Barn Kitties Arrive

      Because the 3 WILD barn cats we adopted last summer had stopped showing up for food, we decided to get two younger, tamer cats (kittens actually) that hopefully won't wander so far off.  If they are more visible we can keep better tabs on them as well.  We rarely saw our wild cats, and then, they would just be a streak as one fled from the barn, corn crib, or other building.  I only knew they were there because the food disappeared every night and I would occasionally see one from a distance. But, after going 2 weeks without the food being touched, which first happened the day I spotted a dead cat on US 150 near or place, I decided we were without rodent control.            

   
     We picked up our two new barn kittens on a very cold Friday evening Jan.8th.  They came from a large barn with many horses and cats, west of Normal. The picture shows the two kittens we actually took.  They are looking in on their siblings whom we had first caught.  The boy is the larger one on the right. The rear end of their calico mom can be seen to the right of him. These two are approximately 10 weeks old.  I decided to assign them a Halloween birth date.

    
     The kittens have been spoiled since their arrival here.  I gave them our old comforter, seen here, which I put in the old dog create I had built 30 years ago for our first dog Greta.  We used the quilt for packing furniture in the u-haul last April. I decided it might come in handy so I had hung on to it instead of pitching it.
    
     Below you can see the  "feeding station" and Kaysha meeting the kittens for the first
time.  They get 1/3 can of cat food morning and night....along with the dry food. They are used to their momma cat bringing mice and birds daily....so I wanted to keep up their meat diet.  They are reported to be good mousers already....but I want to be sure they have plenty of nourishment through this winter. I also don’t want them running off looking for greener pastures else where.
      Their first morning on our farm, it was -7 outside when I took them some canned food.  The tack room is insulated and out of the wind, but it was still pretty doggone cold out there.  To keep their water drinkable, I use an old heated water dish that was left out here from previous owners. 
   

     Here is a picture of Britney loving on the kittens.  The boy is more playful as seen going after the catnip seal.  Can you see  Daniel’s name written in the concrete floor?

    

     The kittens naturally knew to use the litter box.  I believe this one is just sitting in the sun during this picture.  They will move from place to place just to be in the warm sun light. 

Here the boy is on top of a saddle blanket, sitting in the sun.  Notice Courtney’s new saddle above and behind him.


     I decided to make it easier for them to catch the sun’s rays, so I put a ladder with a cardboard lid on the shelf for them to sit on.
    

 
Then I made a ramp so they could get up there.  I had also felt bad about keeping them shut in the tack room, (We need to do this for 2-3 weeks so they will adopt our barn as home.)  but now they have a window to look out of and seem fairly content.  They spend quite a bit of time playing with their toys and chasing each other around.  Sometimes they get a little rough with each other. I scold them when I am around, and wonder if Momma cat had to keep them in line.

     A bin for hay is just outside this window, over 6 feet down on the ground. The horses and cows spend a lot of time there eating.  The kittens may be watching them in this photo.

      I bought the little stuffed dog seen below for just a buck at the dollar store.  It looks a little like Kaysha.  The girl kitten especially likes beating it up.  She will carry it around and even haul it up to her ladder perch.   In the picture below, she was biting, clawing and pawing at it while eating. Did she think this was her kill that she was now devouring? 

      I really like these two new additions to our farm and enjoy watching them along with all the other critters we have.  They give me a chance to rest during farm chores and are a fun distraction from doing school work.