Suffolk Strays

RIP CiCi

2011-06-30T18:34:00.001-04:00

We're finishing moving out of the house in Suffolk today. Still hoping to find homes for Lovely and Spazz at the very least. It's a sad day though, but one I've seen coming for a while. Co-cers hasn't been around when we have been moving lately and today she appeared, looking not good at all. She curled up by the neighbors porch and eventually under her car. Animal control came and took her away and are going to euthanize her... It's probably a best outcome for her. She's been sick since I moved here and at least she is going to go in peace instead of languishing and suffering. I got to say goodbye to her. It's sad, but I really don't think she woulda made it even this long without us feeding her. She would have been a good people kitty but I think it was too late for that by the time I got here.

I'm considering calling animal control about the strays to see off there's room at their shelter. I could volunteer on my days off and still see them and help them get adopted.

~Kakers

Sad to say...

2011-06-02T01:59:00.000-04:00

The days of this blog may be coming to an end VERY quickly. Here is a short update.

We moved Baby Love into our bathroom to have her kittens- she did! 4 healthy kitties one week and one day ago. We were home so we got to be there for the whole process after the first one, whose first cry is what made Eric realize she was having them. Baby Love hasn't been feeling well- she went in to the vet (with her kittens!) Friday and got meds and all that good stuff and we've been helping her keep them groomed, at least at first, now she's taken back over mostly. I was gone for the long weekend and the kittens all look big, healthy, and fluffy :)

Now for the bad news. We had our house broken into. Yes, they got some stuff (though not all.) but the worst part is one of my beloved cats, Orion, the mascot of my Etsy shop, is missing. Splenda never left the house (go figure) nor did our cat Caspian. Honey, who Milk was named to go with, loves to run off but we did find her outside and were unable to catch her- until she jumped back in the open window. Baby Love and her kittens didn't budge, as is the way of new litters and their momma's, from their spot in our bathroom.

At this point we assume Orion got out, because we believe he'd have come out of hiding at some point if he was in the house. Tonight we are staying elsewhere, with our 3 found cats, Baby Love, and her 4 kittens. We plan to move as soon as we can possibly find somewhere to go, which unfortunately, doesn't bode well for our feline friends in Suffolk :(

PLEASE let me know if you know of ANYONE who would want to adopt an adult cat. Milk, Sugar, Marx, and Spazz (and Lovely if I can't convince Eric to keep her) would all make WONDERFUL people cats. They have not only become friendly with us, but with our guests as well. Many of Milky's kittens are becoming much more comfortable around us as well, and would I am sure readily become people cats. The thought of leaving this band of kitties behind makes me so upset, I would like nothing more than to know they have good homes to go to. Though we are also looking for homes for Baby Love and her kittens, they will remain in our care at least until the kittens are old enough to be weaned. As far as our wonderful band of formerly feral kitties, if anyone would be willing to offer one (or more) a home I would be HAPPY to drive half way if possible.

~Kakers

Kittens!

2011-05-09T13:48:00.001-04:00

came home to find sugar hanging out with two mini-me kittens! Only one hung around for the food. Both white with gray on their heads like sugar and cream!
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Baby Love and Lovely are looking for a home!

2011-05-04T23:09:00.000-04:00

Well, we are looking for a home for them. Eric won't let me move them in, cause I SO would if I was living alone LOL... Anyways they are adorable, and so so lovable and definitely want to have nice loving homes. Or one home, they're cute together. They are a little snippy with each other but still mostly friendly. Oh, since we know she isn't Sleepers I'm calling her Lovely now!

I got some uber cute pictures of them too today, while they were begging for attention!

SO CUTE!!!

~Kakers

hellllooooo keep petting meeeee

2011-05-04T18:34:00.001-04:00

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newbies

2011-05-04T18:28:00.001-04:00

Baby love, look alike, and fluffy all around today!
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"Sleepers" and Lil' Pete

2011-04-30T23:00:00.000-04:00

Tonight as we left for dinner I saw a black cat on the side of the road and promptly turned the car around to go take a closer look at it :P No clue if it was Lil Pete or not, but it's the only other black cat I've seen in the neighborhood so it very well could be!

I took some pictures of the cat that looks like Sleepers. It has been coming around more often and is now more interested in cuddles and being petted than in food. It's definitely NOT Sleepers despite looking very similar. It's even more affectionate than Baby Love though! I am thinking we are going to try and find homes for both of them. They're totally meant to be people cats.

She is SO sweet. She has some wateriness under one of her eyes, but colds have been going around and she doesn't seem to be ill. Eric has taken to calling her "Look-Alike" but I think she needs her own name! Any ideas?

~Kakers

New Kitty!

2011-04-23T22:15:00.000-04:00

I went outside to see who was out there just a little bit ago and when I started talking to Spazz and Marxy (Spazz has become a regular, to the point that I think she lives on our porch now) and when I started talking to them the new kitty I was talking about ran up to the porch! Guess she knows she likes us already :) So I went inside to get (more) food for them and grabbed my camera. Not only did I get pictures, but she let me pet her too! SUCH a sweet little kitty cat :)

Isn't she cute? :)

~Kakers

Spring is here!

2011-04-23T16:12:00.000-04:00

And the kitties have been getting a lot of extra attention! They've been getting more attention since my man moved in, since he's out on the porch with his bad habit so much. So we get to keep even better tabs on the kitties! Lately we've had some new ones around. I just tried to get some pictures but the new kitties are camera shy. Today was the first time that I have seen Fluffy out during the day. Fluffy is the one I tried to get a picture of a few months ago at night, that I had originally mistook for Brownie in the dark. I think she's a girl, she's actually dark dark brown, and VERY fluffy with bright yellow eyes.

She's not a regular yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes one. She looks really healthy, her fur isn't matted or anything and it's nice and shiny in the sunlight. I don't think she belongs to anyone though, since she has no collar and keeps her distance from us.

The other new kitties... one is Sleepers! At least we are calling it Sleepers! It looks just like her but bigger, about the size Sleepers would be now too! She's not as regular either but we've been seeing her around more. It makes me happy thinking she may be Milk's baby.

The most regular newbie we have round here I don't have a name for yet. She's been around the past 3 nights and today I saw her curled up in the back yard hiding by the fence. She's little, too, like Sleepers. I wonder if she was one of Splenda's kittens from last summer. It looks the right size, and we never did see her kittens when they were little. Guess we'll never know! This one is black with caramel splotches, and has white on her paws/legs and chest/belly. GORGEOUS kitty cat. She also has bright yellow eyes. Not as skittish as the others, more shy. She came up onto the steps while I was on the porch last night :) Let us get close enough to see how little she is.

We was a creme/orange tabby out there too the other day. Only the once though. There had been a small orange tabby that I'd seen around off and on, at first with Sleepers, lately. Unfortunately last weekend there was an orange tabby run over by a car a street over :( Since I haven't seen the orange tabby cats from last summer since fall came, I am assuming it was the new one. Sad :(

In other sad news, Sugar has an accident. He is ok, but he got hurt. We don't know what happened, he wasn't around for a few days and then showed up really timid and skittish with a hurt tail. We think a person may have hurt him, cause he was VERY skittish around Eric. He was around me the first time he came back around but after than he's been extra affectionate with me. I'll see him in the back and call for him and he comes running and rubs up on my legs and leans into my petting him. He has missing fur in a circle around near the base of his tail, the bottom is growing its fur back but the top still has a shaved look to it and has some scabbing. One of the scabs looks infected, I'm going to have to see if he'll let me clean it off and put some antibiotic ointment on it. I got some pictures of him and Milk, who has also been uber friendly and soaking up the affection. They look SO alike, they have the same eyes :) You can tell they're related. You can see Sugar's tail in some of them, thank goodness there was no damage to the bone! His tail is still working just fine.

Even Marx follows me around and lets me pet him almost all the time now! He'll come over to me for scratches even when there's food out :) The gash he had on his side last summer looks completely healed, and the skin issue he seemed to have for a while there is cleared up. I am wondering if is was a sensitivity to flea bites. If I could get the Advantage at a more affordable price I'd put it on all of them.

Splenda is doing GREAT! She is very happy being an indoor kitty. She curls up with us at night, talks to us (no seriously she meows at us like we're having a conversation) runs up to us for attention, lets us put her in our laps and pet her (she hasn't quite started jumping into our laps on her own yet) she's just such an affectionate and happy people kitty now! I would have never thought with how hesitant she was with me to begin with! I thought she'd be the last one to be friendly and here she is an indoor lap cat acting like a princess :)

I think that's all for now! I'll have to start updating more often :)

~Kakers

Brownie has made a friend

2011-02-20T16:48:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't been seeing Brownie around much lately but he just showed back up- with a friend! Not sure if this is one I have seen once before or not, but they're kinda cute. They're sticking together. Brownie did eventually stop hogging the food and is letting her lick the crumbs (mean kitty) there's dry food on the porch though so maybe they'll go check it out and he'll let her eat that!

Of course then as I was uploading pictures he started fighting with her and they ran off. *sigh* He didn't hurt her he just was all "hiss I'm the big guy RAWR!" and they ran off.

~Kakers

Could it be???

2011-02-20T16:22:00.000-05:00

The weather has warmed up around here! Means I get more time with the outside kitties, since I am not in such a rush to come back inside. I saw Cream out my window earlier and went out to give him some food. Then later on I saw someone else out my window!

It looks like Sleepers!!! I can't tell if it is or not. At one point it turned and looked at me, it has more caramel-ish color on its face and the prettiest color eyes. I tried putting out some food for it but it ran off and now Milk has found it. I'd run her off but she needs it- she's pregnant again. I really need to find some money to get her spayed, she just has kittens like none other.

Anyways here are a couple pictures of Sleepers as a kitten for comparison...

IDK what do you think could it be Sleepers??

~Kakers

Far Too Long!

2011-01-28T20:10:00.001-05:00

Oh dear it has been FAR too long since I have updated you all! The kitties are all doing great, surviving the winter well. They are so cute with their fluffy winter coats, and their winter plumpness. For a while even Cream was coming around as a regular! He's come a running towards me even, which made me totally happy :)

One of the warmer days even Spazz came by for a visit, looking extra fluffy and happy! I guess I don't need to worry about not seeing her often, she looked great and was more than happy to curl up on my lap for a bit. I suspect at this point that she may belong to someone, and they only let her out when it was warm. Can't be sure though!

Today we had some visitors! The first one I mistook for Cici when I nearly ran over her as she darted in front of my car when I was coming home. The other I mistook for Brownie but turned out to be a gorgeous fluffy black kitty! I couldn't get a good picture of the black one, it being night time and her being skittish. I tried my best, though! Maybe they will be back again.

Now lastly for your update on Splenda! She is doing GREAT! Adjusting wonderfully to being an indoor spoiled kitty. She came back around on the eating quickly and the limping went away, but she hid under the bed for what felt like ages. It seems taking her to the vet really scared her. Just before I left for Christmas she started approaching me for some attention again. Then I was gone for a week and she was a little friendlier afterwards.

The final turning point was actually when my boyfriend was in town for the weekend and apparently, reminded her of how awesome I am compared to other humans or something because starting that weekend she became much more friendly with me again! Now she rarely runs from me, and comes to me for attention all the time, and once I picked her up and placed her on the bed and petted her a bit she realized it's OK for her to be on it. Ever since she has taken up a spot at the foot of my bed. She and my other cat Orion get along the best, they're so cute together! I have learned that even feral kitties like to follow their human into the bathroom, as well. She is the most consistent bathroom company of all my cats, in fact! Here are some pictures of her enjoying being all spoiled.

Splenda and Orion. Yes, he was playing with her tail, and she was ignoring him.

Splenda and Honey! Pardon the litter all over the floor- feral cats may be easily litterbox trained, but unfortunately that doesn't translate to keeping the litter in the box LOL

Obviously, she is at ease!

Part of the cuddle puddle :)

She really loves one of my bearded dragons, Fatso. When she isn't relaxing on the bed, she likes to visit him and will often curl up on the top of his tank and hang out.

I think at least 2-3 times a week I send a cute picture or pass along a cute story to my boyfriend about Splenda being cute. Usually it goes like this :"She is SO CAYUUUUTE!" "She always is. What is she doing now?" "Laying on the bed."

Welp there is the update from kitty land! Hope there were enough pictures for you ;)

~Kakers

Update on Splenda

2010-12-16T23:00:00.000-05:00

Splenda was a handful trying to get her into the carrier to the vet, and at the vets they had to put her under general anesthesia to be able to check her out and give her vaccinations.

But she is healthy! She tested negative for FIV and Leukemia and heart worm.

She has been acting funny since she got back though, barely eating, limping on and off, and just not her usual active self (hiding out all day) so I may have to take her back to the vet next week :( I'm worried about her. She's sweet as anything when I try and pet her, doesn't fuss with me at all and sometimes even starts with her quiet-as-anything purr. I am hoping it was side effects from the vaccines but I thought she'd cheer up by now. So we will see!

The strays who are still outside have been doing fine. Sugar, Milk, and Marx are living under the neighbors house in the crawlspace and come to greet me most nights when I get home. Cici is mainly on the porch still. Haven't seen as much of Cream or Brownie the past few days, though Cream was coming more regularly last week.

Hopefully it warms back up some for them soon!

~Kakers

News about Splenda.

2010-12-10T13:38:00.000-05:00

You may not be seeing much of Splenda in the blog anymore, and you can maybe guess why. Now that it is cold, I started letting her in the house with me. Well a couple nights ago when I did she came in, ate like a pig, then went out to look for more food on the porch. Last night she scooted right in the door with me when I got home... and here she is still.

So Splenda not only has decided I belong to her, she has now decided she lives in the house. The other indoor kitties don't seem to have a problem with her, they've reacted to her better than any other kitty I have introduced them to.

She did try and go out just now when I went out to check my mail, but I brought her back inside. I just got her a vet appointment. If she wants to leave she may do so AFTER I get her to the vet to see if she is healthy and get her vaccines. Cause I suspect even if she goes back out she'll end up coming back inside half the winter and when I move eventually, she is coming with me.

~Kakers

Cold, Cream, and the Fat Cat

2010-12-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

It's been eventful! And freezing cold. The first day I came home and it was so cold out I was dreading going back to the porch to feed the strays, I decided it was too cold out to do nothing. So I took a couple of boxes and made cuddle boxes. So far I've only noticed CiCi using one, she's pretty content to be curled up in it many days. I just took cardboard boxes and one has an old pillow on the bottom and is lined on the sides with batting, the one CiCi uses it just lined with batting. I took pictures!

So tonight I was surprised when I went out on the porch to feed the kitties. Cream was out there! He's rarely actually up on the porch, and he has very rarely let me see him eat. Sometimes he comes and scopes things out and leaves, tonight he was VERY happy to have some food. He jumped off the porch cause he's still scared of me, then I crouched behind the bucket my camping chair is in and put a handful out right by the side of the porch. He even started eating it while I was still just a couple feet away! I was amazed, he's never gotten so close to me before. So of course... I took the opportunity to take pictures :)

So many white kitties with gray on their heads, and one lone gray cat LOL CiCi is behind me in all the pictures, but she was out too. Of course, she lives on my porch at this point!

After coming inside I started hearing what I recognize as Marx's "look dude, get the eff away from my yard." meowing. I expected to look outside and find Brownie but nope! I found a cat I had never seen before, that is obviously someones cat both from how well fed he is and the fact that he didn't budge an inch when I approached him. So I snapped a few pictures of him, and tossed him a handful of food.He was in the neighbors driveway, on the other side of the fence, so I just let him be after that. I could tell it's a boy cause he had that big round face that male cats get when they aren't fixed.

I can't help but wonder why Marx gets his panties all in a bunch about Brownie and this big guy, but has no problem whatsoever with Sugar and Cream. I've suspected for some time that Marx may actually be related to the white kitties-in good light, those rare chances, it looks as though the color on the top of Cream's head is the same color as Marx, and they have very similar facial features. Who knows! Any insight on if that would have anything to do with Marx not being fussy around them?

~Kakers

Picture Day!

2010-11-20T13:19:00.000-05:00

So lately I've really not been able to take many pictures of the kitties. Since the time change it's been too dark out when I get home from work to take any and I was out of town for 5 days over the last weekend. So I decided that this weekend I will take some pictures while I have the chance! Got some really cute ones of Splenda but most aren't too interesting, just the regulars really and I already have tons of pictures of them!

In any case here's the best pictures so far today :) There's a lot of them!

Can you remember who is who without looking?? ;)

So much cuteness!! Do you have a favorite?

~Kakers

Back they come

2010-11-17T20:33:00.000-05:00

So I left town for a few days to visit the boyfriend and you'd think I'd been gone for months! I attempted to feed them extra the night before I left... it was GONE before I even went to bed. I come back and only CiCi is around. This morning I woke up to find Marx outside meowing LOUDLY and adamantly at me like "OK lady don't you know it is your job to feed me EVERY DAY?" This evening though the 3 white kitties all came back, and Cici of course was around. She was downright clingy. Crazy for a cat that doesn't let me touch her... not that I try really, I don't want to pass along her illness.

I can tell Splenda is getting more attached though. In the past when I would go away for a weekend she'd be gone at least 3 days after I got back. This time she came right back! I'm pretty sure I saw only Cici last night cause of how late it was when I got home, most of them are either off hunting or hiding and sleeping after dark. Cici on the other hand tends to be close by.

I wonder what will happen if I ever go out of town for more than 4 days! Hopefully they don't all run off!

~Kakers

Yeah well whatever.

2010-11-17T19:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I DID have adsense on here. Apparently it's a big no-no to draw attention to that fact or ask people to click on the links. Google disabled this blog from using adsense, and didn't re-enable it when I fixed the problem- which is bullshit, since their help info said if it was a permanent decision the email would state that clearly, which it didn't. I'd be more upset but the ads being displayed were just making the blog look uglier and were a nuisance and google pays out so little I wasn't going to get a penny anyways, so why am I going to let them put ugly ads that THEY get paid to put there on my blog anyways?

So I have decided instead to use my extra ad space to promote animal related products/websites/shops. For right now, I am just going to do so for people whose products or information I happen to like, rather than having people pay me to advertise on the blog. This *may* change in the future if there is any real traffic being generated from being put on the blog.

Ok now back to the kitties! :)

~Kakers

Changing it up!

2010-11-07T13:52:00.002-05:00

As you can see I have completely changed the layout of the blog! I have also added reaction choices at the bottom of each post (interesting, funny, cool, KITTY!)

I figure a lot of you check the blog to see the pictures. What do you like the most when I post? Do you have a favorite kitty? Think I don't take enough pictures of someone you want to see more of? Let me know!

Anyways, let me know what you think of the new look, click on those reactions at the bottoms of the entries, and enjoy what is left of your weekend!

~Kakers

New Kitten!!!

2010-11-06T14:13:00.001-04:00

What a surprise today!!! I went outside to feed the kitties and found this little guy hanging out with them!

It's an orange tabby kitten. Must be only a few months old, since it is so small. I wonder in fact if it may be one of Splenda's kittens, but you just never know. Here's some closer looks!

Such a sweet little thing! A bit skittish of course- but he'd run back in our direction after running off. I'm not sure I'll see much more of the thing. It seemed to be ignoring most of the food after Marx decided to eat most of the kitten food I put out on the side step. Brownie was out today, so Marx was staying as far away from him as he could. I kept trying to put out food to distract the big kitties so I could put some out separate for the kitten. It didn't work, well it DID but once it did the kitten ignored the food I put out for him and came back to the group.

Really don't know for sure that it's a he, it very well could be a she. Goodness knows I couldn't get close enough to tell.

I'm not too confident that he will be back. The other kitties all circled the poor thing surrounded him under my car and ambushed him. He came back, but they ran him off eventually. Mostly Splenda and Marx though Sugar and CiCi and well- all of them except maybe Brownie ambushed the poor thing under the car. It's possible that some were just innocently trying to check him out but it sure looked like ganging up to me!

Anyways got some pictures of a few of the other cats, too. New camera make's them all look better ;)

Marx and Splenda: when I was trying to keep them separate from the kitten (he was behind me):

And Sugar when I was trying to keep HIM away from the kitten... he's trying to look all innocent:

~Kakers

Ah cute kitties in the rain.

2010-11-04T22:16:00.000-04:00

I have to admit I prefer them dry but they are so cute when they are wet! We've been getting a lot of rain lately. The other night it was Sugar who was wet like it didn't matter, tonight it's Splenda. I think they really liked me tonight- I gave them wet food (half of what I put out anyways) to go along with the wet weather. Milk especially LOVES her wet food. She'll climb all over me to get to it if she realizes I am pouring it into a bowl- which has led tome having to do so standing up and NOT sitting in a chair where she digs her claws into my leg to get closer to it.

Ohhh such cute kitty cats! Not much else new. Haven't seen Spaz in coming up on a month now it seems. Also no sign of the newcomer from a couple entries back. Marx and Brownie continue to bicker... which isn't a good thing with Brownie coming around more. I find myself some nights having to go outside and break them up. Marx has been getting a *little* better- the other night he kept eating while Brownie was there rather than glaring and growling. It's a start right?

~Kakers

Just Another Night

2010-10-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

But I have a new camera so I took pictures. Tonight there was Marx, Splenda, Sugar, Milk, CiCi, and Brownie hanging out.

Brownie was huddled down, but sat right up to have his picture taken!

Milky :)

Milky says HI!

Marxy (he stopped growling at Brownie for a second- not that you can tell)

Sweet little Sugar Bear- he's getting so big!

and Splenda-Riffic! Who says ferals can't be lap cats?

Too bad it gets dark so early now. Though you can't even tell how dark it was getting already in the first few pictures... new camera takes light from nowhere!

~Kakers

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

2010-10-26T20:34:00.000-04:00

So I let Splenda in the house. I would have let Milk and Sugar in, too, but they wouldn't come in. So Splenda came in, was like LIGHTNING and snaked into my bedroom where I had my cats so they wouldn't try and kill her (or her them) and she ended up being just fine with them. She swatted at my Honey once, at which point I brought her back outside. Then the storm got worse, and the poor thing was laying in my planter of collard greens on my porch so I had her come back in (with my cats back in my room) but when I went in my room the poor dear wouldn't stop meowing. Cutest meow ever BTW. So I hung out with her a bit, and she let me pick her up and cuddle with her. Such a sweet kitty!!

Anyways in the last post I uploaded a picture of my Honey with Splenda... you can see why I joke with Honey that her family is outside! So much cuteness.

~Kakers

Splenda and Honey

2010-10-26T20:33:00.001-04:00

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a new face

2010-10-25T02:10:00.001-04:00

I first saw this one about a week ago, sitting on my porch. Probably a stray given that he didn't startle when I opened the door but still scared if you move toward it. I took this picture Saturday, the second time I saw him when he let me get a little closer. I was able to move food bowls out and back under his head while he ate so not too skittish. Didn't try to pet him cause I like letting them get comfortable with my presence first. No name for him yet, also not sure its a him.

~Kakers
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