Spring kitten thread

[Zontar]

So it's spring time here in the Northern Hemisphere, and for anyone who owns a cat they know that means kitten season (kittens are born all year round but this is when it happens more frequently). So I felt it was time to share some of my own.

For a bit of context: I have a garage made from what used to be a small horse stable. We built a greenhouse on the side of it a few years back and a colony of cats moved in (they used to live in the garage proper, but it's warmer in the greenhouse). There's about two dozen of them ranging from domesticated ones someone abandoned, to barn cats and a few straight up feral ones.

Well in any event two of the females had a litter each about a week apart. One had 5 and the other 6 (usual number around here is 4) and all have survived so far (usually only 1 or 2 from a litter of 4 will make it to 6 months). The two litters where born in boxes about a foot away from each other, and they have begun to explore, leading to them ending up mixed up between the two groups. At this point I can't even tell you which one belongs to which of the two mothers.

In any event, I know what you're all here for, so here it is:

Spoiler

 

[DefunctTheory]

You allow feral cats to exist that close to your house? That's crazy.

Other then that, cute, I guess. Our cats a neutered, and we kill all the ferals that come close, so kittens are something I'll never have to deal with.

 

[Zontar]

You allow feral cats to exist that close to your house? That's crazy.

It's a fact of life around here. We need them to keep the rodents in the fields at bay as well as keep the gene pool diverse since the barn cats couldn't last long if they didn't show up.

The garage isn't even part of my house, it's a separate building so if they camp out there it's not a big deal for us anyway. Plus those who do tend to show up are of the "flight" nature of fight or flight since the barn cats around here don't let the more violent ones stick around.

Plus, we've managed to tame a few in my time. Most either hid or move back when we're in the garage or greenhouse, but a few turn and are 'civilized' for lack of a better term. In fact the mother there is one such cat. When she arrived a few years ago she was completely feral. Now she tolerates us enough to no longer his at us and while she doesn't like to be touched she let us pick up her kittens from day 1.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Spoiler

You allow feral cats to exist that close to your house? That's crazy.

It's a fact of life around here. We need them to keep the rodents in the fields at bay as well as keep the gene pool diverse since the barn cats couldn't last long if they didn't show up.

The garage isn't even part of my house, it's a separate building so if they camp out there it's not a big deal for us anyway. Plus those who do tend to show up are of the "flight" nature of fight or flight since the barn cats around here don't let the more violent ones stick around.

Plus, we've managed to tame a few in my time. Most either hid or move back when we're in the garage or greenhouse, but a few turn and are 'civilized' for lack of a better term. In fact the mother there is one such cat. When she arrived a few years ago she was completely feral. Now she tolerates us enough to no longer his at us and while she doesn't like to be touched she let us pick up her kittens from day 1.

I guess if you can pull it off...

We live in the woods, so we're surrounded by rodents. But we have domesticated cats that live outside who deal with it. We kill anything feral that comes by so they don't give our cats fleas, worms, diseases, or try to kill ours.

 

[Barbas]

The cats who live in my neighbourhood are rank-looking creatures for the most part. Feral cats are often seen as cute until they start defecating on people's lawns and infecting or killing their pets. I'm impressed when someone goes to the effort to shelter, feed, spay/neuter and then either release or re-home them.

If you let the kittens get mixed up like that, though, is there any danger of something like the mothers rejecting them?

 

[Zontar]

If you let the kittens get mixed up like that, though, is there any danger of something like the mothers rejecting them?

In some circumstances that may have been the case, but with this colony that's not as much of a problem. This started about a week ago and they all seem to still be well fed and growing, so they all seem to be getting their milk from somewhere. It isn't a surprise though, of all the boxes they chose the ones almost right next to each other. There where plenty of other boxes set up for cats to sleep in they could have used, and neither hisses (hell one of them lets a year old we have running around sleep with her and them so they seem accepting of those in their pack).

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

That is honestly really cool. I've never known of a cat commune like that. Where I've always lived, neighborhood cats aren't used for rodent control or anything, and they rarely get along well. The separation between owned cats and ferals is obvious, and people usually treat feral animals pretty poorly. I like you arrangement much better.

Also, look at the kittens!!!!

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

I am here for the kittens.

Since I life in *kind of* small city, there are not much feral cats around. I'm still thankful for their presence because they decimate small rodents.

 

[LetalisK]

If you let the kittens get mixed up like that, though, is there any danger of something like the mothers rejecting them?

In some circumstances that may have been the case, but with this colony that's not as much of a problem. This started about a week ago and they all seem to still be well fed and growing, so they all seem to be getting their milk from somewhere. It isn't a surprise though, of all the boxes they chose the ones almost right next to each other. There where plenty of other boxes set up for cats to sleep in they could have used, and neither hisses (hell one of them lets a year old we have running around sleep with her and them so they seem accepting of those in their pack).

So it's basically a commune. Your cats are hippies!

 

[THM]

I am here for the kittens.

As am I; and lo, for they art cute.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I had a kitten once.

It got eaten alive by ants.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

I had a kitten once.

It got eaten alive by ants.

Small kitten, or big ants?

Honestly, I'm not sure why you'd house feral cats. Those fuckers are insane. When they settle into a place, and they start having litters, it's about time to ring up a hunter and give them a few hundred bucks under the table. They'll kill everything smaller than a goat. I've lived in cities for 20 years .... but I remember the countryside plenty enough, and one or two will empty a 10 acre plot of land of anything alive not a plant or fungus.

Maybe Canadian feral cats aren't so evil. Over here, they're positively a menace. We need to bioengineer a new type of Myxoma, for cats.

 

[gigastar]

We have a bunch of semi-ferals living in the local gardens, we spayed all the females a few years back and managed to retrieve most of their kittens for adoption.

Since then we lost one to a leg fracture, maybe she could have been helped if she wasnt the most feral of the lot, but thats just how it goes.

On the upside, ive not seen a wild rodent in years.

Honestly, I'm not sure why you'd house feral cats. Those fuckers are insane. When they settle into a place, and they start having litters, it's about time to ring up a hunter and give them a few hundred bucks under the table. They'll kill everything smaller than a goat. I've lived in cities for 20 years .... but I remember the countryside plenty enough, and one or two will empty a 10 acre plot of land of anything alive not a plant or fungus.

Im assuming this is in Australia?

 

[Zontar]

They'll maul children and kill everything small than a goat.

That second reason is pretty much it. We have coyotes around here and the feral cats keep them in the forests instead of the fields, which means they aren't coming across those fields to eat our cows (though most of us have a rifle at the ready if that happens). They're also good for keeping the rodents at bay. We're fighting a constant war against 3 types of mice in my region (which despite the ferals and barn cats are able to make it into our houses and give our house cats something to hunt), on top of 2 species of mole and a raccoon problem so bad that if killing them was legal this are could have a viable coon skin cap business.

Feral cats also tend to live far enough away from our homes that their hunting areas don't overlap much with the barn cats, with most of the fights between cats around here being barn cats from different barns or garages trying to expand their territory into the other's.

The feral cats that do show up do so almost always in the fall when it starts to get cold, and are typically either very old or very young. The old ones tend to just show up and find a nice corner that we can't reach them in and stay there until they need to eat, go to the large food bowl we keep for the barn cats, and go back to their corner. The young ones end up either getting kicked out by the colony if they're violent (one at best moderately well fed feral against a pack of well fed barn cats is a pretty one sided fight) or they find their way into the hierarchy of things. Those tend to be the less violent ones, who take flight over fight. Sometimes they stay when spring comes, sometimes they don't (the mother in the picture in the OP stayed after last year's thaw). Those that stay usually retain their fear of humans (even if they don't run away from us they tend to never like being touched) but some turn.

It's basically all born out of necessity. Outside of the fact they help protect our food and product, they also are one of the three means by which we keep our cats from genetic stagnation. Their breeding with barn cats is one, barn cats immigrating to another pack is another, and the third is domestic cats from the suburbs being abandoned here. As sad as it is, we rely on idiots leaving cats on our doorstop. I don't even know if it's working, since a common genetic mutation in this region is cats who have one or even two extra toes on their paws. I don't know if that's a result of incest or a beneficial mutation that's been spreading.

 

[gigastar]

I don't even know if it's working, since a common genetic mutation in this region is cats who have one or even two extra toes on their paws. I don't know if that's a result of incest or a beneficial mutation that's been spreading.

Thats a mutation, and its not a problem for the cats that have them at all.

 

[Zontar]

I don't even know if it's working, since a common genetic mutation in this region is cats who have one or even two extra toes on their paws. I don't know if that's a result of incest or a beneficial mutation that's been spreading.

Thats a mutation, and its not a problem for the cats that have them at all.

Good to know, since it's been spreading around very quickly around here. Used to be only one or two cats had it in any given barn about 10 years ago, now most cats seem to have it. As one could expect, they climb trees a lot more then they used to as well (though outside of the many small forests in the area there aren't that many trees to do so).

 

[Objectable]

I don't even know if it's working, since a common genetic mutation in this region is cats who have one or even two extra toes on their paws. I don't know if that's a result of incest or a beneficial mutation that's been spreading.

Thats a mutation, and its not a problem for the cats that have them at all.

Good to know, since it's been spreading around very quickly around here. Used to be only one or two cats had it in any given barn about 10 years ago, now most cats seem to have it. As one could expect, they climb trees a lot more then they used to as well (though outside of the many small forests in the area there aren't that many trees to do so).

Dude, contact a scientist. You are watching evolution at work.

 

[Zontar]

Dude, contact a scientist. You are watching evolution at work.

To be honest, I'm fairly certain this is happening in more then just my area. I know it's also a mutation that is either also in the rural areas about 700 miles from my house (have family a province over who have cats who are starting to show the same thing) or at least have a similar mutation in terms of the apparent results.

 

[gigastar]

Dude, contact a scientist. You are watching evolution at work.

To be honest, I'm fairly certain this is happening in more then just my area.

You would be right. Theres an island (i forget its name) where the average number of toes on a cats foot is 7, with the current record holder being 11 or so.

They also put theese cats up for adoption, so odds are your local cats are descended from a cat from that island.

 

[Cowabungaa]

This thread makes me miss my three old cats from my parental home.

My only contact with cats these days was gasping in delight when I saw two walking across the roof outside of my window yesterday. That did make it clear spring has started though as I usually only see one in half a year.