Chapter Two in the Great Cat Saga

Patches is pissed. Very pissed. She will not let the other cats use her dishes or her favorite scratcher thingy. She sits next to her scratcher thingy and guards it. All gathered up in a tight stance like she it going to leap out at any moment. I had to put more dishes in for the other cats to eat and drink from. The above photo is the first time she has been on the bed since the other two cats have been inside. And that was just for a minute. Alfalfa looks at her like "so what!". I'm just darned glad she lets them use the litter box. Which I must change today because with three cats it doesn't last a month like with just one small cat.

This is Barley. He's getting fat being inside. We let him out for a day but found there were still feral cats around and brought him back in. Let's just a simple "kitty, kitty" and he ran back inside. It would be nice if they were all just in and out when they like. It's much simpler that way. But I fear that Patches has no street smarts and would get hit by a car. So inside she will stay.

I'm not sure when Barley puts that eye liner on but he has it on every morning when I get up. he does a pretty nice job of it. It's purrfect every day!

The bedroom door is open and the cats are free to roam the house but they purrrfer to lounge around on my bed all day. And then sleep on the bed all night. Patches is the only one that will come into the living room.

I may have to change her name to princess. I'm telling you, she could give a Diva lessons! She will sit on the floor and give me this look with her eyes half closed and her ears kinda flattened on her head that is certainly telling me where to go. Last night she finally got up on the bed and slept on top of me for a while. If she deemed that too close to those boy cats she slept between me and the edge of the bed. She doesn't even want to look at them.

We caught five feral cats so far. They have been relocated down by the river where the hunting is good and the people are scarce. We think there is one more kitten. They aren't little cute kittens. They are about 3/4 grown and mean as hell. I'm sure we are being kinder than a lot of people would be.

What to do about feral cats is the big question. I'm not in favor of just shooting them. Animal control doesn't have the budget to deal with them. Ideally, I think they should be captured, tested for disease, neutered, then turned back out into the wild to live out their days with no off spring. But I can't afford that and neither can the county. I can't bear the thought of shooting them either. And neither can my tough guy husband. It's certainly a problem. My animals are neutered and that's about the best I can do.

Wait until you hear about Charlotte and Alfalfa. I'll try to get the photos a bit clearer before I post them.