Feral Cat Diary - 2008

This is the Diary of my feral cats..............one of the loves in my life.

April 11, 2008 - After working where I do for over a year, I just discovered there is a small colony of cats living in the woods next to us. I just happened to be using an extra computer in another person's office when she mentioned one of the cats was outside playing. (her desk sits facing a window toward the wooded area.) I'm like "what cats?" She said there is a family of cats that live outside. I go over the window and look. Instantly I am torn over the poor things having to live out there but knowing they are feral and used to it by now, it still bothered me to know that kittens had to weather the Indiana winter!

It didn't take me long to decide I was going to provide some food for these cats. I did research on-line to inform myself about feral cats. I found out how to make a feeder to protect their food from the rain, snow and prevent rot. I have been feeding them every morning and now some mornings they are waiting for me....from a distance. They are so cute. so far, I have seen 6 of them. Two are calico cats and 4 are black & white tuxedo cats. I wish I could get them fixed so they won't multiply but I see no way to do this so far. I've called several vet and no one will do it at reduced prices. The Neuter Scooter only comes a couple times a year and there's no way to know if you can trap at cat on the right date. Plus no live trap to use without paying. I'm willing to help 6 cats but I can only afford so much. I have 2 kitties at home to care for.

May 1, 2008 - My foster kitties are down to 4. I have no idea what happened to the other 2 tuxedos but only 2 tuxedos and 2 calico cats are left and have been visiting the office every morning the past 3 weeks. I have them named now. The first tuxedo cat I named TAIL. You can hardly see his injured tail but he does have one which is how he got his unique name. He talks to me every morning until I put the food out. He is very vocal and the bravest one.

The second tuxedo I named TUCKER. He is a handsome little devil. He just recently started to talk to me. The white markings on his face is more symmetrical than his brother. There are two calico cats, one I call BANDIT for reasons that are obvious. She has a dark mask over her eyes. She just started talking to me this week. the second calico is of sweet little CALLIE. She is the most timid. She hides way back until I move away from the feeding dish. She never talks either. I took pictures of all the cats today using the zoom on my digital camera. They are still very leery of me and stay their distance. They are all so beautiful.

I read recently that feral cats do not normally talk and since the cats started talking, I have found out from a neighbor in the area that the cats were left as kittens last fall when the owner moved. They have been fending for themselves outside in the cold Indiana winter since October 2007. So they are domestic cats gone wild. What is worse is that the previous owner was a vet. Sad, huh?

June 2, 2008 - Yes, a month has past and I trapped the cats on Wednesday and took them in last Thursday. I got to work a little early on Tuesday. Two cats were waiting for me. They were both trapped within 5 minutes. The third cat, the mama calico, was nowhere to be seen which is not unusual but I was afraid she had seen what happened from afar and was avoiding being trapped. This was at 8 am.

After everyone was at work by 9 am, I informed the gal whose office faces the feeding area to let me know if she saw the calico. By 10:15 am, I was being paged that Callie was in the trap! I went outside and she was banging around inside the trap. I had the cover on it already and it took some steady walking to place her in the back of my open van until she settled, while meowing loudly and hissing at me. Anyhow, they all calmed down and I kept the traps in back of my van until I got home. I parked in my garage leaving the hatch open during the day and shutting the garage door at night. I'm just glad it's wasn't HOT outside.

I had to have them in a nearby city about 45 minutes away by 7 am Thursday morning for the transport by NAWS who alters cats and dogs for a very low fee. http://www.pawsnpurrs.org/ Then I picked them back up at 7 pm. I think it is great that so many people could get their pets taken care of at such reasonable prices.

Everything went fine and I was trying to keep the cats caged for a bit, especially the 2 females, as suggested by the vet tech, but they were getting squirrelly on Friday so I let them loose during my lunch break. They took off like a bat out of hell! Hopefully they will not be too mad at me and return for feeding...eventually.

With the low-cost vet fees and cage rental, it only cost $100. to alter 3 cats and my boss split the cost, so I only paid $50. plus my gas of running to drop them off and get them about 20-25 miles away. I saved a lot with NAWS.

I'll anxiously wait to see if the cats come back to the office for feeding plus if the kittens that were born earlier in the year come at all and if they do, they will also need to be fixed, so I'll be doing it all over again!

P.S. The one I name Tucker hasn't been seen in a month, so he was not trapped. Only the remaining 3 were trapped, neutered and released.

June 16, 2008 - After releasing the cats on that Friday, they were ready and waiting for me on Monday morning hungry as usual. I guess they weren't mad at me after all. (smile)

I called a neighbor across the street from the house the cats originally came from to tell her I had gotten 3 of the cats fixed. The lady had fed the cats from time to time since the owner moved out last fall. She was glad they had been fixed and informed me she hadn't see any cats in a long time. She also informed me that she picked up a dead cat along the highway a couple weeks ago so that must have been Tucker who had disappeared soon after I took his handsome photograph.

A group recently forming in Elkhart is trying to start a Feral Cat Coalition to deal with situations like this and protect any feral or unowned roaming cats from harm and to educate people to trap, neuter and release them back to their natural habitat. On Saturday I went with a few ladies to visit IndyFeral to gain insight as to how to start a non-profit organization. The president, Lisa, was very helpful to us.

Hopefully, eventually, we will be able to help feral, unowned and free-roaming cats by helping their caregivers by supplying food donated to us by pet food companies and grocery stores. It's a start. http://www.indyferal.org/

October 23, 2008 - I haven't seen much of the remaining 3 cats that I got fixed earlier in May. Crazy Tail came back off and on throughout the summer but then I didn't see him like the whole month of September. I saw Bandit a couple times this summer but now haven't spotted her since maybe August. Callie was gone all summer. I thought maybe she was killed or was just busy taking care of her litter she had in the spring, if they survived at all.

A few weeks ago, I spotted a big black/white tuxedo feeding in the food house I made. He was much bigger than the rest so he's either a stray or possibly a long lost brother. Back in March, there was originally 4 tuxedo cats and 2 calico cats but when I started feeding them, it dwindled down to 2 tuxes real quick. Tail is coming around daily and begging for food. I saw Callie twice the past 2 weeks so I guess she's hungry too. And guess what? I touched Crazy Tail this morning!!! Yep, I did! When I fill the dish in the morning, he normally waits for me to place the dish in the feeding house before he approaches it but today he didn't. He was rubbing on the box and just slid in in front of me to go in to eat so I put my hand out and petted him from the butt to his tail. I figured he'd dart or hiss but he didn't as he was anxious to eat! Ahhhhh, progress! Maybe soon, he'll actually let me pet his head!

October 25, 2008 - I saw Crazy Tail come out of the cat shelter this afternoon. I provided a doghouse filled with straw about a month or two ago for the cats to use this winter. I didn't think any of them were brave enough to go in it as it was strange and new. It's about time Tail got smart and found out how to keep warm and dry instead of running under the parked cars all the time. It was raining all day today. I also saw a different cat this afternoon about 3 pm in the feeding station chowing on food. It was a small scrawny pure black cat. He didn't stay long after I saw him and ran into the woods with Tail following from behind. I wonder how many cats I am actually feeding? I think I'll go put food out in the morning. I don't go on weekends very often.

I was able to touch Crazy Tail again today briefly.

November 6, 2008 - The past 2 weeks Crazy Tail & Callie have been coming around daily to be fed. I have even been feeding them on weekends too. For the past week, I have been able to pet C.T. while he waits for his food to be placed in the feeding shelter. You can tell he wants the attention as he talks to me constantly from the time I park my van and get out. He rolls around on the ground in front of me acting all silly. He will not come near me unless I have food and that is the only time he allows me to pet him. Sometimes he still duck as my hand moves or approaches his head. I have to move slowly.

Callie is not watching me from as far away as she used to. Time was she watched from very far away or from behind a tree. She would not attempt to eat until she knew I was inside the building and even then, if she saw me in the window, it spooked her and she would sometimes run. Now the past few days, she watches me put food in the dish and pet C.T. intently and from a closer distance than before. She is probably twice as close now than she used to be. This morning was the first time she actually went into the feeding shelter with me still standing outside, although she did wait for me to back up next to the building first. That's the progress!

December 12, 2008 - One morning early this month, C.T. actually was rubbing against my legs while I was pouring food into his dish this morning. Not only that, he was making other friendly noises besides the usual meowing. Ya know, sort of the meow/purr combo. I continue to pet him and hope Callie will get brave.

Oh, I went twice over the holiday weekend as did my boss to feed the kitties. Anyhow, on Thursday, (yes, on Thanksgiving) I took my footstool and sat outside near the feeder and just hung out and talked to them. I first sat the dish in front of me hoping to coax Callie there to eat as C.T. was eating. She finally crept up ever so slowly to the dish while watching me the whole time to make sure I didn't move an inch. When she got to the dish, she looked up at me then scrammed back to the bushes and waited for me to move away.

So, I did....I moved back and put the dish in the feeding box and then she came back to eat. I was just glad she made a little progress coming so close to me even if she was too nervous to eat there.

December 19, 2008 - Almost every morning the cats greet me with C.T. being the official greeter leading me to where he wants me to place the food. He lets me pet him totally now on a regular basis but that is all. Nothing more. I guess I am quite lucky that he is trusting me as much as he does,

As I was getting ready to leave work tonight I wanted to make sure the kitties had food in case I was unable to feed them on Saturday. Lo & behold a baby opossum was inside the cat feeder. Dumb varmints! Yeah, I know they must be hungry too. I have caught raccoons in it from time to time, as well. I have no idea how to prevent them form getting in it. Even if I put the feeder on top of a wooden crate, the critters would climb up into it. Anything for free food! I just keep putting food in there and have noticed how fat they seem to be getting. They need all that fat to keep them warm in the frigid Indiana winters. Take care of yourselves, my furry children!

December 21, 2008 - This morning as I was getting ready for church, I looked at the thermometer and realized how bone-chilling it was. It read 2 below zero. The wind chill made it feel like 15 below. Instantly, I think of the foster kitties at work. I didn't feed them yesterday as I sometimes skip on weekends thinking they can fend for themselves like they did before I started feeding them. Afterall, there are mice, birds and other critters for them to catch, right? So, anyhow, I left early so I would have time to feed them before going to church. I arrived at my workplace about 9:30 am. I expected to find them waiting for me but saw none. That is unusual so I honk my horn and call to them. This has made them come running in the past. Sometimes I would see them run across a log that has fallen across the creek nearby. On the other side of the creek is the home they originated from that has been sitting empty for over a year now since it's owner moved out and abandoned them. I place food in the dish inside the food shelter ad leave. No cats today. Surely, they will discover it later and eat it.

December 22 - It's Monday morning and I arrive to work at 7:50 am. I see no cats. Boy, this is weird. I go inside to get a scoop of cat food form the bucket inside the back door and when I get to the food dish, I see it is still full. Hmmmmm. No cat prints in the snow either. Now I am worried. Do cats hibernate when it gets this cold? I don;t think so. I have faith they are surviving somewhere. After all, they survived from October 07 until March 08 last winter all by themselves until I discovered they existed, right? They were younger, smaller and had Less body fat back then too. Okay, I feel better. They are somewhere safe. I kept checking out the window all day and never saw them.

December 23 - It's Tuesday and when I came to work this morning, I heard Tail meowing. Yay, he's here and he's okay. The weird thing was that his food dish was still full. I have no idea why he isn't eating all of a sudden. He didn't come near the feeder either to let me pet him. He continued to talk to me while I was outside but he did not go eat. I did not see Callie. It has warmed up to 16 degrees this morning.

December 24 - I had today off of work. I asked a co-worker to check the food dish for me. She said it was still full. That means he has not eaten my dry cat food for 3 days now. Interesting life these cats live. So predictable and yet unpredictable at times.

December 26 - Friday after noon I went to check on the cats and Tail was present. I gave him food since the food dish was empty this time. He let me pet him and I was on my way. No Callie today. I have not seen her for over a week now. I hope she is alright. I trust she is. Sometimes I think she has a brood she cares for from before I got her fixed. A neighbor did see baby kittens in a shed at their old house way back in April. The next day, she said they were gone. We figure the mama kitty moved them but we have no idea if the mama was Callie or Bandit, who came up missing soon after the Trap-Neuter-Return. I have never seen kittens but always wondered if she has them hidden near the house. Time will tell. If there are others around, they will eventually need to caught as well so we do not get an overpopulation of feral cats.

December 29 - Both cats were waiting for me this morning. (smile)Tail was so anxious that he wouldn't move from my parking space. I thought I was going to run over him. I guess he trusts me not too but he certainly comes close. And Callie was ever so anxious to eat as she was almost in the feeding box before I even left the area.

I know many people may think reading about my foster kitties (aka the feral cats) is really boring but I love them and I enjoy getting to know them as they let me. I take pictures of them all the time. It doesn't take much to get me excited about them. I have always been a cat lover and have 2 indoor cats of my own. These cats make me more excited about going to work in the morning. I get a lot of enjoyment watching them and telling people the progress I make in gaining trust from them.