I usually love them....but not tonight!
I won't be going to bed for a while now....my hair is soaked...and I do not own a blow dryer...and I cannot sleep on my pillow because it is buckwheat hulls....
Hubby went to take Ghost out for potty...and asked me what I did with the box that our gray mamma had her babies in on the front porch....I did not do anything with it....we both RAN with our flashlights out into the rain....found all 4 of her kittens scattered around the yard under the evergreens....they are barely 2 weeks old...SOAKING wet....still never found the box...
grabbed them and mamma and got them into the vestibule....Hubby and I stood there with towels rubbing kittens til they were mostly dry and making noises....then stuck them down on a dry towel with mamma...who started to clean them....
No box...no where to put them....grabbed an empty cat food bag and emptied the cat food bin (a 45-degree angle opening bin that holds up to 50 pounds) so we could lay a towel and babies in there....I am sitting here in front of a fan now....Hubby is still standing watch over mamma and babies to make sure none need help....he started to step on one....was walking gently with is flashlight...he is nearly deaf and could not hear any mewling...but when he started to step down, that one let out a loud enough mew and he lifted his foot right back up again....
The other 3 older babies....we saw two...little wet rat-looking things hunkered down with one of the other cats under a table....they are under the eaves of the porch at least and will dry....their mamma will get to them...she is a good one....
I like storms....but not when I am running around in them while full blown over head!
STORMS
Re: STORMS
You really should build a dog house for the cats (make the opening only large enough for a cat to get through)- especially for moms having babies - the weather elements are just too drastic for them. With the right wood, flooring, insulation and roofing, it would provide years of service and protection. Two-week-old kittens are defenseless in any inclement weather, whether momma kitty is there or not. Flying debris, falling tree limbs, hail, pummeling rain, wind speeds up to 60 mph in summer, and snow, ice and wet freezing stuff in winter - a good heavy and sturdy well-built dog house is perfect for outdoor cats who need to seek shelter.
Be careful though, they can get extremely hot in summer heat, so ventillation is important, or provide a cooler but sturdy and safe area in warmer months.
Be careful though, they can get extremely hot in summer heat, so ventillation is important, or provide a cooler but sturdy and safe area in warmer months.
..........Traci
Re: STORMS
They have a solid shelter...a very solid shelter with a separate feeding hut right beside it......and there are a couple of other solid structures we have around as well...actually they are old insulated blue crates that frozen stuff was shipped in...damaged ones so we got them for free...very insulated!! We have them on their sides and in summer the top (which is now a side) is not even on...just bedding and a barrier that small kittens cannot climb over...then a tarp over that fixed so that when it does rain, it will not blow in on them, but air still gets in....
for some reason she chose a box that I had put out on our front steps to take to the burn pile...so we left it for her...
The older 3 kittens I was concerned about.....I had seen the gray and white one earlier, so I know it is somewhere safe, even though it has moved from its original spot...and since then the black one and the gray one have come out of hiding and are with mom...she it out there doing her follow me chirp for them so hopefully when I go out tomorrow I will see all 3 of them with her again....
She is notorious for moving them all over the place...even throughout the day/night...in the front yard during the day...back to wherever they sleep at night...
for some reason she chose a box that I had put out on our front steps to take to the burn pile...so we left it for her...
The older 3 kittens I was concerned about.....I had seen the gray and white one earlier, so I know it is somewhere safe, even though it has moved from its original spot...and since then the black one and the gray one have come out of hiding and are with mom...she it out there doing her follow me chirp for them so hopefully when I go out tomorrow I will see all 3 of them with her again....
She is notorious for moving them all over the place...even throughout the day/night...in the front yard during the day...back to wherever they sleep at night...
Re: STORMS
All kittens accounted for and looking good! Whew!
Re: STORMS
She's moving them most likely due to a number of things - the heat, proximity to the dogs or the road, or even having heard strange noises or seen predators near nesting areas. If the mom is docile and you can handle her, pet her, etc, she may have chosen the box next to the porch expecting you to help watch over them or because she felt somewhat safer in that area. Remember, you have skunks and coons occasionally so it's possible she doesn't feel safe in some areas where those animals could get to her AND the kittens.
..........Traci