Hello all - it seems a long time since I've been here and I hope all are well. unfortunately I bring troubling news - Little Cow, the beloved little feral who i adopted about 21 months ago, appears to have vanished.
It's now been nearly two weeks since she's been seen. As the summer (although that's a misnomer - very soggy) has developed, we've seen here around the farm more. About 3 weeks ago, I had the joyous moment of seeing her right at the front of the oat field, crouched down in the long grass as I wandered back to the office. I stopped, said hello to her and laughed as she, horrified at being spotted, turned tail and dashed the 200-300 feet back to the safety of her barn.
Saw her a few times after that but, about 10 days ago, realised that hadn't seen her for a few days. With having one other outdoor cat - the friendly Rudi - it's always been very tricky to monitor food levels. But I've tried my best, putting out enough for 2-3 cats and checking on surplus. There always appears to have been some left. Earlier this week I put a tin of her favourite chicken in her barn (her safe place) first thing in the morning and was encouraged 3-4 hours later to see it had disappeared. So I did the same thing the next day only this time I put the food in a trap in exactly the same place. Two hours later, I caught a vey agitated Rudi! He was let out and we were friends again in minutes, thankfully.
It's the not knowing and the wondering that is nagging at me. The field is high with crops, so investigation of that is impractical. She's never wandered far before - indeed the front of field incident mentioned at the top of the hour is the farthest I've seen her from her feral haven! The only slightly odd thing that has happened is that, last weekend, Rudi clearly got into a fight with something between about 4 and 5 in the afternoon (he turned up with a little fur missing from the top of his head). But other than that ... Nothing springs to mind.
Any suggestions/ experience? We've looked around the barns as best we can, but they are full of junk and nooks and crannies - a feral's dream. I have also heard that if cats get injured they go away to die - there's no public display, so to speak. After 18 months of living together (not in harmony, but coping), I can't believe that Rudi has driven her away
Bests
It's now been nearly two weeks since she's been seen. As the summer (although that's a misnomer - very soggy) has developed, we've seen here around the farm more. About 3 weeks ago, I had the joyous moment of seeing her right at the front of the oat field, crouched down in the long grass as I wandered back to the office. I stopped, said hello to her and laughed as she, horrified at being spotted, turned tail and dashed the 200-300 feet back to the safety of her barn.
Saw her a few times after that but, about 10 days ago, realised that hadn't seen her for a few days. With having one other outdoor cat - the friendly Rudi - it's always been very tricky to monitor food levels. But I've tried my best, putting out enough for 2-3 cats and checking on surplus. There always appears to have been some left. Earlier this week I put a tin of her favourite chicken in her barn (her safe place) first thing in the morning and was encouraged 3-4 hours later to see it had disappeared. So I did the same thing the next day only this time I put the food in a trap in exactly the same place. Two hours later, I caught a vey agitated Rudi! He was let out and we were friends again in minutes, thankfully.
It's the not knowing and the wondering that is nagging at me. The field is high with crops, so investigation of that is impractical. She's never wandered far before - indeed the front of field incident mentioned at the top of the hour is the farthest I've seen her from her feral haven! The only slightly odd thing that has happened is that, last weekend, Rudi clearly got into a fight with something between about 4 and 5 in the afternoon (he turned up with a little fur missing from the top of his head). But other than that ... Nothing springs to mind.
Any suggestions/ experience? We've looked around the barns as best we can, but they are full of junk and nooks and crannies - a feral's dream. I have also heard that if cats get injured they go away to die - there's no public display, so to speak. After 18 months of living together (not in harmony, but coping), I can't believe that Rudi has driven her away
Bests