Feline Feeding Frenzy...

Are you ready? Ready for dinner? You betcha! The little wild cats are getting used to the routine. They're getting a bit more comfortable with me, and don't run away when I arrive. With the weather very chilly, I think they're now spending most of their time in the old straw bale chicken coop, although three of the seven have shown up in the garage - just exploring, I guess. I climb right into the coop to feed them, spreading the food out in five or six different piles to avoid competition and fights. They've come to appreciate fresh water, and just in the last week or so most of them go for a drink right away. The water, of course, freezes solid before the next time I'm in there, but they're drinking a good half of the container before it freezes.

Night time temperatures are already getting down to -20 C (-8 F or so), so I was a little worried about them at night. To give them a more cozy space, I put in some boxes with an entry door on two sides, straw inside on the bottom and piled them with straw on top. I don't know how much they are using them, but they are using them because a couple of the smallest are coming out of the boxes when I arrive with dinner. I've been looking everywhere for some sort of solar-powered solution for water, but there's just nothing that will keep up to our cold temperatures. We're just too far from power to do anything electric. Might be dangerous, too in a straw bale house. So far, the little cats seem to be faring quite well!