My beasties are all feral.. society rejects, mixed breeds.. abandoned at one time.. most showed up as kittens.. DaBaby 6-7 months when her dad ( Big Guy ) brought her ( now 9 years )... I had been feeding him for years.. he would NEVER be touched.. to old and VERY feral.. but came to recognize his name.. I called him.. The Big Guy.. he showed up in the yard and I just naturally had put out some food as he looked kinda thin.. he stayed clear.. a garbage eating cat.. so this was foreign.. but after I left the window.. and put it further into the yard.. his nose got the better of him.. he skulked over to it.. and gingerly ate.. I was in the upstairs window where he had not noticed.. well day after day.. season after season...year after year.. winter I built him a home outside on my steps of 4" styro.. with small door opening and blanket to get him through those -30 degree temps... as well steady food and water.. for that he was most grateful.. but still ever wary.. after years .. I never was able to get near.. but always enjoyed his company from afar... low and behold.. one day late august.. he showed up with a young offspring.. I was quite surprized.. as he would chase any that were within sight of the large yard.. but this one... he was VERY different with.. I sensed he did NOT want her to have to go through the lifestyle he had endured all these years.. he was now getting older.. and ferals take a beating being outside and ever at the whims of society.. or climate.. He always had a yearning in his eyes to belong.. but some kind of memory haunted/taunted him.. he only allowed his interpretation of our kinship.. and I accepted it on his terms.. ( not that I would not have loved to hold and touch him to tell him he was now safe and could rest with both eyes closed.. anyhow.. he showed her my stairs and she started coming with him for food and water.. with him then alone... she came inside ( was isolated as I could not introduce her before having her tested and spayed.. as not to pass on feline aids or diseases.. to my present cast.. 10 days I slept in my spare room isolated with her.. as she was feral and quite scared..kept her distance.. but once I would fall asleep.. she would get on the end of the bed.. I would not move.. the days passed.... her tests fine.. so during that time.. I would introduce her scent to the others.. just trying to intigrate her.. before allowing freedom of the house.. she fit in fine.. I explained house rules... she has not been a problem.. well except for the wall incident at moving time.. but even that worked out fine... as for The Big Guy... he left one day.. and never returned .. his pictures in my album only a memory now.. his script over.. and hopefully entered heavens gate.. for his was quite a difficult path.. )

So no my cats are nothing fancy.. or pedigree breeds.. just plain ole regular spirits.. like Me.. sharing our time on this human plain together.. devinely thrown together.. for whatever amount of time..


What about You.. I have heard homesteads are drop off points ectra.

Nutmeg

Over the years, I have fed and offered what comfort I could to numerous feral cats. At present, I have a long-haired orange tabby male who visits my deck for meals from time to time. I do not want to bring him indoors, since I already have more cats than I ever planned to (lol), but I am glad to help him with a bit of food. I have yet to touch him, but he did give my fingers a cautious sniff the other day, so it might happen one day. If not, I am still glad to offer some help to an animal living on its own.

Eddie was our neighborhood cat. By neighborhood cat, I mean everyone took care of the cat. He was an orange tabby too. Eddie is in cat heaven.

Taisha
Southeast Asia Travel

My mother is the boss at a hotel and many cats are often abandoned there. She feeds them regularly and where she lives there is a feral cat program where they spay/neuter feral cats for free. She has a cage that she catches them in and takes them in to get fixed. The adults that cannot be tamed she releases and the kittens she finds homes for.

Her neighborhood also has a (some what) feral cat as southeast described, but he levitates toward my parent�s house most. He is tame though; he used to be a house cat that the neighbors left behind when they moved. My mom named him Oreo because he is black and white. He knows his name now and responds to it. My parents have lots of cats so they do not allow him inside, even though he sometimes tries to sneak in.

Oreo has befriended my dog, Christine, who, ironically looks a lot like him. She is a large dog and has incontinent problems so she is kept outside with a doghouse. When my mother feeds them in the morning both of them come strolling out of the doghouse, Oreo first and then Christine. They are best of friends and Christine even gives him bathes and protects him if she feels he is being threatened.

One night I came home and went straight to the porch to let my cats out. I flipped on the light and as I reached for the doorknob, I saw a gray fox and a feral cat standing there, looking for the food bowl, with a question mark above their heads! I was already opening the door (this happened real fast), and they split up and ran off in two different directions. I knew the foxes were eating my cat food, and I knew the feral cats were, but I never dreamed they were hanging out! This reassured me about my cats (I was worried the foxes might eat them). Unfortunately, when the storm surge came from Ivan, we have seen no foxes or feral cats since. <img src="/images/graemlins/angel.gif" alt="" />