Ok, I admit it. I've turned in to a Crazy Cat Lady. It's an Old guy thing I think and I've decided to introduce my little crowd and follow up with some stories about them in the future. I've had more than enough of arguing the Covid crap and I want to write about something fun!
About three years ago, Joann brought a tiny little kitten down from the ranch. It had been abandoned by it's mother in an old bathtub in the barnyard. Joann had heard it crying and rescued it.
A tiny, fuzzy little tabby female who was scared to death of both of us and spent more than one night hiding in the storage area with the big pots and pans, next to the stove.
She did, of course, learn to trust us and became a part of the family. At the time, I had a big neutered male, named Stripe. At first, he was a little jealous and wouldn't have anything to do with her but he eventually came around and they became good friends.
When she breathed, you could hear her wheezing. It was even worse when she was asleep. Because of her breathing noises, we named her "Squeek".
One August morning, I headed in to Helena with Squeek in a carrier, on our way to a free spay and neuter clinic. We got there at the appointed time but there was so much going on that we spent the whole day hanging around a gym while dozens of cats and dogs got "fixed". Finally it was Sqeeky's turn. When the vet examined her and heard her breathing, he refused to sedate her, being afraid she wouldn't wake up. So, we had spent a hot, boring day in Helena for nothing. But, Squeek was alive and happy still.
The local vet, a few weeks later, thought she might have an infection and gave us meds for it. I told him this was a chronic issue but he figured a $60 dose of meds would fix her right up and then she could be spayed. No such luck.
She wasn't much more than a year old the first time she got pregnant and while we were out of town, she had one very large kitten. It was lying, dead, in the hallway when we got home. No idea what the issue had been.
In April of 2020, she had her first live litter. Four little furballs that immediately took over the house, especially my bedroom. Once they became able to get around well, my nightly trips to the bathroom had to be done in the light and carefully. I probably had someone sleeping in my slipper and you never knew what might be on the floor under your feet! We gave two away to a co-worker. I was going to give away another of the remaining two but just couldn't decide which, so I kept them both. Moose and Emma. Moose was big as a kitten and he didn't disappoint, as he's at about 15 pounds today.
Stripe was about 20 years old and getting kind of "feeble" so I figured four now and three once Stripe was gone and three cats isn't TOO bad. Right?
Stripe now had to get used to the idea of kittens running around. He was a pretty good "Uncle" to them, though and they all seemed to be happy.
Squeek turned out to be a great Mama, taking very good care of her litter and being very protective. A friend of mine was passing through and he and his wife stopped by to visit for a minute. We let his dogs out to run around my yard and get some air. His wife was standing at the top of our steps, holding one of the kittens and the dogs were at the bottom of the steps, basically minding their own business. Squeek, seeing dogs near her babies, came rocketing out of the house to land on one dogs head and start tearing things up. Both dogs ran, yelping, for the pickup and clamored to get in! Squeek weighs about 5 pounds but is fearless and ferocious. Those two big ranch dogs didn't want any part of her.
One afternoon in late June, I think, the cats were outside playing and we heard a big commotion. When I went out, I found that Squeek had treed a black kitten, just a little younger than Emma and Moose. A hungry little feral cat, abandoned by somebody. Later we saw that she had a sibling with Siamese markings. Joann started feeding them each night when we got off work and it didn't take long for them to move in where it was warm.
We had taken Squeek, Emma and Moose to the Animal shelter in Helena for spaying/neutering. Once again, Squeek failed so she wasn't done. The Animal Shelter arranged for her to be examined more closely and it turned out that she has an enlarged heart and chronic lung fluid so vets aren't too keen on sedation and surgery. So, I guess we deal with kittens once in a while!
We named the Siamese and Black kittens (male and female, respectively) Ghost and Shadow. When we took them to be spayed/neutered, they still weren't tamed down yet. Joann dressed in one of my field jackets and some leather gloves. She caught Ghost with no problem but when it was Shadow's turn, the fight was on. The two of them crashed all over my kitchen and Shadow managed to draw some blood from Joann, even through the leather gloves. But, Shadow lost the fight and I headed for Helena. The girls at the Shelter said it was pretty much the same when they took them out of the carrier, but the jobs got done and they were safe to be in public.
We weren't willing to separate Ghost and Shadow as the two were pretty much attached at the hip. They are still the same way. Who knows what kind of life they had, living in the crawl space
under my shed and scrambling for meals, before we started caring for them? So, we never found anyone to take the pair and after a year or so of their company, I'm glad. They are both very loving and friendly. The Royals don't like to be held for very long but both the Orphans are good with hugs and they both like to just lay on our laps and purr.
Stripe got old and sick the last few months. He had been with me about 20 years and he just gave up and passed away one day. He had been really good with all the kittens that had invaded HIS house and he had a good run.
So, that left me with five cats running around the house. Mother cats are called a "Queen" so I call Moose, Emma and Squeek "The Royal Family". They act like it, too. Shadow and Ghost are either "The Orphans", "Black and White" or "Yin and Yang". They're all friends and things are, usually, pretty harmonious around here. Except at breakfast, when I break out the canned food. That's like trying to coordinate feeding piranha!
Two cat trees, almost always in use. Toys, beds, feeders, waterers...and change the cat box at least every couple of days. Every day is better but I'm kind of lazy.
They live inside but I let them out during the day. The royals play in the trees as if they were squirrels and all three of them are bat catchers. I wish they'd leave the damned bats alone but you'll see all three of them leaping five feet in the air, trying to catch the flying mice. Then, since they figure I really suck at hunting, they bring them to me so I don't starve.
I've got lots of stories and lots of pictures to share as time goes on. I'll try to get everybody caught up to today and then I can just post what the little devils do as it happens.
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