Ozarkgal, what a great story and visual!:applause:
Seabreeze, I am so happy the long-johns work! Monday I am ordering the mesh dog blanket for my Dobe/Rott. I rescued her literally on death's door, hairless with sarcoptic mange and fractured pelvis exactly 9 years ago this coming Wednesday. Kara still had a bit of a puppy bark but it was obvious she had given birth to puppies shortly before I picked her up and brought her home. Our road is so wooded, I never could find the puppies. Anyway, her hips are really starting to bother her, so I'm going to get one of those mesh blankets for her and hope it helps.
That segways nicely into the new cat:grief:
I'm afraid I've got a new cat and there might be more on the way
There was a convicted sex offender living next door to us in late 2011 - thru May 2012, until he got arrested for the 4th time.
Someone had dumped a very preggars cat off, that he and his wife took in. She had four kittens in early June, 2012. When the man got hauled off to jail, the wife moved out and naturally the cat and kittens all stayed under the porch of the rental house. I couldn't catch any of them to take them to the no-kill shelter but I did keep them fed and watered.
In July, 2012 a very nice young couple rented the house and they had a 7-month old baby. The mom was only 19 and wanted to keep the mama cat and the kittens
So here it is, 8 months later and all of a sudden the kittens are starting to wander over here but a very passive male kitten has decided to move in, much to the consternation of my current barn cat crew. He does not want to fight, does not want to take over the barn, so I have to wonder if, being so passive, that the more aggressive alpha brothers banished him.
The other "kittens" show up at night when we're bringing the horses in but, they won't come in the barn; just this gray kitten. They are all well-cared for and very healthy looking but the other thing I am wondering is if the renters might have stopped feeding the cats because only the husband is now working, plus going to school at night, and they just don't have the money.
This all really tisses me off because I offered to get mama kitty spayed and take the kittens to the no-kill shelter before they got so big, nobody would want to adopt them. The young girl insisted she could find homes for them thru her FB friends ---- here it is 8 months later and the kittens are still here
Since it appears Smokey wants to live here, I can catch him, and he's better off neutered before a really aggressive Tom half kills him, I guess he's going to the vet this week to get 2/3'rds of his jewels removed<---something my Ex said I LOVE to do and is why I prefer male animals, given the choice --there might be some truth to that - lol. I can only hope (I guess) that he stays here after I spend the money.
I am ready to spit nails over this whole situation. I am not a cat person to begin with, yet I have two rescues in the house, 4 at the barn and Number Five Barn Cat "on the way". If the rest of the kittens (who are all eight months old) wander over and don't go back home, there goes more money.
Not to mention my original cats are all discombooberated; they know these cats so won't tear into them, yet I can see the WTH confusion on all their faces.
The Saving Grace to all of this is that Mr. TWHRider IS a cat person.
I knew when I sold one of my saddles, the money would end up going somewhere I didn't want it to go