Mowgli's Bungalow

Mowgli's Bungalow

The new cattery is becoming more of a reality everyday!  I was inspired this summer by a tiny kitten with a genetic defect that made him impossible to adopt out.   This little kitty lived with my family for about 3 months before suddenly and swiftly leaving us.  Despite being six months old, Mowgli never grew any bigger than a 12 week old kitten.  Mowgli's tiny size didn't stop him from getting into all kinds of trouble and ruling the roost while he was here.  Mowgli was the official greeter at my house- whenever we had a new arrival, he would run and greet them (even if they hissed).  When it was dinner time Mowgli would crawl up my leg until I set him on my shoulder so he could help make the food.  Even though Mowgli was physically the smallest member of our household, but he more than compensated for his size with his personality and heart.  While thinking of what to call this new cattery, Mowgli's memory kept coming back to me.  Since so many of the kittens that will be living in the Bungalow grew up with Mowgli- I thought it would be fitting for Mowgli to move there with them!

Day 1

Two great volunteers (Billy and Leon) came over for a few hours to level the skids that Mowgli's Bungalow will rest on.

Day 2

Billy and Leon returned with Frank, an experienced builder who is also volunteering his expertise.  Within a few hours the floor of Mowli's Bungalow was constructed.

Day 3

Leon, Billy and Frank put in almost twelve hours today to get the shell of Mowgli's Bungalow erected.  The walls are up, the windows are in and the roof is on!

Day 4

The volunteers are back and this morning they papered the roof, ran the electrical wiring for the outlets and switches and put in the door!  Now it's my turn to do some insulating and when the metal for the roof arrives, building will resume!

October at Catkins

Simba

Well I am excited to announce that our second cattery is about to become a reality!  Three generous and talented Price County residents are donating their carpentry skills to the project and we are finalizing the plans and the budgeting!!  This second cattery is not coming a moment too soon!  We are currently working to help some local residents with an overwhelming cat problem (population estimates are at about 85 cats).  Obviously one small building will not house all of these cats, but it's a start. 

Our vet is coming down to vaccinate all of our cats for rabies in just a few days.  She will be accompanying me to assess the health of this particular stray cat population and we will be drawing up a "plan of attack" for population management and cat placement.  I will try and keep updating you all as we get a better handle on this situation.

As long as our vet is down here, Catkins and Helping Paws (a rescue managed by our vet) will be undertaking a grant writing storm.  We will be looking into funding for everything from kennel construction to low- cost spay and neuter initiatives. 

Finally, Catkins has ordered the first batch of microchips for our rescue animals.  It has long been a goal of mine to have every animal that goes through the rescue microchipped- and it is about to become a reality!!  This way, if any animals from Catkins end up being picked up by or turned in to another organization, we can be sure to get them back safe and sound!!  In addition, we will have a scanner at our cattery that will allow us to reunite microchipped missing pets with owners much more quickly.  

Fall is bringing a whirlwind of activity to Catkins and we're doing our best to keep up!  

I hope you all are finding time to enjoy the fall weather with your furry friends!!

Laura