FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 12

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - (very out of date) Who's Who *pics*

This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share, usually about our horses, sometimes about our dogs, gardens and other stuff we do. :~)

I have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will ping everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list.

So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[FrogInABlender]

.... how early would kittens conceivably go through puberty?...

I think you're safe until around 6 months old, but I wasn't sure so I went to Ask.com and this is what they say...

Male cats will be able to sire kittens when they are about 5 months of age... Female cats generally are sexually mature when they reach at least 80% of their adult weight. The timing of heat in a female cat is also dependent on the amount of daylight. Thus a female cat may have her first estrus anytime between 5 and 12 months of age. Feral (free-roaming) cats may reach sexual maturity earlier than indoor cats.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I brought Susie down here today, and Kristy brought the kittens. Check out Susie’s intensity:)

http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q281/freeper_photo/?action=view&current=100_2175.flv

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah - I can see why you’d be afraid to take one. I’d like to think she’d settle down in time but it would be a risky endeavor to keep it from becoming a bad scene.

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks... I think they're no more the 4 months. But it's all estimated and that puts us near the edge of the margin of error.

And... floating around in the back of my head is that these kittens are Wicket's size, but they're supposed to be from the younger and scrawnier litter. I don't know if you remember, but the kitten Barkley killed, I thought was a lot bigger than the rest of the litter, and now I'm not so sure that this momma didn't steal a few of her sister's kittens. Remember the first momma had them up on top of that cabinet, and maybe a few fell off and were scooped up by this other momma, especially now that we know she's a super mom. Anyway, the only point in all that is they might be 5 months old.

[AnAmericanMother]

VERY intent.

At least she's not pawing at the crate trying to get in, like my Labs do with caged pigeons or ducks . . .

My Siamese persists in teasing our oldest Lab, she will hide under the furniture and dash her paws out or stick her head out and pull it quickly back in. She's playing with fire, because occasionally Shelley's ears go right hard forward and she locks on. But Nifi is still relying on the whipping that my late lamented 14 pound male attack Siamese gave to Shelley 7 years ago . . . . when Shelley is on the bed with her head in my lap and the cat jumps up, she will turn her head all the way around rather than make eye contact with the cat. But one of these days she may forget herself if the cat keeps teasing her . . . .

[FrogInABlender]

Yeah, you got a valid concern there about who’s kittens they really are and how old they are. A while back my BIL had a bunch of related cats that were having litters of kittens all the time, and all their kittens ended up in one big batch and the mothers would just take time about going in and nursing them.

So you might do well to go ahead and neuter Brother and let him back out. That’ll be the cheapest way out too. Neuters are cheaper than spays.

[FrogInABlender]

WOOOOOOOOW, talk about intense stares! I'll bet if you looked at her eyes right then they'd be totally black. If that crate wasn't there, those kittens would be GONE!

(I don't know how I managed to sneak a peek at this video past the server's security this time but I did and I was tickled. That'll probably be it for today though.)

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Well, pawing at the crate was what I was trying to catch. She was doing that at first, and the kitties where hissing and growling:) Now it’s just a staring contest.

[HaveFaith]

I’ve had 2 mamas and 2 litters in the same box before and they all nursed both mamas and I’ve switched some before because one mama had too many and the other not enough (if that’s possible). My big 4 month old kitten will go lay down with the babies and pretend he’s one of them for some reason. It looks funny.
I can see why you are worn out, but I don’t think it will last much longer. They surely will have another month before a pregnancy could be a possiblity. Surely, she would be yowling like they do if she were in heat. That is hard to sleep thru, too.

[HaveFaith]

There are some similarities in the breeds looks. The ears are unmistakably DINGO.
She is very sharp looking. Talullah is almost 4 months. I don't know how to train her to work, but she loves to dart behind the horses and nip their heels. They DON'T love it. I don't know how she has kept from getting kicked already. I would like to be able to say, “Talullah, go get Faith”. I don't see that happening. She is digging up my potted plants still. Hal says, “She's such a good dog” in his best sarcasm!

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks all.... Well, I’ll have another night of it regardless, I need to figure finances and it’s too late in the day now anyway to drop them at the Low Cost Clinic. We’ll just see how it goes. I think I’ll move them to the back bedroom though, so I can close the door and not hear it.

And maybe moving to the back room will throw momma off since it’s at the other end of the house (doubt it)

The good news is it’s a lot cheaper at the clinic if they are under 5 months.
I was trying to stop it before so they’d each think the other had gone away, but now I just want to sleep through it.

Rosie, I meant to ping you to the above update too. :~)

Maybe I’ll be better after a nap.

[HaveFaith]

She looks serious to me! I agree with you that she is not copatable with kittens!

[FrogInABlender]

Try putting moth balls in your potted plants. I’ve put them in my flower beds before to keep the cats from using them as a litter box. They stink, but it works.

[FrogInABlender]

The back bedroom sounds like a great idea to me!

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah - at least for the night. I mean, I want them out here by day, so they’re immersed in this environment with me and the dogs and get used to everything... but for night time... I think pick up the whole show and put it in the back.

[Duchess47]

“I’m half tempted to get them fixed now, let them recover a few days, and turn them back out with their mother. At least the male (the tortie is adjusting better). It’d be more wild cats around, but I could get back to normalcy. Maybe momma would be happy if she got one back and she’d stop yowling all night. It’s just money I’d hoped would be spent out of their new owner’s wallet, I still haven’t had Wicket spayed, after all, that was going to be done in the next week or two on the next paycheck. “

Yes, do that - have them fixed and turn them loose with mom. PM me.

[Duchess47]

Zuni has that "wild dog" smile that coyotes or foxes give that mean they are pretty close to biting. Sort of like this.

She seemed to be born knowing how to heel because I didn't teach her that but when she was almost one, I set her on a wild horse that was at my fence line flirting with my mares. He wasn't the least afraid of me and my yelling. I told her and Buddy (her sire) who was about three to "go to it" - Buddy looked at me like WHAT - Dad will kill me for chasing a horse. Zuni said, will do and took off. She was nipping his rear legs and he was circling trying to kill her. I finally had to call her off 'cause Buddy wouldn't help and the horse was determined to kill her.

She is easily the smartest dog I've ever owned. I spent one afternoon when she was a pup teaching her to come, sit, stay and heel. That's all it ever took - like she could read my mind.

[Duchess47]

Shoot, I’m sorry to hear that. I got that lecture several years ago, including don’t fall down the stairs :) Gives you pause doesn’t it? Probably should listen to the doc unless you want to take a chance on a wheelchair.

[Duchess47]

A hundred years ago I used to work for Siliconix in Sunnyvale - back when we were programing computers with paper tape. My old stomping grounds so to speak.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, we’ve moved them into the bedroom for the night so we can get some rest. Hopefully mom will be thrown off and won’t hear them there, or vice versa.

We’ve decided to wait till Thursday to take them in... that’s payday for us. Hopefully we can come up with a routine that keeps us all alive till then and beyond. :~)