Thanks, everyone, for the most recent feedback; if The [Almost] Daily Feral Show Report is a sorta 'soap opera/comics' combo, then the encouragement etc. I get here is invaluable therapy
...so hopefully a good trade!! (Re: soap opera-if a s. opera is defined to some extent by it's murder/death/switched baby content, then count me out!! On the other hand, if it involves HUGE vet bills i.e.we just forward our paycheques to the clinic!/critter juggling-not literally!/days full of jogging from one litter box to the next etc. then I'm yer gal!!!!)
Speaking of litter boxes, besides the 2 for our 3 longtime cats and 1 each for the Puma Pair and Mr. Sparklet, there are the 2 dogs to pick up after outside, and those cuddly 1/2 ton pets-les horses. I had had horses for many years before I read somewhere that the average horse produces app. 50 lbs. of manure a day
; if I'd known that, I might have had second thoughts. No wonder my life seems to be a constant rerun of "I Dream of Feces"...bad joke perhaps, but sadly true!
I'm thinking of applying for a job at some fancy? sort of restaurant where the wait staff prance around with huge trays, or balance 5 big plates on one hand, what with the practice I've had lately with the cats; on more than one occasion I really have dragged out my one lousy tray to facilitate carting multiple bowls around. At least I would get some tips (unless I turned out to be as untalented as my mother, who lost her first summer job on her first day of waitressing when she dropped a huge tray onto another waitress as she lurched through the swinging kitchen door
...in her defense, she was a very tiny person!); these felines are real cheapskates.
Ooooh, chico2, I hope you're right about the 'skittish female' theory re: Cash. And I'm glad to hear others say that they have no problems with a m/f blend of cats (until last year when our 4 very senior cats died in a sad 6 mo. span, we had 2 males and 5 females coexisting just fine). If Cash turns out to be another macho dude, I should wallpaper SIL's house with pro-m/f mix comments from here!!
Thanks to the folks who related their live trap experiences; even though the kittens are all inside, it's not like there won't be more wild-ish strays:sad: . I'm hoping we get a break for a while now; in the first 8 years we lived out here we had only one [friendly!!] stray appear, that we adopted, and one or 2 very self-reliant cats who just passed through... I had wondered how live trapping worked with multiple cats, but it sounds like it's doable.
On the subject of live trapping-sort of-I haven't seen the kitten's mom for a few days now:sad: . For so long I was just trying to keep the whole family fed, and on the way to 'human friendly'...THEN came the past couple of weeks of sudden kitten-catching; I had just caught my breath and was going to focus on mom, and now she doesn't seem to be around. I'll certainly keep an eye out, especially when I'm doing my horse chores after dark; I wear a headlamp as our place is not well-lit, and it's great for catching critter eyes out there (I almost miss The Three Kittens following me around from a distance, but it's not as if they ever lifted a paw to help out anyway).
Time for some kitty cuddling...keep well, all you good critter people
.