Backyard Cat

[brocken]

Today I heard some meowing late in the afternoon and when I looked out at the patio, the fluffy striped tabby was on the patio. I didn't have any other food ready, so I put out some dry and a bowl of water. The fluffy tabby backed away as I came out to put down the food and water, then approached the food but wouldn't eat until I had gone back inside. About an hour later, only some of the dry food had been eaten.

Later in the evening at the usual time, I put out the usual leftover chicken and mixed it with the uneaten dry food. That was mostly gone after about an hour and a half.

I managed to get a quick shot of the tabby kitty - another female?

 

[tnr1]

Hey Brocton...are you planning to trap the cats anytime soon so you can get it fixed?? I think it would be a good thing to start planning for it.

Katie

 

[brocken]

Originally posted by TNR1
Hey Brocton...are you planning to trap the cats anytime soon so you can get it fixed?? I think it would be a good thing to start planning for it.

Katie

Hi Katie,

Yes, I definitely want to get the backyard cats spayed/neutered - wouldn't want to become an inadvertent backyard breeder!

I've contacted a rescue organization in my area, and they will help with traps and advice. They told me that a regular feeding time will help with the trapping.

Best,
b

 

[ldg]

Originally posted by brocken:
Today I heard some meowing late in the afternoon and when I looked out at the patio, the fluffy striped tabby was on the patio.

LOL! We often feel like they should be grateful for the love and food and medical attention - but they often just demand more, LOL! That is SO GREAT! "GIVE ME FOOD!"

You are making such wonderful progress with these kittes - and even though the pictures aren't so great, we can tell they're beautiful.

...since they're ready for menus (LOL!), sounds to me like they're ready for trapping.

 

[brocken]

4pm - Early Feeding
OK, today being a slow weekend day at home, I decided to put out some dry food early. (I read that feral cats wake up at dusk, hungry of course.) And since no one seemed to be drinking any of the tap water that I've been putting out, I used the tuna water left over from today's lunch.

6pm - Tuna Water Worked a Treat!
Heh, is there any cat who can resist tuna water?

About half the tuna water was gone and only a bit of the dry kibble remained. Great - kitty breakfast is all taken care of; I'll bring out the next meal of shredded chicken later in the evening.

7pm - "Yo, waiter!"
I was a bit surprised to hear meowing soon after - still hungry, or had one cat eaten earlier and now here's another? Coming out to the patio, I could see it was the fluffy tabby who had meowed before. There was a surprise...
...she brought 2 kittens! Two little orange tabbies - I immediately thought back to the calico kitten my neighbor had found back in Sept - must be from the same litter - look about the right size for 4-5 month old kittens.

Momma cat stayed about 10' away as I walked up to the food dishes. The 2 kittens, stayed about 2' behind her. All the dry kibble was gone and the tuna water bowl was licked clean. Momma cat must have come earlier and checked out the food for herself before bringing the little ones to the patio. I rushed back in and put out a bunch of dry food and fresh tap water.

9pm - "No, no - only the best for my little ones!"
At 8pm, I came out to see how much dry food had been eaten - none!

All in good time, then - so I made up an extra large portion, split it between 2 bowls, and put it out at usual time of 9pm. All food, no water - probably alright for this one meal (especially since someone had just pigged out on tuna water).

11pm - "Are you getting enough mouse in your diet?"
I peeked out to find that they'd pretty much finished one bowl and had gone through half of the other. And there was a chunk of food on the ground near the bowls - maybe momma cat had scooped some out so that the kittens could get to it more easily...this became my second surprise, as it turned out to be a little mouse!

The mouse was whole, but had a lot of ruffled fur - and on closer inspection, was breathing tiny jagged breaths. Was momma teaching the little ones to hunt and they all ran away when I opened the door? Or maybe the cats were saying, "Alright, if you really need us to spell it out for you, this is the kind of food we want, not that dry stuff!"

I know sometimes homed cats will bring prey inside and present it to their human friends, but these are stray cats who barely know me at this point. It would be flattering to think of it as a gift, but it's too early to be so presumptuous. Besides (as I called out into the darkness), "Thank you! Uh, my doctor told me that I need to cut back on mouse cholesterol, though! But thank you anyway for the thought!"

after midnight - Leftovers
I delayed my bedtime a little, being very curious about the fate of the mouse. The food was mostly gone, and the mouse was still there, although now its' fur was all wet and it was facing the other way. The kittens must have been playing with their food out in the rain. Oh, wait a minute - I think this is a different mouse...

Momma cat, her fur half wet, came out to meow at me a little ("Mice are good for you! Would I lie to you? So eat your mouse!"). I figured everyone must be full, so I placed the remaining tablespoon of food on the ground near the mouse, and took the bowls in for washing. I went to sleep feeling that a good day's work had been well done.

wee hours - Oh No, Wet Cats in the Rain
Though I had fallen asleep quickly, I suddenly woke up with an intense feeling of worry - momma cat had been wet! She must have been meowing at me for dry shelter! DUH! I got dressed and scrambled around the house - no styrofoam coolers, damn! Finally I cut a hole in the side of a sturdy medium-sized cardboard box and half-filled it with shredded newspaper. I tucked it into a sheltered corner of the patio, a bit off the ground, and surrounded it with some lawn furniture. Hope this works...

I also put out a big bunch of dry food and new water. There was still a wet mouse out there, but it was partially eaten so I wasn't sure if it was the same one from before.

 

[purrfectcatlove]

WOW , I have bin following this thread from the beginning and have subscribe for any new post . Brocken , you do a great job wow . I wish you all the luck with what you do . I will continue to follow this thread . I do learn a lot in here . Thank you for up date us .

 

[ldg]

Sorry your little mousy wasn't dead. I think I would have killed it and taken it away. One of our ferals frequently brought us gifts, and we were always sure to take them and thank her for them, LOL!

I'm pretty sure momma would have been teaching the kitties, but with cats it can be so difficult to tell when you're offending them!

BTW - there are some great shelter ideas in threads here, and at the www.alleycat.org site as well. However, if you want, a really easy shelter if you're not constrained financially is to buy a dog house! Especially the igloo style - helps prevent the weather from getting in their home. Stuffing it with hay or straw and changing it every few weeks makes a toasty warm shelter that won't have problems with fleas or other parasites.

 

[ldg]

Here's the Alley Cat Allies shelter link (requires Adobe Acrobat): http://www.alleycat.org/pdf/feral_cat_shelter.pdf

Here's a thread discussing shelters (although emphasis here was on warmth, too): http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=28375

Here's a great link from Katie (TNR1): http://www.all-creatures.org/ak/feral-shelter.html

And here's some large styrofoam coolers for sale on e-bay (don't know if there are any left available though): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1&category=383