Meet the Clowder – Part 3

Cat House kitties

Read about the Resident kitties, Kracken kitties, and Panda.

Welcome back! In this installment of Meet the Clowder, we will meet the Cat House kitties. The Cat House kitties are 6 black cats that were a colony that I cared for at our old house. 3 of them, 2 females and 1 male, are the original kittens of the unspayed mom who wandered up to our house. They were born in September of 2016. The other 3, 1 male and 2 females, are from the 1^st litter of one of females.  They were born in the spring of 2017.

Plan A

As we were planning our move to our new house, I knew that I could not leave them behind. So, we trapped them and moved them with us. With almost 6 acres at our new house, my intentions were to let them roam as soon as they went through a period of acclimation to the new house. I set up individual dog crates for each of them in our garage. This served a couple of purposes. First, it kept them safe and secure and not able to try to escape or get trapped somewhere in the garage. The second purpose was to help them get familiar with me, using their lack of escape as a way for them to bond with and trust me.

It was during this time that I realized that we have a lot of coyotes that live in our woods. A cat is a tasty snack for a coyote, and I was not willing to take the chance of one of my babies becoming a meal. Once they had 3 months of acclimation and bonding in crates, I gave them full access to the garage while I came up with a Plan B. They lived in the garage, safe and secure, for over a year.

Plan B

In that time, I prepared a new home for them. First, we cleared out some trees in our backyard. Then, I bought a 10×16 custom shed with 2 lofts and connecting walkway, a porch and lots of windows (Cat House article coming soon). My amazing husband, sister, brother-in-law and oldest nephew were Godsends throughout this process. They helped clear the area, lay flooring, hang drywall, run electricity and screen in the porch. It takes a village. Of course, there are still some things to complete, which is an article for another day, but they were able to move in.

Now, introducing the Cat House Cats:

Pretty Girl

One of the 3 original cats and 1 of the mommy cats. A name that I would not normally choose for one of my cats, as you can probably tell if you have read Meet the Clowder Part 1 & 2. Anyways, she is from the original litter of kittens, and she was the 1st to come up for food. I just started calling her a pretty girl to calm her and get her use to my voice and I guess the name stuck. She is Pretty Girl forever now and the matriarch of the majority of the black cats.

By the time I was able to trap and spay her, this sweet mommy had 2 litters. Her 1st litter resides with her in the Cat House. Her 2nd litter are part of the Kracken Kitties. She has taken on the matriarch role and will keep everyone in check. Since the move, she has become such a loving cat. She will allow me to pick her up and snuggle and kiss on her.

Ghost

One of the 3 original black cats and the other mommy cat. Ghost got her name due to the fact that she would always just appear during feedings. I would never see her walk up or hanging around. I would just look down and she was there. Like a ghost. Unfortunately, Ghost, also, had 2 litters before I was able to trap and spay her. Luckily, I was able to scoop up her 1st litter of 3 kittens once they were weaned and bring them in for some socialization and forever homes finding. 1 moved to Ohio and the other 2 stayed with me. Ghost’s 2nd litter became the other part of the Kracken Kitties, who are also black cats.

Ghost is a petite lady, but she will keep her nephew and nieces in line and is not afraid to throw a paw when it is needed. She loves to be picked up and snuggled. Ghost’s favorite thing is to see how many times she can trip me in the shortest period of time.

Tre

The only male of the original cats. Tre is by far the shyest and most fearful of them all. It took me forever to get him to trust me, although he still has moments of panic and anxiety. Tre is definitely a flight over fight. At first, I thought Tre was a girl because he/she would help “nurse” and care for Pretty Girl’s 1st litter. It was not until I trapped him, that I realized he was just being a supportive brother and great Uncle! Tre likes toys that he can swat around and playing “You boop my nose and I will bite your finger”.

Knight

The only male of Pretty Girl’s 1st litter. I named him Knight because he was the 1st of that litter to investigate me. He was so brave I thought that he needed a brave name. Plus, he is black, so it was a play on words.

As Knight got older, he started to lose some of that bravery. He became skittish and was proving to be very difficult to trap for his neuter. He was the only one that had not been fixed when we were ready to move. It took a drop trap to finally catch him and successfully receive his neuter and ear tip. Since moving into the Cat House, Knight’s bravery is starting to return. He is a big boy with those big Tom Cat cheeks and amazing copper eyes. This black cat is a true mini panther. He is allowing me to pick him up and give him brief snuggles. Knight’s favorites are toys he can swat around and meat tubes.

Wicket

One of the females from Pretty Girl’s 1st litter of black cats. Wicket got her name because she looked like a little Ewok when she was a kitten. She has, equally, grown into a majestic floof. She is very vocal and will sing you the song of her people from the moment that you step into the Cat House to the moment that she has food in her mouth. At the old house, Wicket was not one for a lot of love or pets. She wanted food and that was all she needed from me.

Since moving into the Cat House, she has turned into a demanding diva, not only with food, but with love and pets. She will flop right in front of me with demands to admire and pet her glorious floof. One of her favorite things is to swat down each of the toys that I toss up to the loft and then to look over the edge for me to toss them back up. Over and over again.

Poe

The other female from Pretty Girl’s 1st litter. Poe got her name because she has a wonky eye. I am a huge Edgar Allan Poe fan and love The Black Cat. The cat is missing an eye because of the narrator of the story (Don’t want to give away any spoilers. Read the story. It is good!) Of course, I had to name one of my black cats after Poe.

Poe is fluffy; not floofy like her sister, just normal fluffy. Poe has always loved me. In turn, allowing me to be able to pick her up way before I could pick up any of the others. This little girl would follow me around at the old house. She is my Poe Baby, and she knows it. She does not like to share my attention with the others and is quick give me little nips if I am not paying her attention and giving one of the others her pets. Poe loves to be held and will lay her head on my shoulder purring the whole time. She is such a loving cat with a little bit of psycho tendencies to keep things interesting.

It has taken me almost 6 years to tame these babies. It was definitely a test in patience and persistence. Through it all, I know that they are grateful to be safe and loved, which in turn, brings me so much joy and happiness. It is truly a wonderful thing to earn a cat’s love and trust.

“Cats are the wildest of the tame and the tamest of the wild.”

– Marl Twain