Feral Fables

Kibble was the boldest cat of all Snow's kittens. She showed interest in me and bravery in approaching me from the start. She is very clever and smart and figured out quickly that the click of the porch door meant food. She would pop-up from under the deck (alone) and peer at me placing the food on the porch. Then she'd wait for me to go back inside before coming on the porch to eat. Little by little she gained trust with me and came closer during feeding times as well. She was a model for all of the other cats, who kind of hung back and watched what was happening. She was the first cat I could touch, the first cat to come in the house, the first cat for a lot of things. She has become my little companion around the house and the yard. She follows me around when I go out to cut or dead-head flowers, always near, watching me and relaxing. She's also very possessive of me-----does not get along too well with the other cats, really. She tolerates them-----barely.

She has many nicknames (all the cats have at least one). She's the "Princess", the "Princess-diva", "Spunkin-punkin", "The Kibbler" and many more. (I don't really have a process for the nicknames other than they have to descriptively fit the cat in some way. I know it's a little crazy, but admit it------you have nicknames for you pets too!)

An interesting story about Kibble.......the first winter the cats were with us, it was just Snow and the 5 kittens. We really had no appropriate shelter for them. We didn't quite know how to provide shelter. I remember our first attempt was to put a box under the deck with some blankets in it. What a laugh! That was destroyed with the first snow. Then we rigged up a spot on the porch in the corner that is protected by the house on 2 sides. We put the frame from a stool down, put a glass top on it, filled it with blankets and draped a blanket over part of the opening to keep out as much wind as possible. The porch was just screened-in, so the wind and snow could come in if blowing the right way. However, most of the time it was dry and the cats curled up together and slept the winter away.

By the next winter, there were cats from a second litter and Kibble was even less enthusiastic about them than her own siblings. So around November she decided to take off on her own. I was really disheartened because I had become so attached to her, but she was and is free to make up her own mind about these things and clearly wanted to go. She did come around to eat from time to time so I knew she was OK, but I did miss her. In the meantime, I had found a fantastic website that advertised outdoor cathouses. Outdoor Cathouses . Some of them were heated. I ordered one immediately. When I received it and the cats used it, I ordered another one that was two stories high (cat stories, that is).

Tuffy in Two-Story House

(Sorry I can't figure out how to orient the picture correctly) Anyway-----Kibble came for a visit in early March, which is still cold, crappy weather here. She took one look around at the accommodations and hasn't left since. The next winter we had a storm door and storm windows made for the porch so the cats really have it good. Then Kibble decided last November that she would be a "housecat." She stayed in the house all winter, sleeping inside and using a litterbox as well (no training needed). I wondered if she would stay "indoors" when the nice weather came, but as I said, she is smart......she of course wants to go out! But, she never goes too far and I'm certain come the cold days of November, she'll be my little "housecat" for the winter. That's all right with me.