Feline Friday: Trip back in time

The cats in my backyard have come such a long way since I started feeding them in October, so I thought I'd take you back in time...

Here's Ice Cream now:


And here was Ice Cream on her first visit:



The kittens wouldn't go anywhere without the company of Brother:



They'd walk in a cute little line, with Freckles in the lead:



Then Pickles:



Then the whole gang:



It's hard to believe it's been 4 months! I can pet almost all of them now. Ice Cream is the only holdout - she loves sitting near me with her eyes closed, but if I attempt to pet her she dashes.



Everyone is healthy and recovering well from their surgeries. Fur is growing back on their tummies and they're energetic and the most playful I've ever seen them. I got them a couple of toy balls and they went nuts with them. :)

But I'm a little discouraged about them being tame with other humans - every time I bring someone outside to see them they scatter, and won't come back until everyone is gone. Then they go back to being the loving, playful, friendly kitties only I can see. I feel like that cartoon with the singing frog. :(

In more encouraging news, I found the kind neighborhood person who fixed Brother! I met her by chance when I was picking up cat spay vouchers. She's been feeding him at a church parking lot for months, and was worried that she hadn't seen him lately - I was happy to tell her he was doing well and hanging out in my back yard.



Orange kitty made another visit a few days ago and looked marvelous. Again, he was freshly washed, smelled nice, and if you can believe it, the scar on his head is almost completely gone. I was in a hurry out the door or I would have snapped a pic - will do next time!

Feline Friday: more cat yarns

On my to-do list today is getting this guy, and Ice Cream in the humane traps tonight so I can get them fixed tomorrow morning. I've left the traps out for the past week and a half, not set, and all the cats are used to popping in and out of them for extra snacks. If, for some reason I can't catch Pickles and Ice Cream tonight, I'll do the other 2 females, Sofia and Dot.

Here's a glamor shot of Brother, who always looks nice:


When the temperatures dropped into the 20's this week, I had a temporary full garage. In addition to the 6 cats that normally sleep there, I found 3 new interlopers!

This guy, who looks shady:


He must be related to Brother - from a distance they look alike, but their eyes are like night and day in terms of expression.

And, most heartbreakingly, this guy:


He's an unfixed tom, and he sprayed the garage so thoroughly that it reeks now, ugh. He has a scabby head wound, and a limp. At this point, I just feel overwhelmed. I'm already struggling to get the rest of the stray cats fixed, and more cats keep appearing like tribbles.

If he wasn't so aggressive with the other cats I would have no hesitation about caring for him. But I've decided to take him to a vet on my next day off and just pay from my savings. The most heartbreaking thing about this cat is the expression on his face - like he is used to humans chasing him away and his tattered face just seems to be saying "please."

Feline Friday

Here's a new feature in honor of my backyard being literally overrun by stray cats. I started off feeding 1 - just 1 - and where's the harm in that? Then, she brought this guy over, the sweetest cat in the world.

He brought 4 kittens with him. That's right, he did. This is the first instance I've ever seen of a male cat leading around kittens like a mother. He didn't seem old enough to be their father, so I call him Brother cat. He is infinitely patient with them, and his eyes - those eyes! I like cats and all, but their eyes are usually a bit predatory and let's face it, a bit mean. He has the sweetest cat eyes I've ever seen.



This is Freckles. She is a total sweetheart, even if she is a bit needy. She loves other cats, and will purr and snuggle with them all (even if they don't feel like snuggling). She's got orange and brown because she's part calico, and pretty amber eyes. And her meow is adorable.



This is Ice Cream. She is fiercely private. It's taken me 2 months to get her to be comfortable around me, and she won't let me get closer than a foot away. She doesn't quite understand meowing - when I appear with food she approaches happily, tail raised, and hisses. Ok, so she's got issues. And beautiful blue eyes. I wonder if she has trouble seeing, and that's why...



This is Pickles. He doesn't trust me, either, and is most skittish of the bunch. He will literally scale a wall if I move too fast near him. He is pretty good-looking however, with his greenish eyes and dark fur.



This is Pumpkin. Yes I know, Pumpkin has eye junk but she won't let me close enough to get it off her face. She almost likes me - I can pet her a few times, but she's easily startled and scratches.



I suspect this lady is the mother of all of them - she looks a bit older and not in the best health. I'm hoping some steady meals and a trip to the vet to get fixed will help. I'm thinking of calling her Dot, for the scar on her nose.

This is all very well for pictures but... it's too many cats! I'm working on finding a home for Freckles, as she's the tamest. And I look forward to a few long weeks of visits to get them all fixed!