Last year when I wasn’t working this big orange cat started showing up on our door step. At first he’d just stare at me and he wouldn’t let me touch him…he just sat like a statue. We’d been putting food out for our neighbor cat and the orange boy was eating it too. So I started putting out more food for him. He got used to me and eventually he let me pet him. I named him…big mistake. *sigh* He started waiting for me every morning, I’d feed him before I went out for my run. Around early October it started getting cooler and Bob felt sorry for him so we put a cat bed out for him. It was official… Marleau started sleeping on our door step every night. I don’t know WHY but one day I fed him some wet food…again, big mistake. Marleau LOVED wet food. That’s about the time he started meowing at me and sitting on my lap. At first Bob resisted and avoided contact with Marleau, it wasn’t because he didn’t like him. Rather, it was because he didn’t want to get attached to him. It’s very stressful having an outdoor only cat. You worry if they don’t show up for dinner and if they’re going to be ok all day. Eventually Marleau won Bob over and he’d sit on Bob’s lap. He even let Bob pick him up. Around the end of October a big fat black cat started turning up. She’d sit in the bushes and cry and cry. She looked like she was in pretty good shape so I assumed she had a home, but after several days I realized she didn’t because she also started sleeping on our door step. Can you see what’s coming? I named her too, Zoila. We think Zoila is fairly old because she always has food on her face and sometimes she comes home with leaves and other crap stuck to her fur. She also trips on the water dish all the time, she sits on the dry food dishes, sometimes she trips on them and sends the dry food flying. She just has no body awareness which is unusual for a cat.
Both Zoila and Marleau have their ears tipped, which means they’re spayed/neutered and are part of a registered feral colony. I talked to the shelter about them and was told that if we brought them in they’d likely be returned to their colony. Once a cat is tipped they’re destined to be ‘feral’ and live outside. Sometimes if they can’t figure out what colony they belong to they will put them up for adoption. But more often than not they’re just returned to their colony. Which is unfortunate, but I also understand. Resources are limited and people aren’t going to be eager to adopt a cat that may be feral. However, these two are NOT feral.
Anyway, after finding out that they would just be dumped on the streets again we decided we’d keep feeding them and try to figure something else out. What’s the point in catching them and stressing them out of they are going to end up on our doorstep again? Well, I guess word got out among the stray’s because a third showed up…Little Joe. Little Joe is actually a girl, but I didn’t know that at first. Then Heatley showed up. So now we have a full blown circus on our doorstep.
It was embarrassing before when we’d go grocery shopping and the checker would ask how many cats we have. Now it’s just ridiculous. I did discover that we aren’t the only cat people out there who are also feeding random cats. While I realize we’re not NORMAL it’s comforting to know we aren’t the only ones doing this. Anyway, our worst fears came true about two weeks ago. Little Joe disappeared for a good solid week, I worried about her everyday. Then one night she came home for dinner…and I realized where she’d been. She’s pregnant. It’s fine and dandy to feed cats that are fixed, at least we’re not adding to the problem. But it’s a totally different thing when you’ve got strays that aren’t fixed. This is NOT what I had in mind when I started putting food out for Marleau. Little Joe is going to have kittens, her kittens will have kittens and so on. I’m pretty sure Heatley isn’t fixed since he’s just a kitten himself.
So not only is this arrangement expensive, but it’s stupid. We’re fortunate that the property management looked the other way as long as they did. Recently however, our neighbor complained. We loathe this guy for many reasons, he’s a total douche. Luckily the management here doesn’t think too highly of him either, and they’re pro cat. Turns out they used to feed Zoila and Marleau. We explained that we’re trying to catch them and bring them to the shelter and they said they would continue to the look the other way as long as possible.
After we received the notice to remove the cat beds and food I contacted Forgotten Felines. (They are FANTASTIC and if you ever think you might want to donate to an organization I HIGHLY recommend donating to them) link We are armed with the tools we need to start catching cats. I’m going to miss them very much, but we truthfully we should have done this a LONG time ago. Our biggest priority is getting Little Joe to the shelter ASAP. Kitten season is around the corner, she needs to get into foster care NOW. Once she has those kittens, she’ll be spayed and go up for adoption herself. The LAST thing I want is for her to have those kittens outside, under a bush. But more importantly we need to end the cycle NOW. I’m hopeful that Zoila and Marleau will find forever homes, Forgotten Felines said that since they’re tame and friendly they should go up for adoption.
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