MISSY MOO

She came to me one Saturday morning in Feb 2009, while I was cooking chicken. The smell wafted over the forestry backyard and drew her near.

2 blue eyes looked and left. A week later same scenario but this time I saw a glimpse of her body, or shall I say skeleton. Totally starved and near to death we started feeding her.















Frequent, small portions of cat pellets or meat whatever were available. Within days she was tame and poured her love out on us.
Icy steel blue eyes and the coloring that could only be seal point Siamese.














We named her Missy. As she was such beautiful girl and with excellent manners.



The stick figure fattened up a bit. But the skinny stick legs remained. A month later _+ I started to wonder……. Why the tummy is growing much faster than the body. Soon it was evident. Missy was to be a mom.


9 May 2009 12h00 maternity ward started.





We made room in the dining room, in a cozy box with newspaper and baby blankets partially covered by a lid. Missy accepted the box and soon there were 6 kittens.
Dave was on his way back home from an out of town trip and was updated on progress. I was a bit worried as we did not know how many kittens there would be. Muis was born at 14h00 and although the smallest got a bit stuck. As soon as the birth bag broke the little white star face appeared. This was my first meeting with Muis. The runt of the litter and last born.
She was a very proud mom and although very protective, allowed me to inspect. Two tabbies, two butlers, one black and white/tabby. She was just so proud and it actually showed as she was bathing them, purring away.


Second day Panic struck!!!! Only 5 kittens in the box!! We both work and I could not leave the house not knowing where the other child was. I was convinced snake or rate was to blame. We started a frantic search through the house. I unpacked the box and found a tiny arm. The forearm only about 2cm long. She had eaten one of the tiger tabby`s. We were horrified but glad to know what had happened to the babe. We presumed that something was wrong and it had died. ½ a day later I saw one of the butler kittens being pushed out, by the other kittens, while feeding, a very despondent cold kitten. I realized she did not have enough milk for all.

Desperately I tried to feed the kitten with luke warm milk, but it was too weak and died a bit later. Very sad I decided not to name them as I feared losing my heart as I might lose more of them. Dave my brave husband buried the kitten alone while I tried to get the rest to eat.
FOOD…. Urgent.
What the hell do I feed them? Ideal milk with a bit of warm water. As they would not drink a syringe was the only option. How much? Well I tried ½ mil after all had had except Mr. Tigger refused point blank to accept this plastic option. Mom was the only thing he would drink from and made sure he got his share. He would survive and grow to be a big boy without any intervention.

After doing the first round we start again and check if the tummies are full. At first it was much of a guessing game. Soon I would learn who ate how much. The little runt would not suckle at the syringe, no he licked it. As soon as I gave it a plate with milk it would try to drown itself and sneeze profusely!! So off I went feeding the kitten drop by drop as it licked hungrily at the syringe.
They were growing and due to Dave and myself working full day the only time they could feed was 2x early morning and 2 x at night. To give them more nutritional value I stated adding Be fast breakfast cereal, very similar to pro-nutro. Very weak at first as there were very young, eyes only started to open. The little buggers were growing fast and mom loved them so much. Her instinct was so strong (I was reading all the cat books I own just to know what was coming next) She started to move house. We were trying to keep her in the berth room and would find a babe moved out of the box, lost and crying on the cold tile floor.
Then she resorted to black mail. As we had closed the French doors leading in to the lounge, she would stand up against the glass with a babe dangling from the mouth!!!.
We cleaned the box, moved the location but mom was not happy. As it was winter we were worried about the cold tiles the babies were on, when she moved house. Eventually we moved her out of the box and on to blankets in the corner of the room she was kept, building a wall of blankets around her. The kittens were eating well but due to the feeds not being as constant as it should, they were starving most of the time.
I could not wait for them to eat by themselves as feeding four kittens was a very slow and arduous process. I started offering small amounts on the tablecloth and as soon as it looked that they would be to lick the plate came out!!!!!!!!!


Shame, the little kittens were top heavy and toppled head first in to the plate, being hungry as well they were trying very hard to eat and breath at the same time. My heart stopped a few times while they choked on porridge but they all went to bed with full tummies.

They were growing fast and climbing all over the show. Mom would just lay and watch but as soon as there was a yelp the would be up and ready to rescue. Arriving home one day the little black kitten could not take the hunger any more, the wait for me to come home was too long. He voiced this by standing in front of me and growling!!
Guess who got fed first? This was but only one of the precious moments I have of them. As they were growing we needed to find homes fast.

The tom cats were still hanging around our house. I had a large white one constantly sitting at my back door, a tabby at the pool and a white/tabby that was totally smitten and would not leave our front door. Most of them ran a way as soon as they saw us except for the white/tabby that would move off and return as soon as we were out of sight. I have heard that they do kill kittens even if they are their own. We were very watchful but Missy needed to go and stretch the legs and go walk about every so often. Besides the Toms we had to make sure she was not moving them as she was still taking kittens and stashing them in the other rooms of our home.


I was returning home late afternoon, walking on the pathway next to the house on my way to the back door I heard the faint cry of one very unhappy kitten. Thinking that my husband had one of the kittens with him in the computer room, I was surprised not to find a kitten on my husband`s lap. I went outside again and the cries became louder. Missy was moving the kittens again but where? As the tom cats were still hang around the home I frantically started searching.
We have a large piece of land around the home. The back yard left a bit wild as it is haven to the cats. Large trees, shady and very quiet with a small orchid house on the side, 2 terraces consist of stone, lovely place to climb, for kittens
. I tried to track the sound but could hear my own heart beating in my chest out of panic. Missy you are a bad mommy!!! The sound was getting louder but I could not see any kitten it would be dark soon and with all the Toms around the kitten would not survive. Then I caught movement. Under the Leachy tree next to a rock the little black kitten was sitting crying to the heaven.
I scooped him up and took the trembling little kitten back to his home, just to see Missy leave the kitchen door with another kitten in the mouth! Bad mommy!!! My scolding rang out. Dave Help! Missy is doing it again.
All kittens save and sound we agreed mommy will have to ask to be let out and if I had my way, searched as well.

Then our next surprise came. I had thought Missy had been left behind by owners moving or ect and pregnant due to being raped. Well then she began calling all the males in the neighborhood with a low pitched bellowing meow. My hubby immediately said “what, she was not raped she is a slut!” She was kept in until the kittens were old enough to be left by themselves and off she went to the vet. Snip snip and no more meow…. As we had not found homes for any of the kittens we could not let her have any more! They were due to be taken to the SPCA (animal shelter) to be put up for adoption.

The kittens were doing well and I stated to name them.

Tigger for the tabby obviously the stripes gave it away. He would later become Mr. Tigger due to his attitude.
















Jack – (like in jack and the beanstalk) The butler cat. As he would go racing up my leg to try to get to the food first.




















Yoda – the jet black cat. Large ears, round eyes looked just like his name sake on Star wars.















Mouse – the little runt of the litter, white/tabby but at 3 weeks only 2x the size of my big toe.

















Every day has been an adventure with this new addition to the home and has inspired me to start this blog as there is so much they do that needs to be shared.

How to Make Moonshine

Backyard stills. Corn liquor. Bootlegging. Moonshine evokes many different images. Country people used to make shine (some still do) for their own consumption. After all, getting to the liquor store in winter isn’t always easy. During prohibition, moonshine was big business. Bootleggers ran cases of moonshine along dark roads into the city for distribution to backroom bars and speakeasies.

In fact, that’s where moonshine gets its name: doing business by the light of the moon.
In most of the United States, moonshine is still illegal, but most sheriffs turn a blind eye if it’s for personal consumption. (But if you’re selling shine, look out.)

Making moonshine is a delicate, dangerous proposition. If made by a shady distiller who adds extra methanol to make the drink stronger, moonshine can cause blindness.

Moonshine Ingredients & Equipment














How to Make Moonshine

Moonshine has only five basic ingredients:
Water
Cornmeal
Sugar
Yeast
Malt

Making moonshine also requires the following equipment:

A still

A mash tub

A condenser

These items can be ordered over the Internet. If you want to use regular hardware store items, you can use a brand new metal garbage can, a pressure cooker and the kitchen sink.
For simplicity’s sake, order a still from the Internet. A good copper still will make for a cleaner, tastier batch of moonshine than a garbage can.

A Recipe for Moonshine
You will need:
5lb bag of cornmeal
5lb back of white, granulated sugar
10 gallons of hot water – at 120 degrees F.
1 cake of yeast
1 pint of malt extract
Iodine (for testing)
Instructions:

Fill a 20 gallon container with 10 gallons of water.

Heat to 120°F.

Add the cornmeal slowly to the water, a little at a time.

Do the same with the sugar.

Stir well.

Put the 20 gallon drum over a slow burning fire for about 30 minutes.

Keep the tempurature of the mash under 145°F or it will scorch.
When the mash becomes the consistency of runny porridge, remove from heat and place the drum into cool water (a lake or pond is ideal – the kitchen sink will work in a pinch).

When your mash becomes cool to the touch, do an iodine test. Take half a cup of mash and put a drop of iodine on top of it. If it’s dark purple, there’s still unconverted starch that needs to be turned into sugar. If so, place back over heat for another 30 minutes. If the iodine is very light purple, the starches have been sufficiently converted.

Add the pint of malt. Crumble the yeast cake, dissolve it in a cup of lukewarm water, and add to the mash. If mash is too thick, add a little warm – not hot – water, a cup at a time.

Your mash is now ready to sit for a few days. The temperature should be about 65°F, and the drum should be uncovered if there’s no fear of vermin. If you are worried, cover with cheesecloth.

The mash will rise and foam. When it stops rising, the mash is ready. Perform a test on litmus paper to determine the acidity of the mash. If the paper turns blue with no more than a slight pinkish hue, it’s good. If the paper turns bright pink, you have vinegar – start over.
Put the sour mash into the pressure cooker and slowly bring it up 173°F.

Use a coiled copper pipe (never plastic), passed through cold water, to trap vaporized alcohol in a separate copper pot. The vapors will cool inside the tubing and become liquid. That liquid is your moonshine.

Use a charcoal filter as the final step. Pass the moonshine through to clean out any impurities and make the beverage fit for drinking. Enjoy.

A Final Warning About Making Moonshine

Remember that in most states, making moonshine is illegal. And selling moonshine is illegal in ALL states.

And the way it’s made can prove dangerous.

Children and animals should not be present, and it’s best to prepare the moonshine in an outbuilding as opposed to in the main kitchen of your home. The condensed alcohol over the heating source can cause a fire if not properly tended.