Nesting Boxes, Birthing Pods & Kitten Houses
Kittens Galore
Before we made the difficult decision to sterilise our colony, both we and the Mum's were blessed with lots of beautiful kittens to take care of.
Not wanting the Mum's or babies to have a difficult life in the bush, we built them countless houses to choose from, as we were inspired, at varying distances from us, and we were overjoyed when some of the cats took up residence!
Our selection of nesting boxes, birthing pods and kitten houses are as follows:
1. Brownie's nesting box in the cat house;
2. Brownie's kitten house;
3. Brownie's camouflage pop up tent for her 1 kitten from her second litter, plus a kitten she adopted;
4. A converted storage box for anyone who wanted it;
5. A hidden space in the workshop;
6. The makeshift deckchair house we built around Trinity for her kittens;
7. The catio.
The 3 Types of Cats Who Live With Us
We have three types of cats who live with us:
1. Our cats - The cats we lovingly refer to as our cats are those we have known since birth or since being young kittens. Our cats are used to us, enjoy being around us and being touched and choose to live with us.
2. The cautious cats - These are the cats who come close but not too close, who sometimes allow us to touch them, who live in our spaces and who likely would become tame over time.
3. The ferals - The ferals are the cats who are understandably scared of people and who we can't touch or get close to. They come for food, they frequent our spaces and they have their babies in the bush.
Brownie's Nesting Box In The Cat House
Brownie was the first cat who we knew had given birth and were able to share the joy with, she is one of our original females, together with Blackie, Kittyji, Slinky & Gandalf.
Knowing she was due to give birth any day, we made her a snuggy nesting box in the cat house and were so happy when she chose it for herself.
As the kittens began to move around, we reinforced it to keep everyone together and the space grew to accommodate them as the family grew.
Brownie's Kitten House
Once Brownie's kittens were moving around, they needed more space, and we decided to built another contained space for them so they could move around and stretch their legs.
The challenge was keeping the kittens in whilst letting Brownie come in and go out freely and we achieved this with some plastic that the kittens couldn't climb and steps for Brownie from the outside.
We just felt that it was safer to have everyone together because we didn't want them wandering too far, getting close to the road or falling into the pool, so a small safe space seemed the best option.
Brownie's Camouflage Pop Up Tent
Brownie had her second litter a few months later in the catio, giving birth to only one baby we called BB, which is short for Brownie's Baby.
Brownie moved out of the catio with BB because one of her daughters from her first litter, Trinity, gave birth there next, and this is why we set up the camo pop up tent which she used and enjoyed!
Several days later, Trinity, who had given birth to 4 kittens, took a baby she found, bringing the total to 5, but after a few days, we noticed that Brownie had taken her in and brought her up with BB and we called her Sweet Pea.
A Coverted Storage Box
At the same time as putting up the camouflage pop up tent, which wasn't very durable and had a limited life span, we also put up a converted storage box to whoever wanted it.
It had a wooden floor which we covered with rugs and blankets and Trinity's kittens stayed in it for a while, with Feisty's kittens being more wild.
Now, it's just an extra space and a free for all as it's nice for the cats to have a choice of spaces.
A Hidden Space in The Workshop
Next to give birth was Trinity's sister Feisty, who also gave birth in the catio, also to 4 babies, after Trinity had moved out with her 4.
As soon as Feisty had rested and was able to move, she moved the kittens to the workshop, to the same space as Trinity, under some planks of wood.
We then created a nice space within that space, which they loved as they were able to hide underneath or come out to sit on the top and the mommas also had a nice basket to relax in and keep watch.
The Deckchair House
Trinity had her second litter cat house also but it was very hot as it was the peak of summer and after a couple of days, she moved outside, on the cool grass, next to the catio.
When the kittens started to move, we felt the need to create a safe space as they were very close to the pool and we didn't want any accidents, so we built a house out of deckchairs around them.
Also, some of the nights were cool with occasional rain, so we needed to waterproof it, although this made Trinity feel uncomfortable so she moved them, and then returned when she felt safe.
The Catio
The catio is everyone's favourite house and Brownie, Trinity and Feisty gave birth and mostly raised them there.
The catio is a protected space with safe access to the house, above the counter and away from the dogs, it is attached to the window and the cats can come and go freely from the outside.
It also has an outside space and is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. When we had small kittens there, we contained them with some plastic which they can't climb, until they needed more space to move around, when they were then able to come and go freely via the ramp.
We Love Our Cats!!!
As you can see, we love our cats and kittens and do everything we can to keep them warm, safe and protected.
Our next project is to build a proper space, with both an outside and inside area, which they can come and go freely from, where I can sit with them on a nice couch, watch a movie beside them and even sleep there if necessary, as until they are integrated with the dogs, we have to keep them separate.
What can I say, we love our cats!!!!!