Ok, so we have good Cassie and supreme Lizzy Puff. Then there is Pete (named as a kitten before her sex was determined!). Pete had 6 kittens a few days or so after Lizzy Puff. However, Pete – super flighty – had her litter somewhere in our storage room up in the loft…a room jam packed with stuff. Pete determined it was a safe place for her brood.
Pete with Her Second Litter (August 2011)
Scouting around we found the general area where they were – could hear the unmistakable tiny mews – but could not get close enough to view due to potential danger of hurting them as we’d have had to move something. By the time the kittens’ eyes were open, they came out of the storage room and roamed around the open area of the loft. Of course, a misstep near an edge would mean likely death, dropping 12’ + to a cement floor! Our access to the loft is an opening where the ladder goes through that is somewhat near the door into the storage room. I moved heavy boxes as well as I could to block the opening so they had an “inner” hallway to the loft. I put a dog/cat bed up in the open area and they did migrate to it and slept there. I started working on taming them…going up several times a day…first just let them see me and hear my voice…then touching them and eventually picking them up. Most would stay put but there were a couple that split faster than the speed of light when I moved in their direction! One day when I was up there several were up an around that were usually lying in the bed. One of the kittens looked awful. His head was normal sized but his body was teeny tiny! I was horrified. He wasn’t getting enough to eat. I named him Peanut. Unknown if it were just a matter of Pete’s inadequacies of motherhood or that she didn’t have enough milk. Either way, these kittens needed help with nutrition. I soaked crunchy cat food in hot water till it was mushy and started placing it on a dish in the morning and evening near their bed. They inhaled it! Before long, they gained weight and Peanut began looking normal in body proportions.
Peanut (Pete’s 1st litter)
Now getting some good nourishment, we were facing another issue – the heat. We were getting some very hot days (early for the year) and the loft was an oven. Pete would lie in the barn breezeway or outside in the shade while her kittens were suffocating – sort of – upstairs in the heat. I finally decided to get pro active and prepared a place down in one of the stalls and proceeded to bring them down, one by one. There was one who evaded me for almost 2 days but I finally caught her (Rosebud) and all were in their new home, only to have Pete move them (!) – taking them over to the “Colony Hilton” by the shed (the lean-to with igloo dog houses and a pallet). And that was good. I was still able to pick the kittens up and love them (except for Rosebud), they were able to stay as cool as any were, they were safe from falling, and they had a safe area to play.
Sammy (Pete’s)
Not being able to catch Pete, she has had another litter of 7. This time she had them in a very dirty place under an enclosed low shelf area in the barn then moved them up to an area above the tack room nesting them in insulation. Again, heat….but not as bad as in the spring. However, we were concerned about when they got older and start moving around. But Pete was on top of it this time. I happen to catch her moving them…down into Bob’s work room – the same spot Lizzy Puff had moved hers. Good Job, Pete! On top of all that, Pete is actually allowing me to pet her some…well, “pet” might be a bit exaggerated…”touch” is more accurate. But that is huge! Huge! We work at it every day and every day she gets a tiny bit better.
So, Pete is not close to Lizzy Puff in motherhood but she dramatically improved from first litter to second. We don’t intend to allow further honing of her skills with a third litter, however! We continue to feed the entire colony, currently 25 (some left after their “surgeries” or it would be lots more!), plus our original 6, totalling 31. It is not easy to “keep food on the table” but it is our responsibility to care for them. Should you feel so inclined to help out with food purchase, please visit our donation button in the upper left corner. We appreciate it. Thank you.
Some of 2nd Litter
5 of Pete’s Second litter