I give in.I am going to care for the strays so please HELLLP!

Thanks for the info. I just ordered one. I have a feeling this will be a long term thing so I may as well buy one. Plus at that price it equals a 2 day rental.

Giorgio was on the roof again. I had opened the window a crack in the cat's room and he was trying to pry it open! Yep. Bold as day at 6 in the morning. He woke my daughter up. Mary went nuts and was hanging on the ledge trying to get to him and screaming. I feel for Giorgio if she ever gets her hands on him. Mary is like a tiger. She is mixed with a bengal and she behaves like one. I don't like for her to get stressed out though so I am trying to show her that the strays are ok and that she is still my Alpha girl. She sleeps with me every night. Either on me, between my legs or on my back or stomach. She is very attached to me and although I love all of my cats very deeply, she is special to me.

So while I was posting Lucia and two of her kittens came to the door for food. The kittens were hilarious. They kept running up to the door and then running away. Lucia watches them protectively but how cute are they? Mary initially had another fight through the glass with her but when the kittens came up she stopped. She looked up at me and seemed to take my cue. She stopped and then walked away.
Sachi definitely looks like her as well as the other two kittens though one is a tuxedo. They looked up at me and . It renewed my determination. I look at them and they all look alike. My question is who the heck is Saffron's father? I have not seen a blue cat around.

I put down a mix of Solid Gold lamb and rice dry and Weruva chicken. They seemed to enjoy it. She is a beautiful tuxedo. I got a good look at her face and I seriously think she is one of the most beautiful tuxedo cats I have ever seen. Her eyes are like shiny emeralds. I want to keep her so much. I know I keep saying this but it is true. She is so elegant. I think this is where Sachi gets her elegance. But I realize that this is just the beginning for me on my mission to save cats and I will come across many cats that will tug at my heart with their own uniqueness. I will love them all in a way.

I think Lucia is pregnant again.
Which means there are probably some ferals I am not seeing around.

I have been alerted to the fact that we have another Tom in the neighborhood. I mean coming in my yard often. How I missed him I don't know. And guess what? It is a big blue boy. MMmmmm.

I need a video camera desperately to catch what is happening in the wild kingdom better known as my back yard and garden.

Here is the camera we use.
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-e...00000000005702
We did not pay this price. We bought one from Ebay.
I can monitor camera from internet and this has motion sensor. This also has setting of sending frame of images via e-mail. Thus I can save them and review them later.

As another toy for my hubby, he tried this one from Costco. http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...se=&lang=en-US
Not exactly the same one, but the one we saw in the wearhouse. It worked pretty good, but we could not figure out to monitor picture over the web. There seems some software glitch. So we returned it.

I, too, fell into the feral kitty trap. I just did not have the heart to not feed. I have one that has been around over 4 years. I am now up to 5 adults, two 9-month-olds. Unfortunately, I did not act quick enough and one of them had a litter about a month ago. I just wanted to tell you that we never put up fancy shelters. As a matter of fact, my husband made a lovely shelter for them that they never used. Except for keeping mama and her 4-5 month old kittens in the garage most of the winter, all the kitties took shelter elsewhere. Of course, I was worried sick but many prayers to God and St. Francis took care of them, I think.

Originally Posted by Kazy

Here is the camera we use.
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-e...00000000005702
We did not pay this price. We bought one from Ebay.
I can monitor camera from internet and this has motion sensor. This also has setting of sending frame of images via e-mail. Thus I can save them and review them later.

As another toy for my hubby, he tried this one from Costco. http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...se=&lang=en-US
Not exactly the same one, but the one we saw in the wearhouse. It worked pretty good, but we could not figure out to monitor picture over the web. There seems some software glitch. So we returned it.

Click to expand...

Thank you. I will look into it.

Originally Posted by Handsty

I, too, fell into the feral kitty trap. I just did not have the heart to not feed. I have one that has been around over 4 years. I am now up to 5 adults, two 9-month-olds. Unfortunately, I did not act quick enough and one of them had a litter about a month ago. I just wanted to tell you that we never put up fancy shelters. As a matter of fact, my husband made a lovely shelter for them that they never used. Except for keeping mama and her 4-5 month old kittens in the garage most of the winter, all the kitties took shelter elsewhere. Of course, I was worried sick but many prayers to God and St. Francis took care of them, I think.

Click to expand...

I think you are right. The shelter will most likely end up as a feeding station during the rainy season. We have the best intentions but cats usually have a mind of their own. Maybe the shelters are still too visible to them or they are wary of them for whatever reason. Kazy has had success but she had them inside for awhile.

I can't wait for my trap to come. The weather is horrible. It is cold and wet for the Spring. My mind is on the kitties outside. My cats inside are warm and dry
inside being hugged and kissed all of the time. I think of Lucia, Giorgio, Lorenzo and the kittens and I worry for them. I wonder if they are dry. I wonder if someone else near by has a place for them to stay warm.
I told my mother about my plight and she exclaimed,"Oh no not another rescuing mission. Not more cats?" But she knows me well enough to know that rescuing is a part of me. I was the child always coming home with a bedraggled or broken animal wanting to keep them. I had rabbits, dogs, guinea pigs and I even tried to rescue a baby duck by keeping him in the bathtub. I did have a cat once that I tried to keep but my mother said that cats belonged outside and I thought the cat ran away. Just in the last few years my mother finally told me that the cat had actually been hit by a car.
So I worry that one of my outsiders will meet a similar fate and I won't know. I am going to order the camera just to keep tabs and to see who else is lurking out there.
I do know that another cat has appeared on the scene. An orange tabby.
I thought once I fixed Lucia's situation it would be done but it won't be.

Saffron and Sachi are fine and I think they play nonstop because I hear noises behind the door. I can tell they like their foil ball and their mouse toy.
They are eating well and today I was pleased to see that their little bellies look good and full. They are a little vocal but is so soft like little squeaks. The funniest thing about them is when I am coming with food or clean water they press their faces under the door. Sometimes an a paw comes under the door or last night Sachi had her whole tail under and was swishing it back and forth. The big cats were mesmerized by it and watched it go back and forth. Maybe she was hypnotizing them.

Cat on a hot tin roof. This is Giorgio. Come rain or shine he antagonizes my cats. He tries to break in. I have to have fresh air circulating in the cat room so he uses this fact to his own advantage. I have two litterboxes in there so I like to keep the room ventilated. But every time I open the window he comes around, usually in the early morning. He is causing unrest in my home. I wanted to think the best of him but I think he is spoiling for a fight. Why else would he keep coming back? Maybe it helps keep the boredom at bay.
Saturday morning I hear Mary, again, going to crazy. Seldon and Cleo were sleeping and seemed to think staying asleep was better than arguing with Giorgio. I think they are frankly tired of the whole thing and are no longer all that agitated. Protecting the domain seems to be Mary's job and they are more than happy to leave her to it.
I poke my whole head out of the window and Giorgio and I stared each other down like a pair of cowboys in a movie.*cue western theme music* Finally I hissed like a cat and he ran away. Of course he was back the next day. So I must not make a very intimidating cat. I was able to really get a good look at him. He is an attractive cat. Unusual markings. Similar to Seldon's Van markings but with red. His eyes are exotic and he is long and sleek. He is quite the handsome Tom. Maybe coming around is revenge for chasing him at all hours of the night when Seldon got loose. In the dark from afar we thought it was Seldon so we had been running after him. We offered him food which he ate enthusiastically but could never get close enough for an ID. So now he knows inside those walls there is delicious tuna.

Lucia comes to the door everyday for her food and brings the kittens too. I am waiting for my trap. Though we are going to try to hand catch them since they come out with her. The rain is making them look so pitiful out there. When she sees me coming she rubs her body on the door and starts meowing. She is so thankful for the food and water. I am hoping this means she is eating the healthy food and not too many rodents which carry worms. I give her a big plate of food so hopefully she sticks mainly to this. I keep going to the door wanting my trap to be there but I have a fews days to go.

Saffron and Sachi are the cutest things in the world. Sachi is coming out of her shell and I can see her feisty side coming out. I now take them out and let them run all over the TV room with the door closed. They tear around the room. One night I kept the big cats in the room with them. Mary treated them like her own kittens and disciplined them but also grooming them with tender care. Cleo just watched them but wanted nothing to do with playing with them. Seldon seems to like them and likes to come with me when I feed them. They have so much energy! Cleo wanted out of the room pretty quickly. Too much stimulation for Cleo. These kittens are truly amazing and I can see why the optimal thing is for kittens to be with their mothers for as long as possible. I can see the difference between them and Seldon and Cleo when they came home. Seldon and Cleo's mother died giving birth in the shelter. She was a kitten herself barely over 8 months old. They came from a litter of 8 with one of the kittens dying with her. She was only 7 pounds. So they were orphans and once I knew their story I was happy that from all the cages with kittens in them, I had chosen them. Later, I found out their five buff sisters were adopted out at Petsmart 3 days later. But basically their young kittenhood was spent in a cage. They weren't nearly as physically capable nor were they as good at doing cat things. They had to learn from Mary and me. Saffron and Sachi at 7 weeks are ahead of the curve. I have to stop them sometimes from being too rambunctious. They take flying leaps off of the couch and have learned how to leap from the floor to the arm of the couch. Quite fearless the two of them. It looks like Sachi's eyes are going to be yellow and Saffron will have green. Her coat is so different from Sachi's which is very soft and wispy. Hers has a woolen quality to it.

On the outside front. There indeed appears to be colony somewhere in the vicinity. I have gotten reports of collarless cats afraid of people. Somehow I have become the go to girl for the homeless cats in my neighborhood. There are sightings of 4 different cats by my daughter and 2 others by my brother. The neighbors have been more than happy to leave it to me. They seem to be coming closer to my house as if there is a sign on the backdoor that says Cat friendly. Food and water HERE!

Lorenzo is back I had thought of him(?) as a kitten but I think he is just an older kitten around 6 months that was hanging out with Lucia. Maybe a sibling? Or perhaps she is older than she looks and he is from a previous litter.Also we have a new orange tabby, a blue Tom, a gray and white one male or female, Giorgio, Lucia and the kits. Who lurks beyond I will see.

I go to my back door to open the blinds and there on my doorstep were Lucia and the kittens bundled up together in the chilly rain. I think she sees my house as safe. My cat shelter never came and I thought that summer was here so things would be okay. I wanted to bring them in but I can't with my own cats here. I love her and a part of me knows that black cats like her, even tuxedos may sit for awhile in a shelter and that breaks my heart.
I am going to ask around about people I know who may know someone who would take her and her kittens in as a furever home. Maybe I am not exhausting all of my options.

In regard to a shelter, how about getting one of those big rubbermaid containers? Put the top on, flip it upside-down and cut a door in it. Then you can make her a little bed in there and it will give her a place to shelter the kittens for now. At least until you find a place for them. Good luck finding them a place!

I think I will do the rubbermaid idea today!
I can put it next to the stairs. Thanks! I feel better knowing that I can do something today about it!

A plastic doghouse sounds promising too. I have work to do today. I better take a break from the site and get to moving.

A dog house would work too, but I'm usually strapped for cash so a rubbermaid is a good cheap option.

Well, there is good news. I have 3 people who want Lucia. All three people are cat lovers and I have seen the care they give their own.
One is a single man who absolutely babies the cat he has. My only concern is that his girl has been an only and likes it like that.
One is a couple who have a semiferal but would love an indoor only cat. They are big into nutrition for their cat.
One is another couple with a 23 year old cat and would like a younger cat since they know she won't be alive that much longer. They have a beautiful back yard and garden where she could go sometimes. It is all fenced in and safe.
I am willing to do the spay, tests, the vaccinations, the dewormer and give them a pack of Advantage for her. I am willing to give them a carrier and 2 months worth of food. Anything so that one them will take her.
The two kittens...likely the shelter. I am not prepared to have 7 cats. I will foster them until they are ready to go.

I have not seen the Toms lately. I miss them. I can't believe I miss Giorgio but he does add a little spice to life. I like his tenacity. Plus when I see him I know he is ok.
The rain has stopped but my shelter will be ready today to put up.

I went and bought the kittens a kitty gym, a new house and some new toys. We are going to have a blast with them.

The weather is horrible and I tried to put my shelter up and it got wet inside. So I put in the garage to dry off. Then I attempted to bring it out again but the people to pressure wash my porch and deck had arrived. I hoped that Lucia and the kits were not under either structure. I made the appointment when I first moved in. I was in a lot of pain all day from my health problem and my joints were stiff. I could not get my shelter together. I was worried sick and near tears. But then I remembered that Lucia and the kits are most likely burrowed further under the house and will be ok for right now.
I botched my Rubbermaid shelter first, sorry whiteforest, and then I was bright and thought I was being economical by buying a shelter that needs assembly. I was so frustrated and I was on my own nerves. The shelter fell apart at the first breeze. My moment of self satisfaction was short lived.
Today I have to go to the hospital for tests all day so hopefully I have a break and can go get a doghouse. ALREADY ASSEMBLED.
I didn't see Lucia at the door but I did put my normal food out at our spot.

So I am sitting in my sunroom, drinking my tea throughly disgusted with myself when I hear a tap on the window. My old pal Giorgio had returned.
This time I didn't hiss. I would have hugged him silly if I could have picked him up. The sun room is all windows and I sit in there and drink my tea almost everyday at the same time. The wind is blowing and the rain was a drizzle but there he was. He tapped and then ran to the back of the house. I went back and he had vanished. Maybe he just came by to say Hello.

When making a rubbermaid shelter - cut one hole in each side.
Then using clear vinyle (like the kind carpet protectors are made
of, and some rubber cement, cement a "flap" to cover ONE
of the holes. Leave the other open. (Now they have
an escape hatch if threatend)...

Put the top ON, and set the container rightside up NOT UPSIDE DOWN
as someone told you here.

Before putting the lid on and setting outside, fill it
with straw (you can purchase craft bales of nice
dry straw in mini bale sizes perfect for filling a rubber
maid container - 2 will do nicely - at the Craft stores)

If you don't have any straw, then shredded newspapers
can do the trick nicely.

Put in a sheltered area, and let the cats find it. YOu can
make one with 2 large holes on each side, no stuffing, and
put the food INSIDE the containers too, teaching them
a) to go in the containers and b) keeping foods dry and
sheltered from the elements..

The weather has made it hard to catch the cats. It is cold here and the kittens are not coming out.
Giorgio on the other hand does not find weather to be an obstacle. I have figured out how he has been getting on the roof. I saw pawprints all over my black car. It is a SUV so the roof of the car is tall enough for him to leap from my car to the lowest roof.
But his adventures are not just at my own home. My neighbor told me she woke up Sunday morning to take a shower and found him sprawled on her bathroom rug sleeping. She is not sure how he got in.
I was lucky enough to get a photo of Lucia. Several in fact.

One of the kittens:


Seldon looking out at Lucia:


We have spent the last few days trying to get the kittens but to no avail. Yet.

Saffron and Sachi definitely have a dynamic where Saffron is the clear leader. Sachi follows her lead. But when it comes to getting along with the big cats Sachi is doing a better job. Saffron is so spunky that she tries to wrestle play with them like they are peers. Sometimes it is unwelcome.
Seldon is so crazy for them. I take them out for some playtime at least twice a day. Seldon always wants to come in and play with them. I guess he is the cool big brother.lol. He plays hide and seek and chase. I love them so much and enjoy them.
Saffron sees me as Safety and when she gets scared she runs to me and wants to be held. Sachi just likes being with me period. They are Mommy's girls for sure. Their little voices are too sweet and so tiny. But Saffron wants to be heard so she uses it as big as she can.Which is not very big at all.
They eat so much. I can't believe how much food they can out away. Tons.
I wish Wellness made huge cans. I am going to mix up their diet some and give them some different kitten food so they won't develop an allergy.
I give the outdoor kits EVO so I may try some of that too. They seemed to enjoy it previously.
I changed their litter box to a covered one and put some stairs in front of it so that could get in easily. They pushed the stairs away and it seems they prefer jumping in. I saw them do it. Quite funny.
They have also taken to banging on the door for attention. They really want to be out all of the time but that is not practical. They are too little. I noticed something else about them that is different than Seldon and Cleotis when they were kittens. They don't try to put everything in their mouths. I was told this had to do with spending valuable time with their mothers who teach them that. But even more importantly they were feeding from Lucia so they don't have an oral fixation. I know this is true for dogs but I had not known that it can be true for cats too.

Well it has been quite the adventure.
I captured Lucia last night. I use the word capture loosely because she jut walked up to me and I put her in the carrier. I took her to the night vet hospital where she was checked. The good news is that she is disease free. She is about 2 years old and an absolute doll. The vets were impressed by her sweetness and demeanor. They kept calling her Princess Lucia. The not so good is that she is most definitely pregnant. She is due in 10-14 days. They showed us an Xray of the babies. It looks like 4 or more. This is will be my first time with a pregnant cat and I am scared to death.
The receptionist called Princess Lucia the black sheep of the royal family because of her loose ways and her tarty behavior. We had a laugh about it. Those days are coming to close. After she has the kittens she is getting spayed. No more cute kittens and no more of her having to live like she has. Birthing is hard business and twice in 5 months is a lot.
I have not seen the outside kittens for a few days. I have seen her but not them so I am not sure if they are even around anymore. I have no idea where they are or what could have happened to them. It makes me kind of sad but that is why cats need to have someone care for them, spay or neuter and get them off the streets. I guess in life we find our causes and the things we care about. Once the sheer magnitude of the problem of strays and ferals hits you it is hard to turn a blind eye.
My house is now a cacophony of cat noises. Lucia is in the bathroom where the kittens were. The kittens are in their own room. I put a bed and some warm blankets for Lucia. I put down a huge can of EVO which she has worked her way through. She has used her litterbox like a champ. Cat Attract has not failed me yet. She will be getting her dewormer today. Lucia is clearly exhausted and has been resting a lot.
The kittens seem to like their new digs. More room to run and jump. But when Lucia whines a little in her room, they answer her. In the middle of all of this is Seldon getting in on the conversation. It did not seem like she recognized them through the glass door Sunday. She hissed and lunged at the window when she saw Saffron. But when she saw Sachi she seemed to add it up since Sachi looks like the other black kitten. Then she blinked. However now they seem to enjoy talking to one another. Seldon answers and butts in. I wonder what they are saying. Both kittens with their tiny meows, Lucia with her girlish complaints and Seldon... who knows what he has to add to the conversation.

I have no idea what happened to the other kittens as I said before but tonight I am going to take a look.
Giorgio likes to scare my cats. He hides around the corner and then lunges at the glass door. It is not appreciated, especially by Mary.