should be sleeping, blogging instead
It’s after midnight, and I have to be awake at 4 to get ready for work. I have a feeling, a strong one, that I’m not going in to work on time.
I went to bed a bit later than normal, with normal me going to bed around 8:30 or 9 pm. I’ve been going to sleep a bit later lately, I’ve found that I will wake up at 3 am if I actually fall asleep at 9. I don’t WANT to get up an hour earlier than I need to be. Sheesh.
Anyhow. Tonight I’d just fallen asleep when little dog Rita woke me up barking. I get up, look out windows, don’t see anything. Front porch light didn’t come on, so it wasn’t a people. Went out in robe and barefoot to check yard and Rita went out with me to chase a feral cat that she could see.
I was sorry I was barefoot. The doormat reeked of cat spray and poop… some cat voided himself right on it, and probably one of my not quite grown up male cats. The wild cats have been giving us hell the last few days, just like we have a bunch of females in heat. We don’t… all our grown up girls are either pregnant or just gave birth and nursing. A Momma cat with kittens only 2 weeks old shouldn’t be in heat again, should she? That’s not the way it usually works… nursing shuts down the other stuff pretty well. But Libby, who has been the most excellent Momma before is now out luring strange boyfriends up to the house. She has the youngest kittens but spent all day today out in the woods.
Her kittens were HUNGRY. We talked about locking her up with her babies but decided against it since once I woke them up and put her in she laid down to feed them. What the heck is she thinking running around with the boys so soon? AND luring them back up here?
Well, when I went out and smelled the evidence of my younger cats being terrorized I decided to get the .22 out. I even walked around down below the barn in the dark and behind the house… where are those cats? Didn’t see anyone but one boy hiding in the tomato plants. Tyler is our biggest cat ever, still a kitten… and a wuss so far. I think he’s already been beaten up by a feral cat.
So I sat on the porch for a while, not even trying to be stealthy. Soon enough, here came Libby with a gigantic orange cat behind her. I came back in the house and got the gun, that’s the same cat Rita chased a little while ago. I don’t miss. Ron is going to be mad, because I’ve left a dead cat in the yard, but I don’t miss. One less feral cat attacking my cats and I’m not at all upset. At least I didn’t shoot it with his truck tire behind it… I made sure to get a clean shot and I did, it fell over dead right there.
Of course I would rather not kill ANY animal, but you have to protect what is yours. If it was coyotes I’d shoot them, too. Last year I took the gun out to shoot an armadillo that was digging up all my flower beds. I didn’t shoot him… just poked him until he ran away. I may be becoming more intolerant as I get older.
A lot of people just kill any wild animal they see… I’ve never been that way. Possums and coons and skunks and such all have their place in this world and as long as they aren’t robbing me… they can go on doing what they do. I feel very strongly that way about snakes especially.. because here in AR people will kill any snake they see, good or bad. Don’t care, all snakes are better dead. Bah. MOST snakes are harmless to people and will avoid people if they can. I’m rather fond of snakes and I hate it when even a poisonous snake has to be killed.
So, I have 13 kittens on the porch, I can’t let some feral male cats just come invading. Male cats will kill baby kittens. Protecting my family. Don’t know what is up with Libby, but Lucy never left the porch while all that was going on… she is going to defend her kittens no matter what. Good momma!
And speaking of kittens, I owe some more recent photos. Hard to do, because if I try to get them out to sunlight, Lucy will run up and holler at me… and take em back into her box.
In the meantime…. I’ve gotta be at work at 6. Leave here at 5. Not a lot of sleep, but I’m gonna try to do it.
Hugs,
Vyx
