At the end of our barn cat story from last November (“Swan View Ranch Welcomes 5 New Barn Cats“), we shared a picture of a hole in the haystack on the flat bed trailer.
Here it is again, just to refresh your memory.
See the hole in the stack, almost at the top?
As we used the hay bales through the winter, we soon discovered what we thought we might find—more little kitties!
There were four little ones and by the time we found them, they had their eyes open. We figured they were born about October 14, 2016.
For their safety and to help them get to know us, we moved the new family into the straw bales in the horse trailer where their brothers and sisters had grown up last spring. There, we gave them some extra food and water and spent some time with them each day.
They were adorable little kittens as of course all little kittens are. We had a black one we named Tar Baby, a black and white one named Bootsy that looks just like her mama Sylvestra, a silver one named Taz, and a light silver tiger that we quickly named “Porky” because eating was her favorite pasttime!
Porky indulging in her favorite activity. She doesn’t like to be bothered!
With all the attention they were getting, they became quite friendly with the exception of Porky. If we didn’t have anything for her to eat, she wasn’t interested in spending time with us. One has to have her priorities, you understand.
From Left to Right: Taz, Tar Baby in the bucket, and Bootsy. Porky was off somewhere eating!
They grew quickly, and were soon large enough to escape from the horse trailer. We were worried at first about how their elder siblings would react to the presence of the new little ones, but mama Sylvestra quickly put our minds at ease.
Somehow she made sure they all got along. Within a short period of time, the new kitties became acquainted with their older brothers and sister, and of course the boss of the cat tribe, Miss Fluff Puff.
Miss Fluff Puff in her favorite spot.
Their shots are now all up-to-date as we just finished having all four of them spayed. Lucky us—they were all females!
So the family has grown, and we are really enjoying all of them. Besides their fun personalities, they provide other benefits. Whereas our tack room and grain area used to be home to a large number of mice, we haven’t seen any for over a year now. These little felines are efficient!
Miss Fluff Puff will turn 20 years old on April 12th. She continues to amaze us with her stamina. She too has enjoyed the company of the younger kitties. They gathered around her and kept her warm all winter long in their beds under the heat lamps.
Here are two of the older kitties (from Sylvestra’s first brood) in their bed: Bullet and Bugsy. As you can see they’ve gotten really big. Even the bed is too small now!
