Well, like some of our friends in Australia, South Floridians are in a drought situation. Not as bad, but we have some pretty tight water restrictions this year. I can water my garden between 4-8am and 5-7pm Thursdays and Sundays. Anyhoo, I purchased a little rose bush Yesterday and was in the process of planting it this morning (Yes, I'm up at 5:45am, insane I know), when I realized I needed a bigger shovel. 
So, off I go to this little shed I have outside my house, which is a complete mess. Crap everywhere. I find the shovel, which is under a large pile of garden tools in a heavy bucket. I'm trying to pry out the shovel when, Whoa!
Out pops a tortoise-shell cat like a bat out of H@@l! I fly back and fall on my butt, the cat bolts off and the bucket is about to fall. I grab the bucket to prevent it from crashing down and lo and behold!
Kittens.
The bucket is about to fall on them, so thinking fast, I grab another bucket (I'm a gardener, I have a lot of buckets) and begin loading the little buggers into it without a pause for ooos and awes. As I reach for the last kitten, the bucket comes crashing down, spilling smaller shovels and picks all over where the kittens were.
After taking a few breaths, I assess the situation. 5 kittens, eyes not open yet, that had just been fed. They are a nice size and are fat. We have a pretty serious feral cat population in my neighborhood. My neighbor and I often get traps from Cat Network to trap and fix strays, but it's hard to keep up. Nobody cares except a few dedicated neighbors. I've fixed two on my own money, and the cat network and neighbor have picked up others. But it only takes one tom and one queen to create an endless supply (Cue sad violin music).
I cleaned out the shed a little and arranged the kittens as I found them, in a shallow box. I will come back two hours from when I found them. If they are gone, mama came back and moved them and my neighbor and I will set traps, but my part is for the most part done.
If they are still there, I will take them in and foster them until they are old enough. Because of Lucy, I have all the supplies necessary to raise young kittens. It's just a matter of buying more KMR. Once the kittens are old enough, I'll perhaps work with my Pastor (the man who fostered Lucy) and bring the kittens to church to find them homes. I don't mind this idea, because at least 5 kittens will be spayed or neutered and I'll contribute significantly to reducing the feral population in my area.
Whatever the situation, I will be cleaning up the shed in the next few days. A clean shed has no hiding places and is unattractive to a pregnant queen. I really don't like this rampant breeding. I wish people would fix their pets. It's not hard and not expensive. I also wish people wouldn't feed strays, it only contributes to the problem. If you're going to take the time to feed it, you might as well fix it.
By the way, the rose bush was planted. All in all, it's been an eventful morning. I'll keep you updated in this thread. But I feel good that I didn't kill anything. It was a daring rescue. Cleaning up crushed kittens would not have been fun.
llj
So, off I go to this little shed I have outside my house, which is a complete mess. Crap everywhere. I find the shovel, which is under a large pile of garden tools in a heavy bucket. I'm trying to pry out the shovel when, Whoa!
Out pops a tortoise-shell cat like a bat out of H@@l! I fly back and fall on my butt, the cat bolts off and the bucket is about to fall. I grab the bucket to prevent it from crashing down and lo and behold! Kittens.
The bucket is about to fall on them, so thinking fast, I grab another bucket (I'm a gardener, I have a lot of buckets) and begin loading the little buggers into it without a pause for ooos and awes. As I reach for the last kitten, the bucket comes crashing down, spilling smaller shovels and picks all over where the kittens were.
After taking a few breaths, I assess the situation. 5 kittens, eyes not open yet, that had just been fed. They are a nice size and are fat. We have a pretty serious feral cat population in my neighborhood. My neighbor and I often get traps from Cat Network to trap and fix strays, but it's hard to keep up. Nobody cares except a few dedicated neighbors. I've fixed two on my own money, and the cat network and neighbor have picked up others. But it only takes one tom and one queen to create an endless supply (Cue sad violin music).
I cleaned out the shed a little and arranged the kittens as I found them, in a shallow box. I will come back two hours from when I found them. If they are gone, mama came back and moved them and my neighbor and I will set traps, but my part is for the most part done.
If they are still there, I will take them in and foster them until they are old enough. Because of Lucy, I have all the supplies necessary to raise young kittens. It's just a matter of buying more KMR. Once the kittens are old enough, I'll perhaps work with my Pastor (the man who fostered Lucy) and bring the kittens to church to find them homes. I don't mind this idea, because at least 5 kittens will be spayed or neutered and I'll contribute significantly to reducing the feral population in my area.
Whatever the situation, I will be cleaning up the shed in the next few days. A clean shed has no hiding places and is unattractive to a pregnant queen. I really don't like this rampant breeding. I wish people would fix their pets. It's not hard and not expensive. I also wish people wouldn't feed strays, it only contributes to the problem. If you're going to take the time to feed it, you might as well fix it.
By the way, the rose bush was planted. All in all, it's been an eventful morning. I'll keep you updated in this thread. But I feel good that I didn't kill anything. It was a daring rescue. Cleaning up crushed kittens would not have been fun.
llj
it must be really difficult with the situation you guys have there.
It's nice to hear such positive support. They had a good night last night and are finally eating at the level they're supposed to. I, on the other hand, did not have such a good night and am very tired.
He looks like a giant carrot 
