A couple weeks ago, I stopped at Happ's as I was passing by and saw this. They had boxes and boxes of this catfood. It was outdated and selling at the unbelievable price of $1 for a box of 12 pouches. I cautiously bought 4 boxes for the ferals. I was not sure they would like it.
And lo, they liked it so much that they began to come to the house and ask to be fed.
All three of them have had kittens. Sigh is neutered, but she had two. Tiger has two. She is going to be neutered next week. Possum has just had 5 kittens. I have been able to handle all of them and she allows it. I make a point of being therea couple times a day. Sigh has two kittens. Although she is distinctly Siamese in appearance, neither of her kittens share those traits. Tiger is just as her name says. However, both her kittens are blue eyed with the Siamese characteristics. Possum, the latest mother looks Siamese. She has two tigers, one 'cow cat' and two Siamese looking ones.
Back to the cat food. $1 a box, and yes, it is outdated, but they gobbled it down.
The next day Tim sent me down to buy 20 more boxes. Today, we were in the area, so we stopped in again and bought 30 more boxes.
So, for the foreseeable future, we will be saving big bucks on catfood. We will need those big bucks because also for the foreseeable future we will be neutering cats. 4 out of 13...I am hopeful that we can get these cats socialized and begin finding homes for them.
Fingers crossed.
And this is Tiger's second kitten.
One of Possum's.
Dandy. I call it that because he puts me in mind of those 19th century photographs of young men with greased hair and severe center parts. Dandy is Sigh's. The one on the right is one of Tiger's.
I am glad that we are here now. We can make sure that they are well fed. That $1 catfood is $15 a box on Amazon.
Who wants a cat?
Late edit: I'm sorry that cat food picture ended up in the wrong place. I can't move it.
Thank you so much for the spay and neuter activity, as well as caring for kittens and getting them where you can into good homes. You really walk the walk. Those sell by dates are often as much about forcing restocking and more sales as about safety.
ReplyDeleteIf I can get them all neutered, that will solve half our problems. If I can find homes for at least a half dozen of them, it will solve just about all of them.
DeleteAs bargain, I think the cat food beats the $3 wardrobe hands down.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree. We have probably 6 month supply of grain free high protein cat food. I hope that we can find homes for some of them.
DeleteThe cats, not the cat food.
DeleteYou are certainly doing your bit to stop the overpopulation of the cat colony. I hope other kind hearted people will put their hands up and adopt a kitten or six. Is the father among your ferals or is he a dead beat who just turns up as he pleases?
ReplyDeleteThere is a black cat who is sneaking around. I have not gotten a closelook at it.
DeleteThank you for fighting the battle and helping the critters so much.
ReplyDeleteLacey wants a sibling. She said. Will deliver.
DeleteYou walk the talk when it comes to overpopulation of cats. Finding that bargain on catfood must be the universe rewarding you for the good you do! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, the problem was that we weren't here enough to trap initially. When you have multiple cats, you run the risk of trapping g a nursing mother. Depending on the weather, we could not always get up here. So...the problem got way out of hand. We are here now. We have 9 raccoons trapped out of the garage so feeding is easier too. The cats are safer.
DeleteExcellent shopping! I can't believe what a deal you got on the cat food. The Cat Distribution System is surely smiling at you.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe it. Even more amazing is every time I walk in the store. I expect the cat food to be gone. It is not. There actually does not seem to be less of it. Crazy!
DeleteEven for human food, the dates on the can are “best by” dates — the food isn’t unsafe, just might not taste as good. In my experience, most canned food tastes fine for even 2-3 years after the printed date. The only thing I can think of that really doesn’t age well is canned peaches. Even canned chicken was delicious long past the printed date!
ReplyDeleteNo complaints from the 'outies'. I take a box out and feed them as they come to me. They <,i>do come
DeleteThe adults have been pettable for quite some time. The weaned kittens are getting braver every day. Funny thing? The innies want their regular old meow mix.
What a lucky find!
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe it.
DeleteYou’re not only feeding them but also planning neutering and finding homes. Big respect for stepping up it’s a lot of work, but so rewarding.
ReplyDeleteIt is always a profound moment when you watch a wild thing learn to trust.
DeleteIf there’s a nonprofit animal shelter near you, you could let them know about this mother-lode!
ReplyDeleteFirst thing I did! She has been back twice!
DeleteYou're an angel for helping the kitties. Need to catch that sneaky dad and arrest him, make him start paying child support, after he's fixed. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI do not know if he is the father of the kittens we have now, but he certainly wants a role in upcoming productions.
DeleteA good bargain helping your good work
ReplyDeleteMiraculous, really!
DeleteI hope they are not getting expensive taste, at a dollar per box it's a good saving, full price sounds expensive.
ReplyDeleteI was gobsmacked to calculate that normal price works out to over $1.25 a pouch. I am paying less than 9 cents. I cannot imagine having that kind of disposable income, myself.
DeleteWhat a bargain. No wonder that the lady from the cat shelter is stocking up too.
ReplyDeleteI will be heading back myself. It is nice to be able to share.
DeleteSo you are turning into a 'cat' lady, better get neutering soon or you will be overrun. The only problem when you buy too much of the same cat food is when they get bored with it.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see if this happens. They go nuts over this stuff. I have a notion that they might not be quite as finicky as a more pampered animal. It will make a good donation if they begin to turn up their noses.
DeleteThe kittens are adorable. You're such a good person to look after them and deal with their reproductive future (none!) You are socialising them so well, so I do hope you manage to find homes for them all. Great bargain on the cat food.
ReplyDeleteThey are cute. Cats are like squatters. They just show up and then they are your problem. Some people can just ignore them. I don't have the heart to do that. Luckily, Tim is the same.
DeleteWe have a friend who has been feeding, vetting, spaying and neutering cats that get dumped in our neighborhood for the last 20 years. She's done this at her own expense, and holy hell, the expense! The local vet works with her, and gives her discounted services. You're doing good work, Debby.
ReplyDeleteOne of our tenants does the same. She has been quite inspirational to me.
DeleteSame - we just marvel at the time, the effort, and of course, the expense. She isn't married, has no children, so cats are her children. On top of that, she's allergic to them. She has 8 inside, and 1 left outside. Each time one passes away, she is gutted. Cats have around 16 lives when they live with her, she spares no expense when they are sick.
DeleteIt would seem all the girls had their babies at home so you could have access to them! Good luck getting them all neutered!
ReplyDeleteThey all live in the garage, but in different parts.
DeleteHow many w8ll you keep for your new place Debby? We have seven. Two pedigree and five outside mouser cats.
ReplyDeleteWe will keep the ones we cannot get rid of. Current count is 13.
DeleteYou are absolutely doing the right thing and now you are not having to pay a fortune to do that. Excellent!
ReplyDeleteAs to the picture situation- have you tried deleting the picture which is in a place you don't want it and then adding it back to where you do want it?
I tried putting the picture in the right place. I was trying to make sure I could do it before I deleted it. I could not, so I just left it.
DeleteMakes sense.
DeleteWhat a deal, cat food can be expensive. I cat sit for people and always seem to need to buy a couple of cans before the cats are picked up by there family.
ReplyDeleteCats are voracious little eaters!
DeleteWait -- Sigh is neutered, but still had two kittens?! How did that happen? I thought neutering removed the pertinent parts. Could it be that she adopted kittens that were actually produced by one of the other cats?
ReplyDeleteGood job on the cat food. Pet food is expensive, and even though it's expired I'm sure it's perfectly good and it's great that it's not going to waste.
She had two kittens and was neutered before it happened again. TBH, I did not realize she'd had kittens. (She did not allow herself to be handled.) Thankfully the vet did realize it, and got her done and immediately returned so that she could be reunited with her kittens. She went to them immediately and received special feedings until she was up and around. She became a very social cat. By feral standards, anyways.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand in my dealings with a food bank, the only thing that legally has to adhere to a strict "use by" date is baby formula (and maybe baby foods). Most things are perfectly safe beyond the date.
ReplyDeleteWe don't worry about best by dates unless it is on dairy. I figured that cats can't read.
Delete