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Post by Mumsey on Oct 25, 2018 17:59:07 GMT -5
Dad seems to have a new set of cats that have taken up residence. 3 kittens and 2-3 older, but still young cats. I am not much of a cat person, but they are so cute! Step mom loves cats, but none are ever allowed in the house, her choice and Dad would have a fit. These are pretty much ferrel cats. One of the small ones lets me pick him/her up. They feed them scraps, but not too many. Dad wants them to hunt to keep down the critter population, and to earn their keep. They do have shelter, an old dog house that's been there for years. Dad will never see to any vet care, he is of the old school, animals are in the wild and need to stay there. The little one in front with the slight white around the eyes is the one most friendly. The one behind him has striking face markings.
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 25, 2018 18:59:05 GMT -5
Mumsey , if the kittens have their upper canine teeth (or 'fangs') they are at least 6 months old.(that's the age they come in) they are adorable!
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Post by Mumsey on Oct 26, 2018 3:57:23 GMT -5
desertwoman, I'm thinking these 3 are only a couple months old. They stay pretty much together and close to their shelter. Pretty small too.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Oct 26, 2018 20:56:41 GMT -5
They're so cute. Makes me miss the two I had years ago.
On the issue of rodents (the big nasty ones), I learned something on the news last night. Apparently there's a major problem in one of the Downriver communities, and not only are the pests visible, but neighbors took photos and videos of them, including one getting into an opening in a front porch.
A woman who apparently works on the neighborhood rodent patrol of another community (closer to me) that had a problem, advised to find 3 rodent burrows around the house and put either smoke bombs or dry ice down into the burrows. I don't know if I'd want smoke bombs - anything that's a "bomb" is not something I want going off by my house. And I don't know how the dry ice would affect them. Anyone have any experience with these methods of rodent eradication?
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Post by binnylou on Oct 26, 2018 21:45:41 GMT -5
I don't know if I'd want smoke bombs - anything that's a "bomb" is not something I want going off by my house. Consider using the live trap that is about 6x6x15. Last summer, I was hoping to catch a chipmunk, but ended up with a rat. We have lived here since 1970 and I had never seen a rat on the property before. I was horrified.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Oct 27, 2018 14:46:08 GMT -5
binnylou,, um, how did you then dispose of the rat? I might use a live trap for a squirrel, but rats scare me. The only way I know of in this area to dispose of vermin w/o killing them is to transport them to a country area, but I'm really not comfortable with something like that in my car. Is there a specific reason why I shouldn't dispatch them but rather trap them? BTW, I was reading the other day that pests like these are going to increase b/c of climate warming. I didn't read much further; the thought of more of them was too unsettling!
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Oct 27, 2018 14:48:26 GMT -5
Mumsey, the calico looks so much like Kelly, a cat my sister brought back from New Orleans. And the black and white one on the right looks like my Bernadette. The cat with the white outlines around the eyes is really striking. I'd like to reach out and pet them. I do miss my cats.
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Post by tom 🕊 on Oct 27, 2018 15:32:51 GMT -5
how did you then dispose of the rat? I leave it in the trap to die. This takes only a few hours. I don't know what happens. Maybe the rat panics and dies of a heart attack. Sometimes they kill themselves by trying to force their way through the mesh. Then I take them out in a field for the buzzards. There is no point in burying them. Another animal will dig them up.
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Post by binnylou on Oct 27, 2018 15:40:51 GMT -5
how did you then dispose of the rat? I might use a live trap for a squirrel, but rats scare me. I filled a muck tub with water, dropped the trap in the tub and walked away. Sounds cruel, but I have no problem protecting our property from critters who chew and damage and want to move in with me. The rat became a meal for somebody/somebirdie. I laid him out on the dead end gravel road and he was gone the next morning.
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Post by Mumsey on Nov 7, 2018 19:55:23 GMT -5
Went to Dad's today, my little guy in the center front of the above pic is MIA, as is the one to his right. The remaining one in back, with the unique markings, has become friendly and follows me around. I'm wondering if something got them, probably foxes in the area. Sad. But the 2 older ones and this little one stay in the garage most of the time. The little one greets me when I am there. I felt like they really need good food for winter so bought a bag of cat food. The little one jumped right into the bowl to eat and lets me pick him/her up. I guess I have a cat now. It's name is PipSqueak. Pippy for short. But I realize they can disappear at any time out in the wild. Untitled by gardensandquilts, on Flickr
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Post by Mumsey on Nov 17, 2018 4:34:34 GMT -5
One of the missing kittens has returned. So now we are back to 4. Dad says a neighbor down the road has several cats with a self feeder in his garage so maybe that's where the wayward kitty went. Yesterday, they all came to greet me when I arrived. They were meowing like crazy. Even the bigger black cat was friendly. I asked step mom if they were fed this morning, she was sure brother fed them before he left for work. I took some food out to them, they lined up around the bowl and chowed down! I'll bet brother forgot to feed them. The little ones are learning to chase the birds away when they come to get leftover food. Pretty cute. They all stay pretty much together and must all be from the same litter. I'm thinking the black cat is the mom.
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Post by octave1 on Nov 18, 2018 0:37:05 GMT -5
Mumsey, the one with the black/orange markings on the face is almost certainly a female. That kind of pattern is a variation of turtleshell. I love cats, and I think it would be nice if you guys found a way to get them all neutered. You don't want end up with a cat colony. A few healthy cats are far better than a colony of half-starved, sickly felines.
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Post by Mumsey on Nov 18, 2018 4:50:59 GMT -5
octave1 , Great idea, that has crossed my mind. Our local humane society sometimes has free or very low cost neutering for cats. I'll have to check into it more. 3 of them I can touch, one is still skittish.
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Post by Mumsey on Jan 28, 2019 4:58:36 GMT -5
Dad's cats are growing and becoming quite plump. Feeding them cat food and chicken skin/scraps/livers. I didn't know it but Dad has the basement fridge freezer full of bags and bags of that stuff! He said they gave them some the other day but they didn't eat it. Of course it was not cooked and it was freezing cold outside. My thought is they ate their fill and the rest froze and they can't eat it. So when I was there Sunday I got a bag out and cooked it up, cooled it and gave them some. They couldn't eat it fast enough! Now brother warms it in the microwave and feeds them twice a day along with cat food. There are now 5 cats. 1 more showed up.
I'll have to get a pic of them next weekend.
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Post by James on Feb 4, 2019 16:59:56 GMT -5
There are three cats hanging out here, plus another big yellow one that we see now and then. They all just wandered in here and decided to call it home. We caught the three, and took them in to the Vet for neutering and shots. They have the run of the outbuildings and garage, but do not come in the house. They do help to keep the rodent population in check. We do put out a bit of dry catfood to help them along.
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