LysmachiaMoon's blog: I've done my part

I have this sneaking suspicion that when I enter the Pearly Gates and ask God "God, what was it all for?" He's going to say "I wanted you to take care of cats." *LOL*

A few months ago, I idly started listing all the cats I've had since I moved here 30 years ago. Some I had for many many years, others only a few short weeks, months, or a couple of years. Fifty cats (50). FIVE-OH. With the exception of seven kittens born to feral moms on our property, all of these were rescued strays/adopted. All were spayed/neutered.

I looked up domestic cat reproduction rates, just to get some idea of how many unwanted kittens we prevented. One website said (and I think this is a vast over-estimation) that 2 cats left to breed unrestricted (and all their progeny also then left to breed) would turn into 80 million cats in 10 years. Now that's ridiculous, considering that one scientific study found that 90% of all kittens born to free-roaming(feral/barn) cats died before 6 months of age. But if you figure roughly 25 females over the course of 30 years...that's one heck of a lot of kittens that were not born to suffer, die, be neglected or euthanized in a shelter! Even if it's patting my own back and blowing my own horn, I think I did my part! It is good to think that I've helped at least a little bit in reducing the homeless pet population...not just in giving these 50 cats a decent home, but in preventing unwanted kittens.

Right now we have 9 "indoor/outdoor" cats (all our cats have unrestricted access to outdoors) and 2 mostly outdoor feral cats (they come in for mealtimes but don't like being indoors...we provide shelter in our sheds for them). The most cats we ever had at one time was 24...and about 8 of those were ferals. I don't ever want that many again.

Except in the worst of the winter weather, most of the cats seem to like being outdoors, so there's rarely a time when there's more than 3-5 cats sleeping somewhere in the house, except at mealtimes, when it's a free-for-all 3 ring circus for about a half hour. It's been fun, it's been nerve wracking, it's been joyful, crazy-making, heartbreaking, sad, happy and every thing in between. Next life: Goldfish rescue.

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Got outside early to move all those trimmings from the Fairy Glen to either the brush fence or the hen run for composting, but only got about halfway done...thin icky rain drove me inside. The weather is deplorable: very warm, very very humid and this thin sticky intermittent rain that makes you feel like you're dirty and sweaty before you even start working.

I have GOT to figure out where to put some iris. I discovered a patch growing in what is now deep shade and I realized I don't know what color they are because they haven't bloomed in a few years. I'd like to put more iris in the Top Border and I may have room in the new border in front of the veg, so I better start cracking on with that!

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