I have new workout partners. Also, genealogy vs. Jehova's Witnesses.

[digitaldiscipline]

Tentatively named "Kettle" and "Bell." They probably weigh six ounces, each.

They are the youngest of three sets of feral kittens that have popped out this month, and their mother has sequestered them in the garage (since the other two litters are under the front of the house).

There will be pictures when I get them off K's camera. I estimate that they're a month old - awkward, pot-bellied, bat-faced, and blue-eyed.

Despite being the more bold of the two, the white one with spots will be Bell, because the other one is a dark tiger brindle, which is a lot closer to black. Whether this means the actually-black kitten from the middle litter gets named "Pot" remains to be seen, but that pair have thus far gone unnamed.



1st Generatoion (2007):
- Bullseye (brindle female)
- Eyebrows (blue-eyed, white male)

2nd Generation (2008):
- B-2 (brindle female, Bullseye's daughter)
- Skeet (white & spotted male, Bullseye's son)

3rd Generation (2009):
- Rufus (black female, Bullseye's granddaughter)
- Mini-Skeet (white & spotted male, Bullseye's 2nd litter)
- B-3 (brindle female, Bullseye's 2nd litter)

4th Generation (2010):
- Before (B-4), During, and After (Bullseye's 3rd litter - light, medium, and dark brindle, respectively)
- Unnamed Black & brindle (Rufus' 1st litter, Bullseye's great-grandchildren)
- Kettle and Bell (B-2's 1st litter, Bullseye's grandchildren)

The father of record for, at least, Bullseye and probably some of the subsequent offspring, is a brindle tomcat from a couple blocks away. There is also a stocky black male with white feet of unknown origin that shows up occasionally and generally gets growled at by all comers. Eyebrows is, apparently, bisexual, since he was trying to breed Skeet/Mini-skeet last year (my guess is he figured out what he should be doing and knocked up B-2, though it's possible they're one of the Skeets' progeny).

Hereditary traits seem to be boldness in the brindles (Bullseye can be picked up and more or less demands head rubs), skittishness in the blacks (Rufus' mother was "Skitz," and they both look and act very wary, and aren't shy about giving a big, pink-mouthed hiss at any gesture in their direction), and mellowness in the whites with brindle spots (both Skeets, though Bell is a fairly aggressive and hissy little thing, considering it could be stuffed in a coffee cup with room to spare).

This last bit, though a few generations previous (ca. 2nd generation), was my evidence of evolution to finally, and politely, convince the Jehova's Witnesses that they're not going to talk me into believing that their deity of choice was going to carry any weight with me.


You can't argue with kittens, even if you're an invisible sky wizard. Ceiling & Basement Cat, and the FSM - now there's a holy trinity a guy can believe in.

Comments

[meiow.livejournal.com]

When you say "brindle", are you referring to a tortoiseshell? I love torties. :)

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Various shades of swirly brown.

I originally wanted to name Bullseye "Cockroach," because in addition to the concentric rings on her side, the markings on her forehead look like La Cucaracha.

[meiow.livejournal.com]

So, now that you've run the experiment for a few generations, are you going to get them all fixed? :)

[etcet.livejournal.com]

assuming we can find several hundred dollars and some have-a-heart traps. they don't do free spay/neuter of strays, it's about $40 a pop.

[meiow.livejournal.com]

Wow - $40 is really cheap! You can't get it done for less than about $80 around here.

I wish we were closer; we've got two traps and I'd give you all the change in my piggy bank (which would probably get a few of 'em fixed, at least). All of my kitties were feral.

Now, there's probably some organizations in your area that would loan you a trap or two, and might chip in on the cost; we've got several around here, and I can only imagine you'd have more in your more metropolitan area.

I can't wait to see the pictures! :) YAY kittens!

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

what? no piccies?

we don't have feral cats here anymore. OTHER ferals have taken care of that.

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[etcet.livejournal.com]

Reading is SRS BZNS: "There will be pictures when I get them off K's camera."

*prod*

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

yes, that was my prod too. hankering for cute pictures :)

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[etcet.livejournal.com]

see also: shit what we i can't do at our respective offices. heh.

[i-renovated.livejournal.com]

Pimp...

[etcet.livejournal.com]

If i was a cat pimp, I'd have a lot more cash. or at least canned tuna.

[i-renovated.livejournal.com]

Last I checked, king of the cat house is bestowed the title "Pimp". ^.^

[ekeppich.livejournal.com]

Sweet. Photos please.

[ginnyland.livejournal.com]

Hehe workout partners. Awesome names by the way! Maybe they'll even come out to watch and give you tips one day. Or, for cool down stuff, you can pick them up and give em some lovins! :D

[etcet.livejournal.com]

they decided to hide in the corner, behind one of my speakers, and the plywood i use for storm shutters, today, so i only saw bell for a second when i first walked in.

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

awww...must be fun to see so many kittens running around.