Kittens, Chickens and List Competitions (say that 3x fast)

Each summer brings a literal onslaught of kittens and I'm not even exaggerating.  Now, some may question why we don't spay our cats.  There are a couple of reasons.  First, Murphy's Law says as soon as you do that, they'll get hit by a car.  Also, all our cats eventually go missing.  We don't even know where they go, they just disappear.  It is also very expensive.  AND, we love kittens.  This is perhaps the main reason we don't spay.  We actually love the onslaught.  Most of the time.  We have never had any difficulty getting people to take them.  People come from as far as Toronto every time and nearly go loopy when they pick up their new adorable city cat, raised in a barn, by 8 kids.

Each summer also brings a funny kitten story or two.  This last "cat delivery" time we were waiting on two cats to have their kittens, around the same time.  The mommies have learned to not have them where the dog can get them as that led to disastrous results a couple of litters ago.  So now they deliver in the loft of the house or the barn loft.  The first cat delivered 4 kittens and all went well.  The second cat delivered, but we had no idea where.  We looked and looked and figured she had lost them to a rodent or in all the hay loading.  We would follow her everywhere and she would never go to a litter of kittens.  So sad.  But then, one day I looked at her stomach and realized there was clear evidence that she was still nursing as she should have been back to normal.  So then I realized there were still kittens out there somewhere!  We looked again and finally had to follow her, in a private detective-kind-of way.....My daughter noticed she went way up in the very top of the barn in the most dangerous part where no human could go and sure enough, she heard little "mews".  Aha!  Found them!  

We waited it out.  Then, this week the puppies went in the barn for a few minutes while my son cleaned out their kennel and that was when they came upon them, at least one of the kittens.  It was nearly mauled to death with puppy slobber.  My 8 year old son had to rescue the poor kitten from the 5 puppies!  When we showed it to the mom cat, she wouldn't go near it.  It didn't smell or look like her kitten anymore.  So we gave it to the other mom cat and just like last time, she took it into her brood and adopted it.  Then, yesterday, my same son went back into the barn and found 3 more.  Same thing, we showed them to the mom and for some reason she wanted nothing to do with them, so we gave them to her sister cat and she also took them in!  Now she has 8 kittens!  I laughed.  She must be tired!  I can relate.  My kids are thrilled to have so many kittens.  Even my 6 year old says, "Mom, this is cat therapy!"  when he holds them.  It is true.  There is something so adorable about a little kitten that makes all right with the world.  The good news is there are more on the way!  Another cat is about to deliver anytime.....

In other exciting farm news, we also have chicken issues.  Always have.  We seem to really stink at teaching hens where to lay eggs.  Most normal birds lay eggs in their nesting boxes.  Not ours.  We called them rogue hens.  They insist on leaving the coop to lay them somewhere else.  WHAT IS THE POINT OF CHICKENS LAYING EGGS IF YOU HAVE TO GO ON AN EASTER EGG HUNT EVERY MORNING?!  Unbelievably, I have to buy eggs sometimes because I just can't find them anymore!  They are too good at their hiding places and I just can't afford the chicken private detective that would take!  But then, what happens is even worse.....rotten eggs are probably all over the farm.  

Last week, I smelled death in the house.  I figured it was a dead rat because we've gone on a poison rampage and are trying to rid the farm of pestilence.  I ignored it for a few days hoping it would disappear.  Then I seriously hoped my husband would take off work to help me.  No.  He not so nicely said I had to find it.  He had no time.  I finally took a flashlight and went into the basement hunting for dead rats.  No rats.  Then my nose, which is hyper sensitive, sensed the exact location, but nothing dead was there.....until my eyes turned slightly to the left.  I was in the basement staircase and to my left was a wall and aha, a window well (on the outside of the house).  That's when I saw it.....who knows how many eggs were there, but it was packed with eggs, all piled on top of one another.  Some cracked open, just oozing with the worse smell ever...seeping through the cracks in the window well into the house.  To be sure that was the smell, I took a huge sniff and nearly passed out.  Yup, that was the smell.  This is where 11 year old boys come in handy.  I gave him the AWFUL job of cleaning out the window well.  He was such a trooper, nearly passed out also, but did it.  What a great kid!  

The next day or two we discovered another batch - across the road in a ditch!  I tell you, how was I supposed to know where they were laying them that time?!  Points for creative laying spots, that's all I have to say.

Finding the kittens and finding the rotten death smell have been two great highlights of my week!  Just had to share!

Today marks the official countdown to the reunion.  I was being really good about not bugging my husband about my secret list of things I wished he would do.  Finally, last night, I broke and asked if we could talk about all the things I was hoping for.  He was willing to listen.  No surprise, the things on my list were not on his list.  Ha!  He has completely other priorities, but as he left this morning he said, "Make a list!"  I said to him, "Will you be my slave this week?"  "Make a list!'  was his answer.  Hmmmm...He's also making a list.  So I shouted out to the car as he was about to drive away, "May the best list win!"  So now we're having a list competition......I hope I win.