RACCOON! Porch Kitties - Part 4

You might think that I would be upset having a raccoon in my kitchen. Not so. This lovely creature is Chance. One of the porch kitties. Wanted to share with you how much he's grown and how beautiful he's become.

I really do think he is part Maine Coon cat. According to my research into this breed he has a lot of the characteristics. In fact, when my older son first saw him his comment was, "Mom, he looks part raccoon."

That's Louie on the left and he's an adult cat. Chance will be a year old in March.

Maine Coon cats have a furry mane around their necks and their ears are lynx like. Their paws are large with tufts of hair that grow in between their toes and they have beautiful large tails. They can grow to be 22 to 28 pounds!

Pretty boy

One of the most enduring characteristics of this breed is the way they get right up into your face and look deep into your eyes. He is a real lover boy. So sweet.

Lovely Lula!

That's Lula watching me take photos and miffed because she isn't the center of attention. Good girl. You've been out numbered and look very similar to a large black mouse! Watch out for the kitties. Don't fret. She will sit by me this evening as I work on new creations for "a mess of things" - texting gloves, lovely vintage pillowcases trimmed with lace, more funky jewelry and fun hats for the summer. In fact, there's tons to work on. Will be sharing photos soon.

Gotta run...

Porch Kitties - Part III

Lucky

Need to catch up on Porch Kitties I and Porch Kitties II ? Click on the link!

The porch kitties were mine. But, I had some minor details to work out. Where would they sleep in the winter? How would I afford to spay/neuter both cats? Could I convince my husband to let them come in the house when the days and nights got cold? After all, we live in Illinois where it can go down to sub zero for days at a time. Details. Details. It was still summer so I had lots of time to figure most things out.

Chance

Dilemma #1 - The Porch Kitties needed to be "fixed". It is the right and responsible thing to do. Too many cats roam only to make more cats. Please, be responsible. It is not cheap to fix one animal, let alone two. That's where Illinois Valley Pet Taxi came to my aid. An article in our local newspaper about the agencies in our area who help with the overpopulation of animals saved the day for us. This is a LOW cost service and animals are dropped off in nearby Mendota then taken to PAWS Chicago for the procedure. My kittens were neutered (they are both boys!), checked for parasites, given the appropriate shots and de-wormed, ALL for $30 a cat. They were returned to me the next day. The drop-off station staff was friendly and caring and set my mind at ease as I brought Chance and Lucky for their "first night away from me". If you find a ferrel cat they will do the same service and find a forever barn or warehouse for that animal. These cats are great for pest control. The day I brought my porch kitties in was a "slow" day...only 35 cats made the trip from Mendota to Chicago and back! Amazing. This organization was one of the main reasons I could keep my kitties and I am most grateful for their help. Please help support this and other organizations like it.

Louie, our indoor cat.

Dilemma # 2 - I was getting very attached to Chance and Lucky. Worried about them all the time. Were they safe? Would they stray too far from home? Would someone try to take them? Would they wander in the road and ....stop, I don't even dare say it. What did they do all night when they were left out? All these worries came to a head one morning when my husband commented to me that he had observed a pair of racoons eating from the kitty dish the evening before. WHAT! WHERE WERE THE PORCH KITTIES when all this was going on? "Watching from the deck below", was his answer. That was all I had to hear. They are coming in at night or I won't be able to sleep. Thoughts of kittens as racoon treats would not leave me mind. Had to work on my husband however because two more animals to the household was just way more then he could handle. He has a soft spot for animals however and I convinced him that I would just bring them in during the evening hours and let them free in the morning. He agreed. It would just be a matter of time and...

The Porch Kitties all snugly on my Ralph Lauren bedspread!

Dilemma #3 - What to do with the Porch Kitties in the winter ...would be solved! Little by little, Chance and Lucky have been introduced to the other animals. Sadie our Great Pyr is a gentle giant and accepts anyone, human or animal into the family. Louie, our indoor cat was delighted to have company. He usually is confused with his normal playmate...our 4.5lb chihuahua, Thalula Rose. Lula, as we call her, is the boss of this animal family. Sweet and lovable. Pushy and demanding. One minute she is cuddling near Louie and the next she is chasing him around the house. Gotta lover her. All are getting along fine with Chance and Lucky except for the occasional food fight. We're working on that one.

So here we are. One big happy family. Chance and Lucky are safe, warm and loved. Chance is still the friendlier one. Holds his ground with the other animals. Loves to get close to my face when I lay down next to him. Beautiful jade green eyes stare back into mine. Barely makes a "meow". Comes out more like a squeak. Lucky is a bit more on the reserved side. Like a child who doesn't want to be kissed or hugged and wiggles and squirms when you try to hold him. Once you get close to him he flops and stretches and begs to be touched. Like humans, those who need the most love show the most resistance to it. They are outside when the days are nice and come in early afternoon for the rest of the day. They sleep on soft blankets and pillows. When winter is full blown they will be in the house.

Lula, our very sweet but bossy Chihuahua.

Chance and Lucky have found a forever home. Most days spent outside are spent lounging on our outdoor furniture or chasing after chimpmunks and birds. I have found more then my share of a scattered bird feathers in the back yard. The Porch Kitties will make great mousers! Their favorite spot inside is on our king size bed right on top of the Ralph Lauren bedspread. Seems so long ago that they were huddled under our porch. Cobwebs in their whiskers. Burrs stuck in Chance's long-haired tail. Skinny and scared. So many times I whispered to them..."I have good things in my house" as I tried to coax them to allow me to touch them. Yes, I do have good things in my house, lots of good things.

And so they are finding out...

A Lesson in Patience

Sorry I have not posted anything for a while. School started this week and I was busy getting prepared. Now I seem to be "back to normal"...funny how I'm more organized when I am working!

Chance and Lucky

Porch Kitties Part II

The porch kitties were gone. In a way I was relieved. Too many details to think about if I wanted to keep them or find them homes. I was rid of that burden. Besides, I already had two dogs and an inside cat. Add to that the cost of spaying/neutering one animal let alone five! On to enjoying the end of the semester and a glorious summer vacation.

I even caught a glimpse of part of the kitty family in the weeks after their move as we walked our dogs around the neighborhood. They had taken shelter under another porch in an abandoned home. I saw Leona and two of her kitties peeking out at us as we walked by. How dare they find shelter somewhere else. Wasn't my porch good enough? Didn't they appreciate my food? The special saucer of milk that I would leave out for a rare treat?

Then, one day as I drove onto our brick driveway there they were! Well, not all of them. Just two of the kitties. Chance and Lucky had returned. One long hair tabby and one short hair tabby. I squealed when I saw them. They like me...they really like me.

Louie discovers Lucky.

Determined to get them to stay, I started a feeding routine. Three times a day the food bowls would come out along with a saucer of milk or water. I talked to them, very low and quiet. They were very frightened of any human and would not come within five feet or six feet of me, if that. I wanted so desperately to touch them. Hold them. Make them feel like this was their home.

I also had to convince my husband to let me keep the kitties. He would probably go for it if I told him they would be outdoor cats. Lots of people keep outdoor cats and that's what I would do. I would also need to do the right thing and get them fixed. So expensive but if I was to keep them then that was part of the plan. Mike agreed to outdoor cats.

• "Happy is the home with at least one cat" - Italian Proverb

Little by little, inch by inch, the two cats allowed me to get closer and closer until they would come on to our deck for their feedings and I could sit right next to the bowl of food. It took weeks to get to this point. Creeping up so close to them. Sitting quiet and still. Allowing them to trust in me. They had never had a human hand touch them. Was it too late? Some research that I did said if a cat isn't socialized by two months it would never let any one near it. My good friend Jill told me, "That's bunk...you can socialize any cat." HA! She was right.

One afternoon I got so close to Chance that I knew it was now or never. I took my finger and ever so slowly, touched the top of his head as he was eating. He jumped back but slowly returned to his food. That was good enough for me. The next day the touch was just a millisecond longer. Don't push your luck. Then longer until the touch became a stroke and the stroke became a long, lovely pet. And, the instant that happened it was like a floodgate opened and this sweet kitten who had lived under a porch in all kinds of weather to fend for itself discovered the warmth and love of a human being!

It started to purr! It flopped on the deck floor and begged me to pet it's belly. It rubbed up against my legs and feet. Patience and silence and sitting quietly had worked! Lucky, the second cat was a bit more cautious of me but soon joined Chance and I on the deck to be fed and petted and loved. They would be my outside cats, enjoying their freedom...living a good life. I had everything figured out. Or did I?

"Cat in the Window" painting. One of my favorites.

Meet the Porch Kitties

My indoor cat, Louie Mozart.

I have always loved animals. Picked up every stray cat or hurt bird and brought them home. Tried to fix their injuries or comfort them and thought some day I would be a vet.

Fast forward. I teach graphic design - a far cry from an animal doctor. My compassion for creatures is still here, so when I heard the muffled sound a a kitten crying in the area of my basement, I ran to investigate and rescue. What was a cat doing down there?

One of the kitties coming out to grab a bite to eat before going back into it's safe home under the porch. 

We have a what I call a cellar and crawl spaces around the edges. Creepy. Full of spider webs and god knows what else. Our front porch has a stone foundation that meets the crawl space and over the years a small hole developed. Almost enough to get a small child through. On the outside, a small hole has been dug by animals and it maked a convenient space to house one little baby kitten. Oh, there was room for more under there but I could only see one and figured the mama cat chose this spot to have her kitties and only one survived. She was keeping it from the March wind and cold.

Couldn't get to that baby kitty but I observed a dutiful mama cat sneaking in and out of the hole under the porch. Kitty was being fed. It was safe from the elements. All is well. Soon the kitty will be old enough to be on its own and on their merry little way they go. Too bad that only one little kitty has survived the March harshness...

To my surprise, several weeks later I saw two slightly larger, almost identical kittens near the hole! What? Where did it come from? Maybe there were always two and I just thought I was just seeing one. Nope. There were two.

Mama cat in black with two kitties. 

Another week went by and my husband texted me at an art show that I was a vendor at..."there's FOUR!" What?! Four kittens and their mother had taken a liking to the space under my front porch. Mama cat must have been keeping the others somewhere else and bringing them to my porch. Beautiful creatures all of them. Mama was a black cat, small and thin from her batch of babies. Kitties were a gray/black stripe - one long hair (thanks to daddy cat) and three short hair.

I loved watching them move in and out of their new home. Sometimes they would sun on my deck, getting braver everyday. Tried to pet them but they would scattered. Mama cat liked to come to the back porch. Stare in the house from the glass door. So sad.

I decided to feed them when I came home one day and saw mama cat on her side with all the kittens nursing (or maybe just finding some comfort). She looked so thin and tired. As one mama to another, I knew what she was going through.That's it! Against my better judgement I started to feed them. They all took to the dry cat food and water that I set out. Perfect.

DON'T DO IT, said my husband. YOU ARE GETTING TOO ATTACHED. Too late, dear. They already have names - Chance, Lucky, Bliss, and Joy. Over the weeks they grew, ate, played and sunned themselves on the deck. I was even able to get close to Leona (the mama cat) as she ate on the back porch. Just a small touch here and there. The babies however would have nothing to do with me. Too scared and frightened. They would just be four ferel kittens and roam the neighborhood.

Then, one day in May, they were gone. I was sad. Enjoyed having these outside cats around. How dare they leave the place that gave them shelter and food for all those weeks. Maybe nature had taken its course and they were on their way to bigger and better things. It was probably for the best. I could never take care of all those cats. What about the responsibility of spaying/nuetering five cats? They are gone. Someone else's problem.  It all worked out for the best or so I thought....

Part Two - stayed tuned for a lesson in patience!