Location: Fellsmere, my house
I went out to see if I could get a picture of the female painted bunting this morning. No buntings, but I took a few shots of squirrels. Then I noticed this...
Apparently me and my honeybee are not the only bird watchers in the house. That is Barty, with his head poking out between the curtains, watching intently. Barty was born in our backyard to a feral cat. We caught and socialized Bart and his sisters Lisa and Maggie. Because they were very young (a few weeks) it was fairly easy to socialize them. Their mom was still feral though, so we had to catch her and take her to the humane society. I still feel a little guilty about that, but it really was the only option - otherwise she would just have more kittens and perpetuate the problem.
Barty and I loved each other from the first time I held him. I took him out of the trap, held him in my arms and he just laid back and snuggled me. I'm sure the fact that I had some Wildside Salmon1. in my hand at the time helped a little, but even when I wasn't plying him with salmon, he would still lay back in my arm for tummy rubs. He is still the most hedonistic kitty I've ever had. He has to eat breakfast by himself, just to keep him from eating everyone else's. I have to be careful when I start to give him a tummy rub because he does not want me to stop once I start. And he still loves the salmon treats. I have tried on occasion to switch to a less expensive treat, which the other cats are all ok with, but not Barty. He looks at me with those big sad eyes that ask, "Why don't you love me anymore?" and off I go to order more.
Sources: (1) It's not cheap, but Wildside Salmon is cheaper if you buy 4 bags at once.I went out to see if I could get a picture of the female painted bunting this morning. No buntings, but I took a few shots of squirrels. Then I noticed this...
Apparently me and my honeybee are not the only bird watchers in the house. That is Barty, with his head poking out between the curtains, watching intently. Barty was born in our backyard to a feral cat. We caught and socialized Bart and his sisters Lisa and Maggie. Because they were very young (a few weeks) it was fairly easy to socialize them. Their mom was still feral though, so we had to catch her and take her to the humane society. I still feel a little guilty about that, but it really was the only option - otherwise she would just have more kittens and perpetuate the problem.
Barty and I loved each other from the first time I held him. I took him out of the trap, held him in my arms and he just laid back and snuggled me. I'm sure the fact that I had some Wildside Salmon1. in my hand at the time helped a little, but even when I wasn't plying him with salmon, he would still lay back in my arm for tummy rubs. He is still the most hedonistic kitty I've ever had. He has to eat breakfast by himself, just to keep him from eating everyone else's. I have to be careful when I start to give him a tummy rub because he does not want me to stop once I start. And he still loves the salmon treats. I have tried on occasion to switch to a less expensive treat, which the other cats are all ok with, but not Barty. He looks at me with those big sad eyes that ask, "Why don't you love me anymore?" and off I go to order more.
Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson
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