The cats are in my daughter's room and she has a loft bed and underneath the bed she has a bunch of art supplies. She surrounded the bed with tall cardboard to keep the cats out of there. I didn't think that would do anything, but I thought we'd just keep the mama contained. I just walked by the room and heard noise. It was the mama fighting through the crack in the carboard to hide under daughter's bed. The kittens are huddled together at the back and seem content. I counted 5 of them, the right number. The kittens are interested in the kitten food. I think they are attracted to the smell. I read that when people want to encourage weaning they mix formula and kitten food. I am going to try just putting a little bowl of kitchen formula out for them and we'll see what happens. If they are almost old enough for kitten food mixed with formula then they are probably old enough to drink out of a bowl.

Yes. It is weird though, she seems to prefer to find someplace to lay with both her back and her belly up against something. So, it makes it hard for the kittens to nurse. But if I pull the thing against her belly away, she isn't bothered when more kittens come in to drink. But she doesn't exactly help them. Like she doesn't lift her back leg to let them under her, and as you can see she isn't really laying on her side. But, the kittens were definitely getting milk. In the group photo we'd taken one of the orange kittens out because he was hogging access to the nipples and not drinking. I don't think he was being territorial I think he fell asleep. So, that is something we are going to need to monitor, making sure all the kittens have access to milk.

There are three orange and two gray tabbies. The light orange seems to love to purr. In the gray tabbies, one has a white stripe on the nose. I haven't figured out how to tell the other two orange ones apart yet. The really large box that the automatic litter box came in works really well as a kittening box. Particularly for a feral momma. I have elbow length silicon oven mitts and we started out using those to get a kitten. But it isn't necessary. Today we will weigh the kittens and I'll call the vet and we'll schedule the needed vet visits. On the drive home, DD had been quite concerned about the kittens on the drive home. One had died, so that seemed reasonable. Then one would go to sleep and she'd worry it died. Fortunately, the weather is only mildly warm right now because my car's AC isn't blowing very cold. But it was a tad warm in the car on the drive home. Fine for us, but I was worried about the kittens. Everyone seemed to perk up when we got them into the house. I am now eagerly awaiting DD waking up so I can pet some kitties. ETA: The gray tabby in her arms is going to be called Batman. Her dad and I lobbied for Batcat. We used to have a hen called Bathen. But, no, she wanted Batman even if it is a girl.

Photos

Well, we have them home. We had just gotten the minimum necessary for them setup and then we heard that the mom was AWOL and one of the kittens had died. That was something I was unprepared for. So I called the vet and she said kitten formula would be fine. So, we ran to the feed store to get the formula and on the way over to the pickup the kittens we got a call that the mom was found and captured. The mom was in a have-a-heart trap and we put the kittens in with her and most of them happily nursed. She was even purring. She had been very agitated on the way home. I can't say I blame her. Where she gave birth must have been stressful too. So, I am hoping that is why she was a bad mom. When moving her to the kittening box, she went crazy and wanted to hide. I eventually got her into the kittening box and we tossed the kittens in too and closed the flaps. We let everyone calm down a bit. Momma was in the far back behind the litter tray. So, I pulled that forward a bit. Then we grabbed the kittens and tried to formula feed and cuddled with them. One was quite eager for formula. The momma seems to tolerate the kittens but doesn't seem concerned when one is crying and not drinking. She does let them drink though. I will add photos tomorrow. One thing funny. The family has a little girl who was eagerly handing the kittens over to us. The little girl had gotten to like the kittens and was sad that they were leaving. She knows and likes my daughter so that made it a little better. Then she was told that they were getting chicks. So, when we arrived she was eagerly handing the kittens over.

The children where they are born have already been handling them, so we might be good. Also, we'll have the power of an eager 11-year-old girl on our side. About 4 years ago DH and DD came home with a kitten. Some irresponsible friends of ours had a cat that had kittens. Supposedly they were still kittens. Turns out it was an adult cat that was just really small and not very friendly. Having the adult that dislikes cats and a child that loves all cats pick out the cat was a bad idea. We live in a pier-and-beam house and DH was using a whole in the floor to work under the house and the cat escaped. I expect because she'd loved on it too much. Some neighbors ended up adopting it. That cat had been fully grown and already pretty feral.

Ok, I just filled out the form for the local Humane Society. They said Cats and Dogs but the form seemed to be about fostering dogs. But they had lots of free-form text boxes so I used the last one to say what I was wanting to do. Like you said, since I'm volunteering and I have the pets in mind maybe it will go smoothly. I'd heard bad things about them, but that was years ago. I had a couple of people tell me that they were turned down from adopting because they hadn't adopted an animal in years. The reason they hadn't adopted in years was because their pet died of old age. But, I guess that won't really effect me. ETA: My hope is that these kittens will turn out extremely friendly and human-oriented and therefore won't have a problem finding a forever home and keeping it. We even have neighbors (children and adults) lined up to come cuddle the kittens.

Bait animals?!? That is horrible! My worst worry was the people not being prepared. I hope its not too late. Well, we can do our best and if they are feral already we can try again.

Our good friends live in a dump-zone for pets. They live off the first dirt road off a major road exiting a major suburb. The best cat I ever had was born and raised in the bedroom of a 11-year-old girl who socialized and handled them often. DD aged 11 has wanted a cat and our jealous dog died recently. So we told our friends to keep an eye out for a pregnant cat. They didn't spot her when she was pregnant, but she has given birth and the kittens are maybe 3-4 weeks old. We'll be moving the whole family over here when the mama can be nabbed and we have a kittening box prepared for them. Or are they too old for that now? I've had several cats throughout my life, and I know cats. Never had a kitten family though, so kittens are new. My main question is about the fostering. We will want to adopt out the kittens that we aren't keeping. How is best to go about doing that? I've sometimes seen the foster events at Petsmarts where the foster parents bring cat and dogs. Can we be a part of that somehow? Or do we have to be members of some group. I have vague memories that it is better to charge something rather than just giving away so that the people are serious. I guess we could charge whatever the vaccines cost. I've never had a pet that could reproduce. Would it be helpful to go to the shelter and talk to them? I've stressed the socializing aspect to DD and she even had the idea of setting up a booth in a park with a sign, "Free Kitten Cuddles" I told her that they might run away. But I guess those foster events are kind of similar. We are also getting new cat supplies. We were a one pet (dog) family for 10-years so my cat supplies disappeared. The water fountains are so much nicer now! We have a metal one arriving today. Oh, how I love and hate Amazon.

Another idea. If the main problem is mismatch between container and lids, maybe get a set of these. https://www.amazon.com/JAMGOZOO-Silicone-Stretch-Lids-Pack/dp/B09WV2HHRT/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=silicone+stretch+lids&qid=1653258479&sprefix=silicon+stretch%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-12 I bought a three pack of similar lids from BB&B. Only thing I don't like about them is that the largest doesn't fit on my largest corning ware bowl, but it almost does so I keep thinking it should. But, I think mine are smaller than the Amazon set.

I will not microwave plastic, and I don't want to change containers, so I insisted on glass. I've three of these sets, and I have a deep drawer in the kitchen for them. They marginally stack and then the lids are off to the side. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GHJFRRB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Yes! I simultaneously listened to the Great Courses lecture series on it, and an audiobook on it. There are a couple of options for the audiobook. I *think* I ended up with the Audible version because the translation sounded better. I'd also looked into Librovox. The parts I missed in the audiobook, I picked up in the lecture series. I'd go back and forth keeping in around the same part of the book in both. After I finished, my brain needed some Regency romances. But it was interesting and worthwhile.

The overwhelmingly large yarn store in my town is that. Although they were able to make money because they bought the really large downtown building for much cheaper than a house. This was back when the town was still dying. It would be much harder to do now.

This is something that people don't talk about. I get why, since when breastfeeding isn't going well, it is the opposite and very hard. So, They don't want moms going in thinking it is easy, and then quitting when it isn't. But, when it was going well, it was so much easier than dealing with formula and the quantity of bottles, and getting the formula the right temp. Well, maybe it is that the work involved in using formula isn't discussed.

Mine didn't until I bought ones with zippers. Best of both of the other options. I'd originally bought some satin pillowcases because it is supposed to be good for hair, and they just came with zippers. I think the difference in the pillows that escape is the slickness of the outside of the pillow. I always have hypo-allergic protectors and those tend to be slick. It is the pillow shams that I hate. That edging in uncomfortable.

She can't be that stupid. Really. If she is, lack of a high school diploma doesn't explain it. I think it is more that she has the idea that you don't have to follow through when you make a promise.

The problem is the inherent conflict between Not Too Many People and Have Public Transportation. Public Transportation needs population density to be worthwhile. There are a few exceptions like if you near are something like the VA hospital where they will keep the line even if it isn't profitable.

That is pretty close to the town I live in now. I've estimated that I'm at most two-degrees of separation from everyone in town, and we've only lived here 6? years. Population is about 4K. We live in town but on the edge. It is about a 4-block walk to the three-ish block downtown. It has a dentist, a really awesome family doc who is fine with spreading out vaccines, an old nice pharmacy, auto parts store, real estate agent, lawyer, art studio selling paintings, an amazing large overwhelming yarn store, a store for making yarn, several antique and country boutique clothing stores and several nice restaurants. Oh and a bakery or two. DD used to attend a dance studio in downtown but they moved out of 'downtown'. The dry cleaner closed up due to lockdown. On the walk to downtown we pass an independent ice cream place that is better than Blue Bell, and I've never said that before. There is also a feed/hardware store and a playground park on one side of downtown and a splash pad park a couple of blocks down from the other side. There was a dance hall until recently, but that is a fine arts locations for plays/performances now. There is two big festivals every year with parades and also a Halloween thing downtown. Also a monthly farmers market held in an historic pavilion next to the park. The people are also really nice and welcoming. I had been quite worried about this since my mom had a very bad experience in a similar town when she first married. It might have been that the town had been dying and the old-timers realized it. So, they welcomed the newcomers, and that started a positive cycle. We bought the house next to us to rent out from an old lady who left lots of stuff and we were finding good homes for the stuff. We went to the Halloween thing and asked a family we know if they'd like the jars. They did and came by later to pick them up. As we were leaving the festival I told DH had great it was that we found a nice family that wanted them. He said, "They were just the first people we ran into, but it would have been easy to find a nice family that wanted them." I had to agree. I buy dog food from the feed store. I never even see the dog food. I walk in and say I want a big bag of the Lamb and Rice dog food. That brand has one of those cards where your 12th one is free. They get out my card without my giving them my name and mark the card. I pay for it. Someone takes the dog food to the trunk of my car without my saying which one it is. I come home and ask DH to take the dog food inside and DD takes care of the feeding. I almost forgot, the town has a junior college and they do nifty day camps for kids on things like electronics. ETA: It is also very homeschool friendly with several co-ops to choose from.

We are putting beadboard on the ceiling for our addition. We is in airquotes because DH is doing all the work. The huge advantage is that it is much easier to install and have it look nice than drywall.

Funny, I think that is what I picked out also. We also have gas and it drives me bat-poo-crazy that we can't use the gas furnace when the electric is out because it can't start. So, I've gone back and forth on whether I want battery backups or a flow-through backup circuit or just a normal one (all grid-tied though).

Yes, and the cost doubles. Literally. That is major money. DH is extremely handy and we have a buddy who is a Electrician who will work with DH. But, I am the driving force on this, so I do equipment selection and permit-getting - theoretically.

We are fortunate in that we are on the same line as the police station and the fire station which means we get priority repairs. Also we are in an electric co-op which means for many years we paid much more, but also meant we weren't effected by the Snow-pocalypse in Texas. So, I'm not expecting too much but increased bills. I really really need to get in gear and complete that 40 page application for solar power permit.

You brought back some ugly memories. I bought a starter home made in the mid-70's. In the dining room as wainscoting there was wheat-textured wallpaper installed on non-primered drywall. So, peeling it peeled some of the drywall. Previous owner had painted the wallpaper baby-blue. Baby-Blue and a wheat texture do NOT go good together. There had also been an accent wall which was originally landscape mural wallpaper and the wall was mangled in some way. That wall I covered with upholstered fabric and it looked awesome.

My dad used to be really into Court TV and both my parents like the ones with crime re-enactments like that one that looks for escaped bad guys. They also used to really like the Cops shows. The OJ trial about the theft was fascinating because everything was on video. It was like a crime re-enactment only with the real people. There was videos of OJ and his posse walking down the hotel hallway Kill Bill-style. There was video of the crime. There was video of the cops and the crime scene people, and video of the camera being discovered. I remember one part I reacted "No one would really say that! ... Oh, yeah, I guess they really did" Years ago, pre-CourtTV, Dad was on a jury in a rape trial. There was an old couple watching that seemed to have to have no relationship to anyone. Dad talked to them after the trial. They were retired and this was what they did for entertainment. They said it was much better than TV. Dad asked if they usually agreed with the jury verdicts. They said almost always, unless they got to see things that the jury didn't.

I am starting to wonder if the result wasn't what was intended. My heart rejects that as evil, but my head says only someone dumber than a rock wouldn't have seen that leading to food shortages. If farmers could grow as much food organically as non, then they would. It would be cheaper if they didn't have to buy the chemicals. The problem with organic is that the yield drops dramatically.