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Old September 13th, 2006, 01:13 AM
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kashtin's kin kashtin's kin is offline
Critter Cult Peon!!
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: small, decrepit-but improving!-farm in Southern Ontario
Posts: 563
Smile Encore, les fural-er-ferals...

As I write this, I can hear Pepper and Cash cavorting in the back porch; upstairs, Sparky isn't thumping around at present, which just means he's taking an intermission. There have been a few interesting developments, and things that I have learned this week (aside from the fact that there is not ALWAYS a pony when you dig to the bottom of EVERY pile of manure...if there were I'd have a LOT more ponies than I do, but alas I digress).

I now know that kittens of a certain size can fit through the bars of some dog cages ; I did know that cats can be a little 'boneless' in terms of tight squeezes (we should all be so lucky), nevertheless when I found one of the back porch kitties outside the cage on Sunday I just figured I hadn't latched it properly. So, husband-in the role of 'kitty police'-was dispatched to the porch to return Cash to the cage...it wasn't too traumatic for all involved.

However, when Pepper was found grooming herself on top of the cage the following day, the dots started to connect...OOOOOOOH! Sooooo, it was decided to kitten-proof the entire porch, leave the cage open-and restrict humans and dogs to exiting the house via the SIDE porch only. This is a bit of a pain, as I now have to tromp around the house to get to the horses (especially icky when I'm hauling water) instead of merely skipping out the back door and going a few feet into the paddock.

The Two Pumas are very happy with this arrangement, thank goodness. Cash is still quite aloof/shy, but Pepper and I had a real breakthrough this morning . I had been able to pat her carefully until then-but only while she was eating. But for some reason, this morning she had some food, then wound herself around my legs as if we'd been best buddies forever. Wow.

It's been a good 3 months since I first started feeding the 3 kittens outside, so we've been on speaking terms for a while, but these critters really were untouched by the human hand...and pretty determined to keep things that way. When I nabbed Sparky, I wasn't altogether surprised by his speedy transition to lovemuffin (although I had thought even Mr. Charm would take a bit more time).

Pepper was a different kettle of fish!! altogether-very wary, and had even tried to bite me when my hand lingered on the food bowl outside one day. So, to have him (pretty sure it's a 'him', after today) suddenly cozy up to me was quite a shock, albeit a very pleasant one-yay!!!!

Cash is the holdout now; s/he was quite distressed for a few minutes this morning as Pepper decided to accept me; s/he stood on a small table under the large back porch window and pawed the glass. Fortunately, this was a brief episode, and while s/he's not about to rush up and hug me (let alone allow me to touch him/her), Cash seems to have settled down and accepted her treasonous brother's capitulation.

Interestingly enough, Cash is the big purrmeister around here; perhaps when s/he 'comes around' she will be a real lovey-dovey??!! Sparky has almost exactly a week more of post-shots quarantine, so anytime after that it would be nice to shift the dynamic duo upstairs...and reclaim our back porch!

Speaking of Sparky, he continues to be a delight ; he's so upbeat , and cutely curious about everything. I was worried that he would be too lonely on his own, but between frequent human visits, and a selection of toys to play with he's doing fine. He has expressed interest in 'the world beyond the door', but has been very good about not making a break for it. We'll play the integration thing by ear (now THAT-unlike 'ferals'-we have lots of experience with), but I have a feeling it'll be a lively winter.

I'm REALLY curious about the gender of Cash, now that it appears that Pepper is a male; the litter had 3 kittens (that I know of)...so who out there is an actuary i.e. with 2 males, wonder what the odds are of Cash being female?? The wonderful catperson sis-in-law has offered to take a female, as she has 3 girls at present; we've always had both genders in the house with no real problems, but I do realize some folks have a preference (must admit that my first horse was a gelding, but I've had mares ever since...just something about sharing the whole PMS/crabby thing I guess?!).

Cash is a sorta med-longish-haired critter, so once s/he's nuetered, would sis-in-law even notice........hmmmmmmmmmmm.
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Don't be a critter litterer!! ...also, R.I.P. OTTB [severe neglect] 'Monte Devil'-unforgotten.

Last edited by kashtin's kin; September 13th, 2006 at 01:18 AM.
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