MY GARDEN IS PROTECTED !

you know on the cat site, they want every single feral cat neutered. they think it's a kindness.
but, if you do that. there will be no more cats.
i disagree.
if drifter would let me, i'd fed every cat that comes by.
let them hunt near my house.

they talk about how terrible the life of a feral is. i agree, their lives can be short n brutal. but, if i was a cat, i'd rather run free n take my chances.
drifter is totally free. she can leave anytime. she stays for the free food. plus, she has developed affection for me.
she still gets to hunt n play 8 hours/day.
i think this makes her nicer to have around.
she knows the house is for relaxing.
that's why she never gets into trouble.
i have to say, i prefer her outside a lot. i hate cleaning a litter box twice a day n i like her pooping outside.
plus, i need a break. i need alone time too.
 
DRIFTER IS STAYING IN FORR XMAS.
i let her out. she went out n sniffed the wind.
she turned around n came back in.
either her playmates weren't around, or something she doesn't like is.
her prezzies are food, because that's what she likes most.
her catnip mouse is still in the mail/

she had a nice bowl of milk for breakfast.
contrary to popular belief, this does not give her the runs.
later, after her normal breakfast supper, she gets raw hamburger, which she loves as much as milk.
i gotta figure out what's going on here. she is either obese or preg.
if obese, she diets starting janurary2, with me.
if preg, no diet.
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.
i have a question for you.
when i met drifter, you guys gave me help n encouragement.
plus a sense of comradship that was wondrful.
so, i wondered if anyone would want to assist me in a new adventure, for a new year ?
see, having a female in the area pays dividend. i keep seeing males.
now the most amazing was big cat, but i couldn't get him to come to food.
plus, at 40 lbs,. i wouldn't want to be near him without gun in hand. not a good attitude for training.
then, i ried to feed cowboy, but drifter wouldn't allow it. he was drifter's brother so, not the best for breeding stock.
he is probably dead, without my help.
but, over the last few weeks i have been seeing stripes.
if rifter is 10 lbs, he is 15 ls,
light orange with dark orange stripes.
he is magnificent.
he has already survived 10 degree days.
i saw him this morn, feasting on this turkey carcass n scraps.
drifter allowed me to put out.
she hates cooked food, so didn't think this was food
anyway, stripes is beautiful.
I WANT THIS CAT.
now, i know animals.
my methods got drifter to mostly live in the house.
but, i don't knw cats. i have never known a male.
i suspect he will be different from drifter.
i want to get cat food to him on a daily basis.
more, i want to call him to eat.
drifter is gonna fight this.
she may tear down the door if i make the dinner call.
but, i need to do that. then, i'll have to draw him into the garden
while i lie on the cold, cold ground.
i bet the last part of the training will be easy.
if i brot another female into the house, drifter would kill her.
drifter is a wonderful kitty, but she's not muc for sharing.
i'm thinking, she wouldn't be that upset if the interloper was male.
am i right?
i also need to know if all males spray.
i can't have that in the house.
no, don't say i should get him neutered.
i will not have an animal cut just for my convenience.

i told drifter that he could be an outside part of our family, while the house could be hers, but i don't think she bot that.
even if he sprays, i'd love to have him live here.
i could build a nice comfy place for him to stay.
what do you think?
 
Good luck in your endeavor! I can't help you with the male cat. All I have are females. My triplets Molly, Vera, and Smoky torment my oldest cat Angel. My wife and I intervene when we are home but being we both work God only knows what goes on when we're gone. Our next oldest Peanut is a bit porky but puts up with no malarkey from the triplets. Peanut and Vera often play if Peanuts in the mood. Funny thing Peanut seems to absolutely hate Smoky. Cats are funny creatures. Like people they all have their own personalities.
 
I've had five male cats, all neutered, and only one sprayed. He quickly became a barn kitty.
Over 34 years and 13-14 cats, I've found the males to be easier to get along with and more affectionate, less jealous of other cats. One male may try to run off another male, but one male has always treated the female cats like ladies or sisters, often grooming them.
I'll guess you'll have more trouble with Drifter accepting the male than the male accepting Drifter. Once again, some feral cats may never accept the touch or even the nearby presence of humans, but then again, with patience, you might win a new buddy. Have a go, but I'd expect your new endeavor to take longer then it did with Drifter.
 
first, i gotta get past drifter to feed stripes. i tried feeding cowboy, but drifter would dash out n guard the food. she would not leave it til she finished it.
it tastes much better than the exact same food she had in her bowl.
i locked her in the bath a couple times, but she's wise to that n refuses to get trapped.
she is simply too fast for me to get food out there.
i chased her off with a broom while making siren sounds, but she hated me for that.
in fact the big fights were so hard on both of us, i just gave up.
if cowboy dies, he dies.
i don' want her brother raping he anyway.
but stripes is an older cat who lives on the plains.that makes him togh.
good breeding stock.
besides, he's big enow to take on possums n such.
 
yow! 9 degrees out there. most of the pipes are frozen. no real problem tho. the toilet is working n the hot water in the shower is working so i can get clean.
i let drifter out so she could feel 9 degrees she ran out, looked around, sniffed he wind n galloped back in.
now, she won't pester me to let her out.

last night, i decoyed her with a bowl of food while i opened the door a crack n dropped some food outside. this was fat i trimmed from my new year's roast beef.
i figured high fat means lots of calories to help survive the cold.
i wasn't sure if anyone would come right to the door, but the fat was gone this morn.
somebody ate it.
i'm hoping stripes got it but i have no way to tell.
now that i can feed this way, i'll feed thru the winter.
this is not optimal. i'd very much like to leave the food out by my
arbor, which is a little out of the weather.
more, i would like to make a supper call. that's how i pulled drifter into the garden when i was flat on the ground.
unfortunately, drifter won't allow that.
so, i'm not getting training in, but i'm keeping him alive.
i guess he knows it's me feeding him, so some training is going on.
as a provider of food, i won't be as scary to the cat as i would be otherwise.
i'll work as hard as i can to turn this cat into a kitty.
 
well, i've been sneaking food out every night. drifter has taken to pestering me every time i get near the fridge, for a hand out.
i have that packet of icky stuff they leave inside a turkey. i cut it into little pieces n drifter gets a piece when i wanna sneak out. she gets totally absorbed in eating raw meat, so outside cats get fed.
i don't know who is eating the scraps i leave out, but somebody is.
not that i need more cats around here. drifter is VERY preg.
at first i thot she was getting obese, because when she asks for food, she gets it.
but, i feel little fat on her body.
if i understand what i've read, there should be kittens appearing in early feburary.
her last heat was november 9 thru 12.
i'm not happy about getting a litter in winter, but we will cope.
it was my mistake that caused this.
i knew no cat could get here from any local house, so i let her out when she was fertile.
i should have realized that if i found a drifter, there would be other feral cats out there.
well, there are lots of them.
 
eng, i'll do what i can about pics. i think the cam may have a flash.
i'm mostly keeping drifter in, which is a big pain. i have to clean the litter box twice/day.
when she's outside all day there is little clean up. thing is, she's so big she would be slow to escape danger.
there is always some danger for outdoor cats.
when i shoot, she hides in my junk room, so i made a nest in there. i did goood, because she likes it enow to spend a couple hours in it, every day.
they claim cats are lactose intolerant . but, i've been giving drifter
milk everyday, because i want her to have the calcium.
she thinks thi is a very good idea.
 
here's something interesting.
i was making tonnato sauce so was getting some canned tuna out.
drifter was a my feet jumping up n down.
i know she can't smell tuna that's in a can.
you know she can't smell tuna that's in a can.
but she doesn't know that.
 
it never occurred to me that she would recognize the shape of the can, instead of the label.
i have just gone all out n bot friskies canned food, to replace mice that she is no longer catching.
i believe in kibble, but that is a supplement to mice.
no soft cats around here.
 
here's something interesting.
i was making tonnato sauce so was getting some canned tuna out.
drifter was a my feet jumping up n down.
i know she can't smell tuna that's in a can.
you know she can't smell tuna that's in a can.
but she doesn't know that.
I don't know about that. When we're fixin' chicken, our three cats are very interested especially Natayo, he's loves raw chicken.
Anyway, to keep the three of them occupied, we open a can of soft food.
We have a variety and put one can of each in front of Natayo, he sniffs each can and chooses one. It gets split up into three servings and that keeps 'em occupied for a while.
 
snub, 1 whole can/cat?
that seems like a lot.
i gave drifter 1/4 can.
what is the right dose for a cat that lives on kibble?
sorry. i just reread what you said. 1/3 can/cat.
i can increase to that amount.
this stuff runs $.48/can, so it's not too pricey.
 
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She may have learned the sounds and actions that go with the opening of the tuna. Our dogs have learned many such similar cues, from getting out popcorn supplies, to opening yogurt (got to lick that lid, you know), to the sound of my shutting down the computer in the morning when I go shower.

I'd almost like to come adopt a kitten - Ted loves other critters, and really wants to meet a cat, but an antsy excited 80 pound dog trying to treat a skittish kitty like it is a dog simple does not work.
 
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last night i was drifting off to sleep when this cat jumped up on my bed. i grabbed her up n pulled her to me, because she hates that. but she didn't struggle so i knew something was wrong.
i ran my hands over her just in time for her water to break.

so, i got up n got her on the floor while i got my shoes on.
i had a nest made for her in the junk room so i had to get her there.
she dashed behind the tv n let out a big yowl.
i look over, n there was a baby on the floor.
talk about a fast delivery.
she grabbed it up n made for my bed, but i caught her n started for her nest.
boom! she dropped the kitten on the floor making a loud thunk when kitty skull hit floor
i should have expected this.
this clumsy cat is always dropping live mice, especially when she brings them in the house.
i tried to get it but she beat me to it, so i picked her up again.
of course, she dropped it again when we got to the spare room, but this time she knew where we were going so she took the babe to the nest.
i was too upset to go right to bed so i stayed up drinking cocoa for a while.
by the time i went to sleep, there were 2 kittens suckling.
from feeling her tummy, i was pretty sure there were 4 knittens, but i decided drifter could handle things while i slept.
i did leave kibble n water but she didn't bother with thos.

anyway, i stumbled in there this morn for a head count.
yup. i now have 5, five, count them 5 cats ready to terrorize me.
 
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