Apologies for the delayed response - going on hols in a couple of days (to the good old US of A) so lots of things/ work needed doing. Glad to say that some good friends have agreed to look after the cats - not that they take much looking after. The instructions read:
"Ideally to be done before 10 am ... put the fresh ice cream tub full of water in the lean-to, put LC's food in her hut and put Rudi's on top of his. Only feed dry unless the weather is lousy, as the flies get to the wet. If it does rain, put Rudi's food inside his hut. When you see Rudi (and you will, and he will love on you), give him some of his Whiskas Milk and you will have a friend for life. If you see Little Cow, award yourself five bonus points"
Anyway, news is as follows from this end:
1) Rudi's eye is 100% ok, as is the gash on top of his forehead. There are 1-2 other little marks around his ears area that would suggest he's continuing to be in the wars, but generally he seems in good spirits. What a fine farm cat he is: he basically patrols the whole acre and a bit that the houses and gardens are on, from the front gardens through to the compost heap at the back of the barns.
2) no actual signs of any interlopers...but am increasingly convinced of their presence. England is experiencing a very mild and gorgeous spring, so I've found that LC and Rudi don't seem to have much appetite. Even so, I've continued to put out ample food for the two of them - probably actually enough for 2 1/4 cats. On 3 of the last 5 days I've found they've left plenty (probably about 1/2 a cats daily requirement, maybe more), which is fine. On the other two days, I've come home at lunchtime to find almost everything gone!! It could just be my two supplementing on some days but not others. The time of day would rule out hedgehogs. So it's something I'll continue to monitor. I'm hoping (probably against hope) that Ruby has come home.
3) when I originally got the ferals (LC and Ruby), the key aim was rodent control. I've not seen any mice or rats for ages, so I've assumed the job is being done. Just spoke to the neighbours, however, who told me that, on both the last 2 mornings, they've had a dead/ chewed mole left on their driveway. This is seriously good news: moles did well over £100 worth of damage on the farm last year and, whilst we hadn't had any in the main mole months (Jan and Feb), I did notice a few mole hills last week. I'm guessing that Little Cow is behind the cull and I could kiss her! With Rudi very much laying claim to our courtyard, I'm guessing she has given the neighbours a present to show what a fine hunter she is. The man who killed my moles in 2010 said that cats can be good catchers of moles but that they'll never eat them as they taste awful!
So, there you go. Hope all are well and I'll catch up with you on my return from Florida (just in time to take up my seat at St Paul's to see Bill and Kitty tie the knot ;-)). If any of you are in that part of the world, I'll be doing my bit to keep up the English traditions: ill-fitting shorts, a combo of sunburn and milk-white skin, muttering 'it's too bloody hot' under my breath, telling locals 'no, I'm not Australian ;-)' and generallly marvelling at things. Can't wait!
"Ideally to be done before 10 am ... put the fresh ice cream tub full of water in the lean-to, put LC's food in her hut and put Rudi's on top of his. Only feed dry unless the weather is lousy, as the flies get to the wet. If it does rain, put Rudi's food inside his hut. When you see Rudi (and you will, and he will love on you), give him some of his Whiskas Milk and you will have a friend for life. If you see Little Cow, award yourself five bonus points"
Anyway, news is as follows from this end:
1) Rudi's eye is 100% ok, as is the gash on top of his forehead. There are 1-2 other little marks around his ears area that would suggest he's continuing to be in the wars, but generally he seems in good spirits. What a fine farm cat he is: he basically patrols the whole acre and a bit that the houses and gardens are on, from the front gardens through to the compost heap at the back of the barns.
2) no actual signs of any interlopers...but am increasingly convinced of their presence. England is experiencing a very mild and gorgeous spring, so I've found that LC and Rudi don't seem to have much appetite. Even so, I've continued to put out ample food for the two of them - probably actually enough for 2 1/4 cats. On 3 of the last 5 days I've found they've left plenty (probably about 1/2 a cats daily requirement, maybe more), which is fine. On the other two days, I've come home at lunchtime to find almost everything gone!! It could just be my two supplementing on some days but not others. The time of day would rule out hedgehogs. So it's something I'll continue to monitor. I'm hoping (probably against hope) that Ruby has come home.
3) when I originally got the ferals (LC and Ruby), the key aim was rodent control. I've not seen any mice or rats for ages, so I've assumed the job is being done. Just spoke to the neighbours, however, who told me that, on both the last 2 mornings, they've had a dead/ chewed mole left on their driveway. This is seriously good news: moles did well over £100 worth of damage on the farm last year and, whilst we hadn't had any in the main mole months (Jan and Feb), I did notice a few mole hills last week. I'm guessing that Little Cow is behind the cull and I could kiss her! With Rudi very much laying claim to our courtyard, I'm guessing she has given the neighbours a present to show what a fine hunter she is. The man who killed my moles in 2010 said that cats can be good catchers of moles but that they'll never eat them as they taste awful!
So, there you go. Hope all are well and I'll catch up with you on my return from Florida (just in time to take up my seat at St Paul's to see Bill and Kitty tie the knot ;-)). If any of you are in that part of the world, I'll be doing my bit to keep up the English traditions: ill-fitting shorts, a combo of sunburn and milk-white skin, muttering 'it's too bloody hot' under my breath, telling locals 'no, I'm not Australian ;-)' and generallly marvelling at things. Can't wait!
. I am sure LC and Rudi are getting their fill on the moles!!! Those are bigger than voles! We have a vole problem near my house and not any more since the ferals have taken up residence
At least you know what happened, and she's at peace. 
