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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / October 2006Mooch gets friendly
I've posted before about Mooch, our little tuxie stray who shows up two or three times daily on our veranda for food and water. Until now he's been shy and has kept his distance under the furniture until the food is set down. But recently when I get up early about 5 a.m. to feed him he's almost underfoot as I carry the bowls across the veranda, and within a few inches of my hands as I set them down. All the time he's talking to me - little squeaky meows. This only happens early in the morning - he's wary of other neighbourhood cats at other times of day. And he only does it with me, no one else in the house. Probably this is because we share that quiet early time early time even before the paper deliverer arrives. Whatever the reason, I enjoy these moments, and I'd like to think Mooch does too. http://www.flippyscatpage.com/moochtwo.html > I've posted before about Mooch, our little tuxie stray who shows up two > or three times daily on our veranda for food and water. Until now he's [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > http://www.flippyscatpage.com/moochtwo.html It's nice you take such kind care of him. What are you feeding him exactly? I guess he needs plumpness if it's cold out but you might think about dieting in the future before he gets too used to so much food. I like Science Diet because low phosphorus so reduce the tendencies to renal failure if eating all dry food. Many of the dry foods have too much phosphorus. Just a suggestion. Ferals do get fat because they remember starvation mode and eat and eat if food is left out without portion control. I know, I'm being a meanie to bring this up. Better to be a fat cat then a starving one if both are limiting factors in the long run. Starvation kills much quicker. > > I've posted before about Mooch, our little tuxie stray who shows up two > > or three times daily on our veranda for food and water. [snip] > It's nice you take such kind care of him. > What are you feeding him exactly? [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > then a starving one if both are limiting factors in the long run. > Starvation kills much quicker. I agree. By last winter Mooch was plump, and stayed that way until spring. He's been slender all summer, but now I notice he's beginning to put on weight again, as are the local squirrels. Some of that may be a thickening of their fur of course, for protection against our cold Canadian winter. As for food, the only thing I feed Mooch is the same as I give our three indoor girls, Science Diet - the same as you use. It was recommended to me by our vet, and I've stuck to it ever since, with happy results. BTW, Mooch double-crossed me this morning. I got up early at 5:30 am to feed him. It's now 7:00 am and he still hasn't shown up. But someone else in the house says she just saw another cat hanging around our veranda which she shooed away, so that may be the reason. Knowing Mooch though, he'll arrive when his appetite gets the better of him. > > > I've posted before about Mooch, our little tuxie stray who shows up two > > > or three times daily on our veranda for food and water. [snip] [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > veranda which she shooed away, so that may be the reason. Knowing Mooch > though, he'll arrive when his appetite gets the better of him. That's good. Slims down for summer and fattens up for winter. What type of Science Diet are you using? I switched from the Light to the Indoor. I feel guilty about this because my cat does not like the Indoor as much. This means she does not scarf it all down in one sitting. This is good because she lost 1/2 a pound in about 4 months. I think she needs to lose one more pound to fit into her bikini. Interestingly, she was a semi-feral in that she lived in the street and neighbors would feed her Science Diet too. She really likes it for some reason. I say she was a semi-feral because she would eat from bowls left outside but not come inside. For some reason, she would jump into my lap when I was on a swing outside, so that was her downfall. Also she used the kitty litter the very first time I took her inside so I wondered if she had some prior experience inside a dwelling. I wonder if your feral is a female. I am taking a very wild guess based on her timidity. Males can be timid but seem less so after being fed. Can you take a quick peak? A quick tail lift or would that be considered too aggressive? > > > What are you feeding him exactly? > > > I guess he needs plumpness if it's cold out but you might think [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > > then a starving one if both are limiting factors in the long run. > > > Starvation kills much quicker. > > I agree. By last winter Mooch was plump, and stayed that way until > > spring. He's been slender all summer, but now I notice he's beginning [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > veranda which she shooed away, so that may be the reason. Knowing Mooch > > though, he'll arrive when his appetite gets the better of him. treeline wrote: > That's good. Slims down for summer and fattens up for winter. > What type of Science Diet are you using? I switched from the Light to > the Indoor. I feel guilty about this because my cat does not like the > Indoor as much. This means she does not scarf it all down in one > sitting. This is good because she lost 1/2 a pound in about 4 months. I > think she needs to lose one more pound to fit into her bikini. We feed all our cats - indoor and feral - Science Diet regular cat food. I guess we should give the indoor cats light because two out of three are overweight, because one isn't and because they all eat from a communal bowl, we give them regular. Mooch too. treeline wrote: > I wonder if your feral is a female. I am taking a very wild guess based > on her timidity. Males can be timid but seem less so after being fed. > Can you take a quick peak? A quick tail lift or would that be > considered too aggressive? I always wait until Mooch departs following his feeds before I take the bowls in, Besides, he'd vanish like the wind if I ever reached out to try to touch him/her. As for gender, we don't know, but you have a point. He/she IS very timid, so might be female. Take this morning. Since we sighted another cat early today, no Mooch. He (I'm used to calling him that) is usually here by now, but he's been absent for hours before without food. He keeps his own schedule, but I'm certain he'll show up. I check every so often to see if he's arrived, and before I go out on the veranda. > I always wait until Mooch departs following his feeds before I take the > bowls in, Besides, he'd vanish like the wind if I ever reached out to [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > he'll show up. I check every so often to see if he's arrived, and > before I go out on the veranda. Okay, did he show? Sounds as though he pencils you in daily. > > I always wait until Mooch departs following his feeds before I take the > > bowls in, Besides, he'd vanish like the wind if I ever reached out to [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > he'll show up. I check every so often to see if he's arrived, and > > before I go out on the veranda. > Okay, did he show? Sounds as though he pencils you in daily. He does, and he did! He appeared just around dinner time (he's interrupted more human meals because he needs monitoring!) and made up for lost time, or rather lost food. The best part was that even at that early hour he wasn't interrupted by other cats, and raccoons don't appear until nightfall. Then again this morning, promptly at our usual hour of 5:30 am there he was again, as chatty as ever. A big meal, no interruptions. I'm very relieved. And grateful for your and other people's ongoing concern for the little guy. He has no idea he's being talked about across national borders. At least that's my presumption - he's a Canuck kitty and most RPCA posters are in the U.S. or overseas. Do you mind me asking where you are, by the way? At least that's my presumption - > he's a Canuck kitty and most RPCA posters are in the U.S. or overseas. > Do you mind me asking where you are, by the way? His story is being watched on a transcontinental basis- I'm in the UK! Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > His story is being watched on a transcontinental basis- I'm in the UK! > Lesley Thanks, Lesley. Pls. note that your post inspired a new post of mine about "Mooch's international fan club"! > Do you mind me asking where you are, by the way? SE Pennsylvania. Farmer's Almanac predicts a cold winter. Chilly in Canada? > > Do you mind me asking where you are, by the way? > SE Pennsylvania. Farmer's Almanac predicts a cold winter. Chilly in > Canada? Yes, I've heard that it will be a cold winter here. That's why we're preparing Mooch's Special Chair on the veranda - heavily padded, with a nest of blankets and an electric heating pad underneath them, rigged so we can turn it on from the den where we observe him. He slept in this chair last winter and survived the cold weather. >I've posted before about Mooch, our little tuxie stray who shows up two >or three times daily on our veranda for food and water. Until now he's [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >deliverer arrives. Whatever the reason, I enjoy these moments, and I'd >like to think Mooch does too. I think it's wonderful that he's getting so confident. > I think it's wonderful that he's getting so confident. I agree! BTW, sorry I didn't mention your name when I wrote the new post here at RPCA about "Mooch's world-wide fan club". I couldn't access the thread to check the names when I was writing what I said. |
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