He Eats Like a Bird

An update on the feral cats:

Dodger has left the area. I think. I haven't seen any photos of him using my spy camera (wildlife camera), so evidently he lived up to his name and dodged the situation as soon as I paved the way for his exit. (I saw him in the garage three days before I let the cats free, so I do know he put in the mandated two-week sentence. Well, perhaps I should say, I had a brief glimpse of his distinctive tail as he ran behind the bales of hay.) Perhaps he will return after he scopes out the neighborhood, or when the weather takes a turn, or whenever he feels like it. He is a cat, after all!

Freddie (the Freeloader) comes and goes. I catch him on camera now and then. I guess he's the sort of cat who likes to eat out on occasion!

Bob seems to be hanging around. He made the mistake (and I compounded it) of coming up to the house the other day. The dogs were excited. I thought they saw a bunny. I didn't see Bob slinking through the yard, until I opened the door. I am thinking that Bob may not come up to visit the house anytime soon! He was not received well by the dogs. They see "little animal that runs". They don't understand that I want him around.

When I upload pictures from my spy camera they pop up on the screen like this. They all look the same.

Bob. 

Bob eating. 

Bob eating.

Bob eating some more. 

Each picture has a time and date stamp. 

(As well as the phase of the moon and the temperature!)

When I look at them in my picture file, the information looks something like this:

Bob seems to be a snacker! He likes to eat a little every 3 hours or so! I guess you could say, he eats like a bird!

A Tale of Two Kitties

My new feral cats were incarcerated for two weeks. At least I'm sure that's how they viewed the experience! I had them locked in the garage part of the barn. I cleaned the litter box and made sure they had food and water each day. Other than the fact that food went in, and food came out in another form, I had no clue that cats were residing in the garage. I saw neither hide nor hair of them. Finally, the day arrived to let them loose. We have a small opening between the garage portion of the barn and the run-in shed of the barn.... and freedom!

I set my wildlife camera up in the run-in shed and lo and behold, I captured kitties. Well, at least images of kitties!
Here's Bob. All but one picture I captured is a picture of Bob. He loves looking through the hole, sleeping half in and half out of the hole, and sitting on the platform outside the hole.

Evidently, he also likes exploring. This silly cat went between the walls.

Do you see him peeking out?

Oh, boy. The little critters that plague me and eat the horse grain 

are in trouble with this guy around!

There were quite a number of shots of Bob sitting in this safe spot.

Here he looks like he actually took a snooze there.

Bob is black.

This is Bob.

This is Not Bob.

Therefore, this must be Dodger.

I published a post when I brought the cats home from the shelter two weeks ago with the only pictures I had of the cats. 

This is Bob

This is Dodger

This is Not Dodger.

This is Not Bob.

Who is this??!!

I have had a mysterious magical cat swap! 

Nine Lives

If I come back as a cat, I want to spend at least one of my lives at the Best Friends Animal Society sanctuary in Angel Canyon, UT!

We recently took a tour of the facility (featured on Dogtown several years ago). It is amazing. The sanctuary is located in a drop-dead gorgeous canyon near Kanab, UT. They house about 1900 animals, including, but not limited to, horses, pigs, dogs, cats, birds, and bunnies. Animals with injuries or illnesses are treated. Animals may live out their lives at the sanctuary, or they may be adopted.

The mission of the organization is to save them all. They want to end indiscriminate breeding. They support spay and neuter clinics and the "Big Fix" mobile clinic. They partner with organizations throughout the US to promote "no kill" shelters and programs. They raise funds through activities across the US like "Strut your Mutt", and raise awareness with conferences, adoption events, TV shows and literature. They want to put an end to breed discrimination and puppy mills, and they assist with trap, neuter and return programs for feral cats.

Best Friends offers tours of their facilities and encourage individuals to come and volunteer, even if it is for just a day. Volunteers must attend an informational session before they work with the animals. Volunteers may choose where they want to volunteer and what they'd like to do and the staff or other volunteers assist them. They might clean animal runs, walk dogs or sit with cats. Even the cats get walked, or taken outside in strollers by volunteers. Volunteers help prepare animals for life with a family.

We visited one of several cat houses. Each house has several rooms with exterior play areas. The rooms have all manner of things that cats would like, from snuggly beds to things to climb.

There are 'hidey holes' for cats who want to be alone.

Volunteers make fleece beds and pads, 

and it is evident that the cats appreciate their efforts!

This cat was hiding in a hallway storage closet!

Each room has an outdoor living area as well.

What cat wouldn't love the freedom to climb, sleep,

eat and play? 

In my opinion, this could be cat heaven!

We enjoyed our visit to Kanab and to Best Friends. I would love to go back and spend some time volunteering. Maybe next year!