Chick crumbles as kitty litter - the experiment

For about a year I've read comments from others about using chick crumbles (baby chicken feed) as cat litter, in place of World's Best Cat Litter. I'd make fun of World's Best and call it World's Most Expensive...except it really is the best cat litter I've ever used.

But only the World's Richest can afford $37.00 for 30-some pounds of cat litter (less at local venues, but not much less). The only reason I've used it is that people have (rarely) donated it to me. It is great stuff. It clumps nicely, smells great, isn't sticky like Swheat Scoop, and last twice as long as other corn scoopable.

I spend a lot of money disposing of the non-scoopable clay cat litter I buy from Walmart. It's almost up to $4 for 20lbs now, and 20lbs fills only 1.5 boxes in the cat facility. Corn-based cat litter would be compostable. Trust me, clay litter absolutely is not compostable, which is why it costs me about $40 a month to dispose of it.

So I finally trotted off to Agway and bought 50lbs of chick crumbles for around $13. One bag filled all five boxes in my house. You couldn't fill 5 boxes with clay scoopable cat litter for $13.



The cats use it happily, and it seems to track less than the clay litter. It does clump quite nicely, however, it does so at the BOTTOM of the pan, which means you have to tilt the pan to see where the cat peed, and literally scoop the clump off the bottom. It does not make a nice round free-formed snowball at the top of the box. Nonetheless, the clumps come right up and don't stick, like Swheat Scoop has for me. And it smells nice and clean.



It has, however, been only two days.

I could order a whole pallet of this for a cheaper price, I'm sure. In fact, I might even be able to get it delivered to my door. I plan to try it in the house until next payday, and then buy four or five bags and try it in the cat facility. I'll keep you posted.

POST NOTE: SEE ADDITIONAL COMMENT IN A LATER POST on danger from aflatoxin.

Adopter and Caretaker photos

Sweet Zoey enjoying a warmer day.



And using humans for their intended purpose.



Peet on a colder day!



And Zuzu being her beautiful self, below!



Thanks, everyone, for sending photos!

In fact, I think I'll make tea right now...

Gary is making me a teapot of my very own!

(photo poached from Gary's blog, so you'd best go on over there and see the rest of his posts!)

Farm TNR at Caturday

If you haven't already visited, you need to see this TNR project at Rockhouse Mountain Farm posted on the Caturday blog.

What an inspiration. And projects like this are taking place all over the world. Critics say that TNR can't possibly conquer the larger feral cat problem. I disagree. But regardless, TNR overcomes the site-by-site problems such as this one, relieving all sorts of anguish, both human and animal.

Whiskers in Winter

It was a gorgeous winter day for Whiskers in Winter yesterday! I should have blogged sooner, but frankly, once the crowds had faded and I had the dishes in the washer, I snuggled into the couch and fell into a contented nap!



We had a great turnout: 31 humans, one dog (Jack!) and one kitten (Hope!). At one point, it was wall-to-wall people. The best part was, there was no way visitors could avoid introducing themselves to one another. It's kind of hard to remain a wallflower when the ceiling makes you duck and there are people on both of your elbows. Luckily, people could also go to the house (and more people hung out there than ever have in the past. Kittens have that power on folks) and of course went up to visit the cats on the second floor.

Normally I have some of the cats loose in the cage room for people to play with, but this year I wasn't going to be able to spend most of my time upstairs to watch the doors and be sure no one slipped out. Dream: Real decently made doors with real latches instead of barn latches and hooks and eyes?



Little Hope came with Cary and Lyndsay and was the life of the party in the house, along with Tinker, Leo, and Owlie, the Terrorist Kittens (who played shy, but could not resist the laser pointer, feather toy, and six teens). Jack the dog came with Nancy (who is friend, fosterer, adopter, AND our wine host as she also works for Thirsty Owl Winery in addition to her business The Grooming Room). Jack was our official barn greeter.



I'm always amazed how good the cats are with so many people trooping up to see them. Espie--the black and white cat--was especially pleased with all the attention, and showed off her big mitts to anyone who would bring out a feather toy. We brought Jack up to dog-test her, and she didn't even fluff at him.



Even the most shy cats were pretty good about being petted. Plushie (the black cat) always likes attention. Pickles is more reserved. This photo was taken after everyone had left and the cats were parked under the red heat lamp.



Everyone was pretty tuckered out.



People came bearing food, cat litter, toys (we broke out the new laser pointer right away!), and photos. The nametag tree WORKED, and it was kind of fun to hang the filled-out tags back on the tree afterwards.

I received responses from people who could not make it, and it was great to hear from them as well. Next year I'll try to get my invitations out earlier so people can plan. But don't I say that every year?



This party was the official shingle-hanging for Abbey Farm, the farm's new name. The previous name was Old Ferris Farm. I'm afraid the sign will have to come back down (therefore the use of cable-ties) as I've only finished painting one side. Hopefully this summer will see sunflowers, catnip, and broom corn growing in the field beside the barn, and the downstairs of the barn set up for drying.

These are all crops I can give away as gifts if for some reason I don't have time to actually sell them.

Thank you all for coming and for sharing my dreams, both current and future! Special thanks to Craig for plowing parking space, Cary and Lyndsay for arriving early and helping out--as well as bringing the heavenly cheesecake, Donna and Tim for the lasagna and macaroni and cheese, and of course Nancy and Jack for bringing the wine and hosting the downstairs party.

Thanks as well to Dr. Armao and Joan from Cornerstone Veterinary Hospital for making it out to see our place! And to Nancy Jacobson, and Eugenia and Phil, who have made it Every. Single. Year.

And to Leslie, my college roommate, who came over 60 miles with her family. When we were in college, Leslie and I drove over snowy roads to adopt a kitten for her from the Chenango County SPCA as a Christmas GIFT to her from me (gasp) and smuggled him into our on-campus apartment (no pets allowed - gasp again!) to live with my cat Rastus, who was already living there illegally. We also had an illegal Christmas tree that year (that we got in yet another snowstorm, driving around until we felt the RA would be asleep). And I remember pushing her car in yet another snowstorm when Bandit the kitten needed to go to the vet, because we parked it (again illegally) in a firelane and left it running to warm up so Bandit would not be cold and it stalled with the lights on. Yes--those were the days, when two college rowers could push a dead Chevy Impala by ourselves about 1000 feet through four inches of snow down a firelane, across a road, and PARK IT in a spot. I hazard a guess we could not do that now. Anyway, I'm surprised we weren't nailed by a snowstorm yesterday, since Leslie resolved to come!

Hmmmm...I think they call that a "tangent." And I hope Leslie's kids aren't reading this. Back to the party!

For all the presents, food, photos, donations, and goodwill, I hope everyone knows you all mean the world to me...and to the cats you have rescued with your love.

Have a wonderful 2009!

Resolution: Finish what I start

I'm one of those people who goes into the big box craft store, buys tons of crafty stuff, then does nothing with it. THIS time I forced myself to sit down and start and finish my project: name tags for the party on Sunday.



Nobody ever wants to put nametags on. I'm hoping that the lanyard/necklace option may convince people to put them on. Well, at least I'm sure the kids will now!

The cats are unexcited:

Beating the blahs with a new floor

I was in quite a funk this afternoon and early evening. I won't go into why. A trip to town to pick up vinyl flooring didn't shake it, and I ended up wasting a lot of time today feeling sorry for myself. I finally went out to the cat facility, hoping ripping, tearing, and laying new floor would help. It didn't. So I came in and cleared out some email for work for about two hours, and that seemed to do it. Back out to the barn I went, but by then it was midnight. Nonetheless, three far-more-cheerful hours later, brand new floor!



I had been kind of concerned that a darker floor might be a bit drab, but it's actually quite warm. I like it.

This area is the first section of the cat facility I fixed up, six or seven years ago. The original flooring I put down was of very high quality, and I actually built the cat run walls right over it. I was really broke back then, and the molding I used, and the nails I fastened it with, were pretty cheap. There was no saving the molding: I ripped it all out in pieces. I have a ton of vinyl mopboard to replace this with, but I'm not sure I have enough adhesive...in fact I'm sure I don't. So it's back into Home Depot tomorrow for more, so that this time cat litter doesn't squeeze in tiny cracks between the molding and the floor.

About seven years ago I built that facility, and tonight I was ripping it apart. It was rather odd. It will be a huge improvement: no old curled up vinyl flooring with cat litter sneaking beneath the corners! It was starting to look pretty trashy in there.

Here is the original floor, about two years ago when it was still looking nice:



And speaking of trashy, I've left a mess out there. I threw all the molding and vinyl pieces down the stairs to deal with tomorrow.

Mary, Sara K., Christy and Gordon....thanks! Your donations helped with a much-needed upgrade!

Oh, that was fun. Happy 2009 to you all!

I'll bet you are all putting a glass of champagne down on the floor right now to see what your cats do with it....

I think I'll just relax and enjoy mine. I hope you enjoy yours, in the company of the ones you love, whether human or feline.

Have the best of years. Let's say goodbye to 2008 and look forward to a bright future.



And yes, I washed the glass first.

ONE! Happy New Year!

It's the Pom Pom Drop! Which is a heck of lot warmer than that other drop!





Lady Ma doesn't know how to do video yet, so she had to ask another kitty to count down for us!

Hey, it does smell like cat butt!



Hey, look, more bubbles if you hit it!



Happy New Year Everyone! May you have a wonderful 2009, and may we all get homes!

New Years Countdown. TWO!

(Whoops, technical difficulties!)

Hey, I'm Wings! Welcome to the cat barn at Wildrun!

Look, we just got this majorly amazing toy from Mary. It's one of the Kittypods--actually, it's two, glued end to end to make a tunnel. They say these can last "the life of your cat" but I'm sure they didn't mean that it could survive all we cats at Wildrun. However, we are going to have a blast with this for a long time to come!



All the great things we have here in the cat facility have come from people who have adopted some of the other cats that have lived here. Like the new floor we are getting tomorrow, and the scary, noisy monster thing we got last year that makes our carpet smell really nice.



I sneaked some time on the computer while it was up here today (Ma doesn't realize that cats can use laptops because we don't have to mess with the mouse. Why do they call it a mouse if cats can't use it?), and I read this great article on the Pet Connection blog about how pet owners are vital to pet rescue!

The Ma lady (we call her "Ma" because it's the only people word we can actually pronounce out loud) has been up here all night cleaning things. However, she brought up a special bottle for midnight, and says that we won't like it and it's all for humans.

How does she know? Maybe we would!



Perci says she heard that "shampain" smells like cat butt. I told her she can't possible tell with the top still on and to leave my butt alone! Besides, it's not "shampain" its "sparkling whine."



If we did drink that bubbly stuff, we'd definitely like it out of one of these special cat glasses. But the lady Ma says the more expensive a glass is the more likely you are to break it. She says she would rather drink out of her mom's family crystal, and told us all to be very very careful because her mom will read this in the morning, and if we break her glass, we are mittens for sure.

The lady Ma took the truck out around 3:00 (we can see the driveway from our windows) and came back really happy and showed us her new collar on her arm. She calls it a Friendship bracelet:



She was out with girlfriends, and says, for her, seven good friends are better than being married any day. I'm not sure what that means, but we think the colors are pretty. We cats don't get married, and we all are friends, and there are seven of us in the Big Cat Room, so I guess we agree!

Resolution Number Two! Write down all the Wildrun friends, get all their email addresses together in one mailing list, and keep in touch more often! Friends FIRST!

So to all our friends in the Internets, and the People who take some of us home but remember the rest of us still here at Wildrun, Happy New Year and THANK YOU!!!

Countdown to New Year 2009. THREE!

Hi! We are the Fishes of New Years Eve. What, you've never heard of New Year's Fishies? We are counting down, Three, Two, One to midnight! We get to do the countdown because our tank is right near the big clock and, you know, there's really not much else for fish to do.



We aren't rescued fishies. We came from Donna and Tim's place at Totalily. We have a fishies's eyes view of everything that goes on with the house cats, and overheard a lot, because, you know, sound travels better in water.

Lots of times people come here and say great things about us. They come and sit in this living room and say how kind we are to rescue cats. And a bunny or two. We'd blush if we weren't fish. But you know, there are lots of folks all over the world doing incredible things for street cats with less that what we have. Do you know there is a cat rescue in Novi Sad in Serbia? They don't have an eighth of the stuff we do, and we really really hope they get their PayPal link up soon so they can get donations! We really wish Milance, the cat with no back legs, could come live with us here, but we know that isn't possible. You can check out Milance's video here. And maybe once they have their PayPal up, we can send them a little something.

And we couldn't do anything at all, if it weren't for our vets at Cornerstone Veterinary Hospital. Do you know they saved Ivan's life? And they are always there for our Wildrun cats, squeezing us in for spays and neuters on short notice, and emergencies right away! Ivan may act like a grump with kittens, but he's happy he's still around to bat them and teach them manners.



Bear is the only cat who gets to go from the House to the Cat Facility, so, he'll take us on over there for the party!



The cats over there don't know they are getting presents. Shhhhhh....



See you in ten minutes! The lady says she hopes the links all work, and if you think running around madly half an hour before midnight taking photos of cats (and fish!) is easy, you oughta try it! She really did take all these photos tonight!

Countdown to New Years!

Party time at Wildrun!

Yes, I have a real life, and I will be going out for a quick drink with friends tomorrow early evening. However, for Midnight Hour I will be here with the Wildrun cats with a real live countdown!

Don't have anything else to do? Have a party with a computer nearby? Log in at 11:40 pm for a 3, 2, 1 countdown, one post every ten minutes, with our Wildrun cats, photos of their fun tomorrow night, great posts from across the Rescue Blogging world, and thank you's to our adopters, fosterers, supporters, and friends.

See you tomorrow night, 11:40 eastern time. See, now you have a reason to stay up. Pour a glass of wine, grab a cat, and join us.

Don't forget! And if you have a blog and are blogging tomorrow night, let me know and I'll link you!

If you can't make it, we wish you a wonderful New Year!

Susan and the cats for Wildrun

I have a home!!

My name is Holly now, and I have a home! I'm a Jersey kitty now!

There can only be one explanation for this...

One of them (or both) must have a brain tumor. I looked over and my jaw literally dropped. Ivan and Ditzy cuddling? Cuddling? Ivan and Ditz despise one another. These are cats that I normally must plunk my butt between to prevent spit spats, or prop a pillow between the two to prevent eye contact.



Or maybe they are taking those "WWJD" cat mats literally.

What is your favorite party food?

Next Sunday is "Whiskers in Winter" and I've already received quite a few RSVPs. And I need your help!

Both the house and the cat facility are open. Things get rockin' at 1:00 pm. During the daylight hours, people tend to hang out in the two floors of the cat facility. After dark, people tend to park their butts in front of the fire in house (although both options are available throughout the day and night).

So I have food both in the cat facility and in the house. I need some ideas. After years of giving this party, I'm looking for new and different foods!

Qualifications: I have ways of keeping food cold or warm, however the food must stay tasty for a few hours. So food or snacks that are only good for 20 minutes once it comes out of the oven or off the stove need not apply.

It also needs to be REALLY GOOD!

So send your ideas or recipes! You can put them in comments or email them to: info at americancat dot net.

I could a couple of totally decadent cookie recipes, too. Or, if you are coming early, you could BRING totally decadent cookies. :)

"Walkies" in snow country

Valarie sent this along this morning. I guess there is no need to shovel a path for this dog!

Presents for all

Christmas was good to us. The house cats started out with a heavy dose of catnip before I vacuumed for the day. Merry Christmas kitties, here are your drugs!



Mom fired up the sewing machine and turned polar fleece into cat mats, which I use in the cages in the cat facility, or give away with adoptions. Mom did not notice that the polar fleece on top was stamped with "WWJD" until after she bought it. If I notice any of the cats in the facility looking especially contemplative, I'll know why. :)



I am not in need of a whole lot of stuff, but there were a few kitchen gadgets that I needed to replace. Mom and Linda were happy to oblige, although finding a sifter with a turn handle versus the squeeze handle was apparently a worthy challenge (and I am picky about things like that)!



And as a special surprise, Mom gave me this extra plush couch throw, and the cats and I may have quite a few fights over this on chilly evenings:



This evening I'll post Christmas for the facility cats! Right now I need to run into town and feed the ferals.

Fast Food Ferals, Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to the Famous Fast Food Ferals, who are now only a scant less-than-handful number of felines on a property slated for a bulldozer. The only question is, when, and by whom. The grapevine tells me there is still some amount of time, but I am looking to shift them to either an adjacent property, or to my farm. It would be best for them to remain, so when new cats show up, they are neutered or adopted out. If the cats come to my farm, and feeding stops downtown, the problem will start all over again at the local fast food restaurants because no one is keeping an eye on the area.



It is a lonely walk now, with the lumber yard closed. I have to park across the street at the hotel because the parking lot for the lumber yard is no longer plowed. But so far no one bothers us, and my phone number is on the cat shelters, should someone have a concern. Only three cats appear to still live here, and only one, Vannie, is an original from six years ago.

Stay warm, guys. Stay safe. We'll figure out what to do for you.



Post note: Speaking of cats on the farm, I noticed cat tracks and a scratch pile in the front yard last night, so tonight I put out a bowl of cat food. It hadn't been out there ten minutes than this little guy showed up:



I was sitting watching him crunch daintily away, when a very large orange cat stalked up the front steps. The possum stared at him a moment and then wisely backed away. The possum watched awhile from ten feet away, then took refuge in the cat shelter I have on the porch. Mr. Orange ate for about twenty minutes, got spooked, ran off, then returned. He's out there now. I won't try for a photo, because I don't want to scare him away.

He's a very big boy.

Christmas morning, 2007

Last year was quite the kitty Christmas, and this year we hear back on Schubert and Tuck. This is why Christmas 2008 is a very Merry Christmas for me:



Anne and Steve write:

One year ago, on Christmas morning, you brought us Schubert and Tuck. The six-month old brothers spent the week between Christmas and New Years in their safe room, getting used to the idea of living with a big dog, in a house they could call their very own. One year later, they are doing SO well and having such fun racing from one end of the house to the other and getting those deep ear cleanings that only a dog can deliver. Tuck weighs in at 10.5 pounds, with Schubert a bit bigger at 11.5. Tuck is very laid back and easy going; always first at the door to welcome us home, and never shy about throwing himself into the middle of a dad-and-dog game on the living room floor. Schubert is a bit shyer (smarter perhaps!), but definitely not a wall flower. He is the lap cat I always wanted. Between power naps, the two of them pound around the house, ricocheting off furniture and wrestling. Having the two of them is such a good thing! All best wishes to you in the New Year. Thanks for doing what you do! Anne and Steve

Thank you! These are the best Christmas cards ever. :)

Pet Note of the day

Kittens!

Adopter contribution

Alice sends this photo from her sister's hometown paper, The Chadron Record, in Nebraska:

Mothering instincts This chicken has apparently adopted a kitten and its two siblings, but owner Toni McDonough of Whitney says she'd like to find them a better home. McDonough was surprised when she checked in the hen's nesting box for an egg and instead found the three young kittens, particularly since she has never seen a cat around her house. Anyone interested in adopting the kittens can contact her at..."

And, BTW, any one who knows kittens know that A) that's probably a boy kitten and B) he going to grow up to be a total hellion. Look at that face!

Adopter update: Cosmo

Cosmo's mom sends an update:

Cosmo went to the vet for his annual shots. He now weighs 11 pounds and is very healthy. The vet also fell in love with him. They think that he is just so beautiful and his fur is very, very soft. He did very well, considering that he has not been out of the house since you delivered him here in Feb. of 08. He now has 3 playmates and a dog that he likes to rub up against. He also now lets me pick him up for short periods of time. He is my shadow, and very spoiled.

Cosmo was very, very shy when he left here, and I'm lucky his owner hung in there with me, because I hesitated to let him go until he had tamed up a bit more. Many other people would have just picked a kitten out of the paper instead of putting up with my hesitation. But I was wrong and she was right, and Cosmo is one lucky cat!

The inevitable happens....

You knew it was bound to happen. Foster home Cary and John have decided that Hope can't possibly be separated from Simon (or them), and they are going to adopt her.



She has to return here for her spay, but it looks like Hope is a Pennsylvania cat for good!

And Simon gets to keep his little buddy. Let's hope he likes her just as much when she's full grown!

Post-note: It looks like Cary may bring Hope up for Whiskers In Winter, so if you come to visit then, you may get to meet the little princess!

Guess who may have a home?

Emmi may have a home for Christmas! Won't she be happy not to be an "upstairs" cat any longer. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

You know, there are always rescue folk who say "No one could ever take better care of a cat than me." But "care" sometimes means "exclusive attention" and Emmi is one of those really sweet interactive and funny cats who deserves a home where she is someone's one-and-only. Sure, she'll get a secure roof and all the food she wants while here, but there is a better place for her somewhere. My home is not the best home for every homeless cat that comes my way. They all deserve to be someone's special cat.

Hopefully that "somewhere" has arrived for her.