yardtime

What a wonderful Labor Day weekend! We had beautiful weather and I got lots of fun and good things done. I made sure to get extra plays with Nahum and had some quality yardtime with Theo! 

Didn't hunt any mice on rock pile but had fun walking through tall grasses

Marking new kitty house as "mine"!

Follow the nose...

So much fun!

Good high spot to survey my yard

Time to come in?! But...

dining hall

Shortly after building the cat house last week, I realized my concept was flawed, the original design assumed there would be only one stray kitty, but we have two! I had built it with two compartments, an entry/dining area and a sleeping area. Once I realized a sleeping cat in the house might not want a visiting cat eating so near, I decided I needed to build a separate dining hall structure. So, that's what I did.

Introducing the Fourwhitepaws Kitty Village Dining Hall:

This structure features two plexiglass windows, a small one on the side and a larger one in the back. I added the windows because eating is a vulnerable activity. I figured greater visibility might put the dining patrons more at ease. My main goal was to create a well lit space that allowed for the outside kitties to have a dry place to eat and drink or just to lounge.

I positioned the dining hall a little ways from the cat house, so if a cat was sleeping in the house it might not be disturbed by another cat having some dinner.

This morning, the dining hall served it's first breakfast. BK stopped in for some Fancy Feast.

Meanwhile, the cat house is getting some repeat visitors. Both yesterday morning and this morning, when I went out to serve breakfast Crooked-tail kitty came shooting out of the cat house and ran off. I also see BK keeps checking out the house, but I haven't seen her take up residence yet, perhaps because it smells too much like Crooked-tail kitty.

 BK last night checking out the house.

BK this morning looking over the house.

The success of the cat house is very encouraging. Even though it has only been in place for a week, it is already getting nightly patrons. This result has exceeded my expectations and encouraged me to keep improving the village for it's new residents.

After only a week of use, the cat house is scheduled for a major remodel. The plan is to split the one large house into two separate single-unit structures, that way BK and the Crooked-tail kitty can each have their own space scattered around the village green. The smaller size will also make lawn maintenance easier, which is a bonus for the grounds crew. The plan also calls for the new units to have windows and be fully insulated. 

There has been some talk of adding heat to the housing units, but further research needs to be conducted on the efficacy of the insulation alone. Rumors of the village getting a gazebo structure for socializing and exercising are unsubstantiated.

FIV-land!

I took the opportunity yesterday to donate the cat food I had won from the Pawcurious Sam's Club Pet Care Product Package giveaway to my favorite Cat Shelter & Sanctuary, Purrfect Pals in Arlington, WA. They were very appreciative for all the foods! Yea!!

Of course, I had to visit with the kitties too! This time I visited with the cats in FIV-land. These are adoptable cats that have tested positive for FIV. There were many more cats that I got pictures of and I didn't quite catch all their names, but I'll do my best with the help of the pictures from the Purrfect Pals FIV-land website. Cats adopted from Purrfect Pals FIV-land receive free medical care for life. How awesome is that?!

Mr. King, 9.5 year old male

Gage, 7 year old male

Anchor Blue, 12 year old male

 

Frodo, 4 year old male

We were told that Frodo doesn't have long to live. Apparently he has cancer in his jaw. 

I really liked this guy, he was so lovey and sweet. He purred and purred.

Laura loving on Frodo

Bedtime Bear, 9 year old male 

Oneder Boy, 4 year old male 

 Parker, 2 year and 3 month old male

 

Lots of cool stuff in FIV-land!

Thanks to all the volunteers and workers at Purrfect Pals who give so much to ensure that indeed every cat matters. You all are awesome!!

the day everything changed

Five years ago today everything changed, I became a cat guy.

Prior to this day in 2006, I was a diehard dog person. I had grown up with dogs and always dreamed of getting my first dog. Then Laura called out of the blue, said she was helping a friend move and asked if we wanted her nine year old cat. She described him as big, fluffy and black & white. His name was Max.

Up until that moment, somehow we had gone 11 years of married life with no pets. Little did I know how my life would change by answering this simple little question. It didn't take long for me to fall completely in love with this amazing cat. Max made it very easy to love him, he was so perfect in every way.

Five years ago today marks my entry into the cat world with Max's gotcha day! I had the blessing of sharing two and a half years with him before he crossed the Bridge in May of 2009. I still miss him immensely. He taught me the joy of feline friends. He gave me the gift of opening my heart to the delightful feline world, a gift I will forever cherish.

black kitty gets a name

Exciting news! I cleaned some of the first floor windows overlooking the side yard yesterday. The result is much better photographs! Yahoo!

Thanks everyone who offered name suggestions for the Black Kitty. Not knowing its gender (although I am guessing female) and not knowing its personality makes it challenging to name. There were many great suggestions, I liked Voodoo and Spot the best. Laura liked Clancy. However, I have decided to go with a variation of Greg_1948's idea and go with BK (short for Black Kitty). Once I get to know her some more, I may revisit her name, but for now BK it is.

I decided to put some canned and dry food out for BK and was pleased to see her out there gobbling up the canned. She didn't touch the Meow Mix! Yuck! Now that I know she eats the wet food without hesitation, I'll mix the dewormer medication in it as soon as I get it. When she was done licking out the dish, she looked up at me with a very pleased and appreciative look on her face which made me quite happy. I wish I had the camera to capture that expression.

I am amazed at the effect of clean windows. I remember the last time I cleaned the windows (many years ago) I made a mental note at that time to clean them every year because the difference is enormous and well worth the effort. Well, of course I filed that note away for safe keeping and kept putting off the job! Now, every time I look out the window I'm stunned at how bright and clear the view is.

In the afternoon I looked out the clean window and noticed all the Meow Mix was gone and I saw this:

It's the crooked-tail kitty keeled over in the middle of the yard!

Yikes! Is it still breathing?!

Thankfully, it was.

Alive and well. Must have decided to take a nap in the sun after finishing off the Meow Mix.

Later in the evening, BK was out hunting again.

Buddy

Tension remains high around Buddy. He hasn't warmed up to the other cats, even though ambassador Nahum has tried on many times to reach out to him in the spirit of kindness and love.

Ambassador Nahum approaches Buddy with friendly licks

Buddy walks around grumping at the other cats when they get near. He has also taken to putting his teeth to Theo's neck and swatting at him frequently. He seems to target Theo with the hostilities more than the others, I am suspecting it is because Theo often tries to steal his treats and snacks and Buddy doesn't take kindly to that. So he holds onto the anger until just the right moment, then WHHAAP!

I was hoping in time things would settle, but that doesn't seem to be occurring. So, I thought maybe some Feliway might calm the tension.

The Feliway has been active only about a week now and so far I haven't noticed any change. It may take time and I'm sure the effect is diluted by having the windows open.

It's hard to tell what Buddy's play-style is. For all I know he is trying to play with Theo by swatting at him and chomping on him. Long ago, Theo used to chomp on Willow all the time and it seemed to be the way he "played" with her. Thankfully, he doesn't do that much anymore.

Even though it's expensive, I'm gonna keep trying the Feliway for a while and hope for the desired result.

I think in this picture, Buddy is actually initiating play with Nahum. Nahum is the perfect cat for him to start playing with because he is very cautious and usually plays very gently. Just before this picture, Buddy pounced on Nahum from behind the packing paper, something Nahum loves to do with the other cats. Maybe this is the start of something wonderful.

black kitty update

Since building the new cat house for the black kitty on Saturday, it hasn't returned. My concern was growing, but today, it decided to come back and visit. Luckily, I saw it coming before Buddy did, so I was able to lock Buddy away before he knew what was going on.

Before I get too far, I feel the need to apologize for the fuzzy pictures. It's embarrassing, but the fuzziness is because the windows haven't been cleaned in way too long. I hope to get that done this weekend!

I was happy to see the black kitty chowing down on the Meow Mix I have been leaving out for it.

8/30/11 5:35:50pm

It never eats much of the food however. It eats a little then trots off. I'm pleased so see the sheen on it's coat looks glossy, that seems like a good sign. However, it still looks skinny.

8/30/11 5:36:22pm

Less than a minute after leaving the Meow Mix, it hears something in the tall grass and pounces.

8/30/11 5:36:33pm

Success! Apparently the black kitty prefers fresh prey over Meow Mix! I'm not sure I can blame it, I'm using some of the food I won in the giveaway to feed it.

8/30/11 5:36:53pm

8/30/11 5:50:12pm

There is a pile of rocks in the tall grasses that it likes to hang out on to listen for prey.

8/30/11 5:50:52pm

I have left these grasses uncut in this part of the yard specially for this kitty, because I know it likes to hunt there. I regularly remove the blackberries that try to grow there as I don't want ity getting scratched by the thorns.

8/30/11 5:56:01pm

One of the things I love about cats is how they retain their wildness. Watching the black kitty hunt is like watching an African Safari right out your window. Very cool!

8/30/11 5:57:45pm

After the fresh meal, the black kitty went over to check out it's new home. Whenever I make one of my cats a new home out of a blanket or a box, they always find it and seem to know it was meant for them. I am hoping the same will be true for the black kitty, that it will somehow just know that this house was create especially for it.

8/30/11 5:58:38pm

The black kitty entered the home and checked out the accomodations. Before moving, one must consider all the options. So, I don't expect it to move in right away, it has much to think about before making such a decision but I was very excited to see it explore its new home!

8/30/11 5:58:55pm

Annie, our new cat sitter, works at our vet's office as a vet tech and she shares my compassion for kitties, especially homeless ones. She was over at the house on Saturday meeting all our cats and she got to see the black kitty and wants to help it too. She thinks it may be so skinny due to having worms, so she is bringing me some dewormer medicine to feed it. I'm still trying to figure out how to deliver the medicine since it doesn't seem to visit on a regular schedule. I'm thinking of mixing it up in a little wet food and then keeping an eye on it so the crooked-tail kitty doesn't get it.

I really hope it likes its new home. This weekend, if I'm healthy enough, I think I will go ahead and add a window to the front of the cat house. I'll also build a separate structure for covering the food. I'm also gonna clean the windows so I can get better pictures!