It's been a reasonably uneventful?? couple of weeks out here at the [Mostly EX] Feral Funhouse. Considering the human nerves
left shattered in the wake of Operation Worm 6 Catz (TWICE!!), I think that at least a brief period of time without some sort of critter mayhem was somewhat deserved!
Thank goodness it's apparent that despite les catz best efforts, they ingested enough drontal to annihilate that nasty worm burden. I was quite concerned about Big Pepper, who had with the help of her friendly
personal tapeworm been transformed into Slightly Wraithlike Pepper.
It took well over a week to be able to tell that BP was definitely trending upward on the weight front; her sibs are still a pound or 2 ahead, but BP no longer disappears when she turns sideways, so to speak. She's still the 'fey-ist' of the feral kids, but I was able to sneak BP regular extra meals (she relaxes more when she eats with her sibs).
Actually, we've sort of discarded the BP and LP designations due to the former BP's pre-worming weight loss; we now refer to BP as 'Hairy Pepper', and LP as 'Plump-ish Pepper'. Once HP makes the transition to s.i.l.'s, we'll be able to dispense with this whole Two Peppers situation
...reminds me of the Dr. Suess story where some mother names ALL of her 20-odd sons Dave!
HP's departure has been deferred a few times; I got sick just before the first scheduled 'au revoir'...then came the tapeworm saga...and now we're on hold for a bit as s.i.l. had to say good-bye to the oldest of her 3 cats a week or so ago ('Millie' had a wonderful cat life; s.i.l. just needs a little time to adjust).
Millie will always have a very special place in s.i.l.'s heart, but I'm sure
HP will be a welcome addition.
Meanwhile, the Sparkman is busy 'alpha-catting' it up; the only other male, Odin the Gentle Genius couldn't be bothered with a Macho Contest! Of course, the 'twin' Crabby Queens (Goose and Sally) aren't about to let the young scalliwag give them any grief...better watch it, Sparks
!!
With the colder weather, I've been keeping a close eye on the outside feeding station; we've spotted WW at least once in the past week, and the buffet table needs frequent replenishing. And so, la Famille Feral [and not so feral] continues to grow-as in 'grow up', not grow in number!
below: a pic each of HP and um, Plump-ish Pepper!! (HP has a slightly longer, 'duller' coat with a very distinctive 'mane', while her sis has shorter and glossier hair, minus the ruff/mane...they both look a tad 'ragged' due to the dryer winter air/static electricity).