Starting My Enclosure

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jcribbs

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The babies are very dangerous because they don't have vemon control like the adults.

And yeah, they got to go..... And it's ok gemlady.....Just a snake. As long as you are out of range, they cannot bite you... I took a bunch of pics of it. I leave the black rat snakes alone. They can kill by squeezing but they are not venomous. I don't think they could kill a cat. The pit vipers are at my mercy. I am not a hunter. I could never kill deer or anything like that, but snakes I have no problem with getting rid of them if they are poisonous. Afterall, they are in my domain.

But this is one picture I am proud of.... I got it skinned. I need to cure it now. It is beautiful and very colorful. I will have to trim the edges after it dries with a very sharp knife...



Here is a full shot. Next time I will have to be more careful not to damage the hide. And I know there will be a next time. Probably some copperheads as well and also cotton mouths. I quit going down to the creek because of high grass and fear of getting snake bit. Too many big rocks and I don't want to take a chance. Winter will be here soon and I will clear it out then. Then next year when they come out of hibernation, I will be ready with a clear yard.



After I cleaned it, I gave the innards and body to the cats in the yard. It is fresh white meat and they are loving it. It has no bones they can choke on.

Jenn [the snake killer]
 
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jcribbs

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Oh, and yes Gem, the cathouse is a hoot......... I love it. Those are my kinda people but that house is not realistic for my needs. But it is ultra cool. I read an online interview of the owner and he was asked "What do you do about cat hair in the house?" and he replied "Nothing"........hehe
 
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jcribbs

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Husband has knee kicker. He has the pads in the truck, plus all the nail strips. Tomorrow while I work, he is laying carpet!!

I am so excited. I can't wait to see it. I doubt he will get the whole house done but he plans on doing the bedroom and I think the hallway...

He also bought all the cement for the posts for the enclosure and the dog yard........

We are doing the final steps now..........

OH my god..........it is so exciting. The enclosure won't be fancy but it will be secure.

And can't wait to get there. Can't find Angie tonight. It will be such a feeling of relief to know they are all safe at all times..... I'm sure Angie will be back in a bit but I'll be in Bed. Toe knew I was looking for her so he is on the car being lookout. When I look for one of the cats and can't find him/her, he always helps me look. He always has. He is the head of the kitty pride.... JJ rules, but Toe is the one who has been with us the longest and he keeps an eye on things if one is not around. He worries with me.
 

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Originally Posted by jcribbs

Well, I was working on the house today and have revised my plan. After the enclosure and dog yard is finished, we are getting some two feet tall wire that has 1/4 inch holes and lining it around the entire perimeter of both animal yards to keep snakes out.

This is why. I was weedeating today and right by the front porch I killed a rattle snake.

Here is my first picture. He was coiled and ready.


I pulled him out with my garden hoe and hit him. He slithered to a rock and tried to recoil on me attacking the hoe.


So I hit him on the head and knocked him out and put him on a rock.




Then chopped his little head off to make sure he was dead.


I am going to skin him and keep the skin. If I can get enough I plan on making a snakeskin lampshade. They are very pretty.

Right now I have him in a baggy in my fridge. I am going to skin him in a bit. I buried the had in a covered dish so no animal will get ahold of it and get venom on them.


So the enclosure is going to be more secure around the perimether than just 2 x4 inch wire. I want tiny wire around the bottom. Or even possible 1 x 12's Not sure yet. But a plan is in motion.... I have to do something or the cats and dogs will be bit or a snake could come through the cat door.

There is a vaccine against rattlesnakes for animals that vets suggest giving a month before snake season starts. I am going to look into that for next spring.

Some people might think that it's impossible to keep snakes out of my yard but I am going to try. I grew up with rattlesnakes on a Texas farm and we grew much bigger rattlers than this... He had quite a few rattlers but he was not a large large snake, but that is neither here nor there. They are all deadly. We kept grass very very short.

The rock gardens the previous owner has put in will be history this winter. All plants around the perimeter of the house are coming up. I want no hiding places.. I want no large rocks around the house. They look cute and native but it's not worth it to me. I would be a idiot to get in the rock garden and plant stuff out there. Ha! I want grass. Nice flat grass where I can see the ground. Where this guy was at, was the exact place the kitty front porch is going to be. So this area will be cleared soon after moving in.
Aww that is so sad. Poor snake.
 
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jcribbs

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I'm just glad that poor snake didn't bite me before I saw it. We have cotton mouths too. They are all subject to death if I find them in my yard... Copperheads, rattlesnakes and cottonmouths. They are all deadly and can kill us or our animals. Yes, it's a living creature but yes, I will kill them if I see one on our property. Rat snake, gater snakes and other non poisonous snakes are fine... but not venenous snakes.

And we have corner cedar fence posts cemented in the yard now for the dogs and cats...







Husband did this yesterday. We have about 10 posts to go I think...... Husband took these pics but I am going out there today and check things out after I get back from the doctor.......

Jenn
 
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jcribbs

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Major progress but no pictures.

We have a running shower, a commode, satellite tv and everything is carpeted.... It is amazing.

I got off work and hubby was not home. I waited till 7pm and had to go find him. He was half dead from working!!!

We have all the yard cut completely down so we won't get snake bit as we do the enclosure and yard.

That is all that's left. The kitty door is completely installed!!!

He has got to take a day or two off or trade days off so we can work on the enclosure and yard togeter. We plan on living there in two weeks or less. It all depends on when he can trade days...

I walked in the house today and the carpet is just unbelievably wonderful to see on the floors. His poor knees. He did it alone......

Saturday when I go out there to work, I will take some pictures of it all. I have two more holes to dig for corners. I need to wash our fridge and get it out there and the stove we already have out there. Then packing stuff.

We have made it!!!!

I am dancing a jig right now!
 

ericanicole

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it was sad to see you kill that snake. I know its hard to re-locate snakes that you find in your yard but its a shame you must kill them. I am a snake owner, i do not keep hot snakes (not here in wisconsin of course) but I dont like to seem them killed. me get all sad. If i was in your shoes I might take the easiest route but maybe next time think about calling animal control or someone who can extract the snake from your yard. as evil
as they look and as dangerous as they are they are important to the eco system where you live.

Good luck with your enclousre..i hope it turns out well!
 
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jcribbs

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Here's some pic updates.

The kitty door is installed now..... And it has carpet on the inside...


And the first pole to the enclosure is in the ground.... It is 7.5 feet tall. The initial enclosure will be 20x20. After we are in the house, the wooded area behind the pole is going to be cleared. We are going to extend the cat yard and the dog yard through this area keeping all the large cedars and large oak trees. That way grass can grow and it will be a great yard them all. We plan on making the enclosure by the end of next spring approx 40 feet wide by 70-80 long. They will have a huge area. They will be fine in the 20x20 until we get it done.


The house is nearly finished as well.
All the carpet is down except for the living room. We still have tools in there right now.

But this is what the carpet looks like. This is in the hallway by the laundry room.


It is progressing nicely. All the cat poles should be concreted in the ground by the end of this week. I am packing furiously to move now. We are very excited.......

This is where their kitty front porch is going to be. This will probaby be done before we start the extra portion of the enclosure. All the flowers and stuff are coming up so they can have a wood base for their porch.


This is our final enclosure plans that we hope to have completed by next spring. It will take about a year due to having to clear the land... But most of the runs we initially thought we might put in ..........well we changed our minds. Our cats are too used to freedom, so we feel it is better to give them space more than anything else. So we are going to just expand outward for the dogs and the cats at the same time. Got a lot of chain saw work up ahead of us but that's the name of the game. The finished enclosure will be so worth it... At this time, we still only planning on roofing a 10x10 or possibly 10x 20 section closest to the house so they can get out of the rain if they want but can still sit outside. That's where we are putting their beds...


Now I'm heading to bed early. Been a long day hard at work.....

Jenn and the gang.
 
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jcribbs

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Well, this is the last update for a bit. We are moving in the next two days......

The enclosure frame is done. We are stringing wire tonight on a 10x20 section so we can move in...... The holes are already dug with the post holes in place to increase it to 20x20 this next month.

But here is the frame. The trees are cemented to a depth of 18" and it is 8' tall on one side and 7' on the other. The remaining portion to make it 20x20 is also 7' tall so when it is roofed, it will have a pitch for drainage. Husband has made me nuts walking on top of it.. These trees are bigger than they look in the photos. Natural scratching posts and it smells so good being cedar....... After the 20x20 is built, we are moving it outward to 80 feet x 20 feet. A section at a time..... By next spring, this will be finished.... They are going to love it!!! The 20x20 will be cedar and roofed. The remaining 60x80 will be metal posts welded together with a natural yard. So it will be maintenance free. We are keeping the whole thing 7-8 feet tall.

And I am so glad we have it built. Neighbors have seen a mountain lion in the area with numerous tracks.







All the trees are notched in place with 10" nails driving through them. Sturdy is an understatement. Every 5-6 years we will have to replace more than likely but that won't be difficult..

And the house is finally finished and move in ready......... Yeah!!!





It has been gutted, rewired, rebuilt, mudded, textured, painted, fenced, plumbed, and water and sewer added. Took 7-8 months of back breaking labor..........but we are done!!!! We will be moved by Saturday night. We have most items moved now..... Just furniture is left.

Will be offline for a bit till we get satellite internet put in but I'll be back.

Jenn.....
 

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That enclosure looks fantastic!!! I'm terribly jealous (as I'm sure my kitties are too!). Congratulations on the new house...i can't wait to hear updates when you get back online!
 

eilcon

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It's looking great, Jenn!
I know a certain big, handsome tuxedo boy and his buddies who are just going to love it!
 
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jcribbs

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I'm at work.......will try and post some pics of the wire tomorrow during lunch break............. heading out there at 5pm......... had to sneak this in....

boss is a terror...........not really..... :cap:
 

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Your new home is fantastic Jenn....
The kitties are so lucky.

See you soon.

 
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jcribbs

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They forgot to hook our phone up. We still have internet but are moving tomorrow and we won't have a phone now......... They are closed till Monday morning. We plan on being totally moved in tomorrow night. We have been putting the finishing touches on the cat enclosure tonight but I forgot my camera.... ho hum....

But since I have internet, I will post some tomorrow night...... I have found a great tree stump I am putting in there. Also, the cut off portions that we have left over from the enclosure ......... well I am going to use them and build a great big cat tree. I think they will like it.......

I am so excited. .... Talk later on.....

The silly phone company..!!!
 
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jcribbs

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This is the last post. I am moving the computer. The first room in the enclosure is finished and I am taking the first load of cats to the new house. Eileen, Jimmy was no trouble at all. He was in my hubby's closet and I just put his crate in front of him and he went right in..... He is going in the first load. Plus a bunch of others..... I can't wait to see them find the kitty door.

I am taking all the animals tonight. We are moved and ready for them. See ya as soon as we get internet in our new place. And thanks for all the support.

I am taking the two feral males as well. Festus is fixed and the other one is getting fixed thursday... I have them both in a crate...

But in these pics, the enclosure is not quite finished but this is all the pics I have at this time....

Here is some of my babies watching me pack.










See all in a couple months..........

Jenn and her gang......
 
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jcribbs

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WEll, I'm at the OLD house cleaning and have I got a story to tell.

Festus, the feral boy that I just had fixed...got out....... When I got back last night I with the last load of animals, husband told me he was moving the washing maching inside and Festus darted out. I was up till 3am calling him. Around two am, he came to me and I picked him up by the scruff and was walking to the house and fell in a post hole that I had dug and he promply ran away.......He stayed in the yard but refused to come to me. I tried bribing him wiht echrich sausage and milk......He liked it but still would not come near me.

This morning I went out and called and called him and finally found him. It was raining pretty hard and he let me approach him and bring him in the house. So that saga ended well.

So...........since it was raining I built the cats a makeshift ramp till I can vamp their enclosure up a bit. I put a tarp out with two sawhoses so they can get in out of the weather if they choose to get out.

The first cat out was yellow..... then socks, and then my dauchant. The others just peer out the door but so far have not went outside. I'm sure they will but they are all a little nervous with the move. Jimmy had stayed under the dresser and so has Star. She was the most difficult one to move, or crate for the move.. It took me over an hr to get her in a crate. I finally had to let the other out of the crate and corner her so she would go inside. The crate was a very large dog crate for animals over 100 lbs. It was not a tiny one. ONce she got inside, she was fine.. It was a job moving them all. But we are all settled in. I am moving the computer today so this is the last post more than likely.

Here is Yellow in his enclosure. I knew he would like it. We have kept him sinde for months since he disappeared for 6 weeks.


And here is Socks.


Other than Muffin the dog, the others just stare through the door... But they willl eventually venture out....

Jenn
 

tru

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Jenn,

Glad you got Festus back in.


Once those cats lose their fear of the new house and cat door they will be like a bunch of kids running in and out in the middle of summer.


I do hope you all settle in nicely and you and Juan are able to get a little much deserved R & R.

We all look forward to you getting back here and letting us knoqw how you and the crew are doing!
 
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jcribbs

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Hi, I am sending this from work. I am back to working the night shift but I wanted to let everyone know how Jimmy and the others are doing with their new lives and their new enclosure..

Eileen, Jimmy loves the enclosure. We have built a cabinet with three large beds in it. Jimmy likes the largest one which is 3' x 2'.. All are carpeted and stuffed full of nice hay as well. He has his nice and arranged how he likes it. He peeks out at me when I am in the enclosure. I can't up load pictures yet because I am on a work computer but soon hopefully.

I have the entire bedded area inside a separate tarped tent as well. There are two other tented areas inside the main tarped area as well so all the bed spots are wind free in case the kitties want to be outside when it is chilly and windy and all are full of hay. I keep their food inside this area also so all the hay and food stays dry in case it rains, sleeps or snows. THEY LOVE IT!!! But later on, the tarped area will become a more permanent variety. This is merely to get through the winter. By next winter, we are going to make sure they have a heat lamp in their bedding area.

AND ...as it turns out, ... against what I said earlier, I have kept food and water in the enclosure. I was too worried about three feral males being outside and possibly starving if they did not want to come in the house. Jimmy, Festus and Felix were the ones I was concerned about. However, Festus and Felix are the only ones that do not use the kitty door. Festus has occasionally used it but Felix has never been in the house. JIMMY comes and goes at will on a daily basis. He loves his kitty door. He has some hiding spot in the house that I have yet to find.

Yesterday I had Angie-kitty on the bed and I was covering her up before I left for work and I looked up and Jimmy was sitting on the foot of the bed with me. I smiled at him and said "Hi Jimmy" and he looked so happy. He is fat and sassy and he was communicating with me as he sat on the bed... then poof!! He jumped down and out out the cat door he went. But I was smiling.

The move set him back a little but not much. He has all the people and all the cats that he has come to love and so he still feels secure. And that makes me very happy. The first day he moved, he stayed behind the couch for a week or so then he transfered to the closet in our bedroom then...he discovered the kitty door. He has been a different cat every since. My husband even cornered him and picked him up and petted him. Jimmy did not mind too much. I was not home so I did not get to see this. But Jimmy did not lash out or try to scratch him. He loves being outside. He loves his outside bed and he loves and the outside litter box. He sits on a bench I have outside and really listens to all the sounds of the woods. He is a very happy cat. Next week, we are doubling the size of the enclosure. I have also been clearing land behind the enclosure so in a couple months, it will be 20x40 feet in size. The will have large trees inside the enclosure when that is done. We are attaching the wire to the tree so they can actually climb a tree or two. It will be a kitty paradise with a natural habitat.

I have also found one internet place 30 miles away that can offer us dialup. So in a couple weeks, we will have dialup. We found a satellite company about 30 miles away so after the first we will have satellite but in the meantime, dialup will suffice.

And that's all for now. All is well and Jimmy is doing good.

Later,Jen and the gang
 
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