another Monday

Thank you everyone for the well wishes for my mother. I'm sure she appreciates it and I certainly know I do! Since returning home the cats have been vying for individual time with me. All but Rose have spent extra time in my lap, being reassured that I did not abandon them.

This morning, my day started at 12:30am with Theo climbing on my chest while I was sleeping - he wanted some pets. Time is an irrelevant concept when it comes time for loves. He climbs up on me and then butts his head against my face to tell me "it's time for Theo pets!"

It never takes long before he starts drooling up a storm! I have to be careful or he'll drop a big old glob of drool right in my mouth! Yuck!! What a way to wake up in the night, but I love him and his funny ways. He's one awesome cat.

Later this morning I had a bit of a challenge after Buddy and Nahum both wanting their tummies rubbed at the same time. Thankfully I had two hands and could accommodate dual tummy rubs. When I parked on the couch both immediately hopped up on me - it worked out perfect, Nahum claimed my lap and Buddy parked across my arms.

Nahum melted into my lap

Sadly, I eventually had to displace an unhappy Nahum and Buddy so I could go to work.

Upon returning from work this evening, Oliver was waiting in the driveway to welcome me home. I parked and opened the car door to say hello to him while I gathered up my things. He just couldn't wait a moment more, so he hopped up in the car with me, sniffed around for a minute and then parked in my lap!

Oliver followed me onto the back porch where I topped off his food bowl. I sat by the backdoor to love on him for a few minutes when in walked MK! He looked at me loving on Oliver and went over to the food bowl and had some dinner. This was a first! MK sharing the enclosed back porch with me only about 5 ft (1.5 m) away! I didn't risk snapping a picture and scaring him away - what a very sweet moment!! Soon I'll be rubbing his tummy!

For the sake of a photo, Oliver graciously offered to re-enact 

the moment of MK's sharing the back porch with me.

The best parts of the day were starting the day with cats and ending the day with cats! Now, if only I can figure out a way to integrate cats into the middle of the work day. 

update on mom

All is quiet here in New Hampshire at the moment.

Thanks everyone for the purrs and prayers for my mom. She had been scheduled for a Pulmonary Vein Ablation procedure in Boston, which is what precipitated my quick trip to visit and assist. A few days prior to the scheduled procedure the surgeon called and notified her that the CT scan revealed a number of nodules in her lungs. With her prior history of breast cancer, he was concerned that these nodules might be cancerous and thus the focus of treatment has shifted to the lungs and the a-fib will have to wait. Continued purrs and prayers are always welcome.

Laura stayed home to take care of the kitties and to bring in some income. She's getting all the kitties loves to herself while I have to make do with doggie loves from my parent's dog, Nikki. (Kitty loves are so much better!!)

Nikki

I did welcome the opportunity to visit my brother's delightful three cats last night. Oh, and I got to visit with him and his family too.

beautiful Elah

open the door and no one gets lasered!

I fly back home Saturday! I'm eager to see Laura and all the kitties. Home soon.

sleeping beauties

posture perfect

bad posture

good posture

one more time.

bad posture

good posture

Any questions?

what Sunday afternoons were meant for

Oliver's making a strong case for becoming an inside kitty.

What could be better than a Sunday afternoon nap with a former feral?

How about a former feral asleep on my chest.

purrfection

happenings & new feeder

Just a few bits and bobs of news from around the hobby cattery.

MK and his friend hanging together on Oliver's house

The cat sitting with MK in the above photo is the one with questionable ear tipped status. Well, I may have solved the mystery. However, displaying the evidence requires outing myself. I was taught in my TNR class not to disturb the feral cats in the traps because it causes them more anxiety. Well, up until this point, no one needed to know that I couldn't resist snapping a photo. But now the photo sheds light on the ear tip mystery.

Notice the botched ear tip job

I'm guessing the person tipping the ears at the clinic that day was like me and didn't want to take too much of their precious ears and so only took the tiniest of bits. So, after seeing this picture, I'm now thinking the two members of Oliver's Family with questionable ear tips are probably spayed/neutered. For now, I'll keep an eye on them.

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The Brown Kitty comes for lunch around mid day. He now calls Oliver's house his home and sleeps there regularily. I was happy to see him safe and secure in Oliver's house while all the crazy 4th of July fireworks were going on.

Notice the red spot on the tail

The other day I glanced out the window and saw a big red spot on the tip of Brown Kitty's tail. He and Oliver had a big fight the day before. Other pictures didn't show the red spot, so maybe it was a trick of light. Something else for me watch out for.

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Yesterday, I saw something very sad. I happened to glance out the window and saw the Evil Bushy Kitty hobbling away. It was limping pretty badly. It sure seemed like it was having a very difficult time just walking. Over the past month or so I thought I saw it favoring a leg. Poor thing. I'm going to attempt to talk with the people who I think care for him to see what they say.

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I keep working away on the new feral feeder. Here are some recent photos of how it's coming along. It's built into the side of the garage.

BEFORE

AFTER

The cats use the table to jump up onto the shelf of the feeder. The table is not a permanent part of the operation, however, I'm trying to figure out a new vision for this back yard space that would involve a more permanent system for the cats to access the feeder. The feeder opening is fairly high from the ground. The opening previously was used for a stovepipe chimney.

Right now the table is a little too close to the garage, in time I'll move it a little further back just to be sure the pesky raccoons can't make the leap.

Oliver enjoying a snack from the inside of the feeder

For the humans, the feeder is accessed from the inside of the garage, where it is basically a fully enclosed wall cabinet. When it's all fully finished I'll post more pictures of it, inside and out. And the plans call for a webcam to be installed inside so everyone can watch the Family up close as they eat.

Oliver, licking his chops post snack!

veg

Thank you everyone for your kind comments. They were greatly appreciated. I actually felt better after I read each of the comments. It's good to know I'm not alone. I've committed to step away from the news, which feels like a good choice.

I spent the summer holiday working on the new raccoon-proof feral feeder. It was the first real day of sunshine we've had in weeks, so spending the day outside was glorious. The new feeder is coming along nicely. Hopefully it will be finished soon, then I can post some pictures. The ferals have been using the it already, which is fun to see. I'll tease you with this photo.

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Nahum loves leafy greens. Lettuce, kale, celery, spinach. He rarely gets worked up about food but when he spies some leafy greens, he can barely contain himself.

He especially likes it when it's a large leaf and someone holds it for him.

Theo always turns up his nose at greens. However he can't resist corn. He loves anything corn. Popcorn, corn on the cob, corn chips, cooked corn, World's Best Cat Litter (ground up corn) - he loves it all.