Cat update for week ending June 26

It’s Caturday. How many left before we leave the homestead? To be determined! The house is a “hot” property, with lots of viewings.

For those asking, we hope the new owners will want to continue feeding the feral cats, but if not, they will be free to leave. We will request or require that they keep the shelters, as long as the cats continue to use them. The outdoors is their home.

This week is all about Porcini; she’s the only one hanging around in this hot weather. Here she’s about to jump onto the camera housing:

Cat about to jump onto camera housing

Her tail hanging from the camera housing:

Cat tail hanging from camera housing

Porcini looking out the back door of the cat house:

Porcini looking out the back door

Several pics of Porcini in the cat house:

Porcini in the cat house

Porcini in the cat house

Porcini in the cat house

Porcini in the cat house

Porcini in the cat house

Porcini in the cat house

I was adjusting the filler valve for the small pond by the cat house (and got stung by a bumblebee in the process), and noticed Porcini watching me; she’s barely visible through the left window:

Cat house with Porcini barely visible through the left window

Cat house with Porcini barely visible through the left window

Cat update for week ending June 19

Welcome to Caturday. With, as you might guess, some pictures of our feral cats. including two GIFs.

Here’s Porcini chillaxing in the cat house:

Porcini

Pommie oozing out of a cabin:

Pommie

Spud and Pommie:

Spud and Pommie

Spud on the driveway by the shop:

Spud on the driveway by the shop

Porcini inside again:

Porcini

A timelapse GIF of a day of Porcini in the cat house:

Porcini

Cat tail:

Cabin cat

A captured moment of Porcini licking her face while looking at the camera:

Porcini yawning

Just a quick lick, here in GIF form:

Porcini yawning

An amusing expression on Spud’s face in the breezeway:

Spud in the breezeway

Jumping up:

Spud in the breezeway

Two cats by the feeder:

Two cats

Cat update for week ending June 12

Some pictures of cats in the cabins and their house, and outside. And one not-a-cat.

Sleepy cabin cat:

Cabin cat

Inside the cat house:

Cat inside house

Two cats inside:

Two cats inside house

Pommie watching Paladout in the tree (behind the timestamp):

Cat watching another in tree

Not a cat; unusual to see a possum in daylight hours. Watched by a cat behind the house:

Possum and cat

Porcini enjoying a cabin:

Cabin cat

Two cats:

Two cats

Spud and Porcini:

Two cabin cats

Sitting in front of the cabins:

Cabin cat

Porcini watching me:

Cabin cat

Relaxed:

Cabin cat

Cat-loafing outside:

Cabin cat

Unusual to see Bella in the house:

Bella in the house

Cat update for week ending June 5

Hey cat fans. Just seven pics for Caturday this week.

Cabin cats Porcini and Pommie:

Cabin cats

Porcini relaxing in the shade of grasses under the bird feeders. And if a bird happened to fall into her mouth, she wouldn’t object:

Porcini under bird feeders

Porcini under bird feeders

Porcini is an expert at relaxation:

Porcini

Porcini

Bella and Spud at the cat house:

Bella and Spud

Porcini:

Porcini

Cat update for week ending May 29

More duckling pics later, but it’s Caturday, so tradition dictates that we start the day with some cute cat pics.

Here’s Bella by the cabins:

Bella

And Spud:

Spud

Spud and Porcini:

Spud and Porcini

Spud and Porcini again:

Spud and Porcini

Bella:

Bella

A GIF time-lapse of the cabins:

Timelapse

A real-time GIF of three cats at the cabins; watch as Pommie sneaks in the back door of the right cabin, hisses at Spud sitting out front, making Porcini run off:

Three cats

A squirrel visits the feeder:

Chipmunk

Porcini and Pommie watching me approach; Pommie retreated, but Porcini just stayed there:

Porcini and Pommie watching me approach

Paladin watching Porcini from the window:

Paladin watching Porcini

Porcini

Cat update for week ending May 22

Several GIFs for Caturday this week, plus pictures of all of the cats: the cute Porcini, of course, plus the twins Spud and Pommie, the elusive Bella, and even Pansy the shop cat and Paladout the neighbor cat.

Here’s Porcini sitting on a rock next to the stream:

Porcini

And watching me from a path:

Porcini

Three cats at the cat feeder; Porcini eating, with Bella and Pommie waiting outside:

Three cats

An animated GIF of them:

Three cats

A view from outside:

Three cats

Porcini went out the back door:

Three cats

A fast time-lapse of a cat playing around in our new front garden:

Cat GIF

A long real-time GIF of a cat on the front lawn, and finding a rodent:

Cat GIF

A shorter excerpt of that:

Cat GIF

A GIF of Paladout jumping onto the cat house roof:

Cat GIF

One last GIF, of Paladout startling Spud at the feeder, resulting in a chase, aggressive posing, then deescalation:

Cat GIF

Pansy in the shop, reaching for food:

Pansy

Bella and Spud:

Two cats

Porcini relaxing under the irises:

Porcini

Very unusual to see Bella by the cabins:

Bella

Pommie on a path:

Pommie

A wider angle, showing the view from our closet window, of the cat house, fountain garden, etc:

Pommie

Cabin twins, Spud and Pommie:

Twins: Spud and Pommie

A wet cat in front of the camera this morning, watched by a more sensible one in the cat house doorway:

Wet cat

Cat update for week ending May 15

It’s Caturday! Which means time for mushrooms and spuds, I guess?

The mushroom girls sniffing noses — Porcini and Portabella (aka Bella):

Mushroom girls sniffing noses

Spud jumping up to his breezeway cabin:

Spud jumping up to his breezeway cabin

(His full name is Potato, as all our cats have names that start with “P”, but that’s more of whatever the antonym of hypocorism is (hypercorism?) for Spud.)

A GIF time-lapse of Porcini going into a cabin, having a bath, sleeping, rolling over, looking around, and leaving:

Timelapse

A more realtime GIF of her cutely rolling over:

Porcini in a cabin

A couple of stills:

Porcini in a cabin

Porcini in a cabin

Another shot of Spud jumping up, this one during daytime:

Spud jumping up to his breezeway cabin

Porcini in the cat house:

Porcini in the cat house

Porcini on the front steps:

Porcini on the front steps

Waiting for food:

Waiting for food

Two cats waiting for food:

Two cats waiting for food

Two cats at the feeder:

Two cats at the feeder

Cat update for week ending May 8

This Caturday is a bit of a yawn… two yawns, actually. And some fun GIFs and such.

Porcini peeking at me from a cabin:

Porcini peeking from a cabin

Two cats at the cat house:

Two cats

A GIF of Porcini jumping onto the camera housing:

Jumping

Porcini looking up at birds in a tree:

Porcini looking up

A GIF of Porcini looking around:

Looking

Pommie in mid yawn:

Yawn

Here’s a GIF of her yawning:

Yawm

The twins, Spud and Pommie:

Twins

Porcini watching me from under a tree:

Porcini under a tree

A GIF of Paladout next to the cat house, when another cat runs by. I’m not sure who was more startled:

Cats

Bella chilling on the deck:

Bella

Another yawn, this time Porcini:

Yawn

Three cats at the cabins; Spud, Porcini, and Pommie:

Three cats

Our cat graveyard

Earlier this year wasn’t a good time for our cats; we had three cats die within a few weeks. Back in March, we lost the mother of the outdoor feral cats, Poppy. Then in early April, we lost Pepper, one of the two feral shop cats. And a few days later, our elderly pet Pippin rapidly declined.

We buried each of them in the little cat graveyard near our pond, around some grasses that were planted in memory of an earlier cat, Pixel, who loved them. Each of our cats is memorialized with an engraved stone:

Cat graveyard near the pond

It’s appropriately below a weeping willow. There used to be a katsura tree and catmint there too (yes, puns), but the deer destroyed those.

A closer look at the cat graveyard, with the three recent graves and others:

Cat graveyard

Cat graveyard

Here are all of the stones, from the most recent. Our pet cat Pippin, 2007-2021, buried next to his littermate Padmé:

Pippin 2007-2021

The shop cat Pepper, 2015-2021:

Pepper 2015-2021

The feral momma cat Poppy, 2016-2021:

Poppy 2016-2021

A non-engraved stone for a black alien cat that someone hit crossing the road in 2018:

Black alien cat

Pippin’s sister Padmé, 2007-2016:

Padmé 2007-2016

Our last cat from NZ, Pixel, 1999-2013; he was our oldest cat, which was remarkable since he had diabetes and insulin shots for half his life:

Pixel 1999-2013

Our first cat (who also came with us to the US, though isn’t actually buried here), Piwhacket, 1994-2007:

Piwhacket 1994-2007

It’s always sad to lose a cat, whether pet or feral. Giving them a respectful burial and memorial stone gives some sense of closure.

Cat update for week ending May 1

Happy Caturday to you! This week, some fun GIFs of the cats, several pictures of Porcini as usual, some of Paladout, and cat feet.

Here’s a GIF to start off; Spud walking between the cabins occupied by Porcini and Pommie:

Cats GIF

A still from that of the three cats:

Three cats

Porcini having a drink of water:

Porcini

Spud:

Spud

Spud (or Pommie? I still can’t always tell) and Paladout:

Spud and Paladout

A GIF of Porcini and Pommie arriving and going into cabins:

Cats GIF

A time-lapse GIF of a couple of cats playing around the cat house:

Cats GIF

A GIF of going up and over the cat house:

Cats GIF

Pommie (I think) and a rare Bella sighting; Portabella doesn’t sleep in the cat house or cabins, only turning up for food:

Two cats

Two cats

I spotted Porcini near a backyard path:

Porcini

Porcini and Paladout:

Porcini and Paladout

Spud and Porcini:

Two cats

Porcini watching birds from the front steps:

Porcini

Feet:

Feet

Feet

Feet

Spud in the breezeway:

Spud in the breezeway

Finally, a relaxed Porcini in the cat house:

Porcini