Glad to hear that you're planning to take in the kitten! This may be a moot point right now given that it's just a kitten, but you might want to be aware that outdoor cats that catch and eat mice or birds may be exposed to toxoplasmosis, which may then be passed along in their feces. Generally speaking, it's nothing to worry about for healthy adults, however, for a woman who might have plans to become pregnant, it is something to be aware of, as it can cause birth defects or worse. Even then, impeccable sanitary practices (wearing gloves, washing hands, don't put your hands to face, etc.) should help keep things safe. I'm just more aware of it because I love gardening and my husband and I would like to start our family within the year, but my neighbor's sweet cat insisted on using our tomato beds as its litter box. I end up scrunching up bird netting and floating row cover cloth and putting it on the ground, around my tomatoes. Also, there's a product called Shake-Away and one formulation is specifically to deter cats. It uses fox scents or something and makes the cats stay away because of fear of a natural predator, which I liked because I didn't want to harm the cat, just deter it, but it's quite expensive. Anyway, hopefully you will be able to take in the kitty and this will not be an issue going forward, but I'm including a link to info regarding toxoplasmosis from the CDC. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: cats and toxoplasmosis

Why level the lawn if your going to build raised beds? Just rototill where you want the garden to be and use 2x4's or whatever to mark off the area. -lumber: 2x8s or 12's can be cheap if you go to home depo or whatever and ask where their scrap lumber is. It will take years for them to rot enough whered you'll notice. You can also get old wood pallets and tear them apart for the individual pieces. Left over bricks work to. - weed smothering material: one word-Preen. Unless you need to go 100% organic, this stuff will save your life. the small container is fine. Apply in the spring. I havent had to weed barely at all this year. As for now? I'd agree with Gumby_ct: avoid landscape fabric. Its expensive and not worth it. I'd just use black garbage bags, cut the seams, and put that over the whole site. you can cut holes for where you need plants to poke through. If you dont wanna plant anything this year, and just prepare for next, you could solorize the soil. Its harsh, but it will kill all weeds & their seeds (and worms, good bugs, beneficial bacteria etc). all you need is a clear plastic drop cloth, put it over the area you want to plant in, weigh the edges down with bricks, and walk away. Its worth a google search. - compost: This fall, use your lawnmower to pick up the leaves, then dump them on your garden site. They decompose faster when shredded. Do it all season. By the spring, it should have decomposed enough to till into the soil. Leaf mold is the poor mans compost.It can be a good substitution for peat moss as well, since its purpose is to help hold moisture and clay soils. -vermiculite: I used sand instead on vermiculite/pearlite. We had bags of left over from when we used them for winter traction in an old car. the best drainage is from sand anyway. sand + compost/leaf mold = plant nirvana. Hope that is helpful! -Ali

This is Biwa (aka Biwako-of-abi) again. Your thinking about these things show that you are a good cat owner. I personally would never trust my cats on a balcony, or high-up deck, again, unless it was on the first floor, and then there would be the problem of their escaping into the yard and perhaps getting run over. Don't be fooled by the fact that your cats have been all right so far on the 3rd floor deck. I am sure they like it, but even the cats in the same family can playfully do something that could lead to one or more of them falling. There is a first time for everything, and depending on what they land on, they could get killed. Suggestions about what you can do: (1) You could always keep the door to your deck shut so the cats can't get out there. They do not have to be able to go out on a deck to be happy. You probably know there are many types of toys for cats to entertain them inside the house. (2) If you own the house and can do what you like to it, you could put strong chicken wire or some other barrier anywhere on the deck where a cat might try to get out, or even build a large cage-like area on part of the deck if it is big enough. (In such a case, even the top of that area should be covered with strong wire fencing.) Alternatively, you could just have some sort of strong screen door where you go out on the deck--I mean, one that a cat's claws would not tear if it climbed up as if the door were a tree. I do think a cat would be miserable if it had to be kept in a small cage in the house much of the time, but that could be a temporary solution for times, for example, when you have guests who might unthinkingly leave the door to the deck open. (3) Climbing is also not necessary for a cat's happiness, although you are right that a 4-month-old kitten, especially, is going to want to climb and jump. For that, you can buy, or get someone to make, a pole for the cats that has 3 or 4 little platforms along it, so they can climb up and rest. (Cats, as you probably know, just looove to be up high and gaze down on everyone else.) We never wanted to spend money on something like that, but you can get the same effect using pieces of furniture that are different heights. You could even provide the kitten with fun and exercise by running around trailing a piece of string for him to chase. Just don't leave the string around where he could swallow it and necessitate an expensive visit to the animal ER. (4) I wouldn't rely on the following trick to keep your cats from jumping up on the railing of a deck, nor would it work to keep them off the deck, now that they know it is a fun place, but I did succeed by using noise to give my cats an aversion to climbing up window screens. You know that cats hate unexpected loud noises. We had moved from a place where our cats had had an outdoor cage-like area (about 6x6x6 feet) right outside a window so they could go in and out at will, to an older house where we couldn't do that, and I was afraid they might try to climb up the screen on an open window. The very day we moved in, I took the time to sit and be on the alert to catch any hint that the cats were interested in those open windows, and if a cat so much as stood on its hind legs to peer out through the screen, I briefly pressed the alarm signal on one of those devices a woman might carry to scare away an attacker. I didn't have to do it many times. My four cats very quickly caught on that something awful happened when they touched a window or its frame, and very soon I no longer ever had to worry about open windows and screening. You could probably get the same effect by clashing metal pots against their lids. However, the noise has to be something that the cats will not realize has a human source. Yelling at them and clapping your hands will only teach them to be naughty when you are out of sight. I hope you will find a good solution for your problem. Anyway, I commend you for your concern for your cats' happiness and their welfare. It's always nice to meet a fellow cat lover. Just for fun, here is a site I love to look at for the pictures of all the things one cat owner did with his house. How I wished we could imitate him, but I am sure my husband would never have agreed, lol. (So I am NOT saying you should fix up your house like his, either! But enjoy looking.)

I have adopted 3 previously declawed cats...and I've had the same experience as oregpsnow. They were/are sweet, affectionate, and no more prone to biting than the other cats I've had with claws. And while I could never have a cat declawed, it is a great solution for people who don't have the patience or know how to get a cat to scratch appropriate places. Its also a wonderful opportunity for especially vulnerable adult cats to be adopted into loving homes. Ironically, when I bought Odessa home from the ASPCA she paid absolutely no attention to the old cat condo that all my late cats (with and without claws) loved. Nor does she seem interested in my most valuable pieces of upholstered living room furniture, but she does 'claw' the sofa in the office that would be shredded to ribbons if she had claws. Having said that, you do have careful when assesing a declawed cat. Before adopting Odessa, I briefly fostered another declawed cat, She was obviously frightnend and not friendly, but I thought I could make it work. I think the vet knew that this poor puss had problems besides her hyper thyroid because it was she who insisted on a temporary fostering before adoption. Because he had to be medicated and would not let me near her, so had to give her back to the ASPCA. When I looked at Odessa (she was not my first choice because she was a few years older)I could see that her personality was just fine. She let me play with her paws, purred, and jumped right into my arms when I opened the cage...and she has been an ideal puss ever since.