Monday, November 21, 2011

And then there were... five?

I'm finally getting around to posting something on this blog again! The reason being (or at least partly so)... a lot of cats!

A week ago Tuesday we were merrily taking our evening Pack Walk and we came upon these little two week (best guess!) old kittens, abandoned in a jerry can along the side of the road. Being such little tykes we knew they wouldn't survive for long left there and gullibly bundled them up and brought them home. I'm quite sure that the whole thing was planned and just knew that everyone we passed was snickering at the dumb suckers who fell for the "abandoned kittens" trick! We basically take the same Pack Walk every day so if anyone wants to dump tiny little creatures in hopes of gullible people stumbling across them, they know the time and the place to do so!

They were so tiny that I really didn't think that they would all survive, especially since our search around Entebbe at 7:30pm that night didn't yield any goat milk like we'd hoped. I syringed some watered down plain yogurt down them that night, and then one of my friends in Congo told me about easy to make kitty glop. I googled it and wow, what a life saver! Amazingly, one and a half weeks later the kitties are not only all alive, but thriving!!

We've been feeding them on evaporated milk mixed with water, a little bit of plain yogurt, egg yolks and a touch of veggie oil to keep things moving :) An eye drop bottle made the PERFECT kitten bottle, too!

As you can see, there are three little calico's - so three girls! We plan to keep one and give the other two away. Imagine the lines that will form in hopes of getting one of these bottle fed kittens!! ;)

Madea would have been an amazing mother! But, just looking at her, you can obviously see why she was spayed (and no, the same rule doesn't apply to humans! I'm not spayed ;). She'd practiced mothering her Kong and now she's doing a GREAT job mothering these baby kittens!
She gets a little more feedback from the kittens than she ever did from her Kong :)


I also learned from the Internet that young kittens can't stimulate their own poop and pee. Their mothers do that for them. When their mother is not around then someone has to do it and thankfully Madea happily and diligently took up the job! This may sound gross but it sure has made my life a LOT easier. No rubbing kitty butts with cotton or cleaning up their poop for me!


Madea also kind of wanted to nurse the kittens but well...


She was a little too ticklish!! Yikes!!!!


One little, two little, three little kitties


The dogs have been great with the kittens - even Billy is fairly gentle with them. It's Ella who we've had to be worried about, due to her enthusiasm and big feet. She gets so excited that at first I thought she was going to start juggling them or accidentally step or sit on them!


Bottoms up, little one!


One is a 'dilute' calico


Ranger, Frankie, and a kitty


"All I need is my Kong and my kitty. That's all I need!"


The Cat Kids


Mama time. Inter species adoption seems to work for Madea!


She's still loyal to her Kong though. You can see it still laying beside her :)


Now we've also learned that kitties need a soft, warm, comfortable place to sleep. Billy's tummy will do!


Sanyu's view of cats is the same as mine. Sometimes you just HAVE to get away from them!


Ms Dave had to inspect the kitties too. She was really not all that impressed.


Little Billy LOVES kitties!!!


Frankie sort of loves the kitties. I think he would love the kitties more if his mom wasn't so preoccupied with them!


Our big kitties, Rowdy and RODEO, are good friends


You may be asking, "Rodeo? I thought her name was Jeanne?!" And it was, until I discovered little balls on "Jeanne!" Ella quickly changed his name to Rodeo :)

Indeed, God surely does have a sense of humor. For you see, I am a dog person. Like, a raving dog person. As I've gotten older I've found that cats actually sort of creep me out. They slither! And I don't like slithery things. Snakes are slithery.


And now, here I go to work in the morning, with my computer in one hand and my crate full of CATS in another. Oh yes, I take them to work with me. There I sit with my office mate, Richard, with a basin or crate full of kittens. No, I've NEVER pretended to be cool and YES, everyone knows I'm weird anyways! So it's not really any big surprise to anyone. And it's not the first time I've taken a cat to work with me, either. I used to take my kitten Cody with me too. Only he came stuffed in a backpack riding on my boda!


So yes, for the moment we have FIVE cats. Ha ha!! But it won't be for long. I plan on getting them spayed just as soon as I can and finding two of them homes! Three cats are okay - five are not!

Monday, November 7, 2011

This n that

Ella conducted her first independent animal rescue yesterday. We were driving home at about 8pm last night and saw a kitten walking along the busy road amidst a group of people. That didn’t look right as people usually don’t go out walking into town with their kitten in tow! I pulled over and Ella jumped out and grabbed the kitten before it got smushed on the road. The folks walking laughed and cheered for her, and thanked her for saving the kitten. It was a hoot! I asked if it belonged to anyone and nope, it was all ours : )I was very proud of my six year old! And glad we have another kitten : )

The last two nights in a row Ella has left her shoes outside. Therefor she has lost TWO pairs of shoes to the Puppy Monsters in the last two days. Thankfully these shoes only cost $1.00 brand new and the others we bought used for about $2.50 over a year ago. But still! They were good shoes…


Billy has started surfing. Counter AND stove/dinner-still-in-the-pot surfing. I’m not trying to judge Billy, I’m just sayin’… I think he has a little problem there in the surfing department. I did wonder why we were having fewer and fewer leftovers though – Billy was stealing them out of the pot on the stove!


We got six new slip leashes for only $6.00 from Amazon! All multi colored and let me tell you, the Pack looks smart strutting their stuff on Pack Walks these days : ) Here’s a picture of Ranger modeling them. Love all the different colors!


A guy who does some work in a sister organization of the one I’m affiliated with is from Montana and brought us a suit case full of Christmas gifts from Granny this weekend. In it was fresh POPCORN CAKE from my Mom!! Oh wow… I really had to examine my heart before I could bring myself to share it with the kids! But here is proof that I did. I love me some popcorn cake for sure!


A week or so ago I found Ella talking to herself with a British accent, while busily washing her Tonka truck down. It was… odd!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

How To Catch a Bee

How To Catch a Bee (should you ever want to)


Step 1. Look carefully in shrubs and flowers. Two are better than one so a hunting partner will help.


Step 2. Have the right equipment. A net and a small bowl are ideal

Step 3. After you've caught your prey, carefully transport it to a holding facility


Step 4. Transport the bee from the net into it's new home.


Note: You will need a trusted and capable assistant for this. We do not recommend that you try this step alone.


Step 5. Place net, with entrapped bee, over the bee's new home and wiggle it out. This step takes the utmost concentration and skill. Not to be done by amateurs!


Step 6. Carefully check to see if you succeeded in a successful transfer




Step 7. Carefully insect your bee for injuries

BE WARNED:


Bee catching is a delicate operation and should NOT be handled by amatuers. Many will volunteer to help you but below are some types that you should avoid in your potentially dangerous bee catching endeavours.

Guys like this


Blonds.


I can not stress enough, do NOT allow blonds, such as this one, to assist in this delicate operation.


Volunteers such as these two. This is not a good crew. Note their lack of proper equipment
and seriousness


Those with long ears.





And guys like this who will simply eat your bee


Amazingly, no child was harmed in the taking of these pictures. At least 20 bees were caught and flew away, er, were released....

The Kiss

"Well, since we're sitting here Madea I think I just might want to..."





"... sort of give your cheek a little ...."
"Ewwwww! No Billy!!! Ewwww!!! No!!!"
"...smooch!"


Then? The awkward moment.