It’s National Feral Cat Day

[dancingpony]

So here’s one of our ferals … a mighty hunter, always alert for danger …. (Truthfully, he prefers dry food to canned, and he rarely leaves the back yard, but he does bring us the occasional mouse or mole as payment for being fed twice a day.)

Comments

[lee_the_t]

Aw. He's so relaxed. That's so nice that there's a place where ferals can take a breath and not be afraid.

[dancingpony]

His mom - who we’re pretty sure was an abandoned stray, not a feral, brought us two litters of kittens before we were able to catch her and get her fixed. This one (named Spotless, to differentiate him from his brother, Spot) is from the first litter, so he’s between 13 and 14 now. We weren’t prepared when they started coming around so we didn’t catch them early enough to un-feral them, although they’re used to us enough to be touchable. The second litter we caught young enough to tame and rehome. The mama and three from the first litter will be with us as ling as they live.

[lee_the_t]

I'm so glad there are so many people like you and Spikesgirl who don't hesitate to take care of feral cats. I've done the same - although, curiously, now that I own my own home and can have/feed as many cats as I like? ZERO strays or ferals so far. Weird.

[dancingpony]

Many areas have volunteer groups that feed and watch over “community cats” wherever they live in the area. So if you’re interested in helping, they probably need you. 🙂

[spikesgirl58]

What a handsome boy!

[dancingpony]

Although he’s definitely feral, he’s pretty laid back, and he really likes dogs. When I volunteered regularly with a local rescue group, I used him to cat test shelter dogs. If a dog was cat friendly, Spotless was always ready to make friends.

[spikesgirl58]

What a good boy!

[dancingpony]

He really is. I wish we could convince him to live inside, but he hates having walls around him.

[threecee]

He looks a lot like my former feral, now professional House Cat:

[dancingpony]

We tried many times to turn him into a house cat, but he gets frantically nervous inside. We can occasionally get him to soend the night in the garage when it’s super cold, but it has to be dark and quiet, or he freaks out.

[threecee]

It looks like his ear is tipped, so he's neutered? Not making homeless kittens is good. He seems happy with his life.

My guy decided to move in on his own and refuses to go near an open door. He must have been a house cat at one time when he was young because he came completely litter trained and knowing not to claw furniture or get on the table. No idea how he ended up homeless, but he took months to get over being afraid of me even though he wanted to be in the house.

[dancingpony]

Oh, yeah. We got all of them fixed. There are more than enough animals dumped out here that we don’t need more feral kittens.

I’ve been wondering where you were. Have your medical procedures been done yet?

[nakeisha]

Yep, he really does look alert and ready for anything *g*

How 'kind' of him to bring you payment for the food.

[dancingpony]

We’ve told him he really doesn’t need to do that … but he doesn’t think we’re very skillful hunters, so he’s trying to set a good example.

[nakeisha]

*Giggles* Oh, yes. I'm sure he sets a very good example *g*