Tuesday, October 09, 2007

It's That Time of Year Again...

...when things go bump in the night. Usually it's just the wind, or maybe a barn door that isn't quite closed. This time the noise was on the front porch, directly under my bedroom window. I *told* Jake I wasn't imagining things, and I wasn't.

When we got up the next morning, the most pitiful mewing sound was coming from ... somewhere. I thought one of our cats had been shut in a closet (it has happened before) and spent quite a few minutes looking for the source of the sound. Eventually it occured to me to look out the window, and then my heart did a flip-flop. There were 3 little kittens sitting on the rocking chair on the porch.

OH! I get so mad when people dump cats off on our farm. Usually it's an older cat that has outgrown its cuteness. At least they have a chance of surviving. These babies are only about 8 weeks old. They are quite clean and rather chubby so I know they have been well cared for so far, but how on earth does ANYONE think that teeny-tinies like these have a hope of a prayer of surviving on their own?

I want to grab these people and shake them and scream "Do NOT count on the Nice Farmer to take them in. He already has 5 housepets and has threatened to leave home if wife or daughters bring home any more!" Sigh...



We caught these 2 right away -- the black one is a charmer who likes people, and the gray one was just too hungry to care -- and relocated them to the calf house along with a bowl of cat food. It's warm and dry in there, and the guys can usually be counted on to leave the leftover calf milk behind for the barn cats.


It was a challenge to catch the third one, but eventually she got hungry enough to come to the food we left out and so we took her to join her littermates. She was unwilling to have her portrait taken, but my camera caught her anyway. See her under the stall floor way back against the wall? Poor baby... I don't blame her for being frightened.



I saw these beautiful spiderwebs under one of my birdfeeders, and just for the heck of it, because I had the camera out already, I played with some more of the settings on my camera. I snapped over a dozen photos, but these 2 were the only ones that turned out. (Note to self: put a dark background behind misty spiderwebs.)



I wish I could make art like this!!

9 comments:

Linda Fleming said...

Aw... poor kitties! Rotten people!

Love the photos of the spider webs.

So are you feeling better this week? Hope so!

Judi W. said...

Wow - that last photo of the spider web is fabulous! Can I have a copy to play with?

Awww, poor kitties! How many barn cats do you have now?

Kai said...

GRRRRRRRRR! I wish I were there! I'd GLADLY take that black kitty (especially) off your hands! Mean, thoughtless people who dump animals! I know you weren't looking for any more pets, but thank goodness you are kind enough to take them in! And, being a lover of spiders - no, I'm definitely NOT your normal sqeamish female, LOL! - I am enthralled by the web!

Shashi Nayagam said...

Those kitties are so sweet. I love cats and if I had been living near you Judy I would have taken at one off your hands.
Lovely picture of the spider web.

Courtney Short said...

I feel your pain Judy! We live on the outskirts of town so we are the first dropping point for all animals.. We have had 2 cats come and go.. and another one has wandered here and adopted us. I have lost count on the dogs that have passed thru - but I make sure no one in the house feeds them - we can't afford for them to stay. The worst part about it is that b/c we are not in the city limits the city animal control will not come and get them. Our neighbors across the street don't keep their animals under control and they treat their dogs like they are disposable - they keep getting killed by getting hit by a car and then they go out and buy another one and do the same thing all over again.. sigh.. people need to do more thinking before buying pets. Those kitties are cute though :-)

Sue said...

Thank goodness there are people like you who will take these cats in, and care for them until you can find them a good home. Hopefully, there are some organizations near you that help with the care or spay and neuter for folks who pick up strays. We had it in our small town in NC.

I also love spider webs, and we're having a great season of them. The only time I don't care for them is when I walk through them unexpectedly, and get them across my face. Sometime, try spray painting the web (when the spider isn't in it) with gold spray paint, and then "walk" into it, holding up a piece of black paper. Frame-able!

Anonymous said...

I hate hearing this about the sweet kitties,I know your not happy about it but glad you are there for them.
Love the cobwebs, how perfectly beautiful!!

Katie said...

You did make art....with your camera!

Linda said...

I came looking for the swap doll. She isn't here. Alot of other wonderful creations are!!
So I am certainly not disappointed. I understand about the abandoned animals. I live in the country too.