What is involved in running Kitty Village?
First, and the most important thing, is that you need cats. With out them it is just a Village.
Here at Kitty Village we have six Cats and two Dogs.
First we have Smokey
Then we have Bandit
aka Mom and Dad
Then their kids:
Teddy Pete
Sam
And then their adopted daughter Orangey.
This makes up all the cats in Kitty Village.
Also in the Village are Kiki and Khaki, our dogs.
Our typical day starts with morning breakfast and the gathering of Villagers on the rear porch.
They are fed twice a day and have plenty of fresh clean water all the time. They even get a snack before bed time.
Some of our guest have medications that need to be administered and when we can get a hold of them, for a quick brushing down.
We use the Furminator brush which is great.
After breakfast and dinner, all bowls are collected and washed for the next meal.
If that was all we did, it would be easy. On our porch we have six locations for them to sleep. Those locations are cleaned daily by swapping out towels we use to cover their beds and also vacuuming.
There is also an outdoor igloo house with bedding we change.
Then there are the window sills and other locations on the porch that are cleaned weekly. The porch floor is cleaned every other day.
Bathroom habits of our guests vary where most will properly bury their goods, but some do not, thus putting us on poop patrol.
Also, there is the occasional hairball or worse (who I ate does not agree with me) that has to be cleaned up.
Training the Villagers is a full time job along with being a peace keeper.
We also supply heat on the really cold days we get in south Florida. Okay, you from up north stop laughing. There are a few days it gets down into the low 40’s here and I’m sure the Villagers appreciate the propane heater on the porch.
This is a seven-day-a-week project which makes their lives a lot easier than they would have been.
Then there are medical needs for the Villagers when issues pop-up.
We use Care Credit when paying for Villagers’ medical services which gives us one year interest free payments.
Now what if we are not home for feeding time?
We have automatic dry cat food feeders that will handle our outdoor villagers.
But if it is going to be longer than a day, we have to get a volunteer to assist due to special feeding needs and medications.
And if no volunteers, then we have to pay for the service. We have not gone on vacation for almost a year now due to what happened to Smokey.
Well, now you have an idea on what it takes to run Kitty Village. Some might say we are crazy, but we enjoying helping them out. The only negative thing is when someone gets hurt or if one is late for dinner or does not show up. Of course we worry, but that will get better once the enclosure is finished.
Thank you again for reading Kitty Village News.
S&B