Bird in the house - Teaching the kittens

Yesterday evening we left Patches out while we went to eat. When we returned we let her back in but almost immediately she wanted to go back out. So we let her out and she went to get a bird that she had killed and stashed for the occasion. Then she wanted back in, with the bird of course. We were a bit hesitant but we also realized that this was her way of teaching the kittens about wild game hunting and how to fend for themselves. Patches was wild until she came to live in the big house, and she survived by hunting and killing her food. That instinct is in her and she wants to pass it on to the kittens. So in she came, bird and all.

The kittens loved it, at least 3 did. The fourth was asleep but we helped her wake up and after a bit there were all 4 of them feasting on their first bird. Patches was nearby mumbling something like "I hope you appreciate all I am doing for you".

When they were done there was only a few feathers and some bones. Those were promptly dispatched and life was back to normal. So ends this lesson in the upbringing of kittens

Kittens at 5 and a half weeks

They are growing so rapidly and are very active. 3 of them will eat from a bowl but the 4th one will not. We have tried everything we can to get her to eat but nothing doing. I suppose the mother will have to cut her off to make her eat from the bowl. They can climb up a cat tree and can climb up on the couch. There are two boys and two girls. The black one is a boy and is the biggest of the litter. They were born on June 1st.We can no longer keep them in the bathroom where we have had them so they pretty much have the run of the house. They can climb out in an instant. All four of them are using the litter box, but their mother does not. we will be starting to look for homes for at least 2 of them and maybe 3, I guess we have to get the last one eating first. We want to keep 1 at least.

Kittens - 3 weeks old

The kittens turned 3 weeks old today so here is an update and pictures. The kittens have grown at warp speed. The black one is over a pound and 2 of the yellows are just under 16 oz. One of the yellows is about 13 oz. Their motor skills are improving and they play and attack one another. We moved them to a new box that is much larger and so far mom has left them there. The other night about 2 in the morning Martha was awakened by a kitten cry and discovered Patches moving the black one into our bedroom. She stopped her and moved the kitten back to the original box, all the time explaining to Patches that she could not bring them to the bedroom. All was well for a few minutes and then she tried again with the same result. Once again Martha intercepted. This time she left them where they were. So Martha made her a new box that has more room and we are trying that to see if it helps. Here are some pictures.

Injured Bird

Anyone recognize this bird. This one has a severely damaged right wing. We cannot recall seeing this bird before so it is new to the neighborhood. It's mate was in a tree nearby and was bigger than this one 

Kittens - Day 15 plus a pretty flower

Martha suggested last night that we get the kittens out of the box and let them play, so I tried it for a while and they liked it a lot I think. I got them all out and Patches scrambled around to protect them but once she saw that they were just outside the box she was fine and she laid down so they could nurse and she could bathe them. I left them out for almost a half hour and they were quite playful. I will do it more than once a day. Here are some pictures at 2 weeks plus a day.

Above - all 4 of them fresh out of the box. Where are we, they say, I've never been here before! Below - Isn't that a cute face, I couldn't resist it.

Below - giving a bear hug and a bath

Below - all of them explored their surroundings while out of the box. I will probably regret that when they get a few days older and discover that they can get out of the box by themselves.

More to come

and

Our first Canna Lily this year 

Kittens - Day 5

They are growing and are now 7 ounces +-. The black one is the biggest, weight wise. Here are some other pictures.

Who's in Control Here Anyway?

Luke 8:25  He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

I found myself in one of those moments a couple evenings ago, marveling at God’s power over nature.  Clarence has talked about the kittens on this blog and posted photos for all of you to see, so if you are reading this you probably know we have a cat and her family staying in our house.  The biggest downside of this adventure is that this particular cat is not litter box trained, and she has no interest whatsoever of using it no matter what we put in it.  I even bought a bag of top soil and “planted” tufts of grass in it so that it would make her think of the great outdoors and maybe, just maybe, prompt her to use it.  Nothing doing.

Now, I must say that except for a couple times a day or two before giving birth, she has always done very good at holding it all in until she could get outside, and not disposing things where she should not.  Since the kittens were born though, she has hardly gone at all and that of course is cause for concern.  She doesn’t want to leave the kittens (though that is changing), doesn’t want to go outside (the rain hasn’t helped that), and one would think she would be just about to burst. When we do get her to go outside she generally won’t venture far from the door and, consequently, continues to contain it all. 

Well, the other night I had carried her outside and was practically begging her to “let it go”.  We had been out for a few minutes and I decided to sit on the landscape timbers we have around our garden.  My hope was that Patches would follow and use one of her favorite areas (our garden).  I sat alone for quite some time.  Suddenly I realized that it was lightly raining, but I wasn’t getting wet. I could see the rain, and it was right there, but I didn’t feel anything. Granted there was a tree nearby but the rain was coming from a direction that the tree wouldn’t have blocked it.  Hmmmm, God must be holding an umbrella over me or something.  Even though I decided it had to be the tree, the thought of God protecting me from those raindrops reminded me that God controls nature, all of it, and wasn’t Patches a part of that?

I decided it was high time that I talked with God about Patches.  Since it was semi-dark and everything was wet, and no one else in their right mind would be out there, I might as well just talk out loud to make sure He heard me.  After a minute or two of talking to God (OK, maybe I did do a little whining and begging), telling Him I remembered His power over nature and that Patches was part of the nature He created, and indicating what we needed Patches to do, she got up, strolled by me, and started to take care of it.  I did a quick switch from asking to praising.  If our neighbors had been out and about they probably would have thought me nuts, but I couldn’t help myself.

Now some might say that all of that was coincidence.  It could be I guess, but I choose to believe that God found a way to remind me that He was in control, He did something that got me thinking about His great power, which brought me to the point of asking for His help, and then He helped us and I had the opportunity to praise Him for what He did.  We really do have an amazing God don’t we?  Who then is this, that he commands even the raindrops and the cat, and they obey him?