Denyce
12-27-2005, 04:51 PM
I have been putting food out for a couple of "strays" for a while now.
There are 2 that I know of for sure. One is a small gray striped tabby that is not quite as scared as the other. This little cat will look you in the eye and a couple of times it has come up to the glass storm door and rubbed it's cheek against the glass where my cats are looking on in amazement. But this has taken about 6 months to get this cat to be this trusting.
Twice now when I go out and put food on the porch and do my usual call of "here kitty kitty kitty" she has meowed and come running. The 2 incidents were about 2 weeks apart. The second one occured 2 days ago. That time he/she came close enough to sniff my finger. However, she panicked and ran off when I went to get her some canned food. She has gotten where she will eat for the most part the dry food while you are moving about in the house but only if you are moving quietly and she is very hungry. Now I am calling her "she" only because she is small and feminine looking. I have no proof.
The second cat has appeared with the first cat several times now. This one is almost pure black with gold eyes. She has just a few white hairs on her chest. I am calling her a female only because when I got a good look at her through a back window 2 days ago her sides looked suspiciously bulgy. *sigh*
I think they are living under my house. I have seen the gray striped actually going under there through some skirting that is for some reason pulled away from the house...*whistling and looking innocent* Also we have central air and heat so there is duct work under the house and all the cats and the dog periodically stare at the cold air intake vent. The cats are also then able to get into the furnace room from under the house which stays pretty warm because of the furnace.
The two cats seem to be very close. The black one acts more feral. She won't look at you and is VERY skittish about coming up on the porch to eat. She will bolt at the slightest noise and if you look her in the eye she is gone. I just don't think she goes far. The gray striped tabby is a bit calmer but not a lot. Her tailhead is wide for her size and it makes me think she has had kittens. It looks like her pelvis bones have been stretched.
The gray striped eats an enormous amount of food. I have seen her gorge almost a whole can of food and then within an hour or so eat a cup or so of dry. She is mainly the only one I see eating the food and I am going through a 5 pound bag a week now. Of course I might be feeding wild animals at night. But she is not fat by any imagination. I know living outside in the cold takes up more energy but I don't think that much. What I am wondering is .... have any of you with feral colonies seen females gorge and regurgitate for other cats? I know wolves and dogs do this...but I have never heard of cats doing it for another adult cat.
I am wondering if the gray striped tabby is the mother of the black cat from last year and the black one is now preggers and is so shy and feral that the gray striped is taking care of her. I have seen them touch noses and stay together and it seems as if the gray striped is taking care of the black one a bit.
It is cold and snowy here and I don't want to trap them. I put out food and water and they are able to get to a warm safe place. I just worry about the black one because she is so scared. I play with the dry food as I put it in the bowl trying to get them used to my smell. Anyway...I am babbling now...have any of you ever seen this type of protective, caring behavoir in feral/stray cat colonies?
Denyce
There are 2 that I know of for sure. One is a small gray striped tabby that is not quite as scared as the other. This little cat will look you in the eye and a couple of times it has come up to the glass storm door and rubbed it's cheek against the glass where my cats are looking on in amazement. But this has taken about 6 months to get this cat to be this trusting.
Twice now when I go out and put food on the porch and do my usual call of "here kitty kitty kitty" she has meowed and come running. The 2 incidents were about 2 weeks apart. The second one occured 2 days ago. That time he/she came close enough to sniff my finger. However, she panicked and ran off when I went to get her some canned food. She has gotten where she will eat for the most part the dry food while you are moving about in the house but only if you are moving quietly and she is very hungry. Now I am calling her "she" only because she is small and feminine looking. I have no proof.
The second cat has appeared with the first cat several times now. This one is almost pure black with gold eyes. She has just a few white hairs on her chest. I am calling her a female only because when I got a good look at her through a back window 2 days ago her sides looked suspiciously bulgy. *sigh*
I think they are living under my house. I have seen the gray striped actually going under there through some skirting that is for some reason pulled away from the house...*whistling and looking innocent* Also we have central air and heat so there is duct work under the house and all the cats and the dog periodically stare at the cold air intake vent. The cats are also then able to get into the furnace room from under the house which stays pretty warm because of the furnace.
The two cats seem to be very close. The black one acts more feral. She won't look at you and is VERY skittish about coming up on the porch to eat. She will bolt at the slightest noise and if you look her in the eye she is gone. I just don't think she goes far. The gray striped tabby is a bit calmer but not a lot. Her tailhead is wide for her size and it makes me think she has had kittens. It looks like her pelvis bones have been stretched.
The gray striped eats an enormous amount of food. I have seen her gorge almost a whole can of food and then within an hour or so eat a cup or so of dry. She is mainly the only one I see eating the food and I am going through a 5 pound bag a week now. Of course I might be feeding wild animals at night. But she is not fat by any imagination. I know living outside in the cold takes up more energy but I don't think that much. What I am wondering is .... have any of you with feral colonies seen females gorge and regurgitate for other cats? I know wolves and dogs do this...but I have never heard of cats doing it for another adult cat.
I am wondering if the gray striped tabby is the mother of the black cat from last year and the black one is now preggers and is so shy and feral that the gray striped is taking care of her. I have seen them touch noses and stay together and it seems as if the gray striped is taking care of the black one a bit.
It is cold and snowy here and I don't want to trap them. I put out food and water and they are able to get to a warm safe place. I just worry about the black one because she is so scared. I play with the dry food as I put it in the bowl trying to get them used to my smell. Anyway...I am babbling now...have any of you ever seen this type of protective, caring behavoir in feral/stray cat colonies?
Denyce