Moved and have "new cat enclosure"!!! - Page 2

Thank you ldg.. You know that darn barrel.... they love it. I wasn't sure because it is hanging from ropes but they don't mind it blowing in the breeze or that it moves when they jump into it. When I got home today there were two cats snuggled up inside it taking a nap. And the burlap is working great!! It keeps the dew out but also let air flow in so it's fresh all the time. I have them all outside rigth now but star and Princess. Star know I want to crate her to take her outside so she is avoiding me. If I let her, which she likes, I know she will not just stroll through the gate so I need to crate her. I think it would scare her if I carried her through the house and then outside. I don't want to get scratched.

And little princes minny pearl is just hiding from me too. In a few days they will relax. They are probably wondering where their buds are.....hahaha They have no idea what a great surprise I have for them. This weekend I will have more time to transfer them. They were crated when I moved them and that's only been a week so it is still fresh in their minds and since I have the crate in the living room right now, they are avoiding it like the plague.


And thanks for the sentiment about my 4 I lost. It has been about 1.5 yrs since Tulip disappeared and I keep having this nagging feeling that he will show up in missouri and noone will be there... I made posters of him and put them in every single mailbox for a 10 mile stretch. Hunting season was starting and I scared all the deer off yelling his name for the entire season walking through the woods. I made some hunters really mad... I had a few leads on him that I followed through with but nothing panned out. We still have a 100.00 reward for him.

And that enclosure is still a work in progress. The simple things in it now are to alleviate their boredom. We have other plans in store as well. Husband said he is going to cut a couple barrels in two lengthwise and hang them up stair-stepping them for them to jump and play in. I also want some sort of platform maybe 6x6 with a small 2" side to put balls in...

Well, we found out during the last rain that two cats do not like sharing space very well kissy and Toe-- so we put in a couple of plastic barrels and cut a cat hole in the front of them hoping they would use them.

I stuffed them full of hay and the race was on to get in the barrel. Husband is going to put them a little awning on them tomorrow to block rain. At this time, because it is going to rain tomorrow, we just hurriedly got them in place so they can be used tonight. We put them on bricks 1/2-1" off the ground and drilled a couple holes in the bottom under the hay 'just in case'...

They love them..!!! Star, Tink and Toe are already inside one together and JJ is in the other. "Kissy" is in the house...

Well, I have nearly complete day 1 of landscaping the kitty enclosure.

I planted them a lilac tree for starters. It will cover one side completely of the area I want to separate into a room. it might be next year before it gets big enough but they require little care and smell very good.

I also put brick stepping stones from the catnip area. I envision lots of herbs growing around everything and I wanted to get the stones in place before it all starts growing. I put a large one directly under where the tree is so they can lay on it..



I also started digging their kitty pond. It is goign to be 2' circular. So I have a 28" hold dug that is 1' deep. I need to level it out and tweak it a little so it will be perfect. I plan on surroundingit by wildflowers -- ie lavender and sunflowers mainly. I am going to surround it by large rocks/stones so they can lay beside it. I want to aerate it as well in case I want to throw a couple minnows in it.

Also, we are setting the plastic pond on rocks so I can drain it directly in the hole once a week.. That's one reason for having it this size. It is big enough for them but not so large that it is unmanageable for me.



And I added another path to the water hole from the catnip. I guess the catnip will be their focal point



I have never had so much fun working before.... The catnip is also already in the ground..... It will be very small this year but next year it wiill be huge...

Jenn

African daisies
Lavender
Sunflowers...

And Im exhausted..... Tomorrow I am getting some Pampas Grass..

Thank you JTBo.... It's been the job. took 8 months just to get the fencing, welding and everything bare and secure just to get the cats in there. It was not easy. So I am really enjoying landscaping for them. This feels like the easy part even though I am very very tired this afternoon... This old woman is not used to physical labor. I have a desk job.. This is worse than cardio!!!

I want to post one more thing today before I go soak in the tub. I decided we need a swing in the there -- for me..... Still hard to believe we have this much of it done....




And look at little Snoopy. He is going to enjoy sleeping under his tree as it grows!!



And also elly, Jimmy is not in these pictures but he will be. I have just clicked at the wrong times. He is all over the place. He loves this enclosure!!

aw yall are too sweet....! What I enjoy is having a place to post what I do for them without people thinking I am nuts. When someone asks, "how many cats do you have" and I say 19 --- they freak out. But I have had the same cats for years except for a couple.......They range in age from 3-16 but the majority are around 7-10 yrs old.

Today I bought 10 balls and put in there with two being "glow in the dark.... They have gone nuts batting them around. Too funny!!

THE SWING IS IN PLACE..........!!!!! TaDa!!!

That's buddy sitting on it.. He loves it. He sits on it constantly.



The sucker rod we used have really come in handy as far as hanging stuff up..like their barrel and now the swing. I want to find one of those big (very big) 6-8" diameter ropes and hang one of those up too length wise with a sway to it. Im scared of anything smaller than that because of the "hanging factor".... I want one big and strudy that they can't get hurt on..

This weekend I am going to buy a bunch of herbs -- thyme, rosemary and such as they are non poisonous and grow like crazy so they can dash around through them. I am watering their plants daily to get them to grow. The lilac is doing good. No catnip or sunflowers peeking out yet. The other place in missouri had 6' tall sungflowers and 3' catnip plants. I got to get it going here too. The catnip comes back year after year.

AlexanderJames, that lady trying to help all the ferals . I'll say you can only do what you can do and bless her for trying and everyone else in the same situation..

Kudos to her.... !!!!!

I think they are lucky kitties too but it is not amazing. It is my duty..... I had to do it so I could relax knowing they are ok because I took responsibility for them..

It is for my peace of mind and just my way of giving back to them all that they have given me -- if that makes sense. They are just little kitties trying to make it in this world and I am just here for the ride they take me on.

You can do whatever you make your mind up to do. Remember that from this old lady....!

I believe everything is symbiotic in all living creatures and what we do effects everything else. So my gift to them keeps harmony in my corner of the world. At least that's how I see it.

jc

I love being covered in kitty kisses......!!!

OMG, they are sooooo spoiled. I had no idea. Every night even when it's 50 degrees and warm, they sit and cry when I go to the restroom because they can see me through the window. They want in!!! So every night, I go outside and carry them in one by one..... (Hubby helps me) Then they find their comfortable spot and crash for the night. When morning comes I take them back outside and they spend their day in the fresh air napping on rocks and running and playing.

I have tried leaving them a porch light on and they even have a motion detector light as well but they still want in their house with their people at night. I wake up in the morning and cats are laying all over my feet because they have missed me. My husband laughs about it. He is very good natured.

I guess it their large playpen!!! Even the feral ones have learned the routine. If they want to go in the house I have to carry them. And its a tough decision for Jimmy and Star. They want in and they know the only way to get in is if I carry them so they submit....Jeez!!!

I have tried everything. They have tons of blankets in their house so it is nice and soft and comfy. I have even went in there and sat with them and they are great with them but at nightfall, they are like a chicken wanting to roost in their house.

The other day when I was at work, it poured rain. When I got home, Yellow and Kissy were sitting in a rainstorm crying at the gate. So they are staying in the house with me so they won't get pneumonia.

They are soooooo spoiled. I really had no idea they were this spoiled.