CATastrophe

Once I moved the cat family indoors, my life became more of a catastrophe than before.  I have spent way too much time with them, so my usual routine has been quite disrupted.  But our days together are numbered.

As I contemplate sending off the kittens to new homes, I have mixed emotions.  I will be glad to lessen the chaos here but will miss each one of the kittens.  I have become too attached to them.  I decided, early on, to keep Styx, but have also been faced with the decision of whether to keep a kitten, bringing my cat total to four (probably way too many).  Babe was my favorite from the start, with her striking looks, but now Lady is gaining my vote to keep, with her wonderful personality.  In ways she reminds me of Maya, the sweet kitten I lost to FIP at eight months of age.

Saturday 10/26 - The morning view out my window was dreary and I could see that the creek and pond had risen even higher.  Here are a few comparison photos, last Tuesday after 2 1/2 inches of rain first, and Saturday after 3 more inches.

It was cold and rainy most of the day, with the rain stopping for awhile mid-day, which is when I went out to take the photos.

Typically during feeding time when I set out the can food (kitten chow is always available) the two girls join Mama Styx.

I was trying to get last week's blog done, but way too distracted by the cat family.  The kittens are so much fun to watch and interact with.



During our second, longer morning walk, when there was a break in the rain, Maggie and I took a look down back.

This large branch had fallen onto the oasis so I moved it up onto the foot path until I could deal with it later.


Sitting back here at my computer, with Styx nearby, I was feeling like my life has been a catastrophe lately.  I hadn't been to the gym or barn much at all in several weeks.  It was getting too late to go to either one at this point, and I was expecting Patty in an hour.




Needing to show some kind of productivity for the day, and since the rain had finally stopped, I went back out to move the big limb into the woodland on the other side of the creek.  My wadding boots were barely tall enough.






While I was down back in work mode, I raked many dead leaves out of the creek.  You can see them in the above photo, under water, along the inside curve.

The most recent grass seed had mostly germinated and the new grass was looking nice and green.  It needs to fill in more, but is off to a good start.


Tony dropped by just as Patty arrived, and she had brought me a bunch of kitten food, since they had just transported two foster groups (I think 8 or 9 kittens total) up to Ohio.  We enjoyed visiting while watching and playing with the kittens.  I didn't get any photos, but had taken this one of Lady earlier.









The kittens are rarely found all together in sleep or play.  They do like the dog bed and all took a nap here after Patty left.




I usually see them in smaller groups, but haven't clearly seen that any have a special playmate or cuddle buddy.  This just happens to be the three boys.







I gave the family their evening meal on one plate as usual.  Except this was a can of Wilderness brand kitten food Tony had left.  Even all three boys dug in when I fed them.  There isn't room for all six around the plate.

Sunday 10/27 - My morning snuggle and computer time was cut short and I missed church because the farrier was at the barn for some other horses and was to do Amiga and Zorro also.  The temperature wasn't that bad, but it seemed cold because it was drizzling.  I sat on Amiga out behind the hay barn while she grazed.




Zorro getting trimmed.

Once home I had my second cup of tea and more breakfast, and sat here at my computer trying to finish last week's blog.  Once I get behind, it is kind of a catastrophe because it seems to take so much longer to get caught up.  The higher than normal number of photos also bogs me down.  And then there's the kittens, a huge distraction.  Renegade was trying to convince Styx to let him nurse, but only got a good tongue bath (video).





It had cleared off, but more rain was coming in a few days, so I worked in the yard for over an hour.  First I removed another big branch that had fallen on (into) the oasis and I repaired the large hole it made.



Then I raked more leaves out of the creek. They just keep washing here from up-stream.  I got four wheelbarrow loads, which was a lot because they were tightly packed from being water logged.  I also took this (video) of one of the springs I noticed.







I was able to catch a nap on the couch and enjoy lots of kitten snuggles.








Although I couldn't get Babe to snuggle, she just wanted to play.  LOL

Maggie is doing well with the kittens, and they are growing to trust her.  She likes the game of find the kitten.
















I enjoy watching them, playing with them, and holding them.

Monday 10/28 - I woke at 1:30 and got out of bed at 2:15.  It was very foggy for our first walk of the day at 4am.

I finally posted last week's blog and got this blog started before heading to the gym for Line Dancing.  Page was subbing in Zumba Gold so I stayed for that too.




Morning fun with the dog and kittens.  They love the balls on my slippers.














And I think they like Maggie too.

It was a beautiful day so I skipped weights (not a total catastrophe because I went back and did them at 4:45).  Getting in and out of Food City and the Dollar store was a challenge because Peavine has been re-routed through there and the old road is now a business access with limited entry points.  Finally I was home and ready to work down back.


Notice the creek level is back down some, but all the big rocks, except the one at the edge, were under water still.

I decided to start the process of concrete work to permanently 'stick' the rocks to the floor of the drainage ditch down at the bottom where they keep washing away when we get the torrential rain falls in a short amount of time.  First I had to remove all the leaves and debris that have wash down there.  Then I removed a section of the floor rocks.



Finally I was ready to add sand from the creek bed to cover all the roots that were exposed.  By the time I got this done, it was 4:30.  So I put away my tools and headed to the gym.

I had showered at the gym after a great workout, and came home sweet, clean, tired, and hungry.  We all (8 cats, a dog and I) ate dinner and hung out till bedtime.  I had seen very little nursing all day, but I wasn't really in the sunroom much of the time.  We were hoping Styx would start weaning the kittens by now, so she could go with a group of other fosters for spaying November 13th.

Tuesday 10/29 - while working (alright, it is more like playing) here at my computer there was a small catastrophe.  The kittens had breached the wall (plastic covered fence) and were invading Mama cat and my space at the desk.  They had figured a way to used the edge of the cardboard box the litter pan was in to climb up onto the shelf and then climb up onto the bench by the window.  So I moved the wall to completely cover the space between the shelf and bench (seen below).



Well next they started climbing through the heart hole in the shelf and onto the bench.  So I had to use cardboard to block the hole.  The above photo shows the front of the bench with the hole.  To the right you can see the back side of it where I put a piece of cardboard.






Styx watching critters outside the window.  You can see the bald spots on both her ears.  The vet said it could be from frostbite, since she was very likely born late January.

While I was re-arranging things in the sunroom, I decided to vacuum.  Boy did that frighten the little kittens.  They will need to get used to vacuums and other big, loud, scary things.


I saw the kittens nurse a lot today.  In this (video) they were ganging up on Mama Styx.  And then as you can see (video) they accomplished what they wanted, an opportunity to nurse.








Renegade blends right in on this giraffe print, on the dog bed.

Babe sound asleep on the cat tree, with the cardboard restraining wall still in place.

I planned to start concrete work mid-morning, but it was after 1pm when I finally got to work outside.  I put Maggie out on the deck and Babe was looking out the sunroom door at us.






I made two batches of cement.  The first batch was slow going because I did the whole wall on the one side of the drainage ditch (seen below, getting ready to cover it with plastic).  It just takes time to get all the rocks to fit together well (like a jig-saw puzzle) and to fill in with cement, all the spaces between them.



Patty came to play with the kittens and try to decide which girl she preferred.  She said it was a real toss up.  They all are just so cute.  While she was up with the kittens, I was down back working with a second batch of wet concrete, which just can't be put on hold.

Patty spotted deer coming through to eat and drink, and took this (video).  She caught them romping in the water (video), which is when I heard them and turned to look.  I stood to watch and took this (video).  Meanwhile, Patty was taking this last (video).




Patty left just as I was finishing up the second batch of cement, which went much quicker because I was putting down rock on the bottom of the ditch and put in a thick layer of concrete under them.  I covered all the new cement work with plastic and even put some down over the sandy bottom not yet done.  I put large rocks on top of the plastic in hopes to hold the sand in place.



As you might guess, the evening was spent watching kittens.




They are becoming quite coordinated and agile as they race around, climb, and jump.



They groom each other and cuddle together until sleep overtakes them.

Sleep soon got the best of me too.

Wednesday 10/30 - The rain started at 6am, just as Maggie and I were returning home from our first walk of the day.  When it let up to just a sprinkle I went out to check the concrete work, clean (with wire brush) the 'drips' of it off the rocks, and redo the plastic to better handle a gully-washer if the rain were to get harder, and it did, several times during the day.









I did the Zumba class after Line Dancing but decided to wait and go back later to do weights - but it never happened.  Tony came by to get her dog crate and see the kittens.  Stix was slated to be spayed Nov. 13th, exactly two weeks, and needed to stop nursing her babies ASAP.



Well, after Tony left, I decided to split the girls and boys up.  I prepared to put mom and the two girl kittens up in Britney's room and leave the three boys in the sunroom.  They were going to be transported to Connecticut on Sunday so needed to be separated anyway.  I thought if only two girls were nursing that would help dry Styx up.









The reason Wild About Cats does transports up north is because there is not an overabundance of kittens because many of the north east states have had the spay/neuter programs in place for years and they have been quite effective.  I got everything set up to move the girls and then took a nap on the couch in the sunroom with the whole cat family.



Nothing like trying to pee when you have an audience.

The girls got moved up-stairs into Britney's bedroom and bathroom.  This separation wasn't exactly a catastrophe, but I was feeling bad about it none the less.





While walking Maggie, Tony and I communicated and we both thought it would be better to just let Styx wean her babies when she was ready.  So we moved her spay date to Nov 26th, which was when the two girl kittens are going to be spayed.  As soon as I got back from our walk, I went up-stairs and brought the three girls back down into the sunroom with the boys.

And I spent the evening watching the whole family romp, chase, and play (video).  So entertaining.





Renegade on the attack.






Once they all tuckered out, so did I.

Thursday 10/31 - Halloween and the end of October.  Every morning I spend several hours in the sunroom, here at my computer.  I keep a watch on the dog who keeps a watch on the kittens.









They know I am here on my side of the 'wall' which they have been trying to figure out how to get over.  This photo was taken from my seat, looking over the wall at them.

I saw Mama Styx deny the babies a chance to nurse a few times, even hissing at them once.

But then while Mama was cleaning Babe, Blue snuck a moment to nurse.  And then Styx let Babe nurse and then came Lady to get in on the action.  And pretty soon all five of them were nursing.

 

The wind had picked up overnight and it ended up raining most of the day.  The temperature started declining mid afternoon and eventually got down into the high 20s overnight.  It was a good day to sit with the cat family, their last day together (video).  I watched, played with, and held them, and took lots of photos.






















When the rain had let up, I went out and got pictures of my drainage ditch and the creek.  Some sand had washed down from under the plastic, and of course more leaves and debris from up the hill were deposited.  Water from the church across the street carries a lot of stuff down.





The pond and creek were quite full.














Looking down stream from behind Allen's, the water was over the banks of the creek.








Where I had dug out and widened the creek, it was still within it's banks, and there was no water up on the oasis.




What are they all looking at?


Who's bed is this anyways?









It was a lazy day, good for lounging around, and I didn’t go to the gym to lift weights as intended.  I guess the dreary weather just really decreased my motivation.  I did bring in my potted flowers and covered two of the larger pots I had left outside.


The boys were to be transported to Connecticut on Sunday so I wanted to continue to help them be more adoptable by playing with them, exposing them to the dog, holding them, etc.  And I wanted to enjoy them before they left.


Mama Stix is still letting the babies nurse, in fact, sometimes encouraging it (video).







At 5:30 I got dressed for a Halloween Dance Party and took this selfie.


The host couple, Richard and Elaine.














Meanwhile, Joe was at the poker player's Halloween party on the cruise ship.

Mary and another fellow dance lover.



I had a great time, dancing during most of the party (6-10) so I did kind of get in my workout for the day.

Friday 11/1 - First thing after day break, when walking Maggie, I checked on the drainage ditch.  The plastic had stayed in place, but lots of sand had still washed down from where I had put it.  I would wait to removed the plastic and get a better look later.



It was a beautiful sunshiny day and most of the fur babies were enjoying the sunshine.  This is Lady.

 And here is Babe sneaking up on her.

The cats (banned from the sunroom) and dog could find plenty of sunshine in the living room.















At some time in the morning, while here at my computer, I noticed a little bit of liquid throw up on the tarp.  I had planned to take all six into the vet for their first round of shots so that the boys could be transported into Connecticut on Sunday.  I wanted to continue with this game plan, so kind of just disregarded the throw up because it is often a usual occurrence with cats.

I took the whole cat family to the vet.  We were doing this a week earlier than when they like to give the first shots, but Dr. Dan said they should be fine.  He examined them all.  The boys weighed 2.2 pounds each and the girls 2 lbs. each.  Mama cat was still only weighing in at 6.2 pounds but her ear mites were gone.  In addition to the Distemper/upper respiratory shot they all got, she also got her rabies vaccination.

Once home all the babies fell asleep, exhausted, on the dog bed in the sun.



Here are two more photos of Lady laying in the window in the sun because she is just so cute.


As I was cleaning the cats' pans once we got home, I noticed a couple of loose stools.  It had to be a baby because it was such a small amount.  Now I was feeling a bit worried.  And then I saw Baby throw up. wahhh!







I was needing a break from the cat family and was wanting some horse time so I went to the barn fairly late afternoon and had a nice little ride on Amiga.  Many leaves are now down on the trails and most of the underbrush that is still green is vegetation that stays green through the winter.  It was a crisp 50° ride but a pretty day with warm sunshine.

The separation of boys and girls occurred right after dinner.  Because the boys were to leave on transport to Connecticut on Sunday, I wanted to make leaving their mom and their sisters a little less traumatic, so I moved the three girls upstairs and kept the three boys in their familiar sunroom location.







The girls explored in the hallway and bathroom (video).  Before bedtime, once I knew they were more comfortable and knew where the litter box and food and water were, I opened the door to Britney's room.



Babe still had diarrhea, always making it to the litterbox, but I had not seen her throw up, although I wasn't always upstairs with them to see it.  I had planned to sleep in Britney's room, so read in bed and watched the girls continue to explore and start to play.

It had been a fun week with the cat family, but separating them and Babe getting sick were heart wrenching.  And soon, things got even more chaotic as the CATastrophe escalated.

Grammar for me, is another form of catastrophe:
Twin sister Carol has been my Blog editor for years, since I started blogging in February 2009.  I have always appreciated her help.  With spell check, most of my spelling errors have become nonexistent, although homonyms can be an issue.


It is mostly grammar now, that trips me up.  I remember many of the rules, but it's the exceptions to the rules that throw me.  I still have troubles with hyphenated words and there is an apostrophe catastrophe on occasion.  Part of my problem is, apostrophes are multi functional and have too many rules.  They are used for showing contractions and also to show possession, but making words ending in S possessive vs plural words, mixes me up.  And then there's the use of its or it’s which can be confusing.