She never had a name.

I did not intend to keep her, so how could I name her? 

But, she will have a place in my heart forever, this darling, sweet little angel. I rescued her from under the granary where her mother, a feral cat, had 6 kittens. Two other cats had kittens nearly a week apart, one under the porch and the other under the granary too. I wonder if one of the cats who had kittens is her kitten from last year? There are two female tortoise shell coated cats and one male living under the granary, I don't know how or if they will make the winter. They eat dog food when they are not adequately fed from their hunting and they could sleep with the dogs if they dared. Actually, Mike and Joe most likely would not mind and they are very big and fuzzy and warm. But they don't sleep with the dogs. There are several houses they could go into. 

The kitten was hiding out when I managed to capture all the rest of them, 9 in total. She stayed impossible to catch for some time and one day, she was in a 5 gallon bucket eating and I snagged her quickly. She bit, scratched, hissed, tore up my hand pretty rapidly, but I would not let her go. The dogs are fed in 5 gallon buckets to keep the ravens and magpies from eating their food. The birds do not like to go in the buckets. Finally, I found a solution that works for now. 

When I caught the kitten I put her in a huge dog kennel,  bit enough for Ofcharka to move around in. I gave her food and water and a litter tray and saw her every day. For three weeks, she remained crazy wild, but then I think she got lonely. I opened the door to the kennel one day and she did not hiss at me. I picked her up and she did not bite or scratch. She purred!

So, for the next week, I would carry her around with me while I was doing chores. It was getting cold during the nights and I brought inside to the porch. At first she hid whenever I came in, then she started running to me, always purring. She slept with Robbie, the border collie and she played with bits of things she found and tried to catch flies. But she always purred non stop whenever I held her. She snuggled and cuddled and was so loving, I really wanted to keep her. I started to envision her as the house cat, or rather, the porch cat, but then I would have to spay her and I still had two female cats to catch if I could. It was not feasible to consider keeping her. Still....

I advertised her on the local Facebook page and there was a taker. I was both elated and deflated. My little purring, sweet, nameless kitten was going. When she was picked up, I told the kitty I loved her and I do. I hope she has a great life and is loved as much as she was here. Bye  baby kitten. I love you. 

OK, Take 3. Rehoming the first cats I had, which were female and supposedly getting two males instead did not work, because the males are female. Then there is Smokey from the first round of cats, who went feral and is impossible to catch. She had kittens last year and 2 are here, one female and one male. If I can catch that female (with a net if I want to keep my fingers and hands) I will try to tame her then rehome her. I have now caught all the kittens except one. One got taken by a raven early this morning. 
That is just it. Predators are rampant here, but the dogs do an excellent job of running almost all of them off with the exception of the foxes and the ravens. For some reason they do not chase the ravens, but I sure wish they would. So, one kitten is gone for sure. Smokey had kittens again in the woodpile, but I have not seen them or her except once, so I think the foxes must have gotten them. 
Putting out the money to spay the females is like throwing good money away, since they could be gone tomorrow. But then they might stick around for a year or even longer, so there is the chance that kittens will come again. No more females, even though they are supposedly much better mousers. 
I had a discussion with a local woman about kittens. She feels I am being a terribly irresponsible pet owner. The cats are not exactly pets. They are working animals here on the farm and never  come in the house. Nonetheless, I do not want to contribute to the explosive cat population in this area and vet fees are inordinately high to spay and neuter animals. So, I will have males and see how that goes. If it is not working out, then no more cats. Only one neighbour that I am aware of has a cat and the cat is also male, likely the sire of the kittens here. 

Anyone want a cute little kitty? I am trying to tame them and make them marketable so they are in confinement for a while until they stop hissing and growling at me. I do feed them and eventually they might get the idea that I am not so bad. Sometimes it works for feral kittens, but not always. My fingers are crossed for these little guys. I am not sure what the next step will be. The pet stores are full, the animal shelter is full and most people who want cats already have some. Not looking good...

It is rather sad that there is a cycle here that needs to be broken. 

In cities, at least in Vancouver, spaying and neutering animals is often below the actual veterinary costs. I don't think the vets are subsidized by the city, but if they are, it is a win win situation. If the pets are sterilized, then there are not unwanted puppies and kittens requiring rescue and no homless pets by the thousands. Yes, there will always be rescues for unwanted dogs and cats and yes, people will forgoe veterinary services at any cost and not be responsible pet owners. But here, with the cost of spaying $350 and up for dogs and $350 and up for cats, with neutering costs falling right behind, it is highly unlikely that most people can even afford to spay and neuter all their animals, especially farmers. 

I would like to say that the cats here were dropped off here. I have no real idea where the tom comes from to impregnate the females, but cats will come from far apparently, when the females are in heat and calling. This feral instinct is still strong in the felines. I traded some beautiful female cats for what I thought were male kittens, only to learn the next year that they were females. One of the two orange cats had kittens and I was able to rehome all 6 of them. Smokey, whom I do not ever see anymore, decided to go feral and she had a litter of kittens in the abandoned car in the bush. I only found one and rehomed it, but was aware of other kittens around. It appears that two of the others, possibly three, are still around. Certianly one is because tiny as she is, she has a litter of kittens under the farm store and so does the other orange cat. 

I would give the cats all away if some one would take them and start again with only males, for sure only males this time. Cats are necessary on a farm, but not necessarily long lived. There is a fox den just down the ravine on the farm to the north of us and the young foxes come to the farm some times. They did get a baby goat and a guinea hen off a nest where she should not have been. The sly foxes come downwind and the dogs do not hear them at all. But, some how the cats seem to have evaded that entire den of foxes. 

I counted 7 new kittens under the farm store, but I am not sure which mother has which kittens. The kittens are very wild and even as young as they are, they hiss and scratch and bite when I have tried to pick one up. That is odd, because the orange cat is not a feral cat. She is tame and friendly. The kittens will grow up and interbreed if they are not trapped and disposed of. Disposed of. That sounds absolutely heartless and cruel. It would rather the fox get them. But what choices are there with the cost of spaying a cat that might be dinner for a four legged creature the next day? Such a sad situation, this is, and I, not the only farmer in it. This whole area is rampant with unwanted cats and dogs because of the two fold problem of high veterinary costs and people who do not regard animals very highly. Sad. I do not want to fit in the same category and am really at wits end. Any suggestions that might be affordable and doable? 

The two orange cats look so similar that they have one name, Mohw, Mohw. One of the cats had kittens under the stairs and abandoned them for some reason. I am unable to reach them and they died, of course. 

The other orange cat had 6 orange kittens last year, all males. She is big enough this year to have six again. She had the kittens under the old granary last year, which is now the farm store. I was fortunate enough to find homes, or rather only 2 homes for the kittens. One person took two and the other took four. May we be so lucky this year! Farm cats do not tend to last too long when located next to a highway and a bush. The cats are scooped up by the fox or even an owl. We had a big owl eating the ducks during the winter. I would imagine a young kitten or small cat would be just as easy. The year before when the pot belly pigs were located on the woods side, there were claw marks on their backs too and the babies were eaten. This winter I will relocate the birds for safety. But, back to the cats. 

Cats are cats, not my favourite animal on the farm and next to chickens, likely the least favourite. I still go through great pains to give them insulated winter shelters, but they usually sleep in the dog house that is insulated with wool, right outside the door. This winter we will be in the bigger house and the wool insulated house will be relocated, but Sofi has claimed it, so I am not sure she will sleep with cats. She is an inside dog in the winter though. 

Mohw Mohw is very very big. I imagine she is due any moment. Smokey is nursing kittens somewhere in the bush. She is semi wild herself but will come to me when I call her if she thinks I have good food. I used to give her the mice I caught in the traps to help tame her. I have no idea where her kittens are. Last year she had them in one of the abandoned cars and moved them except for one. He was left there but cried so loud, I could hear him up at the house and I rescued him, then found a wonderful home for him. Penelope loves cats and will always treat him with great respect and give him tons of love. 

The job of the cats is to keep the mouse population down. I believe that they are doing that, because when I first arrived here, there were tons of mice everywhere. Currently we have 5 or 6 cats, 3 of them totally wild bush cats, Smokey's last year's kittens, 3 of which survived over the winter. I have never been close enough to them to even know if they are males or females. What I do not want to happen is to be overrun with related cats that are interbreeding. If I can find Smokey's babies I will steal them and find homes for them. If. 

In the meantime, Mohw Mohw is hanging around and being very loving right now. Maybe tomorrow the kittens will be born. Where, I am not sure, but she is very tame and friendly and will not hide them for too long. Thanks be to the cats for keeping the mice down on the farm. 

Ofcharka is a big, big black dog. He scares a lot of people because of his size and his colour. It is funny that the big white dogs are not so fear inducing as he is, because they are actually bigger. Ofcharka is submissive and friendly, except when he does not want to do something. Then he will not do it and would bite me if I tried to make him. I will have to find a muzzle for him so I can get him into the truck if need be. Either that, or throw a sack over his head so he cannot see. The problem is, that the one time I muzzled him or put a sack on his head might be the last time. 

Ofcharka and Jade have a love for one another that is evident. They often cuddle together and he licks her ears. She stand there and loves the attention. They sometimes sleep together too. Jade is a Maremma dog. Lately, though, Ofcharka and the cats have become quite friendly and they are often near him or cuddling with him. For a while he just ignored them, but it seems that now they are friends. Today, the cat was up on the fence as usual when I was doing chores and Ofcharka jumped up to say hello. I tried to get the shot of the cat cuddling him and rubbing her face on his muzzle, but missed it. It was so charming. The cats are always about when I do chores. They come for a drink of water and follow me around, along with the dogs, hoping for a morsel of attention. I don't know quite why they are as friendly as they are towards me, because I show them very little love really, only a pat here and there. Cats just aren't my animals. They do have a job on the farm and of course, that is to hunt mice and I don't see many mice around, so hopefully they are doing their job. Maybe they will teach Ofcharka to hunt mice? 

I have been busy these last few days painting the porch. Yesterday I cut the mouldings and today I painted them and attempted to put them up, but I cannot hammer for the life of me. I plan to go get some tiny screws instead. My son was listening to me bend the nails and hammered in a little of the quarter round, but the nails were too short. Tomorrow I hope the porch can be finished and the things that are in my house can go back there. I have had to move around 'stuff' for two months, first while the contractor tore open the walls where the porch was leaking and the then the floor and insulated it. The first contractor should have been hung by his toenails for such a poor job, but now at last it is almost done. 

I need to clean up the little farm house before the kids arrive around the 20th of August to celebrate my 60th birthday. They will be staying at the Inn, but hanging out at my place too. I am hoping I can get the girls to go through my bathroom and take whatever they want from the drawers and cupboards. Then the rest of the make up can be trashed and the extra linens, well I am just not sure. I am also hoping I can get the boys to help build the fence feeders for the sheep and goats, but I am not sure how long my youngest is staying, so there may not be time. We do want to just visit too, of course. 

The kittens are now old enough to find new homes. There are six beautiful bright orange babies and they are bold, coming out onto the driveway and playing on the porch. They are not afraid of the big dogs and love to be picked up and cuddled, just like Mamma cat. I think she is the only cat left on the farm though since Smokey disappeared. She was last seen when she had her babies in an abandoned car OUTSIDE of the fenced area. There is a fox there and that was not a good choice for her. 

The bottle baby Nubian goats are so sweet. They are affectionate now, and love a little cuddle after their bottle. Anna is in the yard beside them, my little lamb, but Anna is still struggling with diahrrea. She needs to go to the vet's again because although her problem is intermittent, she should not have it all anymore. He did a stool sample and she has no worms or coccidia so it must be something else. Next is a blood test to be sent to Edmonton. Poor little Anna. She does not identify with goats or sheep and far prefers the dogs, but she is banned from the farmhouse now. Sheep just are not house trainable! 

It is time to separate the lambs and kids too, so that will be the next major task after the porch is completed. I tried to put on a door knob and got it together, but it wouldn't turn, drat. I need some help with that task and I also need to find two storm doors to put on before winter to help block some of the wind. I bought a beautiful hand made wooden screen door, took the  moulding off and the screen apart because it was torn. I need to sand it and replace the screen and moulding and paint it, but that might be a project for next year. The priority now will be to clean the yard in preparation for winter and get the feeders finished and the fences repaired. Many of the sheep and goats will go the auction and the birds will go to the processor so there will be half of the animals to care for in winter. Next year too, I will only breed selectively, not everyone! That way I won't have to worry about too many animals. This was a good year and there were mostly twins and some triplets and even a set of quads, though that means that where there was just one animal before, the population is at least two more if not three or four per mother. 

Farming is hard work and although some is common sense, there is also trial and error. Unfortunately, trial and error sometimes results in something you did not plan for, but at least the lessons are being learned. The cow still has not had her baby. She was due on the 6th. I am trying to keep her in so she does not calf in the pasture. Then I would have to get the calf in some how, if she would let me and that might not be too easy. Hopefully she will have that baby real soon. Then I can milk her and share her with her baby. I can't wait for fresh cream and cheeses. Yum. I do need to find some pigs to help with the excess milk though, real fast. I have been looking. 

And that is the day. I am tired tonight. It has been a long day, starting with the bottle babies and ending with them too. In a week there will be two more that can come off the bottle leaving five, but five is plenty. Whew. Good night and sweetest of dreams. Thank you Creator for this day and the bounty and beauty within it. Namaste. 

Last fall I traded female cats for males, or so I thought, but as it turned out, I got three females and they got themselves bred. The smallest one died giving birth, poor girl, and Smokey went into the bush somewhere. I hope she is well and the kittens are too, but Leon, now Leona chose to have her kittens under the old granary which will be the farm store soon. This is the first day out, shy little gingers they are, 5 of them. No wonder the mamma cat is so thin. The kittens are 4 weeks old now and seem to be doing well. They are so cute, all orange, but I do not know whether they are male of female. I did not want kittens to be born on the farm, which is why I went through the trouble of finding males, yeah right. But they are here and will be put up for adoption when they are old enough. Cute little babies!

Luke and Leon again…
These kittens grew up together and are now going to be little mamma cats. They often just laze around together, but today Luke was particularly affectionate with Leon. I suppose their names should be changed to Lucy and Leona, because the boys are girls as it turns out and as you can see, they are both very pregnant and due to have babies any day now. I wonder if they will kitten share? What do you think?

Smokey had her babies in one of the abandoned cars in the bush, but she and the babies are nowhere to be found now. Smokey is a smart cat and either she has them well hidden or the fox found the litter. Smokey has not been seen for over two weeks, the last time just after she had given birth. 

Luke and Leon, as well as Smokey, were supposed to be males. Well, I guess the folks they came from and I are not up on cats, because none of us knew that they were all females, not males. So this spring, when Smokey went into heat, I cringed and thought of another litter of unwanted kittens. I was also relieved because Luke and Leon were not related to her. But then Luke and Leon also went into heat. The neighbour across the highway keeps an in tact male cat, but he is the only one around. It does only take one. 

So, very soon, Luke and Leon, who are very bonded to the house and stay home all the time, will have their babies. They sleep together in the dog house, now the cat house and may even share it with their litters and share the kittens, as happens rarely, but does happen. 

Smokey was a great cat and I do hope she is safe and her babies are growing and well. The Fat Ewe Farm will soon have abundant free kittens, if anyone is interested. Meow!

Last year a lady highly criticized the farm and me for not spaying the cats and allowing them to produce kittens when there are already too many cats in this area. So, I gave away the females and got three male kittens instead, with the intention of neutering them. Well, as it turned out, the three kittens are female, not male and all three are pregnant. Drat!

Luke, Leon and Smokey are all going to be mothers. Oh boy. That is not what I wanted at all, but now what? The farm is fine with three cats, and although kittens are adorable, more cats are not what we need. It is remarkable that these three have made it a whole year, too, because farm cats disappear. Some are lured out by coyotes, others, who knows? But these three have made it through the winter and are fortunate. 

Soon, very soon, all three will have their babies. Smokey has decided that one of the abandoned 1950's wrecks in the bush will be the best place for her kittens. I wonder if she knows about the fox out there? Luke and Leon, maybe Lucy and Leona, are happy to use the dog house they all love to snuggle together in. 

Anyone for a free kitten or two?