Sad news

Sad news - we found Keith, my lovely plot cat, dead inside a water butt this week. We don't know how or why he climbed in it but once in he must have been unable to get out and he drowned.

I had been looking for him because I hadn't seen him for three days and it was a terrible shock to find him there. I have been making sure that all water butts have a top on, or are emptied and turned upside-down. Easy to be wise after the event, I know.

An old bread crate makes a good cover and will not come off accidentally.

The three Plot Cats, Keith at the front with Wanda and E.T. behind him.

Some people are very brave

I am still quite wary of letting Psycho get too close to me, even though she seems desperate to do so. She has scratched me a few times, and because I am not used to cats and their behaviour, I don't feel very safe around her.

However, one of the plot holders at the allotments does not feel the same way about her.

I had a shock when I looked over to where Psycho was feeding and saw Shirley bending over and stroking her.

Amazingly, Psycho just carried on eating and didn't attack Shirley.

I really will have to overcome my nervousness about touching her. And have a First Aid kit ready for when I do!

Felix's new friend

I was so glad that I had the camera handy today. Felix was fast asleep on the scarecrow and didn't even hear me take the photo.

Waiting for me

The four plot cats come to meet me every morning when I pull up in my car in front of the plot.

Wanda and Psycho have a quick rollover in the road while E.T. and Keith head towards the path.

E.T. comes back to check that Wanda is alright.

On the plot, Wanda decides she will get a better view from on top of my old desk.

I gave her a few treats, she loves them!

Janet

Janet is getting more confident and runs over to me every morning.

She seems to want attention and loves me to stroke her. Janet was such a shy kitten and would run away as soon as people went anywhere near her but she has changed recently. I try picking her up every day but she still isn't too happy about it. She never tries to scratch or bite me though, thank goodness!

Sometimes she lies on her back, purring.

Keith and E.T. like this shelter

I covered a small frame with netting to use as protection from cats on some vegetables. I left it on its side while I got the seed bed ready and when I looked at it again, Keith and E.T. had made themselves at home in it.

The plot cats love to go inside or underneath things that I put down to protect the crops I am trying to grow.

Keith and E.T. loved this bread tray.

Triangle is dead

A very sad day today as Triangle was found dead in a pile of logs. She had been involved in a road accident outside the allotments and had managed to get back inside but then died.

Triangle was the kitten who I found in Felix's cage when we first had him last August. She became the tamest of all our ferals and was my absolute favourite.

We are not sure why she left the allotments unless she was being chased or was frightened of someone. The allotments are set well back from the road and she never went near the fence.

I will really miss her. She used to come to me for a fuss every morning and loved me to pick her up.

Psycho has started jumping up onto the table while I am potting plants.

She seems to want to be as close as possible to me, which is a bit worrying!

She's a real allotment cat

Although Psycho still occasionally swipes at me, she is starting to behave more like a 'normal' cat. I had cats as a child, but never as an adult so my knowledge and experience of them is limited to our allotment ferals.

Psycho follows me everywhere. Sometimes it is impossible to walk down the path because she will fling herself down just in front of me.

I had to laugh today when I saw where she had settled for a sleep - inside a seed tray!

Helpful Psycho

Psycho decided to help me plant some strawberries today. I was just about to dig a hole for one when she plonked herself down and stuck her paw under the covering.

I thought it would be best to wait till she moved before I continued planting.

Wanda and Keith are such lovely cats and really friendly with each other.

E.T. is quite nasty with the other cats. She doesn't seem to like any of them to go close to her.

Wanda is getting friendly

Wanda seems to becoming more friendly since she's been neutered. While I prepare her food she actually rubs against my legs, just like a 'tame' cat would do.

Most people wouldn't be happy to be covered in cat hairs but I think it's fantastic that she trusts me enough to do it.

Welcome back E.T.!

E.T. is back! She suddenly appeared a few days ago and has been back every morning since. She will happily share her food with Keith and Wanda, but none of them will tolerate Psycho coming near them.

Being neutered has not changed Psycho's behaviour for the better!

Still no E.T.

Nobody has seen E.T. since she was returned to us just over a week ago. I am getting quite worried about her now. It could be that she is just keeping out of my way and goes to the plot for food once I have left, but I don't know. She was always the most timid of the cats so maybe the experience of being trapped and then going to the vet has made her worse.

We managed to trap E.T. last Thursday and she was taken to the vet for her op. The poor thing was absolutely terrified in the trap but calmed down slightly when I covered it with a blanket. She came back to us the same afternoon but I haven't seen her since.

So all seven allotment cats are neutered now. It wouldn't have been possible without the help of the North Birmingham Cats Protection and especially Jenny, who is a volunteer for them. Jenny took the cats to the vet and brought them back again afterwards, nothing was too much trouble for her.
It's such a lovely feeling to know that there will be no more unwanted kittens and our allotment cats can enjoy their lives with us.

Three down, one to go

Wanda was caught on Monday and made the trip to the vets for her op. I haven't seen her since she came back, maybe she's keeping out of my way.

That just leaves E.T.
She is the shyest of the Plot Four and I've been a bit worried that getting her into the trap would be difficult. Yesterday I managed to get Keith and Psycho down the other end of my plot, away from E.T. I put her food inside the unset trap and saw her go into it for the first time. At least I know she will go into it now. It's a shame that we couldn't have taken her to the vet yesterday but he was fully booked.

Fingers crossed that she is there today and she goes in the trap.

Psycho

On Thursday I set the trap, hoping to catch Wanda but guess what - Psycho went in straight away before Wanda even had a chance to get near it.

She was taken to the vet to be neutered and came back to us the same day. I didn't see her till the following day and was expecting her to be slightly subdued - no chance! She came running over to me, rubbing herself on everything in her way just as she always does.

That just leaves Wanda and E.T. waiting for their ops, hopefully next week.

New kid on the block

I didn't see Keith at all yesterday after his operation on Tuesday, he must have been hiding somewhere. When I got to my plot this morning I was relieved to see him running towards me as though nothing had happened.

All four cats were on the plot, plus an extra one! I think Wanda is in season because the new one was following her everywhere. The quicker she is taken to the vet for her op, the better. We will try to catch her in the morning.

The cats from the top right -
E.T.

the 'Stranger'

Wanda

Keith

Psycho





The new cat is massive! I have never seen him on the site before, I'm sure he is not a feral cat. He has the most amazing eyes.

Wanda was flirting with him all morning.

Keith goes to the vet

I set the trap which the Cats Protection gave us and managed to catch Keith yesterday. He was used to going inside it because I have been putting food inside it for some time now.

Keith was taken to the vet by our lovely CP volunteer and returned to us later after he had been neutered.

That leaves just three of them to be neutered as soon as we can catch them.

New name for Calico

Calico is one of the cats I feed on my plot - except that for the past few days she has been waiting at the pavilion for me each morning. The three pavilion cats do not like her so instead of feeding the Three first, I drive to my plot with Calico galloping along behind my car.

Once we are at my plot she comes within inches of my legs, rubbing herself on everything in her way (but fortunately not on my legs!) This is a feral cat who has had no contact with people until the past year. One day when I put her food down she scratched my hand, and another time she scratched my leg as I walked past.

The other three Plot Cats are very wary of her.

I have re-named her 'Psycho'!

Another shelter

My son in law made another shelter for outside the pavilion, Felix loves sitting on top of it. 

New shelter, neutering

Wanda seems to like her new shelter, she was inside when I got to the plot yesterday. 

We are going to try to catch Wanda, E.T., Keith and Calico this week so they can be taken to the vet and neutered.  The Cats Protection have lent us a trap, which I have been using (un-set) as a feeding station for a couple of weeks.  They go inside to eat, so hopefully we won't have a problem once it is set.

Once they have been neutered they will be returned to us - fingers crossed that we can catch them all.

Moving up in the world

My son in law has made this shelter for the cats on my plot - isn't it fantastic!

It is going to replace this cardboard one which is disintegrating

I will put the posh new one under the table when I've moved this one.  If I put their food inside it will encourage them to go in it.

Lucky cats!

Friends

All four plot cats were there this morning, hungry as ever.  I think Keith and E.T. must have been sleeping inside one of the shelters because when I called them they came out stretching as though I'd woken them up.

I went back to the plot a few hours later and found Keith and E.T. sitting together so I just had to take a photo.

I think this is the first time I've seen them together like that.