I wasn't looking for a cat. I really wasn't wanting another cat. I was actually starting to look at maybe getting a new puppy. One of my two brother cats crossed the bridge last September and the surviving brother cat seemed to be ok being an only cat.
But you never know when or where your next cat will find you...
So here comes Farrell the feral. I live in a big city and work in a small town about 25 miles out. Next door to my office is a convenience store gas station which leaves piles of cheap cat kibble out on the side walk, plus a large water bowl, for a colony of feral cats. Customers also toss out hot dogs, burritos, chips, peanuts, and whatever else they think the cats would enjoy. Most of the cats have one ear which has been snipped flat to show that they have been "TNR'd".
One morning in January, I walked to the back to put my lunch in the refrigerator, and peripherally saw a grey "fluff" jump off a bookshelf in the back warehouse and run back into the deeper darkness of our storage area. I called my boss and told him I thought there was a cat roaming around in the back. He stopped at Tractor Supply and brought in a humane trap.
Several days passed and my boss was thinking the cat was my imagination, calling it "ghost cat". Then, it happened. "Snap!", I heard from my front office. I walked back and there was a little terrified cat in the trap. I covered the trap with a blanket and carried it to my office. Called the boss, and he was wanting to either turn the cat back outside or he wanted to take it to a park a few miles away and set it free. I told him that we should have it spayed or neutered by the county. It looked like a kitten or a very small young cat. He was a little mad at me for "spending time on a cat" instead of work time, but he let me take off early to take the cat to the shelter for TNR. I told the shelter I wasn't sure that my boss would agree to me taking off a second time to come pick her up. They said that they might have a volunteer who could drive the kitten back out and release it back to the convenience store feral colony or they would adopt it out as a barn cat.
The kitten went in January 25th, and they thought that it would be fixed the next day. They couldn't tell me whether it was male or female, and they had named it "Feral Foster" since it didn't have a name. I called to follow up on Friday and they had too many spays/neuters to get to her. The next Friday, I called again. She had been spayed on February 1st, two days earlier. They had her available as a barn cat but their first preference is to release ferals back to the original colony. Called the boss again. Sigh. He really is a good boss.
I told him I would stay late on my time if I could take off an hour to go get her on his time.
Long story short, I picked up kitty after 9 days at the shelter and took her back to the office. I was supposed to release her, but she was so small. I worried. That afternoon, I touched her through the kennel and she leaned into my hand while she gave me a look like "I am not enjoying this".
I talked to her and she mewed a tiny little sound, and I saw little tiny baby teeth. "Oh my, she's only about 3-4 months old", I thought, much younger than I originally guessed. I opened the kennel door and reached in (expecting to be clawed and/or bitten) but she let me pick her up and gently cuddle her up to my chest. She purred for a moment before struggling to be put back down. Fear, yes, but no aggression.
That was it...I was a goner. What was I thinking...that I would be a one-cat household (after owning 2-3 cats at a time for most of the last 3 decades)?
So "Feral Foster" is now "Miss Farrell", and she is mine.
She spent a few days in my bathroom, then I let her have run of my bedroom and bathroom. She's 100% good with the litter box. My 12 year old orange male cat, Tangent (or Tan Man), comes in for supervised visits several times a day. (He went off his food for 4 days, not appreciating the scent of a strange newcomer, and I syringe fed him for 2.5 of those, then he started eating well again.) She leaps all over him, but he's pretty chilled out and calm with her desire to rough house. I think they'll be fine. As for introducing her to the Corgi dog....hmmm...still planning. Right now Farrell is in one room and Tangent and Charlie the Corgi are in charge of the rest of the place. Nice of them all to let me live here, too, isn't it?
Farrell is skittish and occasionally hisses at me if I move too fast for her taste, but she lets me pick her up and hold her briefly. I put her down before she struggles. Her confidence and trust grows. She runs toward me when I open the door...although the door hinges squeak and sound amazingly similar to her high pitched soft kitten mews...so she may be running toward the sound of another kitten when the hinges "Mew" as the door opens. She eats well, and has gained about 2 pounds in five weeks. She snuggles up to me at night, seeing as how I am not a big scary clumsy threatening ogre when I am horizontal...and asleep. She is also a real acrobat chasing a feather on a string toy. What a joy!
Sometimes an unexpected new pet is good for the soul. Especially a sweet, feisty, fluffy little fur ball.
But you never know when or where your next cat will find you...
So here comes Farrell the feral. I live in a big city and work in a small town about 25 miles out. Next door to my office is a convenience store gas station which leaves piles of cheap cat kibble out on the side walk, plus a large water bowl, for a colony of feral cats. Customers also toss out hot dogs, burritos, chips, peanuts, and whatever else they think the cats would enjoy. Most of the cats have one ear which has been snipped flat to show that they have been "TNR'd".
One morning in January, I walked to the back to put my lunch in the refrigerator, and peripherally saw a grey "fluff" jump off a bookshelf in the back warehouse and run back into the deeper darkness of our storage area. I called my boss and told him I thought there was a cat roaming around in the back. He stopped at Tractor Supply and brought in a humane trap.
Several days passed and my boss was thinking the cat was my imagination, calling it "ghost cat". Then, it happened. "Snap!", I heard from my front office. I walked back and there was a little terrified cat in the trap. I covered the trap with a blanket and carried it to my office. Called the boss, and he was wanting to either turn the cat back outside or he wanted to take it to a park a few miles away and set it free. I told him that we should have it spayed or neutered by the county. It looked like a kitten or a very small young cat. He was a little mad at me for "spending time on a cat" instead of work time, but he let me take off early to take the cat to the shelter for TNR. I told the shelter I wasn't sure that my boss would agree to me taking off a second time to come pick her up. They said that they might have a volunteer who could drive the kitten back out and release it back to the convenience store feral colony or they would adopt it out as a barn cat.
The kitten went in January 25th, and they thought that it would be fixed the next day. They couldn't tell me whether it was male or female, and they had named it "Feral Foster" since it didn't have a name. I called to follow up on Friday and they had too many spays/neuters to get to her. The next Friday, I called again. She had been spayed on February 1st, two days earlier. They had her available as a barn cat but their first preference is to release ferals back to the original colony. Called the boss again. Sigh. He really is a good boss.
I told him I would stay late on my time if I could take off an hour to go get her on his time.Long story short, I picked up kitty after 9 days at the shelter and took her back to the office. I was supposed to release her, but she was so small. I worried. That afternoon, I touched her through the kennel and she leaned into my hand while she gave me a look like "I am not enjoying this".
I talked to her and she mewed a tiny little sound, and I saw little tiny baby teeth. "Oh my, she's only about 3-4 months old", I thought, much younger than I originally guessed. I opened the kennel door and reached in (expecting to be clawed and/or bitten) but she let me pick her up and gently cuddle her up to my chest. She purred for a moment before struggling to be put back down. Fear, yes, but no aggression.
That was it...I was a goner. What was I thinking...that I would be a one-cat household (after owning 2-3 cats at a time for most of the last 3 decades)?
So "Feral Foster" is now "Miss Farrell", and she is mine.
She spent a few days in my bathroom, then I let her have run of my bedroom and bathroom. She's 100% good with the litter box. My 12 year old orange male cat, Tangent (or Tan Man), comes in for supervised visits several times a day. (He went off his food for 4 days, not appreciating the scent of a strange newcomer, and I syringe fed him for 2.5 of those, then he started eating well again.) She leaps all over him, but he's pretty chilled out and calm with her desire to rough house. I think they'll be fine. As for introducing her to the Corgi dog....hmmm...still planning. Right now Farrell is in one room and Tangent and Charlie the Corgi are in charge of the rest of the place. Nice of them all to let me live here, too, isn't it?
Farrell is skittish and occasionally hisses at me if I move too fast for her taste, but she lets me pick her up and hold her briefly. I put her down before she struggles. Her confidence and trust grows. She runs toward me when I open the door...although the door hinges squeak and sound amazingly similar to her high pitched soft kitten mews...so she may be running toward the sound of another kitten when the hinges "Mew" as the door opens. She eats well, and has gained about 2 pounds in five weeks. She snuggles up to me at night, seeing as how I am not a big scary clumsy threatening ogre when I am horizontal...and asleep. She is also a real acrobat chasing a feather on a string toy. What a joy!
Sometimes an unexpected new pet is good for the soul. Especially a sweet, feisty, fluffy little fur ball.
