Cat update for week ending April 18

This Caturday, various cute cats, various wildlife.

Three cats at breakfast time:

Three cats

Two cats inside their house:

Two cats inside

A GIF of Poppy drinking water and being startled by a cat climbing halfway up the pole behind the cat house then jumping down:

GIF of cat climbing pole

(Fun fact: the way Poppy raises one paw isn’t because it’s sore or something, it’s to be ready to lash out to defend herself if needed. Standard feral cat behavior for threats.)

A still of the cat pausing halfway up the pole:

Cat on pole

And jumping down:

Cat on pole

Porcini quickly exits a cabin as a coyote approaches:

Cat by cabins

It’s concerning that I’ve seen coyotes approaching the cat places recently:

Coyote by cabins

Three cats inside their house:

Three cats inside

An amusing side eye:

Side eye

Watching a bird overhead:

Cat watching bird

Since it’s no longer freezing overnight, I removed the heated water dish, and moved the water dispenser so I can see the level in the camera. It looks green mostly due to moss on the ground behind it; that is fresh water.

Dirty cat:

Dirty cat

Two cats:

Two cats

Not a cat: a possum:

Possum

Also not a cat: a raccoon a few minutes later:

Raccoon

Porcini:

Porcini

Alien cat in the breezeway, with Pommie in the cabin; they exchanged words, but he left without incident:

Alien cat in breezeway

Alien cat in breezeway

Alien cat in breezeway

The sun is currently at a perfect angle to shine down the breezeway in the morning, as a cat walks past:

Cat and sun in breezeway

A nice picture of Porcini:

Porcini

Poppy downstairs in their house, Bella feeling playful upstairs:

Two cats inside

Flock Friday for April 17

For this week’s Flock Friday, ducks being cute, chickens being broody, and a heron eating a couple of our fish (grrr).

The ducks greeting me by the chicken coop again:

Ducks

Ducks and chickens

Chickens enjoying rice treats:

Chickens with rice

You may have seen this picture on my personal blog: the ducks on the temporary bridge over the pond waterfall stream:

Ducks on bridge

A GIF of the ducks leading me down the path:

Paladout walking in front of the camera by the pond:

Cat by pond

Five eggs in a nesting box in the new coop:

Five eggs in nesting box

And another five in a nesting box in the old coop; they’ve been averaging about a dozen a day recently:

Five eggs in nesting box

Martha is still being broody (and rather fluffy here):

Broody chicken

Buffy on the bin edge when I opened it to give them mealworms:

Chicken on bin edge

A GIF of a heron landing in the pond:

GIF of heron landing

A still image of the heron; such elegant birds (not!):

Heron landing

Another angle:

Heron landing

While the heron is interesting, it isn’t welcome, as it feeds on frogs and fish. This week, the heron caught two of our smallish fish.

Here’s a GIF of the heron catching a koi, I’d guess at least a couple of years old:

GIF of heron with fish

A still of that:

Heron with fish

And a second smaller koi:

Heron with fish

The ducks are always curious, but the heron chased them when they got too close (another GIF):

GIF of heron chasing ducks

When I saw the heron, I went out there to chase it off, but all of that was in less than five minutes.

Finally, there are now three broody chickens, all trying to fit in the same box:

Three broody chickens

Cat update for week ending April 11

For Caturday this week, another coyote visit, plus the usual assorted cuteness.

Porcini sees something interesting (probably a bird) at the cabins:

Two cats at the cabins

Full moon setting behind the cat house:

Full moon

Three cats at the cabins:

Three cats

Two cats inside the cat house (cute Porcini):

Two cats inside

Porcini watching a bird:

Porcini watching a bird

One of the twins between the cabins:

Cat between cabins

Four cats; we were watching all five cavorting from our house window, though I wasn’t able to capture all in one cam shot:

Four cats

Two cats sensing a disturbance in the Force: an approaching coyote:

Two cats sensing approaching coyote

This is a different coyote than the one we saw back in February, and only the second one we’ve seen in the years we’ve been here:

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

The cats sniffing the coyote smells:

Cats

Three cats inside the cat house, waiting for breakfast:

Three cats inside

Poppy and Porcini inside during the day:

Two cats inside

Poppy licking Porcini:

Cat snuggles

Sleepy cats:

Cat snuggles

Four cats again:

Four cats

Cat update for week ending April 4

This week, nothing particularly dramatic happened; just a bunch of cuteness, as the cats have been spending more time in their house and cabins.

A couple of cats snuggling in their house:

Snuggles

Porcini and Pommie in the cabins:

Porcini and Pommie in the cabins

An interesting pose while scratching a tree:

Cat scratching tree

Cats sniffing noses:

Cats sniffing noses

Super-cute cat hugs:

Cat hugs

Three cats inside:

Three cats inside

You may have seen this GIF of scratching the tree on my personal blog, but here for completeness:

GIF of scratching tree

Pepper watching me from her nest on top of the shelving in the shop:

Pepper in the shop

Three cats in their house:

Three cats in their house

Cabin snuggles:

Cabin snuggles

Cabin snuggles

Spud and Porcini:

Spud and Porcini

Cat house snuggles:

Cat house snuggles

GIF of climbing the tree, also previously shown on my personal blog:

GIF of climbing tree

A fun frame from that GIF:

Climbing tree

Cats on the awning and roof of their house:

Two cats on house

Jumping up:

Two cats on house

Two cats on the roof:

Two cats on house

Paladout and ducks, as seen on yesterday’s Flock Friday post:

Paladout and ducks

Two cats on their deck:

Two cats

Big yawn:

Yawn

Screenshot of the camera views, showing four cats — one in the feeder, one in a cabin, and two in the house:

Screenshot of four cats

(I think I briefly saw all five, but didn’t manage to capture it.)

Finally, a classic Poppy face:

Poppy

Cat update for week ending March 28

This week, some alien cat sightings, some GIFs comparing the twins, and some cat snuggles.

Two alien male cats in the breezeway; they exchanged words, then separated (none of our ferals were there):

Two alien cats

That new alien cat again:

Alien cat

Sleepy cat:

Sleepy cat

Three cats (can you see all three?):

Three cats

A two-frame animated GIF comparing the twins, Spud and Pommie; Spud is the larger one when Pommie is in the cabin. You can see why it’s hard to tell them apart; their markings are virtually identical, but comparing them like this helps to pick out some subtle differences:

GIF of Spud vs Pommie

Porcini and Pommie:

Porcini and Pommie

Another GIF, this time with Porcini in the left cabin, Pommie arriving and going into the right cabin, then Spud arriving and joining Porcini, then later leaving and sitting in front:

GIF of Porcini, Pommie, Spud

A two-frame excerpt from the above GIF, to again compare the markings of Spud and Pommie:

GIF of Spud vs Pommie

And a still of the three cats in the cabins:

Three cats

Porcini yawning:

Yawn

I was amused by this post-yawn face; looks like she’s about to sneeze:

Post-yawn face

Bella joins Poppy inside their house:

Two cats inside

Bella playing under the mat:

Two cats inside

Snuggling:

Two cats snuggling

Two cats snuggling

Finally, Poppy and Porcini inside this morning:

Two cats inside

Cat update for week ending March 21

This week, a new alien cat, a jay landing, and assorted cute cats.

I mentioned this yesterday, but for anyone who didn’t see that: because everyone could use a bit more joy at present, I’m posting a moment of cuteness every day on my personal blog. Which will include additional feral cat pictures not posted here, plus our pet cats, our dog Rory, ducks and chickens, and other cute things from around the homestead. So you might enjoy following the Dejus blog, or its RSS feed, or cross-posts on Micro.blog, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Also, a plug for one of my Dejal apps: to help people new to working from home, I am giving away the fully unlocked features of my Time Out break reminder app for macOS.  It’s important to take regular breaks.  Learn more on the Dejal blog.

On with the pics. Here’s Porcini peeking:

Porcini

Pommie and Porcini in the cabins:

Pommie and Porcini

Pommie and Porcini

In the breezeway during the day:

Breezeway

I encountered Pepper in the front of the shop; she is used to me, so doesn’t run away unless I get within a few feet of her. The feral cats have been practicing social distancing before it was cool:

Pepper

Porcini on the driveway:

Porcini

Bella in the cat house:

Bella

And by the cabins:

Bella

Bella and Porcini:

Bella and Porcini

A new alien cat turned up this week; similar to Pumpkin, but a lighter color:

New alien cat

I haven’t seen Pumpkin for a while; I had to significantly reduce the food dispenser quantity, to avoid leaving food overnight.

A good stretch:

Stretch

Bella, Poppy, and a twin by the cat house:

Three cats

Three cats

A twin on the front steps (sorry about the reflections in the window):

Twin

A fight between two cats; I assume one of our twins and the new alien, but could be two aliens; I can’t see them clear enough to be sure:

Face off

Cat fight

Cat fight

The new alien cat again; an un-neutered male:

New alien cat

New alien cat

A Steller’s Jay coming in for a landing; such a pretty bird:

Steller's Jay

Steller's Jay

A twin with their tongue out in the cat house:

Twin

I hope you enjoyed this cat update. Be like feral cats, and practice good social distancing!

Cat update for week ending March 14

While you could all use cute pictures of ducks and chickens this week, everyone knows that cats rule the internet for cuteness. On to Caturday!

Three cats in front of the cat house:

Three cats

Poppy face:

Poppy

Three cats in the breezeway:

Three cats

Porcini and Pumpkin in the cabins:

Porcini and Pumpkin

An animated GIF of a bird landing:

GIF of bird landing

A new alien cat visited a few times, and menaced Pumpkin (giving him a taste of his own medicine):

Alien cat and Pumpkin

Alien cat and Pumpkin

He looks like one of our ferals, though larger, but doesn’t have the ear tip:

Alien cat and Pumpkin

Alien cat and Pumpkin

He went after Pumpkin in the shelter; Pumpkin stood his ground:

Alien cat and Pumpkin

Pumpkin was none the worse from that encounter:

Pumpkin

Porcini:

Porcini

A GIF of Pumpkin arriving, and pausing while another cat departed:

GIF of Pumpkin and another cat

GIF of Poppy slowly walking towards the feeder, only to be overtaken by two of her kits:

GIF of Poppy with two other cats

GIF of cats playing:

GIF of cats playing

Four cats outside; two in front of the bench, one only visible as a shadow behind the bench, and one by a rock:

Four cats

At the same instant as that photo, another cat in the feeder. I always enjoy seeing all five cats at the same time; a rather rare occurrence:

Cat in feeder

Pepper on her perch in the shop, watching me collapsing cardboard boxes:

Pepper in the shop

Porcini:

Porcini

Porcini under the deck, looking startled when I was refilling the bird feeders:

Porcini

Snow on a cat in the feeder:

Snow on cat

Two cats inside their house, taking advantage of the heating pads:

Two cats inside

Cat update for week ending March 7

This week, one GIF, some pictures with Pumpkin, a glimpse of my drone, etc.

Porcini and Pommie in the cabins:

Porcini and Pommie

Pumpkin arriving in the breezeway:

Pumpkin in the breezeway

The two cats in the cabin were not pleased to see him:

Pumpkin in the breezeway

“And stay away!”

Pumpkin in the breezeway

Pumpkin:

Pumpkin

A GIF of cats (and briefly a raccoon) in the cabins and house. Pumpkin just wants to hang out with them:

GIF of cats

A cat arriving at the feeder while Pumpkin was eating:

Arriving while Pumpkin was eating

Porcini:

Porcini

Two cats inside their house:

Two cats inside

Pansy on a chair in the back of the shop:

Pansy

Pumpkin looking very relaxed:

Pumpkin

Pumpkin and Poppy both arrive for breakfast at the same time:

Pumpkin and Poppy

Pumpkin went to drink some water, and Poppy was able to go in to eat:

Pumpkin and Poppy

Pumpkin peeking:

Pumpkin peeking

Two cats in the feeder:

Two cats

Pommie arrived at the cabins while Pumpkin was there:

Pommie and Pumpkin

A glimpse of my drone on the left of the picture, practicing low flying, when a couple of cats were eating:

Drone

Drone

Poppy asleep in the house:

Poppy

Another cat joined her:

Two cats inside

Three cats:

Three cats

Cat update for week ending February 29

This Caturday, some wildlife visitors and increased use of cozy accommodations.

The tripawd coyote visited again last Saturday night, but hasn’t been back since:

Coyote

Coyote

Poppy and Porcini having breakfast:

Poppy and Porcini

Pommie in front of the cabins:

Pommie

An animated GIF of three cats going in and out of the breezeway cabin (crowded in there!), with another cat watching from the log pile in the background:

Breezeway GIF

Three cats again, this time by their house:

Three cats

A raccoon visited Porcini in a cabin:

Raccoon and Porcini

She swiped at it and retreated out the back door; it jumped back then left.  She came back later.

Raccoon and Porcini

Pommie in the breezeway:

Pommie

Two cats in their house:

Two cats in their house

Two possums in the feeder (with no food). Unusual to see two; they usually travel singly. These look young, though:

Two possums

Cat closeup:

Cat closeup

Pumpkin and Porcini; he just sniffed and left. Perhaps disappointed that she has taken the cabin he had preferred. He hasn’t been hanging around very often this week:

Pumpkin and Porcini

A rare color picture of Pansy in the back of the shop, using the heating pad:

Pansy

Poppy enjoyed the cat house a few times this week:

Poppy

Poppy

Sun setting behind Porcini:

Sun setting behind Porcini

A cat climbing up the pole behind the cat house:

Cat climbing pole

Cat climbing pole

Cat on top of pole

The cat on top of the pole from the other camera:

Cat on top of pole

Jumping down from the pole; probably not as comfortable as climbing down backwards, but faster:

Cat jumping down from pole

The left cabin is the original one I got before building the cat house, and the cover had torn off the heating pad, making it less comfortable to sit on, so the cats haven’t been using it. So I added an old spare flannel pillowcase to it, leaving the old cover bunched up at the back (it’s still partially attached):

Added pillowcase to heating pad in old cabin

Porcini and Pommie checking out the cabin with the pillowcase:

Porcini and Pommie checking out cabin

Porcini in an odd place, on top of a deck joist:

Porcini on deck joist

Pommie approved of the addition of the pillowcase:

Pommie in cabin

Pommie and Porcini in the cabins:

Pommie and Porcini in cabins

Pommie and Porcini in cabins

At the same time as that last picture, Poppy in the breezeway cabin:

Poppy in cabin

Pommie and Porcini in the cabins this morning:

Pommie and Porcini in cabins

Poppy checking out Pommie and Porcini in the cabins:

Poppy checking out Pommie and Porcini in cabins

They’re still there as I write this, a couple of hours later. Makes me happy to see cozy cats.

Cat update for week ending February 22

This week, my first sighting of a coyote, plus some raccoons, and less Pumpkin than usual.

Pumpkin standing by the water dish:

Pumpkin standing

That was the last time I saw him for several days; but he did return. Made us wonder if he does have another home, and was kept inside to heal from his fight last week?

Double-decker breezeway cabin cats:

Breezeway cats

Breezeway cats:

Breezeway cats

A GIF of a cat carrying a prize; doing their job catching rodents:

GIF of cat with prize

Two cats near their house:

Two cats

A coyote visited the cat house. Although I’ve seen signs of them many times, this was the first time I’ve seen one on my cameras. This one is wounded; their front-left paw seems to be missing or mangled, so it was hopping around like Rory does. While I certainly don’t want to encourage coyotes, I do have some sympathy for this one:

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Porcini:

Porcini

Bella:

Bella

Two cats on the empty fountain pool:

Two cats on fountain

Three cats in the breezeway:

Three cats in breezeway

Two cats in their house, taking advantage of it with Pumpkin away:

Two cats in house

Chasing a flying insect in the house:

Cat chasing fly

A few days later, the tripawd coyote returned, and this time ventured inside the feeder, though there wasn’t any food there:

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Our local feed store has a couple of roaming cats (useful to protect the supplies from rodents); this one has an ear-tip to mark it as a neutered feral cat, but is friendly:

Feed store cat

One of the twins:

Twin

With Pumpkin away, and some other cats not visiting, there has been an excess of food dispensed, leaving a bunch at night. A lucky raccoon had a feast:

Lucky raccoon

It was too much food even for the raccoon… though it (or another one) did come back later to finish it off:

Too much food even for the raccoon

I subsequently significantly cut back the amount of food being dispensed. I’d rather have to manually dispense food than leave some overnight, encouraging unauthorized wildlife visitors. (I can remotely manually dispense via the feeder’s app.)

A cropped screenshot of the two shop cats; Pansy using the heating pad, and Pepper eating:

Shop cats

Porcini:

Porcini

Porcini and Poppy playing:

Porcini and Poppy

Porcini and Poppy

Pausing while scratching the tree, with another cat drinking in the background:

Scratching tree

Poppy:

Poppy

I heard some quiet cat conversation on our front steps next to my desk, and turned on the light to see one of the twins on the steps, and another cat below the door (not visible here). Not fighting, just meowing at each other, which is a bit unusual for ferals. They didn’t run away when they saw me, either, though I’m sure would have if I had opened the door:

Cat on front steps

Three cats in the breezeway again:

Three cats in breezeway

After most of the week away, Pumpkin returned yesterday. I didn’t see any sign of treatment, but I didn’t get a very good look. He may have just been roaming. Though I haven’t seen him yet today, so if he does have a human home, maybe he slipped out:

Pumpkin returns

A Steller’s Jay:

Steller's Jay

Robin:

Robin

The robin having a bath in the water dispenser; I’m sure the cats enjoyed the bird flavor in their water:

Bird bath

A cute trash panda face, I mean raccoon, with no food this time:

Raccoon