VERY specific for manifestations

The little beauties.

[CelticRambler]

I love all the updates on this thread, the pictures and the story of the cats accepting you as their human.

Thank you, LER, for the compliment. The updates will probably slow down a bit from here on, because (a) we've made a heck of a lot of progress already, so the next steps will be less dramatic and newsworthy; and (b) I made a promise to myself that I'd only go chasing my Bohemian Dream if I knuckled down and cleared a load of undone jobs off the To Do list. Herding cats was not on that list!

But.

We seem to have established a core "family unit" of the two Kittns, BigBrotherCat and PrettyPolly who generally show up for every meal time and hang around even when food isn't being served. Polly continues to become more tolerant of caresses, and even when she suddenly remembers that she's supposed to be jittery and scoots away, she comes back within seconds. She has kind of a sad air about her and doesn't really associate with the three kittens, but she has a charming way of scooping a handful of biscuits out of the feeding pot to eat in a ladylike manner (in contrast to the three kittens who jam their heads into the pot as far as they can and feck the consequences!)

Even though they haven't yet been de-wormed, and despite me deliberately keeping their rations restricted, they've all lost their ravenousness. Since yesterday, BigBrotherCat has learnt to control his urges somewhat; and the three girls today opted out of eating the last biscuits in favour of quiet reflection (Polly), quiet sitting-on-foot (LilKittn), or darting like a maniac after every moving thing (BigKittn). She - BigKittn - is cute and cuddly, but completely loopy. She wasn't there at all this morning and I was worried she'd been snatched by one of the many predators around, but I think she'd decided it was time to follow one of the older ones on a hunting spree and she'd found her way home by about 4pm. She reminds me of one of those children who gets hyped up on sugar at a wedding reception or the like.

As for today's photos: as everyone with children or cats knows, there's no better toy in the world than ... a cardboard box.

[Apelles]

Beginning to think our Harry might be a bit of a peeping Tom.

[Leg End Reject]

Dirty Harry

[CelticRambler]

The updates will probably slow down a bit from here on, because (a) we've made a heck of a lot of progress already, so the next steps will be less dramatic and newsworthy; and (b) I made a promise to myself that I'd only go chasing my Bohemian Dream if I knuckled down and cleared a load of undone jobs off the To Do list. ...

Famous last words ...

But, but, but ... kittens!

Anyway: famous last words:

PrettyPolly ... doesn't really associate with the three kittens

PP and the three kits were ready and waiting for their call to breakfast this morning (poor old BigBrotherCat, 1.7kg, was unceremoniously walloped into an upstanding floorboard by his 800g sister during the race to be first ), were content with quarter rations and a back rub each, and Polly then mooched off to the baling-twine-pile - only a couple of metres away - and set about picking the woodchips out of her bushy tail.

Almost immediately, LilKittn decided to join her and demanded a head-lick; then BigBrotherCat ambled over and snuggled in behind Polly; and after she'd figured out that The Human was going to be boring, BigKittn climbed the heap too and set about batting whatever tails weren't being sat upon (she really is an "always on" character).



Now that's it. No more photos until I get a window frame made, and a window to put in it.

[CelticRambler]

The window frame is made (as much as it can be - waiting for the glue to set before doing the finishing touches) and the window is ready for its hinges and catches.

And during that whole process (planing, sawing, routing, drilling ... ) Polly and the two Kittns alternated between peaceful sleep and short leg-stretching strolls (well, not BigKittn - she doesn't do strolling). At one point, Polly relaxed enough to start purring ... and then treated me to a snake-like hiss when I spotted what I thought was a tick behind her ear.

A week on, I'm revising my opinion about the two kittns. LilKittn is most certainly the offspring of MammyCat (haven't seen her for two days); but now I'm wondering if BigKittn might be from Polly's first litter, and may be a few weeks older than LilKittn. In this last week, she has matured a lot while LilKittn is still very much a baby. I've no idea how BigBrotherCat fits into the tribe!

ScaredyCat showed up for the evening meal, and is (very slowly) accepting more in the way of physical contact. I might be able to get a determination of age and sex by the end of next week. He/she is not especially motivated by the food on offer, so may well be getting fed elsewhere - or just be a great hunter.

[Banshee]

Our beloved tuxedo cat " PeeGee" ( short for pussy galore) died in her sleep in the early morning of 31st October at a great age. She arrived at our front door as a mature adult and made us into her pets 19 years ago! Himself, the Manshee doesn't want to get a kitten, says another cat will make us their pet. So we live in Dublin 7,.. Maude ( tuxedo cat) comes every morning for a nosey, St therese of liseux ( white' n ginger and St Laurence of Toole ( white with a tabby tail) spend every day hiding in the bushes in the front stalking the sparrows, Ambrose ( tabby), Rembrandt ( long haired black with splashed white face , and Rocco ( pie ball ) visit in the evening. Someone's Maine Coone hides in the ferns pretending to be in an Henri Rousseau. Skinny black Malevich comes to the front door at breakfast. I never considered myself a cat person but PeeGee got on like a house on fire with other cats - a feline socialite, who gave us her legacy,
How did this thread manifest? Meee- Ow!
I do have a woodpile

[CelticRambler]

ScaredyCat showed up for the evening meal, and is (very slowly) accepting more in the way of physical contact. I might be able to get a determination of age and sex by the end of next week.

Okay, well that "end of next week" came quickly! ScaredyCat is definitely a tom. He's rapidly catching up with Polly in terms of tolerating inappropriate gestures, and allowed me to have a grope under his tail while he was eating this afternoon. I took that as the win for the day, so didn't try to get his age. He's quite young (no more than two) and I'm wondering if he might be MammyCat's brother. They have the same type of fur, and both have that diluted colour gene (as does LilKittn). Or maybe he's her kitten from last year ...

MammyCat also appeared this afternoon - the first time I've seen her in daylight - and although she looks longingly at the food being devoured by the five others, she won't join in. I've tried tossing her a few biscuits, but the act of tossing them frightens her, so it looks like a long, diplomatic negotiation will be needed.

I still can't get over how the three oldest kept themselves so well hidden for a year, but in the space of a week they've all said "feck it anyway, don't care if he sees me". On the far side of the lane is a lump of a tree that I'm (very slowly, planning on) making into a table-and-chair for the garden; when the sun came out for a few minutes, Polly, Scaredy and BigBrotherCat very deliberately left the barn, crossed the road and sat up on the log together, in plain sight. Like you do.

[CelticRambler]

@banshee - condolences on the loss of PeeGee.

As for the visitors - those are great names!

[schmittel]

Famous last words ...

But, but, but ... kittens!

Anyway: famous last words:



PP and the three kits were ready and waiting for their call to breakfast this morning (poor old BigBrotherCat, 1.7kg, was unceremoniously walloped into an upstanding floorboard by his 800g sister during the race to be first ), were content with quarter rations and a back rub each, and Polly then mooched off to the baling-twine-pile - only a couple of metres away - and set about picking the woodchips out of her bushy tail.

Almost immediately, LilKittn decided to join her and demanded a head-lick; then BigBrotherCat ambled over and snuggled in behind Polly; and after she'd figured out that The Human was going to be boring, BigKittn climbed the heap too and set about batting whatever tails weren't being sat upon (she really is an "always on" character).



Now that's it. No more photos until I get a window frame made, and a window to put in it.

I have always had dogs and not really a cat person, but I could get there.. is it my imagination or are these exceptionally cute cats?

And kudos to CelticRambler for the celtic rambling - beauty queen kittens, festivals, dancing maidens, barns, camper vans etc. I'm living vicariously!!

[Banshee]

Exceptionally beautiful felines- quite Autumnal colour scheme with hints of tabby

[CelticRambler]

I have always had dogs and not really a cat person, but I could get there.. is it my imagination or are these exceptionally cute cats?

Well, BigKittn is particularly cute, and Polly* is really really pretty (when her bushy tail isn't full of sawdust and wood shavings); the others I'd rate as "kinda ordinary" and wouldn't have been in any rush to adopt them, if they hadn't shown up as a job lot like that. But they did, so I have ... sort of.

[Banshee]

Those cats are all gorgeous

[CelticRambler]

As expected, not a lot of "new" progress to report. This afternoon, I was able to immobilise Polly long enough to remove the tick from behind her ear, and she didn't race away after; she's still awfully jumpy though.

For the first time, MammyCat graced us with her presence for a daytime feed, and much to my surprise (and satisfaction) not only came up close enough to pick her biscuits out of the pot I was holding, but once she'd filled her own tummy, she allowed LilKittn to suckle for a few minutes - right there in front of me.



I'm beginning to think that BigBrotherCat is her kitten from a Spring litter. As you can see in the photo above, he's very affectionate towards her, and a short while after that pic was taken, I saw him suckling too (at the same time as LilKittn). That's a bit worrying, as it'd be very unusual for a cat of her age to have just one kitten in a litter, so there may be yet more hanging around ... but it'd also be surprising that they'd continue to stay hidden when the others have figured out the nutritional advantage of showing their faces!

On the subject of figuring things out, the two kittns appear to have learnt that the arrival of The Human (with food) is preceded by the opening and shutting of the back door. Previously, they would only come racing to the barn door when I called them, but as of today they twice made it half way from the barn to the house before I said a word!

[CelticRambler]

So who makes the rules? Trying to get some To Do list things done, I was working late-ish in the cottage/chicken-shed. Just after I'd returned to the house, I hear a very insistent "mew, mew, mew, mew, mew" outside the back door. BigKittn - now very much the one with the most character - had decided that she was hungry and wasn't waiting around for The Human to remember to feed her. LilKitten wasn't missing out and came lolloping along a few moments later, and they invited themselves into the house ...

I think MammyCat has relinquished her mothering duties; LilKitten has become increasingly affectionate, but I get the feeling she's missing having her warm milk after every meal. She'd come to me most often, but if the other adults are around, she'd try her luck with them too - to no avail.

ScaredyCat now has a proper name: Gulliver - because he likes to travel, and feels he's surrounded by little people.

[Leg End Reject]

This thread needs an update and more cat pics.

[CelticRambler]

Your wish is my command

BigKittn dressed in her finest scrap metal camouflage:



"I tink I can see you bwainz"


"Hey Mister, are you sure you set the time right? My tummy says lunch is late"


30 milliseconds after the "ding!"


As you can see, we now have an automated feeding station. I set it up yesterday; by this morning, everyone knows how it works and when it works! We're still in the stress-testing stage, but in principle the system will look after the tribe's minimal feeding needs while I'm away. Not surprisingly, the unit isn't really robust enough to tolerate five cats battering it from all sides (and climbing onto/leap off it), not to mention the mad scramble to grab each and every biscuit as it falls out of the chute ... so I've relocated it to under a bench (to stop them sitting on top of it), braced it with a couple of bricks, and swapped the dinky little stainless steel saucer for a medium sized plastic dog basket (which I've been keeping for decades, in case it might some day come in useful )

For the moment, I supervise the feeding times - to see what shenannigans they get up to - but the current installation will get its real-world test this weekend when I go in search of the sexy fiddler. For my fortnight in Ireland later this month, it'll be pushing things a bit quantity-wise, but the three older ones know how to hunt, and I'll set up a separate stash for the kittens with a size-restricted access.

Although awaiting confirmation, the young tabby lad is probably going to be called Bingo. Don't ask me why - that's what he said he wanted to be called.

I haven't caught sight of MammyCat since her daytime appearance last week. Mind you, I saw more of her in the ten days prior than in the previous ten months, so she's probably still around.

[Leg End Reject]

You're a big softie, CR.

I hope the sexy fiddler rewards you for your kindness.

[CelticRambler]

So I abandonned the feline family on Thursday night, and on Tuesday morning I came back to find ...

...

...

the same five that I'd left to fend for themselves. All present and correct.

As you can see, we now have an automated feeding station ... the current installation will get its real-world test this weekend when I go in search of the sexy fiddler. For my fortnight in Ireland later this month, it'll be pushing things a bit quantity-wise, but the three older ones know how to hunt, and I'll set up a separate stash for the kittens with a size-restricted access.

Something didn't work properly as far as the feeder is concerned, as it was almost completely empty instead of being only half-empty, and there was a quantity of un-eaten biscuits in the dog-bed suggesting that all five appetites had been well-satisfied. With it back in the house at the moment, it seems to be dispensing exactly the amount it's been told to, so I'm wondering if one clever fecker figured out how to trigger the manual dispense button? It means I definitely need a teeny-kitten-only feeding point for the fortnight I'm away.

LilKittn is just starting to grow out of her baby phase now, becoming more adventurous and picking fights with her big sister/cousin. Polly continues to live from one startle reflex to another, but she's nearly always very close by and spontaneously talks to me if we cross paths in the garden. Of all of them, I think she has the most potential to become a "house-cat" ... but it'll take some work yet.

Bingo has taken to hanging out with Gulliver instead of the girls, and they've built a camp for themselves under a tarp up on the mezzanine in the barn nextdoor. I don't see much of Bingo when he's not at the feeding station, but now I'd regularly see Gulliver having a leisurely stroll on the lane out the front, or through the garden, instead of the fleeting glimpses of a few weeks ago. They let BigKittn tag along from time to time, so she's going to be a real tomboy (are we still allowed use that word? )

[CelticRambler]

Something didn't work properly as far as the feeder is concerned, as it was almost completely empty instead of being only half-empty, and there was a quantity of un-eaten biscuits in the dog-bed suggesting that all five appetites had been well-satisfied. With it back in the house at the moment, it seems to be dispensing exactly the amount it's been told to, so I'm wondering if one clever fecker figured out how to trigger the manual dispense button?

Well ... the yoke worked fine all week from Tuesday till this morning; and then for no good reason it decided to dole out four times the usual portion at lunchtime. Cheap Chinese crap.

Anyhow, I mentioned before how the whole tribe (except MammyCat) has got used to hanging around even when I'm working with power tools. This is especially true of the littlest kittens who are quite happy to literally fall asleep in a shower of sawdust and wood chips:



What is not helpful, though, is having four cats decide together that it would be Great Fun to chase the brush I'm using to apply linseed oil to a beam. And even less helpful for Bingo to decide that a good dollop of linseed oil makes the beam taste so much nicer.



(apologies for the image quality - my phone is not hi-tech enough to cope with low light and fast-moving felines)