Hi All,

    One of the feral cats in the neighborhood (we call her Mama Cat)
comes up on our porch to eat the crunchies we put out.  Inside the
house there are crunchies available all the time in gravity feeders,
but we feed soft food twice a day (or more if the whining gets
intense).   If the six who live inside have turned up their noses at
the soft food, the rest of it is scraped together and put out on the
front porch when we see Mama Cat.

    OK, that's fairly normal.  Mama Cat just had a litter and is
nursing  so we want her to be well fed.  Lately though, Mama Cat has
found a new trick.  In sunny So. Cal., the front door is open most of
the time now so we really hear her when she does this.  She will stand
at the screen door and with a sudden and powerful shove with her front
paws bang the screen door against its jamb.  It makes quite a racket
and will startle anyone in the living room.  

    At least the people inside aren't totally trained.  We don't
always put soft food out and she will give up and eat the crunchies,
but we can expect to hear this behavior at least twice a day.

    Soon, she should be bringing the kittens up on the porch.  We'll
try to catch them and will bring them to the shelter if we can.  First
though, till they are all weaned, we'll have a litter of kittens to
watch as they romp around the porch.  I figure that for the price of a
little cat food, we'll be miles ahead.

Regards and Purrs,
O J Gritmon