Some interesting encounters this week at the cat house.

But first, a couple of cats looking out of the shelter; I enjoy the eyes in the window:

Cats snuggling:

Yet more snow:

A pile of all five cats in the shelter:

A couple of cats watching a raccoon:

A “SLOW, WATCH FOR FERALS” sign in the driveway, flecked with snow:

Snow:

A cat with snow on their back:

Did you watch the video on YouTube of cats playing in the snow?

Another raccoon encounter.  This time Poppy had enough, and went out of the shelter to hiss and swipe at the raccoon, and then retreat back to the safety of the shelter:

Another cat then ran up from behind the shelter and did the same from the other side:

A screenshot of my iPad, showing cats in all four cameras:

A Steller’s jay bird flying in for a drink from the heated water dish:

A cat climbing the tree next to the shelter:

Another raccoon visit, watched by a couple of cats:

The alien orange cat visited a couple of times:

The reverse angle:

Cat snuggles:

A cat watching a deer:

Pepper the shop cat watches a moth flying by:

Pansy, the other shop cat, reaching for some food:

Three cats playing on the driveway:

The alien orange cat came back again early this morning:

The cats inside quickly evacuated:

The orange cat went inside the shelter, and Poppy followed and expressed her displeasure at the invasion:

There was much hissing and growling, culminating in a little swiping and rapid exiting:

But let’s end with more snuggles:

We start this Caturday with some lingering snow, and a cat peeking out of the shelter:

The cats have been somewhat absent during the day this week, though did show up for food, and occasionally spent a night in the shelter.  Here are all five cats in there:

Birds in the snow:

A bird on the heated water dish:

I set up the old automatic feeder in the back of the shop, so I can eventually control the amount of food Pansy eats, since she’s somewhat overweight. Initially I had both feeders there, so Pepper still ate back there. A few days later, I moved the manual feeder and a new water dispenser to the front of the shop, where Pepper lives. So this is probably the last time we’ll see Pepper in the back:

I’ve got some new cameras for the chickens and ducks, so will move the old camera from the old chicken coop to the front of the shop, to watch Pepper’s food. Probably more on that next week.

Here’s Pansy, eating from the auto-feeder. Currently it is dispensing too much food, but I’ll slowly reduce the quantity to match the level she eats, then a little less over time:

Back outside, here’s a cat drinking from the heated water dish, while another eats their dinner. This is the last of the snow, too:

A cat having a good stretch against a tree:

Dinner queue. I don’t usually show pictures from this time of night, since the contrast between the darkening outside and the lighted feeder area doesn’t work that well in pictures, but hey, something different:

The theory with the feeder light was that a bright light would deter the possums and raccoons, since they can’t see in that brightness… but they just feel around for the food, so that didn’t work. I suppose I could turn the light off, but I haven’t; it might help a little, perhaps, and makes it easier to see things via the camera in there.

Two cats on the deck after dark:

A cat eating, when a raccoon turns up outside. The cat kept eating, then quickly evacuated when the raccoon got closer (there was no food left):

I think this is the first time I’ve seen a rabbit on the camera:

Three cats waiting for breakfast:

The breakfast rush:

Four cats:

Finally, some disappointed alien visitors. A small possum:

An orange cat:

A bigger possum:

A raccoon: