Today we’ve only seen one kitten . . the solid orange one.
He (or she) has decided to hang out with the chickens. Twice I’ve seen the kitten laying right up against the chicken wire, snoozing in the sun, and a chicken would be laying on the other side of the wire, back to back with the kitten.
Orange Kitten
I have no idea where the other kittens are but just my luck, I’m betting they show back up. Not being very fond of cats, I might could live with one around here but I’m not even committing to that just yet. I’d prefer that they all be gone but if just one stays, we’ll catch it, get it neutered and hope it loves the taste of fresh mice and snakes!
D says
I’m trying to remember if our cats on the farm ate grasshoppers. If so, that would be a real bonus!
JudyL says
Just saw one of them stalking and then capture something and munch on it and I’m pretty sure it was a grasshopper. I don’t think there are enough cats in Texas to reduce this grasshopper population.
carol c says
one feral female cat can have 450,000 kittens in her lifetime. even older kittens of hers that are male have been known to father more kittens via mom. I have 4fed 4 generations and still have one oldest male, moved here in 1984, she found me in 1993 and she is gone but one of her daughters is in line to be fixed. Still have not caught the last 2 marmalade kittens, they were playing in the purple sage though. cute. the pic you shared looks like one of the ones I just gave away. LOL
AngieG9 says
Good luck Judy. Just hope they grow up liking mice and snakes rather than chicken and eggs. And it is true that one male and one female can reproduce faster than rabbits. We started out with two on the farm. When I left there I think the population was close to half a million, all colors, including 4 or 5 dozen white ones, each with 1 blue eye and 1 green eye. And except for Thumper, the original white male who was my daughter’s pet, those eyes were all evil.
Becky in VA says
I’ve been wondering what you and Vince did about having a shop full of kitties. The others are all hiding around the shop, but this little cutie looks like a keeper, especially since he’s already friends with the chickens. Keep us updated.
JudyL says
I just saw two out in the implement shed so I hope they stay back there . . a little farther away from the shop.
Kat says
If he’s solid orange he’s almost certainly a male (cat genetics make an orange female highly unlikely, if not quite impossible.) Same way that calicos and tortiseshells are basically always female. He looks cute! I hope you can make room around the farm for a few more mouths 🙂
Denise ~ Justquiltin says
He looks like he’s on patrol – guarding the perimeter of the fence. You could catch them and then go drop them off at Susan and Ernie’s house. You know how much they love all those stray cats who seem to wander to their house. LOL Tho if Susan reads this I don’t think she’ll endorse my idea.
Marla says
My sister’s yellow cat killed a black snake today and proudly brought it up to the porch to show her today! Lol!
Dawn says
I too was not a cat person. Until one day my husband stating he wanted someone to talk to during the day(he is disabled and at home alone). how hard could a cat be to take care of? so off to the pound we went and a little feral girl (gray tiger) put her paw outside the cage and tapped on his shoulder as we were speaking to the gal in charge. I guess she picked him. We now have two and as they say, the rest is history. Mine are both indoor cats and both are fixed. they make our lives fun with their antics.
Scarlett says
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think orange cats are usually male.
Dawn-Marie says
My orange is female. Orange cats tend to have happier and more playful dispositions. As long as you get them fixed I say keep them. They will keep the mice population down for you. And are as much to watch as the chickens.
Carol says
We started off with a stray female who had been someone’s pet. When she died, we went to a local shelter for another, also female. And then another, also female. It was so hard to leave with just one. They all wanted out of those cages. One day, a stray neutered tiger strip male showed up. He’s a nut but he built a bridge between the two females and now they get along much better. They’re work but we enjoy their friendship and their antics as well.
LadyBaltimore says
Awww, I’d take that kitty in a second. She/He does look like he’s on patrol. If he’s friendly to the chickens as a baby, most likely he’ll be friendly (and protective) of them as he/she gets older.
Edith says
My Dad was a vetrinarian and I used to hang out at the barn alot because I rode horses. My experience with barn cats was that you need to tame them while they were young or they would always be wild and too hard to get neutered etc. Also quite frequently around 6 months to a year they would catch distemper and will die unless they are innoculated for distemper, feline leukemia and rabies. I don’t mean to be a downer, but I thought I would make my recommendations before you got too attached to them.
JudyL says
Nothing stays here unless it’s neutered and up to date on shots/vaccines. That’s why we can’t keep all the kittens . . can’t afford it even if we wanted to.