Category: Critters

We’re not sure what we have at the moment but our feral cats have been busy. It seems more than 1 have been impregnated by their “brothers” and one “Caz” was certainly showing so we were expecting some little ones. Sherry set up a maternity room (box) in our feed room in the barn.

We were surprised to see not “Caz” in there but instead learned that “Mister Fatty Pants” is actually a “Missy Fatty Pants” as she was lounging in there with 6 not so new kitties. She must have birthed them elsewhere as they suddenly appeared in the box and look to be at least a week old already.

Knowing Caz still had to pop, Sherry set up another box. MFP moved her family back into the barn under the steps and has since disappeared with all of them.

Caz finally started popping them out but I believe she is having great difficulty. A few were born dead and we think a critter might have gotten a few as well (maybe the lurking possum family). We need to remember, none of these ferals had a mama around for very long as she died while they were still quite young and Caz seems overwhelmed with it all – not knowing what to do.

Then, Sherry noticed this one all alone, freezing cold, near death and no mama in anywhere to be found so she took it inside and started caring for it. We named it “Yoda” and while only a few days old, she is already doing much better.

Considering the shape she was in when she found it, I am really surprised she survived but now a few days into it, she seems like she’s going to make it.

As for the others, we do not know. Maybe we’ll never see them again – and that would be OK with us. Either way, we’ll take whatever comes our way. We heard many folks in the area welcome new kittens (especially the Amish) so not too worried about being overrun… yet.

UPDATE 3/21 (#4)
UPDATE 3/14 (#3)
UPDATE 3/12 (#2)

I knew it would happen eventually. Actually, we’ve been pretty lucky so far with very few threats.

However, last night about 8 or so, the dogs did their job and quite vigorously announced that they had a critter cornered up against the barn and chicken coop. It ended up inside the enclosure in front of the barn, where the feral cats are free from being harassed by the dogs. The trouble is, this area is just a few steps away from accessing the barn with a flock of 12 young laying hens inside.

We brought the dogs inside and I opened the gate to the enclosure hoping to chase it off but it stayed in the corner snarling at me and wouldn’t budge. It was actually pretty big but then again, my only comparison was a smaller one that snuck into our house in Lakeville through the doggy-door while we were on vacation years ago. It took up residence in our main bathroom behind the toilet. That one I coaxed into a bin and release out back by the RR tracks. This one didn’t fare as well. With no other options, I ended up “dispatching” the varmint with a 22 rifle.

With no want or need for it, I posted on a local FB group and 2 or 3 said they were interested. It would make a neat Daniel Boone hat for somebody so it’s out at our gate awaiting pick up – 1st come, 1st served.

If it’s still there in the morning, I’ll toss it out back in the woods.

I am proud of Lyddie and Cooper for doing their jobs though! Such good guardians they are protecting their birds.

UPDATE: A couple of local trappers picked up the possum this afternoon and warned that it was wise to get rid of it. If it knew there were chickens around, it would keep at it until it killed the entire flock. That got me thinking about strange marks we’ve suddenly noticed next to the door to the “older girls” coop out in front. Granted, these are simple painted pine boards but I can see where these marks might be something trying to claw its way inside. I think we’ve eliminated the problem but still plan to rig up a motion light there just to be sure.

UPDATE 20240312: After 2 more evening encounters, I decided we might have a problem. The dogs do a really good job of patrolling the farm yard and thankfully, do not engage with the vermin. They simply corner them and bark. But, it’s happening enough that I worry there is a local possum family hanging around. I read that they breed like rabbits so I set out a trap.

This might be the only other one as this is about the same (smaller) size as the 2 most recent encounters but I’ll keep putting this out for a while just to be sure.

Now, to decide what to do with this guy. Most advise against releasing them during the day. Well, it’s 8am now…

After checking with the Amish (they didn’t want it), I asked Frankie (at the General Store), who picked up the dead one a few weeks ago. Since the gentleman stops in there frequently, Frankie told him I had another and the guy pulled into the driveway about an hour later. This time he brought a cage and said this one would be set free in the woods by his home as he wants to establish a family of them nearby (to him) since they are so scarce around here right now. He also mentioned he would take any others so I’ll reset the trap and see how many more there are lurking around here. At least now, I can save a bullet and wish it well in it’s new environment miles from here.

For control of ticks, snakes, moles, mice and other rodents, they are great to have around. Just not when we have chickens. The common line I hear is they will decimate your entire flock by eating ONLY the heads of every bird. Luckily, our birds are locked in at sundown but can’t take the chance of one sneaking inside the barn before lockdown.

UPDATE 20240314:
And here is number 3, caught in the trap overnight. This will also be turned over to the local trapper. However, it will live on as he is releasing them in HIS woods. With their scarcity, he is trying to establish a nearby colony so I’ll wish them (both) well. I’ll set up the trap again and see if there are any more.

UPDATE 20240321:
No pic as #4 is pretty much the same as 2 and 3. I was alerted that it was in the trap by the dogs as the trap is set up (out of sight) back under the lean to by our camper. As with the previous 2, I transferred it from the live trap to another cage and alerted Frankie to tell “Trapper Cliff” to stop by and pick it up (Cliff doesn’t have a phone). He usually shows up by noon but by around 2pm, there was no sign of him. Feeling bad for the little guy, I slid in a bowl of water and a tub of cat food. I also cover the cage with towels to keep it calm.

By 7pm, there was still no sign of Cliff and I wasn’t going to keep it in the cage indefinitely so loaded it into the truck to be released somewhere. I was conscious to NOT make it a problem for another farm but luckily, just north of us are thousands of acres of national forest. Our highway (K) terminates at the Current river so drove down to the end and released it there in the river bottoms. I would have preferred it joined its siblings in Cliffs woods but not interested in lodging possum long term. Plus, there’s probably more. Looking out the window now, there might be number 5 out there, the way the dogs are behaving. It’s getting harder to tell as the dogs are almost getting used to the routine by now.

Cooper Curtis is home!!!

As agreed, we left yesterday morning to go p/u Cooper from the vet. Along the way there, we received a call from them. The gist of their message was they wanted to keep him an additional couple of days but encouraged us to stop in and visit with him and learn what they are doing. So we stopped in and got to see him. What a shock! But, ignoring the initial nervous pee, he was SOOO happy to see us.

Then, they explained how they were making good progress with his healing UNTIL… They let him out to go potty (unattended again) and returned to find him dragging his swollen sack across the ground. And where do the kennel animals relieve themselves you ask? In a GRAVEL lot behind their storefront. THAT combined with the fact the kennel was noisy (maybe 20 dogs?), chaotic and not very calming, we decided we could do better at home and got him out of there.

Insisting on keeping them overnight “for observation”
loses its appeal when they don’t do any observing.

It’s usually always a struggle getting him into any vehicle. But this time he leaped right in and was eager to get the hell away from there. Sherry sat in the back with Cooper’s coned head resting on her lap and he let out the loudest heavy sigh you’ve ever heard.

On the way, we discussed what to do with him at home and were planning on making a quiet space in Sherry’s office. When we got home however, Cooper had his own plans and IMMEDIATELY made his way back to HIS bed in the corner of our room and laid down. It’s actually a perfect situation for him. Quiet, calm, comfortable and he feels safe.

Medically, his offended organ is about tennis ball sized and very raw (from the gravel) as well as patches on his back legs that were also worn away. He is getting some oil treatments to his wounds as well as a hot compress 4 times a day. Now seeing him so much more relaxed, I think we made the right move. With the treatments, drugs and the fact that we will actually keep an eye on him, I’d say he’ll pull through just fine.

It’s nice to have him back with us.

Epilog (Nov 2023): After a week of sleeping on the floor with him (with my hand inside his cone to detect when he’s trying to get at the offended organ), he finally healed up nicely. Unfortunately, he’s gotten too used to the extra attention and now can be demanding at bedtime when he stretches out in (our) bed.

Has anyone EVER had a pet that was spayed/neutered and did NOT wear the “cone of shame”? We went to p/u our Cooper Curtis on Friday morning after the procedure was done – only to learn they left him alone overnight in his pen without a cone.

Being the licker he is, by the time morning came, his scrotum was severely swollen and they now needed to keep him a few more days to treat it. Luckily, they aren’t charging us for the extended stay and treatments but something the vet said has me questioning their mindset.

She stated that less than 5% of dogs lick their wounds post-surgery. If that’s the case, we must have had quite a line of exotic dogs as I’ve never seen one go through that WITHOUT the cone.