Cats

Cat update for week ending March 6

Welcome to Caturday.

It looks like my upload issues yesterday were caused by Jenn’s new PS5 hogging all of the bandwidth, downloading updates. Our slow internet can be annoying sometimes.

The feral cats are getting more comfortable with me; here both Poppy and Spud remained in their cabins while I was refilling the bird food nearby:

Cabin cats

I didn’t get a picture, but yesterday I had an even closer encounter; Poppy was having a drink from the small pool at the top of the waterfall while I walked past; I was maybe three feet from her, and she didn’t retreat. That’s way closer than they usually prefer. (I didn’t pause to take a picture, since I know she wouldn’t have appreciated that.)

I also just posted a TikTok video of Poppy in a cabin. I’ll repost it on this blog in due course, once I catch up with other videos, but you can watch it there now if you wish.

A cat sitting in the tall grass on the edge of the field, probably looking for rodents:

Cat in field

(That grass is the drain field of our septic system, so is always rather lush; I need to mow it soon.)

A close encounter of Paladout near the pond:

Paladout

Can you see two cats watching me?

Two cats

Enjoying a sunbeam through the window:

Comfy cat

Porcini and Poppy:

Two cats

Bella:

Bella

Unusual to see Pommie inside the house:

Comfy cat

Two cats in the feeder:

Two cats in the feeder

Three cats:

Three cats

Porcini, Poppy, and Spud at the cabins:

Three cabin cats

Lastly, a cams app screenshot of four cats; one in a cabin, one on the cat house deck, and two inside the cat house:

Four cats

Cat update for week ending February 27

It’s Caturday.

Let’s start with a GIF of a cat climbing a tree:

GIF

Pommie and Bella:

Two cats

Porcini and Poppy watching me from a safe distance:

Two cats

They were a little concerned when I walked past, on the way back inside:

Two cats

(This little patio area is quite nice, though we don’t use it. It used to have a fire pit, before we bought the place, but we’ve never used it for that, as there is too much foliage around it now.)

Two possums in the feeder; unlike with raccoons, it’s unusual to see more than one at a time:

Two possums

Poppy, Porcini, and Spud at the cabins:

Three cats

(I really need to clean the cabin cam, but there’s pretty much always someone there, so I don’t want to disturb them.)

Three cats outside their house:

Three cats

Cat prints in the snow:

Cat prints in snow

Poppy watching me walking past from the comfort of a cabin; you can also see the cabin cam in its little shelter (the cam is waterproof; the cover is to stop cats rubbing on the cam and making it askew):

Poppy

Two cats with some snow:

Two cats with snow

Spud by the cabins:

Spud

Porcini and Poppy:

Two cats

A couple of cats in the feeder:

Two cats

Porcini looking concerned as I approach the cat house to attend to the food dispenser, with Poppy below:

Two cats

Porcini stayed inside, but Poppy left; she can be seen near the center of this picture, with Bella nearby in the grass:

Two cats

That picture also gives some context around the cat house — a peek of the cat cabins in the upper-left, the aforementioned old fire pit patio, the bird feeders, the small pond, and the cat house.

Bella in the grass on the edge of the field:

Cat in grass

Poppy watching me from the path by the bird feeders:

Cat on path

Finally, a random shot of the high shop ceiling, from the cam there; it is an old pan-tilt model, that rotates when it resets, but is getting stuck at weird angles:

Shop ceiling

Cat update for week ending February 20

For Caturday this week: cat food, cabin cats, a raccoon, a possum, a GIF, a Paladout, and more.

As mentioned on my personal blog, the feral cat food dispenser was running on batteries during our big power outage, and reacted badly to low battery capacity by continuously dumping all of the food from its hopper:

Food dispenser

In that picture you can see the empty hopper and the top of the feeder tube, full of food (the dispenser is on a drawer I can pull out to make it easier to refill). Below, you can see the rest of that tube, and the big pile of food it has dumped:

Cat food

I scooped the excess back into the hopper after I replaced the batteries. It’s nice that it has a battery backup when not receiving power, but running continuously might not have been the best way to preserve battery capacity.

Here are Porcini and Poppy watching me approach on a rainy morning:

Porcini and Poppy

Poppy didn’t bother retreating; she knows I’m not a threat, so long as I keep my distance:

Poppy

A raccoon briefly visited Porcini in the cat house. She informed the raccoon that it wasn’t welcome there:

Cat and raccoon

The raccoon was just waiting for a possum to get out of the way:

Raccoon and possum

Bella in front of the feeder. I do wonder where she sleeps; she doesn’t avail herself of any of the heated shelters, unlike the rest of her family:

Bella

A cat in each doorway:

Two cats

Poppy arriving, with Porcini and Spud in cabins:

Poppy, Porcini, Spud

A GIF of Poppy going into a cabin with Porcini, Spud in the other cabin, and Bella walking behind the cabins:

GIF of Poppy, Porcini, Spud, Bella

Do you see three cats?

Three cats

Hint:

Cat jumping down from tree

Poppy and Porcini inside the cat house:

Poppy and Porcini

Doing my morning rounds, having visited the ducks, I noticed Paladout on the hidden path by the pond:

Paladout by the pond

Closer:

Paladout by the pond

Paladout by the pond

Three cats inside the house this morning:

Three cats

Finally, Poppy watching me from under our main deck:

Poppy

Cat update for week ending February 13

We are currently without power, which isn’t great for us, but also isn’t ideal for the feral cats, as their heated shelters won’t be as toasty.

Though they are quite used to snuggling together for warmth. Here are Spud and Poppy together in the left cabin, and Porcini in the right (back when we had power):

Three cats

Poppy watching me:

Poppy

Three cats again:

Three cats

The twins — Spud and Pommie:

Twins

Three cats at the cat house:

Three cats

Three cats

Snuggles inside:

Snuggles

Spud in his breezeway cabin:

Spud

Four cats at the cabins (Porcini, Spud, Poppy, Pommie):

Four cats

Some snow yesterday:

Snowy

Me refilling their heated water dish (which also doesn’t work with the power off; it’s now frozen):

Refilling water

Two cats watching me as I walk up the path to the bird food box, while it snows:

Two cats

Two cats

Four cats again (the same bunch as before, with Spud behind Poppy in the left cabin):

Four cats

This morning, a layer of ice covered by a layer of snow; here’s the frozen small pond by the cat house:

Snow and ice

The cat house:

Cat house

Cat update for week ending February 6

Some cats definitely feature more on my weekly Caturday posts: Poppy and Porcini in particular. They just hang around more. But Spud and Pepper are up there, too. The others, Pommie, Bella, and Pansy, are more reclusive.

A GIF of Porcini wiggling (might take a moment to load):

Wiggle

Let’s not forget the traditional Porcini and Poppy snuggles inside their house:

Snuggles

Spud emerging from a cabin:

Spud

Poppy and Spud:

Poppy and Spud

Peeking at Pepper in her nest atop shelving in the shop:

Pepper

A super-cute glimpse of Porcini while I was refilling bird feeders:

Porcini

Poppy and Porcini in their house; Porcini investicating something on the ceiling:

Poppy and Porcini

Poppy and Porcini

Something fascinating outside (probably a bird):

Poppy and Porcini

Why share a door window when you can have your own:

Poppy and Porcini

Porcini yawning:

Poppy and Porcini

Porcini and Poppy watching me as I approach up the path:

Porcini and Poppy

Cat update for week ending January 30

The last Caturday for January… or is it March 335, 2020? What is time?

We start as we often do, with cute Porcini and Poppy snuggles in their cat house:

Snuggles

Poppy and Porcini on their deck:

Poppy and Porcini

Spud, Poppy, and Pommie at the cabins:

Spud, Poppy, Pommie

Poppy has been spending a lot of time in the cabins; here she’s in the left one, with Spud behind her, and Porcini in the right one:

Poppy (Spud behind), Porcini

Poppy returning to the cabins, with Spud and Porcini still there:

Poppy, Spud, Porcini

Spud sleeping on top of the ever-patient Poppy, and Porcini still in the other cabin:

Spud, Poppy, Porcini

Pepper watching me in the shop, while I was working on the duck island project:

Pepper in the shop

Pepper in the shop

Cat

Cat

It snowed a bit on Sunday night; here’s Porcini with a bit of snow on the cat house awning (the ground in front is fairly sheltered by trees):

Snow and Porcini

Porcini, Poppy, and Pommie at the cabins again:

Porcini, Poppy, Pommie

Spud arrived too:

Spud, Poppy, Porcini, Pommie

A glimpse of Poppy and Porcini in the cabins while I walk up the path to the bird box (visible on the left). This picture is useful for context, too — our main deck and gazebo is above the cat cabins, with the bird feeders off to the right:

Poppy and Porcini

Porcini leaving:

Porcini leaving

Poppy thought about leaving as I got closer:

Poppy

But returned to the cabin and watched me cautiously while I refilled the bird feeders:

Poppy

As a feral cat, she’s cautious of all humans, but I think she recognizes me as not a threat.

Another busy day at the cabins, with Spud & Poppy in the left one, Pommie between them, and Porcini in the right one:

Four cats

That evening, a little more snow, and two cats:

Snow and cats

Pansy trying out a different chair in the back of the shop:

Pansy in the shop

Spud starting to throw up:

Spud yawp

A possum was happy to clean up the mess (time-lapse GIF), supervised by Pommie:

Possum and cat GIF

Spud was fine, he just ate a mouse or something that didn’t sit well. Here he is in the breezeway this morning:

Spud in the breezeway

Duck island buoyancy

On Sunday I did some more work on the duck island project, focusing on the buoyancy aspects. It’s a bit of a guess on how much I’ll need to make it float at an appropriate level, but I figure more is better; having it sink would be not ideal, and if it floats too high, I can always pile on more dirt, or remove some of the buoyancy.

There are two components to making it float: four 5-gallon buckets, and a ring of 4-inch pipes.

Here is a bucket, with a bead of silicone around the rim to help seal the lid:

Bucket

As you can see, the lid also has a rubber seal, and clamps on to the bucket.

A stack of four sealed buckets:

Buckets

Next I moved the island onto my cart, up the right way; this is the first time it’s been upright. Placing it on the cart makes it easier to work with, and it’ll be ready to transport to the pond:

On cart

Another component of the buoyancy is a ring of 4-inch ABS DWV pipes. The sizing worked out perfectly; the pipes came in 2-foot lengths, and I didn’t need to cut any of them to make them fit:

Pipes

I put some pool noodles inside the pipes; I don’t know if that’ll help at all, but can’t hurt.

I sealed the pipes with ABS adhesive:

Pipes

Then I attached the pipes to the frame with pipe hanger straps:

Pipes and hangers

My ideal water level would be about halfway up the frame, at around the midpoint of the pipes, so the middle platform (where the tools are in the above picture) would be just under water. We’ll see if that eventuates!

Here’s a closer look at a strap:

Hangers

Once again, Pepper the shop cat was supervising my work (or really just waiting for me to go away so she could get to her food):

Cat

Cat

Here’s the current state of the island:

Island

Next up, I will add the pond liner to contain the dirt, and a third platform level above the pipes.

Cat update for week ending January 23

It’s Caturday! 22 pictures today… and yes, one of them includes Bernie. Probably the last time I’ll succumb to that meme. Probably.

Let’s start with some cute snuggles inside the cat house:

Snuggles

Four cats; drinking, deck, eating, and background:

Four cats

Poppy drinking, Bella on the deck, and Porcini cutely peeking around the corner while stretching on the tree:

Three cats

Pepper supervising me while I was building the duck island in the shop:

Cat

Three cats:

Three cats

A couple of cats by the fountain garden:

Two cats

Bernie and a cat perched on the upturned bench:

Bernie and cat on bench

Too close!

Cabin cat

Three cats inside the house:

Three cats

Spud emerging from a cabin:

Spud

Cabin twins:

Cabin twins

Poppy emerging from the house when I went to refill their water dish:

Poppy

Porcini enjoying some sun on the cat deck, and Poppy drinking the refilled water:

Two cats

Poppy usually hangs out in the cat house, but a few times this week she has gone to the cabins instead; here she’s arriving, with Pommie already in a cabin:

Poppy and Pommie

Poppy and Pommie:

Poppy and Pommie

Porcini also stopped by to see what was so exciting:

Porcini, Poppy, Pommie

Poppy emerging in the morning:

Poppy

Spud and Poppy in the cabins while I approached to feed the birds:

Spud and Poppy

Spud in the breezeway cabin:

Spud

Poppy drinking, Bella enjoying a good stretch, Porcini eating:

Poppy, Bella, Porcini

It’s below freezing at present, so that heated water dish is really needed.

Spud emerging in the morning; sleeping in on the weekend:

Spud

Three cats enjoying the heating pads in the cat house on this sub-freezing morning:

Three cats

Duck island progress

Yesterday I made some more progress on the duck island project. See my previous post for an introduction.

Having bought some 4 inch ABS DWV (Drain/Waste/Vent) pipes and 45° elbows from Home Depot, I dry-fitted them within the frame. I’ll need to trim a couple to make them fit, but they should help add some buoyancy to the island:

Pipes added

Here’s a closer view of the pipes, plus a bucket that I’ll optionally use if I need more buoyancy (as I probably will):

Bucket

If needed, I’ll add two or four such buckets spaced around the island, sealing their lids closed with silicone. I should be able to add them after installation, once I see how well it floats. (The lid doesn’t match the bucket as Home Depot didn’t have the black ones I wanted, and only had orange lids, but they fit the green buckets; I’ll face the lids towards the center of the island, so they won’t be visible.)

Pepper was supervising me:

Cat

Next I used scraps of wood and clamps to measure the boards for the platforms:

Planning platforms

There are two levels of platforms; one should (hopefully) be right about at the water level, the second lower than that, as ducks find it easier to swim up then put their feet down to step higher. The lower ones weren’t in my original design, but I think will be a good addition.

I lifted the island to lean it on the shop door, so I could attach the platform boards; this is our first look at the top of the island, too:

Leaning on the shop door

Here are the water-level platforms, made from 1×2 boards, attached with finish nails:

Adding platforms

A closer look:

Adding platforms

Back down on the floor (and upside-down again), adding the lower platforms:

Adding platforms

I know they aren’t super tidy; I didn’t bother cutting the boards at angles, or trimming with a nice clean line, since the ends won’t be visible when underwater.

Here’s a closer look at the two platform levels, and the pipe:

Adding platforms

That’s it for now. Next time, I will trim the pipes and stick them together (I forgot to pick up the proper adhesive for ABS pipes from Home Depot, so ordered some from Amazon).

I will attach the pipes with some metal hanger straps, and add the pond liner that will contain the island dirt. I’ll probably also add a third platform level above the pipes to help hold them in place, hide the edge of the liner, and make another step for the ducks to jump to before reaching the dirt.

Then it’ll be time for installation! We’ll see how far I get next time. Stay tuned!