a sad thing...



Bad Boy Prince and his 'gang'



I hesitate to mention this, but also think Prince deserves to be remembered, so I will tell his story here.

Prince is a gray tabby male with a white chest, a feral that has been coming around our yard for years. He wasn't a well-loved cat as the other adult cats in the yard (especially the females) would disappear when he showed up. We think this was mainly because he liked to fight... or so it seemed.  But... in the last few months, we had a  clan of youngsters (we call them our 4 black Velaciraptors) that took a liking to Prince - probably because they were young teenage cats and Prince was the king of the Bad Boys.  Anyway, he's come into the yard, eat, hang around a little while, and then leave... until the next meal time.

Well, we hadn't seen him in almost a week and were beginning to wonder where he was.  But Friday noon, I heard a howling in the back yard and looked out the window. Didn't see anything, but just as I did this, DH walked into the kitchen and looked out the french doors... and said, "Oh, my god!" I ran over and looked. Prince was on our patio actually eating, but from his hips down he was flat. He was dragging himself around using his front legs only. We both nearly died when we saw him.

Decided that even though he was feral, we'd have to try to catch him and get him to the Vet. But the little bugger was really fast with his front legs and DH chased him all the way down to the creek before being able to get a towel over him.  Even then Prince fought him, hissing and spitting and trying to bite.  We soon realized that we wouldn't be able to get him to a Vet by ourselves and since it was noon, probably they were closed for lunch... so while DH held him covered up, I ran in and called the Animal Shelter. They immediately sent 2 men out to pick him up. Looking at his condition, they said that they would have a Vet check him, but more than likely, he would have to be put down.  We told them we realized that... he had to be in a lot of pain... but it was amazing that he still had so much fight in him. And even though our local shelter is 'no-kill', some cats are not suitable for adoption (and more than likely Prince's condition and his disposition would put him in this category.) 

So... now we have mixed feelings; we are really sad that this happened, but glad that he came to us for his last meal.  Sad that he came to us and we had no choice but to catch him, but glad that he wouldn't be in pain much longer.  It still amazes me that he could get around at all the way he was injured. We're thinking he had to have been run over by a car...

Alert! Bug in the house!



Jack and grasshopper



No bug lasts long in a house with 6 cats!  I always feel sorry for the poor little geckos that inadvertently make their way into our domain.  They are quickly surrounded by a pride of cats who take great joy in tormenting them.  They seldom eat them, most probably die of fright.  I do try to catch the little fellas and put them outside, but sometimes I'm too late.

Now the outside 'youngsters' (4 solid black DSH's that are now about 6 months old) are more like little velociraptors.  They appear out of nowhere and circle their prey (which is more often than not, a bug or lizard - rarely do they catch birds).  I really wish I could catch them on video as I'm sure that it would win something on World's Funniest Videos.  We once watched them circle an Anole (green lizard) and as the lizard turned in circles to fend off his attackers (who took turns striking him with their paws), at one point he jumped into the air and hooked himself onto one of the cat's noses.  It was hysterical watching the cat panic and shake his head trying to get the little lizard off.

Bootsie has a baby...

Bootsie and Baby Bootsie

Guess what?  Bootsie has a baby!  She's such a small cat that we didn't even know she was pregnant. And Bootsie's baby is an identical copy of herself.  In case you aren't up to snuff on all our outside (feral and semi-feral) cats, Bootsie is a very small (maybe 6 or 7 lb) intact female that lives in (and out) of our backyard.  She is only about a year and a half old and has had 3 pregnancies. I've been able to adopt out all of her kittens when I've found them.  This pregnancy and kitten she kept a well hid secret.  If we could catch her, she would be spayed, but so far... no luck.  However, it is very unusual for a cat to have only one kitten, so we are keeping our eyes open for more surprises to come.

This little fella on the top was one of Bootsie's litter from last Spring. And the ones on the far right are more of hers.  We bring them in when they are 3 - 4 weeks old, get them friendly and fat, vaccinate them, and take them to the Adoption Center. They are adopted pretty quickly.

This week's pictures...



I could swear he's smiling...





This one isn't a great picture as they are 'on the move', but this is Prince and his entourage (actually part of his entourage).  There are 4 young black babies that have started following him around like a little gang. I was taking pictures of our possum, when he suddenly appeared out of the bushes and before he knew it, the other four converged on him from all other parts of the yard.

This is Julie.  She is the small female of our 3 black and whites.  At the moment she is curled up on the trundle bed in the computer room while I blog.

And no, this one isn't in our yard (wish he was).  But I love this fella anyway. We were in Scotland and fell in love with the 'hairy coo' (or that's what it sounded like?)...  Just thought I'd add him in here for some variety.