I was out feeding the dogs and noticed that Truffle, our mighty farm poodle (yes, poodles make awesome farm dogs, if allowed to be so...and not pampered up inside a house) was digging at something under the turned over plastic fish pond which is by the fenceline, south of the barn. He was digging and sniffing, then stopped and barked, then dig some more.
Hmm...something was under there!
I went over to the turned over fish pond, which, when turned over, would make a great little hide out or hut for any small critter to take refuge under. "Whatcha got Truffle?" Of course, he didn't answer, infact he didn't have a moment to spare to even acknowledge me.
I just HAPPENED to look upward, into the tree's, and spotted a stray grey cat looking down at me! "Well hi there sweetie!" I called to it. I couldn't tell if it was a feral cat, but upon closer inspection, I could see under her belly that she was a MAMA cat! And nursing babies! But where were the babies?
Then it dawned on me that perhaps the babies were under the fish pond! Yes, that's what Truffle was going nuts over!
I pulled Truffle back and flipped over the fish pond, but realized there was another smaller fish pond under that. I went to flip IT over to finally see the baby kitties, but before I flipped it...I could see a tail! A big, BUSHY tail! A black and white bushy tail...and not that of a kitten!
Leaning in closer and cautiously, I could see that.....oh crap! That was a SKUNK tail! What was a SKUNK doing under there? Was it eating mama kitties baby kittens?? Oh my goodness, I was so baffled. I made Truffle stay back and went an unleashed Polar, one of our big farm dogs.
I walked her over to the fish pond and set her loose, she immediately began digging fast and furious under the fish pond. I was glad she was after it, but quickly decided maybe it wasn't a good idea for her to get too close...well...DUH! I'd be de-skunking a 95 pound farm dog the rest of the day, or doctoring a bitten and bloody nose.
I grabbed her by the collar and pulled her away. As I was doing so...I then saw two little teeny tiny baby skunks peeking out from underneath the fish pond! That skunk was a MAMA skunk! Oh my goodness!!
I was even more baffled, wondering if there baby skunks under there, then WHERE were Mama Kitty's babies?? I peered up into the tree and Mama Kitty looked down out me. This was the most bizarre thing ever. A mama skunk and a mama kitty, less then 10 feet from each other.
I tethered Polar back up to the lead, and ran back to the house for the camera, I HAD to get some pics of all of this!
When I came back, Mama Kitty was climbing carefully down from the tree. I talked to her as she did so, but I still wasn't sure if she was a feral cat or not, and didn't want to reach out and pet her for fear of scaring her.
Once she hit the ground, she darted off into the weeds of the fenceline and disappeared. I was worried for her. Where had she come from? She was in the middle of nowhere, farm fields and woods surrounding her, save for our little farm. There were no other neighbors within looking distance, and if she belonged to anyone nearby, why did she run away?
I called out to her to come back, sweet "here kitty kitty kitty", and she very cautiously came tip-toeing near me again, mewing a tiny little "mew?" which translated into "help?"
"Ahh mama, where are your babies?" I asked as she got near enough for me to pet her. She was not only people friendly, she was the kind that literally rams her entire body into the palm of your hand and then dances and twirls herself around you. What a dear little thing.
Right about then, I heard a rustling in the weeds. It was either Mama Skunk or...something....else.
I peeked over at the fish pond, still leary that Mama Skunk may try to make a run for it out from under the fish pond, she was not more than 10 feet from me and Mama Kitty. The weeds rustled again, and then I heard a scratching. Squinting my eyes into the weeds...I spotted a little tabby kitten! AWwww!!! It was probably 5 weeks old at least, it had climbed about 2 feet into a thorn tree, and was playfully batting at something below it. That's when I spotted kitten number 2! A sweet little grey thing!
I only spotted two of them, but they looked healthy and bouncy!
I called out for the babies to come to me, but I wasn't sure if they were feral or not. Mama was tame, but I didn't know if the babies had had any human contact or not.
Leaving Mama Kitty behind, I ran into the house and got out a can of tuna, opened it, grabbed a saucer and a bowl, then took the goatmilk from the fridge. I scooped up everything and went back outside and made one last stop to the henhouse and gathered a few fresh eggs.
Arms dangerously full, I carried the items back out to the fenceline while being careful not to drop anything; plate, bowl and glass milk bottle clinking and clanking together, milk sloshing all around, eggs teetering on the edge of my grip. I saw that Mama Kitty was gone. It seemed as though the Mama Skunk was still hiding with her babies under the fish pond, so I was careful not to disturb them as I sat all the items down on the ground and under the same tree I had found Mama Kitty in.
I poured the goatmilk into a bowl and cracked an egg into it, then dumped the tuna into the saucer. "Heeeere Kitty Kitty Kitty," I gently called out. Surely she hadn't gone far with two kitties.
I waited and listened, watching the weeds for any movement. I couldn't see anything.
A few more minutes past, I called again, and waited some more.
Then I saw her, her eyes peeking out at me from the brush. "Come on sweetie". I clanked on the tuna can to try and woo her out. Carefully she stepped out of the weeds and got a whiff of the succulent tuna, and in no time she had realized I had come back bearing gifts! She approached and dug in! I was wishing her baby kitties would follow mama and find the food as well, surely they had not had anything other than mama's milk, and they were old enough for some solid nourishment.
Slowly but surely, one little baby kitty looked at me through the weeds, and noticed Mama was licking on something that smelled and sounded delicious. It carefully stepped out and joined Mama in the tuna plate. The second kitty finally followed suit, but verrry slooowly.
They were eventually having a lovely and much appreciated dining experience. Mama let her babies finish the tuna while she started laping up the milk and eggs. Her eyes were closed as she was savoring the thick, rich, yolky goat milk.
Once their tummies were full, they disappeared back into the woods, even though I tried to tempt Mama Kitty in following me to the house, where maybe she would want to stay. But perhaps she was on a different mission, and needed to move on. She chose to move on.
The Mama Skunk..I was able to snap a little pic of on of her babies peeking out from under the fish pond, then I saw Mama Skunk pick it up with its mouth and drag it back under to safety.
What a bizarre day, to find a Litter of skunks AND a litter of kittens within 10 feet of each other, exactly at the same time!
First I found the skunk hideout, the overturned fishponds!
Moments later, spotted a stray mama kitty up in the tree, a few feet from the fishpond:
Here's Mama Kitty getting a whiff of tuna and goatmilk from the weeds by the fenceline...temptation proves to be beyond her control...
Moments later, a little face peeks out to see what delectable delights Mama Kitty has discovered for them:
Kitten number 2 can't resist coming closer either... something MUST be good nearby!
All together now .. "OM NOM NOM NOM"
And more OM NOM NOM NOM's..
One little skunk-head peeks out...
Very strange day indeed!
