one left, and mom

Well, the spring of the kitties may almost be over. The two gray guys got adopted from Petco, and Tabby-spot and Ruffie have found homes from the Cupboard flyer. I put in another Craigslist ad last night and have four inquiries.
I'll be sad to see her go, she's SUCH a little cutie, and I have invested an awful lot of time and effort (and cash) in getting the little thing this big even. But truly I need to have just my two cats, And maybe if I get set up at the Ridge I can occasionally foster some upstairs. Put a screen door at the entrance to the big room, maybe, so they could have the room and porch, and I could see through the door before I opened it.

Mama Tut is NOISILY in heat, almost all the time. And she is licking and chewing her back so it is all covered with raw spots. I wonder if she could be allergic to Revolution? Anyway, I'm calling in the morning for appointments for her and Floof; hope I can get her maneuvered into the carrier. How long after spaying do the hormones die out?

a little "weather"

in the sense of "rough weather." After a long string of hot muggy days (101° on Father's Day) we just got swiped by the tail end of a Red River storm. We had a very brief period of strong north gusts, and a not-much-longer rain. At least it has filled the rain barrel and cooled the air — it's 72° now, which is wonderful.

The radar looks like the tip end of the storm may have reached as far as Argyle. I hope so. The blackberries are coming on, but they really need a good soaking to fill out. They are pretty small now, even the few ripe ones at the ends of the clusters.

My new workers, John, Bill, and Hector, spent two days last week clearing out the prospective site downhill from Mark's studio. It was a lot of work because of the old fence buried in briars and blackberries. So far I only have one picture, 'cause my camera batteries went ker-flooey.

They also got the little freezer outside and dumped. So sad. It had, among other contents, a whole unopened turkey! And now it's getting rained on. At least, for the berries' sakes, I hope so.

Jess R. is coming at 2:30 to see about adopting Tabby-Spot. And Little Floof is going to the vet at 5 to see why she's not growing. Only 33 ounces at very nearly three months. And Tut seems to be in heat (AGAIN).

11:50 — the rain has stopped.

KITTENS ready to be adopted TODAY

I'm having a fun time (NOT) with Craigslist today; it "ghosted" my ad -- told me it was published, but it never appeared. I'm trying to fix it, but I may have to either wait two days, or slim it down to bare bones. If I do, I will direct people to the original copy of it here.



Five lively kittens are 8 weeks old and ready for new homes.

I would really like for them to be adopted in pairs, but all the bigger ones are certainly able now to go solo. They are the three males who are tabby-striped grey or charcoal on their backs. The littlest female has just made it to 22 ounces (big brothers are over two pounds each) and I believe she needs her mama for a few more weeks; if you want her and could temporarily give a home to her mom too, that would work.


I'm hoping to also find a quiet home for mom after she is spayed; she was feral but was handled and fed when she was a kitten two years ago, and she is becoming pretty accustomed to indoor care -- she will be a sweet pet in a gentle, peaceful home. She's a pretty little cat, white with her ears and the back of her head.Please don't make me put any ofthem back outside in the feral jungle!

Mom has had her shots; the kittens had their first set May 14, and will need to get the follow-ups mid-June and mid-July. (It's quite affordable at the clinic in Denton.) I will get the big guys neutered this week; the smaller females aren't big enough yet.

I need to know that they will be spayed; the whole reason for raising these kittens was to remove one line of ferals from my back woods (It's been a joy, but I would HATE to think that the job wasn't finished; I would rather keep them longer and get it done myself.) The Humane Society will reimburse $25 of the $35 spaying cost.


The illustrated genealogical history, sort of, of this line of cats for the last two years is on this blog; go to the entry named "feral-and-ex-feral-cats" and also to "growth."