Friday, July 22, 2016

Fill-Ins and Feral Cats

It's always good to wake up and realize that it's Friday. It's even better when that means it's time for the fun Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by the always wonderful 15andmeowing and McGuffy's Reader.

This week's fill-ins are:
  1. I wish I could afford to hire someone to _________.
  2. Zucchini _________.
  3. One summertime memory I recall is _________.
  4. This summer, _________.
I really liked these when I first read them, and I really wanted to do them proud. I don't know how much success I achieved in that arena, but here are my fill-ins nonetheless:
  1. I wish I could afford to hire someone to be my tech support. (Seriously. Being my tech support would be a full-time job. Help wanted.)
  2. Zucchini bread is delicious with cream cheese icing on top. (My mom makes the best zucchini bread. But, she makes even better cream cheese icing for it. I could make myself sick eating that icing itself.)
  3. One summertime memory I recall is my parents taking my sister and me to the grassy hill across the street so that we could roll down it over and over and over again. (One of my childhood homes had a big hill right across from it. I remember going out there on summer nights, especially if our air conditioning was broken and it was cooler outside. My sister and I would run up the hill only to roll right back down, over and over again. I remember thinking that was so much fun. At the same time, I remember often feeling nauseous from all the rolling. It also seems pretty dangerous, in hindsight. I guess entertainment was different back then.) 
  4. This summer, one of the neighborhood feral cats has turned my back patio into his home. (I'm totally okay with this. I give him fresh food and water at least once a day. I also just got my hands on an outdoor children's playhouse that I'm going to turn into a little shelter for him. Some days he comes and goes, and other days he hangs around for hours at a time. I call the little guy Hicks, and although he still won't let me get close enough to pet him, he and I have made a lot of progress over time. As a side note, I do know it's a male, as his neuter status is plain as day. That being said, I hope to trap him and have him neutered down the line.)
Speaking of shy and sly kitties, Eddy's attempted photo shoot from this week was a bit of a bust. She didn't want to be in any pictures, and only managed to make a rather pathetic appearance, and only with some coaxing from big brother Evan.



Have a fantastic Friday, furiends!


***
Our Tip of the Day:
For today, I'll revisit an older tip topic, and that is summer care of feral or other outdoor cats. Especially in extreme heat, it is always beneficial to leave out fresh water for the cats outdoors, and to refill the water bowls with fresh, cold water as often as possible. Food is of course also important for these cats, but it's also important to remember that, if left out for too long in extreme heat, food can spoil and potentially make a kitty sick. This may be most likely with moist food, but regardless of the type, try to swap out old food with fresh food at a reasonable frequency. Of course, offering areas of shade can help keep feral or other outdoor kitties cool in the summer heat. Whether it be a specially built shelter or even just a chair, if you can offer the kitty an area of shade, it can allow them somewhere cool to spend the day out of the direct sun. And, as with all furbabies, be sure to keep an eye out for heat stroke in any outdoor kitties. If you see signs of heat exhaustion or stroke, such as lethargy or collapse, seek veterinary assistance.

21 comments:

Mark's Mews (Marley, Lori, Loki, and Binq) said...

Loved the fill-ins! Especially #4...

Marg said...

Some days we all just don't feel like doing photo shoots. I like that picture with you and your brother. You all have a great day.

My Mind's Eye said...

Morning all.
We love your fill ins. Ahhhh yes Mom had forgotten about rolling down grassy hills....
Hugs
Madi your bfff

pilch92 said...

Excellent answers!! I am so glad you are taking care of a feral and after reading the tips, I can see you know what you are doing. I know most shelters will loan you a trap, they just have you leave a deposit until they get it back. If you are only feeding one, you could get a pill from the vet for fleas ( I forget what it is called), but you could crush it and mix it with the food then when you do trap, you won't have to worry about filling your car up with fleas.
I want to change my answer to tech support, I need that more than a driver :)
The bread with the icing sounds amazing. And rolling down a hill is fun for kids, not so much for adults.
Cute photos even if she wasn't that cooperative. Have a great weekend.

Stacy Uncorked said...

Tech support would absolutely be welcome! Technology is supposed to make life easier, but makes it more difficult more often than not. :)

Oh!! How could I forget zucchini bread with cream cheese frosting?! I love that!! So I guess I'm not a hater of zucchini after all... ;)

I love that you and your sister rolled down a grassy hill a lot - that was one of mine and my siblings' favorite past times, too! It really was a different world back then, wasn't it?

How cool you snagged an outdoor child's playhouse you'll be making use of as a shelter for Hicks - I bet he's going to appreciate that! The hubby just took the two feral cats we were able to coax inside to the vet to have them spayed - two sisters who are so very affectionate that were living under the porch. There's one other feral cat (a boy) that comes around when the hubby is hanging out in the garage with the garage door open that we make sure we give food and water to, and he seems to be warming up - even let the hubby pet him last week, which is highly unusual since he usually keeps just out of reach of any contact. :) We dubbed him 5 O'Clock Charlie since he always showed up each day around 5 O'Clock. :)

Good advice for the care of feral cats! That's something my aunt has said, too - she's got about 5 feral cats living on her side porch. :)

Those are cute kitty pictures, even if one wasn't cooperating! ;)

Kitties Blue said...

I always put ice cubes in the outside water. It keeps it cool longer. Good luck getting close to Hicks and catching him for that all important snip surgery. I love zucchini bread, but I have never had it iced. That sounds delicious. Sorry for not being around much. With the blogoversary and now all these wedding preparations, I have not had much time to visit. Hugs, Janet

Josie Two Shoes said...

That zucchini bread sounds awesome! Yes, pleasure was a much simpler affair when we were young, and I think better too. We didn't need anything but fresh air and imagination to keep us occupied all summer long! Blessings to you for caring for the feral kitty, I bet in time you'll win him over!

Seville at Nerissa's Life said...

That's what I would wish for, too! IT Support. Well... BETTER IT Support. Peep #1 is cheap and all, AND IT SHOWS. MOUSES!

Purrs,
Seville

Seville at Nerissa's Life said...

That's what I would wish for, too! IT Support. Well... BETTER IT Support. Peep #1 is cheap and all, AND IT SHOWS. MOUSES!

Purrs,
Seville

Sketching with Dogs said...

I had to laugh at your request to hire tech support, I feel your pain. My poor sons are my unpaid tech support.
Thank you for your kind words for Dip.
Elliot x

Colehaus Cats said...

Sometimes we think the real reason we are so many cats around here is so our Mom will always have someone to take a photo of. MOL!

Purrseiodn said...

LOL, perhaps you and my sister could share the tech support guy! I've never known anyone to have more computer woes than she does!... Do you happen to have the recipes for that bread & icing?

Anonymous said...

Aaaaaaaw Hicks sounds great. We luvved da neuter status line. MOL

Luv ya'

Dezi and Raena

The Swiss Cats said...

Great fill-ins, especially #4 ! Purrs

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

My mum says she remembers as a child having roly poly races down a hill with her brother. She said on a steep hill you could get up quite a speed.

Suzanne McClendon said...

That hill rolling game sounds like so much fun! I know I would have enjoyed that, too. :)

We are blessed to have our own personal tech support. Unfortunately, he lives 7000+ miles away right now. He is our Marine son. :) He has been a whiz with computers since he was a toddler. He could do things on the computer at age three that we didn't even know were possible!

Changing the water often is very important for mosquito control, too. Mosquitoes are bad news for every body, furry or human.

Have a great weekend!

The Island Cats said...

Great fill in answers! The mom would love to hire her own tech support too. Dealing with wnything computer related or stuff about her blog makes her nervous. We're glad you're taking care of Hicks. We hope you can get him neutered.

Melissa, Mudpie and Angel Truffles (Mochas, Mysteries and Meows) said...

Hicks is so lucky to have you looking out for him!

David E. McClendon, Sr. said...

Our Marine is our tech support. It is a good thing he doesn't charge us because we would be much broker than we are now. The bread sounds good, too.

meowmeowmans said...

That hill rolling memory sounds like a lot of fun. My favorite summer memory was exploring the tidal pools at the rocky beach with my family, especially my dad. Thank you for taking care of Hicks!

Anonymous said...

I loved rolling down hills when I was a little kid! Fun was simple then. *sigh*

I really would love that recipe for zucchini bread with icing. Oh my gosh. YUM.

Bless little Hicks' heart, and yours. I look forward to hearing more about him. And i am happy to hear that you have long-term plans for him, including surgery and a shelter. Keep that water coming. It is so hot this year. Thank you.

Hugs. Annie at ~McGuffy's Reader~