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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / December 2007What is this about tabby strays?
The cat named Four reminds me of the little cat we're feeding. Mandy named her Meow Meow, I called her Newbie. Meow Meow it is. Meow Meow is a medium haired silver tabby. If she had brown in her fur, we could call her Mini QC. She has a love hate relationship with the indoors. She wants in, until the door is held open, then she is out. This cat has been through the wars. Jim and Mandy removed a pellet from her flank that some body shot her with some time ago. She doesn't like to be touched any where back of her head. I can't say that I blame her. We have a basket set up for her to sleep in on the porch, and she has plenty of food and water. Our night time temps have dipped below 32, maybe twice so far this winter, so she is plenty warm enough. We love on her whenever we go out side. Plans are in the works to get her to see TED. There is something about her that attracts repels at the same time. Our cats accepted MCG without a murmur, but hiss and yowl at Meow Meow. We feed two other cats besides Meow Meow, one, a chubby orange tabby has a home. We just don't know where yet. The other, a black and white medium hair is definitely feral and seems to find our porch a place of peace from a cruel world. I know we're not the only ones feeding strays and ferals. How many are you feeding and what do you do to make their lives more comfortable. Pam S. >I know we're not the only ones feeding strays and ferals. How many >are you feeding and what do you do to make their lives more >comfortable. Oh heavens. We have Little Boy and Bucky, our grey boys, 3 and 2 respectively, of course, until we get a house. Then there are: Acqui - all white, sometimes mean. Abandoned by an ex neighbor, about four years old. Blacky - all black male about four years old. Sweet and cuddly. Mr. Oreo - Black and white, about five, very nervous and runs away. Socks - mostly black with white socks. Crys for food when I feed the ferals. Nervous, but is just starting to let me pet him. About two years old. Spot - orange cat who we had treated for a crushed tail, many years ago (amputated). Adopted by a neighbor, but still comes to see me. About four years old. Grey Mystery Cat - lion maned alpha tomcat who tolerates being fed, but hisses. Maybe six years old. Miss Emily - delightful grey girl who stands up on her hind feet to be petted. Loves to be cuddled. Growls in the cutest manner at anyone too near her food. Maybe 6 to 8 months old. Doesn't like being looked at to determine her gender (grin). Buster - Grey with white paws and an embattled tail. tried being a housecat off and on, but prefers the big out. Comes in now and then to be cuddled. Maybe ten years old. Mr. Fluffy Tail - long hair orange cat adopted by a neighbor girl. She occasionally asks if I've seen her cat, who occasionally escapes and comes to see me(grin). About three years old. There have been others, but I haven't seen them in years. Mostly I feed them, pet them and tell them what pretty cats they are, and chase off the raccoons for them. Hugs and Purrs, Mark  SignatureProof of Sanity Forged Upon Request > The cat named Four reminds me of the little cat we're feeding. Mandy > named her Meow Meow, I called her Newbie. Meow Meow it is. Meow Meow [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Pam S. We have in the past. Every cat in the neighborhood seems to have a place to call home at the moment. But when its really cold, we leave the garage open about a foot and there is a bowl of dry food on the work bench. There are a few folded rugs and towels around as well. Jo we don't keep food out but when we see one the food goes out. so far this year we have: -fed and vetted patch who became Lewi who now lives with Granby's son and his family, he is deaf and these slaves even had a dog that is now his hearing dog. -Visitor kitty, who we fed and vetted and is now ace who we took to a no kill shelter, he is marked just like a black and white rat terrier. I have to call about him this week. -Patio Jo, a beautiful long hair Siamese mix that is now Amber and is living with an acquaintance from WW who had 3 cats and my vet helped us rehome her with... very good and smart vet. Lee > The cat named Four reminds me of the little cat we're feeding. Mandy > named her Meow Meow, I called her Newbie. Meow Meow it is. Meow Meow [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Pam S. <snip> >I know we're not the only ones feeding strays and ferals. How many >are you feeding and what do you do to make their lives more >comfortable. I've been putting out food longer than I've had cats ;-) which of course explains where the first three came from. Little Bit and Spotty were both regulars at the outside food bowls, and when they showed up pregnant (LB) or with kittens (Spot) I brought them inside. 'course Sammy came with LB, being born after I had brought in LB. I have three or four of the neighbors' cats which I feed regularly, and a couple strays(?) which eat here but may have homes. I used to have a collar with a tag which asked any owners to call me if this was their cat, but one of the cats either lost it or someone took it off without calling. We also have a couple cats here that for some reason all the other cats hate. Gray Kitty is a long haired gray cat that all the other cats dislike for what ever reason. He's the only one that Rocky would chase away. When Rocky was alive I'd only see GK about once a month, by he's pretty much here every day now when I get home from work. There's also a little gray tabby that I have to feed on the other side of the building or she'll be cahsed away. I also carry canned food with me as I make deliveries and feed any cats I run across which look too thin. I toss the empty cans in the back of the pick up, and that's actually what brought Princess to my attention, originally. A couple times when I came out of the store she'd be in the back of the truck smelling the empty can, so I started putting out food for her. BTW, she goes in today to get her stitches out. SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit, Spot, Princess and Furby with loving memories of Rocky (RB) <snip> > I know we're not the only ones feeding strays and ferals. How many > are you feeding and what do you do to make their lives more > comfortable. > > Pam S. I was thinking about running electricity to the summer house and getting a heat pad for Shadow, but now he's getting a lot more confident, he's come in the house of his own accord at least twice, I don't worry so much. If it does get really cold here, which doesn't happen very often, I know he'll be ok. Another first this morning, when I opened the back door he trotted up and meowed for his breakfast, that's the first time I've heard him make a sound. The next thing to look forward to is hearing him purr. SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) Cats leave pawprints on your heart http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk >I was thinking about running electricity to the summer house and getting a >heat pad for Shadow, but now he's getting a lot more confident, he's come in >the house of his own accord at least twice, I don't worry so much. If it >does get really cold here, which doesn't happen very often, I know he'll be >ok. Back when Rocky was in the process of adopting me I considered getting one of those cordless heating pads. It's been a couple years, but IRC you put it in the microwave and it was supposed to stay warm through the night. It sort of became a non-issue here, since when it started to get cold that winter Rocky decided to stay indoors at night. >Another first this morning, when I opened the back door he trotted up and >meowed for his breakfast, that's the first time I've heard him make a sound. >The next thing to look forward to is hearing him purr. I don't think anything matches the feelings you get with the former ferals. A memory I'll always treasure is when I sitting out in a lawn chair and suddenly Rocky leaped into my lap. (Can you tell Shadow's story is bringing back a lot of Rocky memories?) SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit, Spot, Princess and Furby with loving memories of Rocky (RB) My son has a deaf cat that was rehomed from Lee. This cat never purred, maybe really low but couldn't call it a purr. After a year, he purrrs so loud you can hear it across the room. Was the most wonderful sound I had heard in a long time. >>I was thinking about running electricity to the summer house and getting a >>heat pad for Shadow, but now he's getting a lot more confident, he's come [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > (Can you tell Shadow's story is bringing back a lot of Rocky > memories?) >> I was thinking about running electricity to the summer house and >> getting a heat pad for Shadow, but now he's getting a lot more [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > (Can you tell Shadow's story is bringing back a lot of Rocky > memories?) I often think about Rocky, partley because he looked so much like Snoopy. SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) Cats leave pawprints on your heart http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk > I was thinking about running electricity to the summer house and > getting a heat pad for Shadow LOL, you *are* a slave. :) > Another first this morning, when I opened the back door he trotted up and > meowed for his breakfast, that's the first time I've heard him make a sound. > The next thing to look forward to is hearing him purr. Aww. Sounds like the taming process is coming along just fine. Joyce > I was thinking about running electricity to the summer house and getting a > heat pad for Shadow, but now he's getting a lot more confident, he's come [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > meowed for his breakfast, that's the first time I've heard him make a > sound. The next thing to look forward to is hearing him purr. Ah. Now he is becoming confident with you and he will be in soon. Decision time now, in or out. Tweed Pam, what a great question! In addition to Four we have Poouchie, who is gray and chubby, long of body and as slealth as a chubby cat can be. There is also Intruder who is well fed and gets in the house and eats our cats food for the sport of it. And also Thug who like Intruder is well fed, obviously they are someone's pets, and he also gets in the house for the challenge of it. The thing with him is that he won't run out, he saunters. Then he sits and pretends to wash his face but in actuality he's flipping us the bird. I Love Cats! SignatureCharleen Aggie Marble, Victor Velcro The Spirit of Mr. Pumpkin St. Cloud, Florida USA > The cat named Four reminds me of the little cat we're feeding. Mandy > named her Meow Meow, I called her Newbie. Meow Meow it is. Meow Meow [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Pam S. I'm feeding a feral tom cat. We call him "Sandy Tom"... hmmm... I wonder what colour he is? He mainly gets cat biscuits and a couple times a week I give him wet food (canned or pet mince). I think he sleeps in this rickety old stable type thing at the back of our place. Fortunately it doesn't get particularly cold here. When we eventually move (probably several years from now), I'll trap him and officially adopt him. I think it would be a bit cruel to leave him to his own devices now that he's gotten use to having a reliable supply of food. He watches my cats in their cat enclosure and sits really close to them. I suspect that he likes them, in a standoffish tom cat kind of way. Dewi > The cat named Four reminds me of the little cat we're feeding. Mandy > named her Meow Meow, I called her Newbie. Meow Meow it is. Meow Meow [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Pam S. > > I know we're not the only ones feeding strays and ferals. How many > > are you feeding and what do you do to make their lives more > > comfortable. > > > Pam S. Pam, Currently, we aren't feeding any strays, except for the one or two that cruise the yard periodically checking out the bird buffet. Last winter Bast must have realized we had our hands full with an asthmatic cat recovering from cancer and an orange overweight diabetic so we didn't have any furry visitors to the playhouse/tool shed. Of course that could have been because Bast sent Barnabus to us the winter before and we're still waiting for him to mature and settle down. Of course until then he is so much fun! DH worries about his mental stability however when he starts chewing on his back foot and then attacks it which causes him to ball up like a rolly polly bug and roll around the floor biting that one foot. <sigh>. Anyhow, your question was what I do to make strays more comfortable. We have what was once a playhouse for a little girl and I have a blanket in there and food and water bowls on the front porch of the playhouse. Of course I also have tools and fertilizer etc in there as well. But nothing the cat could get hurt on. We also have a trampoline. It just so happens that the trampoline sits over our septic tank. We didn't know this until we had to have the tank cleaned, but without fail if we have strays in the wintertime they are sitting under the trampoline. I wonder if they are soaking up the sun adsorbed by the black trampoline above them and the warmth coming from an active septic tank below them. For whatever reason I've put a laundry basket under the trampoline with a blanket and food and water bowl there as well. Last year when Sam came home after his surgery I thought he would like to spend time on the couch with us so I bought a "self warming thermal cat cushion". Sam wanted to stay in the bedroom on the electric blanket so I tossed the cushion onto Barnabus' butterfly chair. He absolutely loves it. I've check and it does get warm. If we get strays this year I will probably buy one or two to put into the playhouse with the idea a cat could get warm sleeping on it. They can be found at: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754316#prodTab1 and cost about $19.00. I think its worth it. Of course, like you, the strays eventually come in the house and take up residence. There was a kitten adoption at PetSmart this past weekend. OMG! They must have had 10 black youngsters between the age of 6 - 9 months old, a pair of pretty white and grey spotted cats around 7 months, and kittens. Young, not yet desexed kittens. They'd had their first shots but not the second. There should have been a huge KFW sign at the front of the store. I wanted two of them. I wanted to bring them home right then. Then I remembered that both of my special needs cats are stable health wise right now and all four have found an emotional balance so I do not need to bring in new cats. If Bast should send us a cat or kitten (or two) this winter, that will be fine, we'll work it out, but right now we need to maintain status quo for the health of our current clowder. Right? Oh those kittens were adorable :P Julie > Pam, > Currently, we aren't feeding any strays, except for the one or two [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > Julie I have a hard time keeping Rob away from the cat cages at PetSmart. All these cats and he goes in and falls in love with the ones that don't look like they're going to be adopted any time soon. He tries to talk people into adopting them and I have to drag him out of there before store security gets called, or whatever PetSmart uses for store security. Meow Meow has taken up residence on a wooden bench thing on our front porch. There is a carpet square on it and that is perfect, in her opinion. She demands and gets attention from anyone coming or going in our house. She caught Rob's social worker yesterday. Unfortunately Wanda, while she likes cats, is not a big fan of them. She gave Meow Meow a couple of scratches and moved on. Meow Meow wasn't pleased and made sure we knew it. She's an engaging little thing, But there is something about her that just bugs us. BTW, kids and dog decorated the tree. Speedy has sprayed it three times now. The tree smells more like Febreeze than tree. Qui Gun Kit has been playing bap paw with a couple of ornaments, none have come off so far and no cats have climbed the tree, yet. Pam S. > I know we're not the only ones feeding strays and ferals. How many > are you feeding and what do you do to make their lives more > comfortable. It was feeding strays/semi-ferals that got me into the position I am in now <g> as a slave to KFC & Boyfie. Me, a dyed-in-the-wool dog person, would you believe it could happen? There are no cats around at the moment except the ones I know have homes nearby. Phew. When KFC was living in the garden and was not able to come inside because I still had my whippets, I used to feed her twice a day in a part of the garden the dogs could not get to, and I put a bed in the toolshed, one of those false-sheepskin lined donut-types placed on top of a bale of woodshavings that I had for my chickens. She loved it, it must have seemed like luxury to her and she was often to be found snoozing away in her bed in the toolshed. We don't get the extremes of temperature here in the UK that occur in the US, neither the very highs or very lows, normally. Occasionally we get blips in the weather that sends us up to plus 90F or to minus 14C - sorry I can only do F upwards and C downwards. I was caught in the generation that changed from F to C here ;-) Most ferals or strays here would be able to cope well with the weather providing they were fed and watered and had some sort of shelter to creep into, more especially out of the rain. We have a lot of rain here, both summer and winter. It was -2C here last night. Sorta 27F or so. One of those car-windscreen-scraping mornings. Tweed > I know we're not the only ones feeding strays and ferals. How many > are you feeding and what do you do to make their lives more > comfortable. If I ever saw any strays or ferals, I would definitely feed them. But I don't. It would be sort of nice to have visitors, but I guess I should be grateful that there are never any ferals around. SignatureMarina > If I ever saw any strays or ferals, I would definitely feed them. But I > don't. I wonder if it might also be the other way around. I was thinking about this, because I realized that all the people who get lots of ferals and other stray kitties coming around to their door are people who put food out for them. So maybe putting out food attracts cats. I'm sure if I put out food, I'd eventually start getting cats on my doorstep. The problem is, I'd also get raccoons, skunks, rats, opossums, and who knows what else? Not to mention ants and other bugs. I don't think that would make me very popular with the other people who live in my apartment building, even though they all have pets and like cats. So I guess I don't get to be the Mark Edwards of San Francisco - too bad. :) Joyce
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