Lizzy Puff
So, Cassie had 3 kittens then, a week later, Lizzy Puff had 6. The third uncaught mom, Pete, also had 6 kittens a few days after Lizzy Puff. The difference in these three moms is fascinating. Very much like humans, I guess. This post is about the good moms.
Cassie is a good mom – sort of goosey but a good mom, kept with her babies except during “food forage” time (no real foraging since we provided it!). We don’t know where her kittens were initially born but she is the one who dropped a newborn into the dog dish in my office that Saturday morning (see the post “New Born Kittens”). She ended up on top of the dog kennel roof amidst masses of honey suckle. Once the kittens started to open their eyes, Cassie moved them to the front yard under the bushes along the front of the house. They were protected from the sprinkler system for the yard and safe from exposure to other animals.
Tasha & Rambo (Cassie’s)
Her kittens were well adjusted and friendly and self-confident. One was a bit shy but the other two would run to me when I’d go out and loved being picked up and snuggled! Bob hung toys from the tree so they had something to play with (oooo, big, tough man!).
Lizzy Puff, a very small kitten in her own right but always with a tough demeanor, is darling and a favorite. She had her kittens on a medium high shelf of a large storage shelf system in the barn that has thick, wide boards for shelves. It had been cleared of “storage” for years and used as the feeding area for my cats – my original clan! With the ferals, we had put various cat/dog beds on the shelves for them to sleep in and Lizzy Puff conveniently had her litter in one of them! Being where they were, we could see them every day and touch them a little. However, we were a bit nervous because if one wiggled out of the bed, it would drop down about 4 feet to a cement floor! So, we slid collapsed boxes under the bed up to the two walls to extend the shelf surface. Not perfect but something. However, Lizzy Puff didn’t need our help. Once the kittens started to move around, she moved them into Bob’s work room, in a hidden place under the work bench. Funny observation: I happened into the barn when she was moving them. The orange one was heavier than the others, I guess, or it was just that he was the last to move. Remember, she is small. She got to the doorway of the work room and dropped him! She tried several times before she finally got hold of him but had to hold her head up really high to clear the floor. She was able to get him over one of the barriers to the new nest but ended up putting him down about a foot away and joined the rest of the litter, leaving him where he was! I picked him up for her and placed him with the others.
Cinnamon & Opie (Lizzy’s)
Dale (Flame Point) – Lizzy’s
Once her babies were roaming around the barn, Lizzy Puff obviously considered the area not safe enough and moved them yet again over to the shed area where all the cat feeding used to be done. There are two igloo dog houses, a lean-to for shade and a large pallet with rugs on top. Now that this area was the nursery, the older cats were not welcome. Lizzy Puff is small but she is mighty and they obeyed! Primo mom!
Chip (Flame Point)
Spot (Lizzy’s)
