Anything related to stray and feral cats can be discussed here, and I will have more to say about them later.
What I am going to open with, though, is the gray (blue) cat that I have been feeding outdoors (and now in my porch, which I leave open) for at least 6-7 years now. You may have seen pictures because I posted some in the first iteration of our board. He is not feral because, even the first time I saw him, he would stop and look like he was considering coming over when I called, "Kitty," so he was someone's cat once. They may have moved, and people often tragically leave their cats behind, or, as others do, they dump their cats once they are no longer cute little kittens. Who knows, but he was someone's kitty once.
While I have been feeding him (and others) for years now, I don't know where he spends the rest of his time. There is a vacant house with a now-falling-down garage next door to me that would be open to cat access, and I do see him in that yard often. I haven't allowed myself to domesticate him because we already had two cats, and Ella didn't seem thrilled about Bubba being around. I was also worried about bringing in a fairly large male who has been on his own for years, because I wouldn't want Ella, who is tiny, to be bullied, and she's used to being in charge of her life.
However, now that Bubba is gone, Ella has been walking around the house meowing, and she's not usually very verbal. Just as was the case when we lost Cutie, Ella might do well with a second cat in the house, despite her protestations. As long as no one hurt anyone else, she would get used to it, and a second cat would add more than it would detract from her life. Despite often wanting to be an only cat, she's never been an only cat for any period of time, and it must seem weird to her, particularly when we're not home.
I am also remembering that, several years ago, when I was letting Ella out, I went looking for her as dusk approached, and she wasn't responding. She usually came when I called her, but it wasn't uncommon for her to decide she wanted some more time outside and ignore me. I was walking along the tracks behind our house, calling for her. She didn't respond, but I saw her sitting on the embankment on the other side of the house, where the ground level rises to the house on the next street over, rather than dropping as it does to my house. She was sitting next to that same gray cat, so she wasn't afraid of him then, and seemed to like his company.
Also, this past spring, summer, and fall, when I spent a lot of time outdoors working on the garden, picking leaves, and tending the compost pile, the gray cat would frequently sit near me, just watching me work. Twice, he rubbed up against my leg, and once he rolled over on his back. When I tried to pet his stomach, he let me know that, while rolling over on his back was a sign of trust, it didn't extend to actually touching his stomach. He slapped me, but he did so with his claws retracted. He would also follow me from the backyard to the front porch if I asked him if he was hungry, so there's a level of trust there that I hadn't wanted to explore too far because I knew (then) that I couldn't take him into the house and that, if it got to where he was letting me pet him, I'd want to bring him in.
So, I have decided that if I find him on our porch, I will sit out there with him while he eats. He will come in and eat while I am still there, and has let me touch the top of his head or his nose, but at arm's length. I haven't seen him in the last few days, but he is still around because I put a camera out there. So, I am going to look for him and see if he would like to be a house kitty, and if bringing him in won't be a threat to Ella. She will probably hiss and keep doing it for years, but it will add something she needs in her life, especially when we're not home. She might think she wants to be an only kitty, but I don't think she's happy that way. Plus, I would really like to give the gray kitty a more comfortable life.
Although he is doing pretty well outdoors. He looks healthy enough and is a fine-looking cat.
This post could have gone in The Cat Distribution System thread, but I have some other things that I want to say about stray or feral cats that I will post later.
What I am going to open with, though, is the gray (blue) cat that I have been feeding outdoors (and now in my porch, which I leave open) for at least 6-7 years now. You may have seen pictures because I posted some in the first iteration of our board. He is not feral because, even the first time I saw him, he would stop and look like he was considering coming over when I called, "Kitty," so he was someone's cat once. They may have moved, and people often tragically leave their cats behind, or, as others do, they dump their cats once they are no longer cute little kittens. Who knows, but he was someone's kitty once.
While I have been feeding him (and others) for years now, I don't know where he spends the rest of his time. There is a vacant house with a now-falling-down garage next door to me that would be open to cat access, and I do see him in that yard often. I haven't allowed myself to domesticate him because we already had two cats, and Ella didn't seem thrilled about Bubba being around. I was also worried about bringing in a fairly large male who has been on his own for years, because I wouldn't want Ella, who is tiny, to be bullied, and she's used to being in charge of her life.
However, now that Bubba is gone, Ella has been walking around the house meowing, and she's not usually very verbal. Just as was the case when we lost Cutie, Ella might do well with a second cat in the house, despite her protestations. As long as no one hurt anyone else, she would get used to it, and a second cat would add more than it would detract from her life. Despite often wanting to be an only cat, she's never been an only cat for any period of time, and it must seem weird to her, particularly when we're not home.
I am also remembering that, several years ago, when I was letting Ella out, I went looking for her as dusk approached, and she wasn't responding. She usually came when I called her, but it wasn't uncommon for her to decide she wanted some more time outside and ignore me. I was walking along the tracks behind our house, calling for her. She didn't respond, but I saw her sitting on the embankment on the other side of the house, where the ground level rises to the house on the next street over, rather than dropping as it does to my house. She was sitting next to that same gray cat, so she wasn't afraid of him then, and seemed to like his company.
Also, this past spring, summer, and fall, when I spent a lot of time outdoors working on the garden, picking leaves, and tending the compost pile, the gray cat would frequently sit near me, just watching me work. Twice, he rubbed up against my leg, and once he rolled over on his back. When I tried to pet his stomach, he let me know that, while rolling over on his back was a sign of trust, it didn't extend to actually touching his stomach. He slapped me, but he did so with his claws retracted. He would also follow me from the backyard to the front porch if I asked him if he was hungry, so there's a level of trust there that I hadn't wanted to explore too far because I knew (then) that I couldn't take him into the house and that, if it got to where he was letting me pet him, I'd want to bring him in.
So, I have decided that if I find him on our porch, I will sit out there with him while he eats. He will come in and eat while I am still there, and has let me touch the top of his head or his nose, but at arm's length. I haven't seen him in the last few days, but he is still around because I put a camera out there. So, I am going to look for him and see if he would like to be a house kitty, and if bringing him in won't be a threat to Ella. She will probably hiss and keep doing it for years, but it will add something she needs in her life, especially when we're not home. She might think she wants to be an only kitty, but I don't think she's happy that way. Plus, I would really like to give the gray kitty a more comfortable life.
Although he is doing pretty well outdoors. He looks healthy enough and is a fine-looking cat.
This post could have gone in The Cat Distribution System thread, but I have some other things that I want to say about stray or feral cats that I will post later.
