The kittens have been spending most of their days outside with mamma cat or by themselves, exploring. One of the grey kittens likes to visit the rabbits and climbs through the chain link fence to see what is happening in the rabbit pen. The rabbits do not seem to mind. The dogs tend to ignore the kittens for the most part, which is a good thing. Being socialized with chickens, big dogs, geese and humans means that the kittens can go to almost any home and fit right in. Today they were offered some kibbles outside. Generally they have been fed inside Ofcharka's dog house, where they were born, because the geese, chickens and ducks love kibbles too and devour them before the kittens get any. Sure enough, the chickens came first, then the ducks, so the kibbles were moved to the dog house again. There is a rabbit cage at the opening to the dog house to prevent unwelcome visitors, but the cats can climb in and out easily now that they are bigger.
There are only 2 girls, the grey and the calico, and one grey, and the two orange babies are boys. My friend's barn tragically burned down and he lost his cats with it, so they could find a new home quite readily if there are no takers for domestic homes. Tomorrow they will posted on the internet. So long baby kitties. You are very very sweet indeed.
There are no male cats on this farm or the farms nearby that I know of. The cats were over a year old when they became pregnant for the first time, so the tom must have traveled some distance. My uncle used to drown the babies the moment they were born. I understand why now, though I still think it is cruel. Rescue operations are not interested in more cats. They are overfull and cannot rehome most of the felines they have. They are definitely not interested in spaying my two female cats, the only cats on the farm, plus the three male kittens (the females were rehomed).
Eva, you have made me think. The cats are of little value on the farm. They do not hunt much, other than the odd mouse, but the dogs and geese do better than the cats there. All creatures deserve to be loved. Affordable veterinary care would be helpful, though I still doubt the majority of farmers would spay or neuter cats. They simply disappear too often. I am sorry you could not support a farm that has kittens. If the truth be told, you would likely not be eating much more than you grow yourself then, since it is the way it is on a farm. Thank you for writing.