In my town they get blown into piles by the wind and end up clogging all the storm drains, so the town is pretty strict on clearing leaves from your yard.

I compost mine over the winter, and then I have fresh fertilizer for trees in the spring. But most people just have a dozen trash bags in their yard until garbage day. Too bad.

Aww she’s a cutie.

Regarding the crate, usual practice is that they wouldn’t have food/water in there. They’re supposed to go in there and sleep. Granted, you shouldn’t leave her in there all day while you’re at work without food and water and a litter box, but a few hours in the evenings is fine.

If you do want a larger crate, there are some dog crates that double as furniture. I’ve seen a few that are coffee tables / dog crates. For our kitten, we just had her in her carrier in a corner when she (or we) needed a few hours of timeout. We’d put a lightweight breathable blanket over the top to make it dark and cozy in there.

In any case, I applaud your commitment to making sure she ends up in a good home, whether it’s yours or another.

I feel your pain, friend. My wife got a kitten back when we were dating and shared a 1 bedroom apartment, and this creature was an absolute menace. Unrelenting energy, didn’t have a chill bone in her body, very destructive, no boundaries. We were both a little afraid of her for a while there. My wife thought about rehoming her many times. By the time she was 2 years old, she was a totally different cat. Sweet, cuddly, lazy, all around a joy to have in the house. We used to worry about what we’d do with this cat if we had kids - we didn’t trust her. Now, we just had our second baby, and I 1000% trust this cat to be a model citizen. She lets the toddler chase her around and pull her tail (she doesn’t like it, but she puts up with it and never bites back).

Here’s the thing: Kittens are insane. It doesn’t matter how much space or attention or toys you give them, they’re insane. Cats, on the other hand, are generally pretty chill. Ours is trained to come when we call her, stay off of the furniture, and beyond that she just kinda hangs out.

If you love this cat and can tough it out for a few years, you very well may end up with a totally different kitty. If not, kittens are a LOT easier to re-home compared to adult cats. Maybe reach out to your local humane society, ASPCA, or other no-kill shelter or rescue. They may even be able to get her listed for adoption while you continue to foster her, and she can go straight from your home to her forever home.

Also, it is 100% okay to crate-train a cat just like you would a dog. I wouldn’t leave her in the crate any more than you need to, but may be worth a try if you need a break when you’re home.

Good luck, and please, don’t forget to pay the cat tax!

My state passed a law preventing HOAs from penalizing homeowners who xeriscape or eliminate their lawns. Can’t wait to stick it to them!

Sure, but you can’t let perfection be the enemy of progress.

That would be like saying, “Antibiotics cause digestive upset, and you already have a deadly bacterial infection in your colon causing digestive upset, so you’re just going to have to accept the infection because the antibiotics aren’t going to fix the digestive upset.”

The plants are already being grown. Whatever animal suffering exists from the plant being grown is going to exist either way. What we can do is eliminate or reduce the middle layer of additional animal suffering that comes from raising animals for food.

I’ve been propagating these things for years, and I had no idea they could bloom. That’s wild. Congrats!

I’m planning to switch to Cloudflare Registrar. I already use some of their other services so it makes sense, and their pricing is pretty great.