14 Kittens!

 In my last post, I mentioned three kittens from Polly and five kittens from Louisa.  That’s clearly eight.  What in the world would make me suggest that eight would actually become fourteen?  Ah yes, cat math.  If you have three barn cats on a farm, what is the likelihood that all three are female? And pregnant?  Apparently, 100%.  

The feral gray tabby was elusive but I needed all three fixed in order to carry on without future kittens.  We dropped food for it by the outdoor cat shelter left behind, but it would zoom away if we came within ten feet.  Until one morning.  It rushed at me when I got too close to the shelter.  I pondered this for a minute and tried again.  Same thing.  Rabies?  No, it wasn’t even hissing.  Suspecting something, I loaded a trap and waited.  I brought our son out for evening feeding and the cat was not in the shelter.  A quick peek confirmed my suspicions.  He was absolutely delighted.  He started trying to guess how many more kittens were in there.  Meanwhile, I moved Louisa and Polly into one crate with an attached pen that would keep the kittens in, but the moms could explore the garage during feeding times.  I had one chance to catch this last feral cat.  She was no doubt watching me and would probably feel threatened enough to move her kittens.  We set up the second crate for her in the garage.  The next morning, during her normal feeding time, I placed the trap right in front of her exit from the shelter.  We put wet food inside as bait.  She peeked out, clearly alarmed, hesitated, and then SNAP!  She was in and very unhappy.  I dribbled flea control on her back to confirm to her that I was a horrible person.  Our son had the job of reaching in the dark cat shelter and pulling out the kittens one by one.  So, as you’ve no doubt guessed, they kept coming until six of the little monsters were in the bucket.  We carried the feral cat in the cage, who we named Victoria, and her six offspring into the garage.  Her kittens were named after Queen Victoria’s children.  

With these descriptions, pictures are a must.  First the trapping of Victoria.

Next, Victoria’s babies.  We had two different photo sessions several weeks apart because Victoria was difficult to tame down.  She eventually let us pet her.

The New Barn Cats and Their Kittens

 There is an empty grain silo on our new farm.  And two female barn cats that are pregnant.  I moved two cat shelters, left behind by the previous owner, into the grain silo and managed to get ahold of the cats to set them up in the enclosed grain silo where they could have their babies and I could keep them safe until they could be spayed.  It was the perfect plan.  At first.  One of the kitties, a beautiful solid gray we named Louisa, was attending to three newborns within a few days of locking her up.  It was early May (May the Fourth be with you day), so we named her three kittens (two males and a female) Han, Luke, and Leia.  Two of the kittens were orange tabbies and one was calico.  That seems a little odd from a gray mother.  The other pregnant kitty was a polydactyl orange female tabby we named Polly.  She kept trying to push in between Louisa and her kittens.  Finally, I set up an extra large dog crate on the garage (the grain bin was getting hot during the day) and moved Louisa and her kittens. However, when I picked up Polly (she was frantic when I took the others away) I noticed her belly was empty and her teats were full.  Oh dear.  Someone stole kittens.  I set up another crate in the garage and reunited Polly with her offspring and Louisa had her own crate.  Three days later, Louisa had her own litter of five kittens!   Our son named her kittens after friends at his old school.  The two mother cats rubbed at each other through their respective crates.  Perhaps we could combine the two families soon.  

Polly’s kittens:

Louisa’s kittens:

Settling In 4/14/22

 The house was perfect.  The cow barn was ready for Fiona, but the fences were not tight enough for the goats.  Fiona would need a friend soon.  The three sided shelter provided electricity for heated water buckets (which we bought locally that first day) and shelter for the large animals.  The two horses had been professionally shipped to boarding barn here in Minnesota a week before our trip, so they were comfortable until it was time to get them.  Meanwhile, I built a temporary pen out of the wind for the goats and mini donkey and put together the corral panels under the open shed for the horses to come home to.  A roaring creek flowed on the property in a beautiful ravine surrounded by forest.  Wood duck nests awaited inhabitants.  Winter was two weeks longer this year, the locals said.  They apologized for the wind as well.  No need.  It was welcome after 15 years of stifling heat in the South.  

One unanticipated surprise was that there were already some barn cats.  Two pregnant female barn cats, to be precise.  They were wily, but somewhat tame.  A third, gray tabby was feral.  A fourth orange cat was spotted, but disappeared before we could determine if it was male or female.  We had brought Ralph, our barn cat, but he didn’t know this new place, so he was locked up in the workshop (heated) until he was ready to explore.  I started looking for ways to trap the barn cats and planned what to do when I did.  

I found a weanling heifer to purchase locally as company for Fiona and to start building a cow herd again.  Fiona was thrilled with her new friend.  We named her Violet.  She was an early calf born when it was still very cold.  As a result, she is missing the tip of her tail from frostbite.  

Missouri to Minnesota 4/13/22

 It was a cold, blustery morning when we left Kirksville and the temperature would only drop further as we headed north.  Our thoughts were on getting the goats, pony, cow, and donkey to warm stalls in Minnesota.  The goats and donkey were in the front of the trailer where they could avoid much of the wind.  Goats are most susceptible to getting chilled.  The cow and pony still had some pretty thick coats and appeared much more comfortable.  The map program led us on dirt roads heading north into Iowa.  It was slow going over old winter ruts along rural roads.  I doubted my map program and checked the direction to ensure we were heading the right way.  Eventually, it dumped us onto a secondary paved road and then joined a highway.  The differences in the landscape from Florida to the northern Midwest were as if we were traveling backwards from full spring through early spring, and then into late winter.  The trees were still bare and very little green, even from ditches along the highway.  Thankfully, despite being in the twenties, there was no snow on the ground and zero ice.  It was dry, cold, and sunny.  It reminded me of northern Colorado and the seemingly constant winds that would blow across our little front range town.  It wasn’t quite as dry as the squeezed out winds that came off the mountains, but the slightly higher humidity made it more cruel.  Of all the welcome signs of the many states we had crossed into, Minnesota’s was the most attractive.  Partly because we were almost home, and partly because it used native rock.  

We were here.  The land of Vikings and funny phrases.  Hot dishes and walleye.  Snow, prairies, lakes, and rivers.  As a graduate student in ecology, I looked at unfamiliar forms and realized just how much I had to learn.  Memorizing new Latin names of plants.  Understanding new weather patterns and new relationships between new-to-me species.  I was comforted by the fact that my graduate program, through Colorado State, emphasized prairie and riparian ecosystems, but I was still intimidated by how much information I would have to fill in.  I saw oak trees, which in a landscape have a similar role, regardless of ecosystem.  There were maples and hickories.  I spotted the remnants of dormant tall grass prairie in a local conservation area.  I wondered what our new farm would look like.  We never had time to fly up to see it.  We had to trust the agent based on one trip to the area (my husband’s employer refused to give him time off once he gave notice).  The large animals would have new things to eat this year.  Poor Fiona had been a lone cow with goats as her only friends for months.  Perhaps there was wisdom in getting a local heifer for company and to show her the good things to eat in her new pasture. 

A local charity farm had room for the large animals for a few days and the small animals went to a pet boarding place for at least a few days.  We still had our two hotel cats and dog, but the bunnies had a nice run at the pet boarder.  We slept restlessly knowing the next day would bring the closing and first walk though of our new farm.  I had ordered and paid for round pen panels to pick up and house the large animals temporarily until we could arrange what fencing was needed.  The plan was for us to stay at the new house the following night. I had air mattresses, bedding, basic kitchen utensils, and a coffee maker in bins in the back of my truck, along with the animals’ feed, buckets, water troughs, health certificates, and emergency vet kit.  Just one more night in a hotel.  

Tennessee to Missouri 4/12/22

The thunderstorms raged as we gathered the animals and headed towards Kentucky.  We knew there were reports of tornadoes, but we did not have to alter our course to avoid the most dangerous spots.  Kentucky highways were more sedate and relaxing than Tennessee’s many emotional outbursts on signs and billboards.  As we headed towards the Mississippi River, the storm abated and changed into a normal, cloudy day.  The roads in southern Illinois were rough on that brief stretch before crossing into Missouri.  We saw the St. Louis arch as we crossed the big river.  That same river would never be that far away for the rest of our journey.  I felt more at home in the Midwest than I ever did in the South.  It felt good to be on the right side of the Mississippi (which is technically the left side).  

Our planned stop was north of St Louis, in Mark Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, (we enjoy many of his writings).  However, we changed plans based mostly on my husband’s electric car charging requirements.  We pushed through all the way to Kirksville, Missouri that evening.  With our son’s help, we made calls on the road and arranged overnight stabling and boarding for the animals.  We were on the road for much longer than originally planned, but it made for a shorter drive the next morning to finish up the trip.  The sky cleared up west of St. Louis, but a fierce, frigid wind followed the strong storms.  The wind chilled the animals in the open style trailer.  We had canvas sides made for the trailer, but they forgot a hole where the gate latch is on the side, so we couldn’t attach them.  At the dog boarding facility for Zeke, the farm owners offered to shelter the large animals in their barn.  This was perfect, so we cancelled the other overnight stable.  The animals were already cold and the extra time to take them to the other farm would just chill them even more.  I helped move some panels to create two temporary stalls.  One for the goats and donkey and the other for the cow and pony.  We couldn’t find a place to board the three cats, so we rented a second hotel room for them.  We settled back at the hotel and the temperatures dropped to below freezing overnight.  We didn’t anticipate this, and our poor little Cuban tree frogs, who were tucked away in the truck in a temporary cage with plenty of food and water, succumbed to the cold.  

Georgia to Tennessee 4/11/22

 The two cats and Maddie snuggled with us overnight in the hotel.  The bunnies also slept peacefully. While Mike got ready, John and I left early with Maddie to retrieve the large animals first, and then load up Zeke and the other three cats.  Mike took the two “hotel cats” with him in the car.  The road at the remote pet boarding facility was battered clay, which forced us to drive slow.  Fiona the cow had plenty of time to communicate with the neighbor’s cattle while we made our way slowly by.  The bull seemed quite interested.  Perhaps they were discussing their lives as cattle in Florida versus Georgia.  Perhaps the bull was making passes at Fiona.  Whatever they said, it seemed to be an interesting conversation.  

About an hour past Atlanta, the highway began a slow, curvy climb into Tennessee.  I enjoyed seeing some unusual rock formations in the Smokies.  I felt a deep longing for mountains ever since I left my home state out west.  I don’t like the heat.  I would prefer snowy mountains to anything, but Colorado has changed so much since I joined the US Navy, back in 1997.  During visits, it wasn’t MY Colorado anymore.  I felt the same about California, where I lived as a kid.  It’s entirely unrecognizable.  It ceased being MY California a long time ago.  I never considered living in Florida.  In fact, a year and a half before meeting my husband, my USN ship made a port visit to Mayport.  A bunch of us took a rented van across the state to swim with manatees, which was incredible.  Despite that, on the way back to the ship, partly because it was August, perhaps, but mostly because it never gets cold enough there, I said I would never live in Florida.  Then, I met Mike.  His family was there and he’d been away too long.  What I found in Florida were excellent state parks, beautiful oaks hammocks, pine forests, abundant grass for livestock, and a nice place for our young son to grow up on our farm.  Our son will carry his home state of Florida with him everywhere.  He will always have that common experience with his dad, which is a treasure for them both.  As we were leaving, he had zero regrets, but I know from experience that all too soon, it won’t be HIS Florida anymore.  

Tennessee had some beautiful areas where the Smokies peek through suburbia, but it’s also a place that wears its emotions on the outside for all to see.  Billboards proclaiming, quite rudely, political sentiments interrupted the views with strong emotions and anger.  Honestly, it kind of killed the mood.  I had hoped to explore a bit more of the side roads, but the negativity dissuaded me.  The weather was also a factor.  Strong storms were moving in while we settled the horses at the fairgrounds in Murfreesboro.  The small animal boarding facility was relatively easy in comparison.  Once again, we settled the one dog, two cats, and travel cage with two rabbits in at the hotel.  I had pre-packaged meals for all the animals, so it was easy.  Maddie and I went for several walks, despite the stormy weather.  We had some business to do at the local branch of our new bank to ensure closing would happen on time.  It was quite stressful, but with the help of a local banker, we got it done.  I sent her flowers after our trip to thank her for her extraordinary help.  

Florida to Georgia 4/10/22

All the animals arrived safely in Minnesota, with the exception of the two Cuban tree frogs we captured on our old farm in Florida and made into pets (they are invasive in Florida).  They succumbed to the cold despite our precautions.

The days were hot and muggy when we left Florida on April 10th.  The two horses had been professionally hauled up north several days before and were at a boarding barn adjusting to the change in their summer coats (we sent along their blankets).  We left with Maggie the Shetland Pony, Tony the mini donkey, Fiona the Dexter cow, and three pet goats (Nancy, Lisa, and Leslie) all in the trailer.  Our first stop was in central Georgia.  Our trailer has open bars on the sides for ventilation and a canvas top.  Perfect for hauling in the heat.  The cow and goats have been sharing a pasture for six months so they have bonded.  

Inside the truck were four house cats in carriers, plus one barn cat in a carrier, two dogs in the backseat, two rabbits, and the two frogs in a plastic container with appropriate holes, damp paper towels, and a few cricket snacks.  

Inside my husband’s electric car was a pet blue death feigning beetle in a small cage with a little fruit for food.  One of the reasons for stopping so soon was to give the animals a break and because of the range of the electric car.  

The terrain was very similar to northern Florida as we headed up I-75.  Just before crossing our first state line into Georgia, we were required to stop and present the health certificates to a Florida agriculture inspector.  All of the paperwork was organized and easy to present.  It only took about five minutes.  The types of trees and plants stayed about the same, but the soil changed a little as we neared Perry, Georgia.  There were more hills and we could see some of the rich red clay the area is known for.  The weather was very similar to Florida and didn’t bother the animals in their summer coats.  

We found an RV park with horse stalls for the cow, goats, pony and donkey.  They were a little surprised we wanted stalls for the cow and goats (they shared one), but they accommodated us nicely.  Most of the dogs and cats went to be boarded at a kennel for the night.  We dropped the small animals off first bouncing down a bumpy rural driveway.  We slowly passed a herd of cattle that Fiona communicated with extensively.  Perhaps they were comparing forage preferences.  With such an open trailer, Fiona could enjoy the view and check out the neighbor’s bull while we dropped off the dogs and cats.  It was quite a conversation.  

Our older dog, elderly cat, and a cat that needs medication, stayed with us in the pet friendly hotel.  We managed to bring the rabbits inside with their travel cage.  The man at the desk didn’t say a word when we passed by.  

The next morning, we left the hotel to round up the animals and hit the road again.  We picked up the dogs and cats first.  Rocky and Tiger didn’t eat because they were too stressed that first night.  Ralph, the barn cat finished his food.  We brought their own food so things would be more familiar, but traveling with cats can be difficult.  When we arrived to pick up the large animals, they greeted us enthusiastically.  All was well, but Fiona must have bumped against the sliding stall door hard because it was pushed outside the track.  We had cleaned out the trailer the night before so the clean, dry trailer awaited them the next morning.  Fresh hay in nets was available for all.  

The trailer has two compartments.  We started out with the two largest animals (cow and pony) tied to each side in the larger back portion, and the goats with the mini donkey loose in the front portion, but for Day 2, we paired the cow with he goats in the back and the pony and the donkey in the front.  That worked out much better.  The only downside to that first stop in Georgia was that I accidentally left all the grooming equipment for the horses, cow, and goats behind at the RV barn.