Friday, March 16, 2012

ferals, ferals everywhere!

I'm sure this will come as no surprise, but my fondness for Oliver's family is growing. The ferals are slowly becoming more accustomed to having me observe them through the window. They no longer run away when they see me watching. I love getting to play with them with the chase the red dot game.

Kim at Fuzzy Tales pointed out that Mama Kitty needs a new name and I agree. For now I'm going with MK until he reveals his name to me. I'm not sure how to name the other two as I would never be able to tell them apart to know which one is which!

Here they all are in a rare group picture. Oliver is at the bottom center. MK (far right) and a sibling are playing with a fake mousie while the other sibling is having some dinner in the Dining Hall.

MK

I'm really liking MK. He's different from the others in that he has a solid watch patch on his chest and a very short but wide tail. This makes it easy to identify him (the other two still look the same to me). MK seems to have a delightfully fun personality.

I've noticed lately that MK has been hanging around more. In fact several evenings, I have seen him hanging out in Oliver's heated house while Oliver lounges on the back porch. 

Sibling and MK

And now, for some exciting news!

For the past two evenings, a new kitty has been visiting the yard. The new kitty is also black but tall and thin. (What is it with all the black feral cats?!) It is much taller than Oliver's siblings and a lot thinner than Oliver. It kind of reminds me of how Oliver looked when he started coming around.

I first saw him on Wednesday night as I arrived home after dark. He was out having some dinner at the Dining Hall. Unlike Oliver's family, he wasn't phased by the car or the headlights shinning on him. Sadly, a few minutes later Oliver chased him away.

Then Thursday night, I heard Oliver growling again and sure enough the new kitty was back. I don't think it got any food this time before Oliver chased him away. Now I need to figure out how to get Oliver to play nice and share. There's plenty of food for everyone.

The new guy is persistent as a few hours later, he was back. I went out to find Oliver and the new guy in a stare down. Amazingly, I was able to get Oliver to come to me, but the new kitty headed out. I tried to snap a photo, but my camera focused on the small branch that was right next to me rather than the cat I was trying to get - argh! I lightened up the photo using photoshop and you can kind of see the skinny guy in the dark.



I thought I would give the new kitty an opportunity to eat by distracting Oliver with some loves and string play on the back porch for a good 30 mins, but sadly, the new kitty didn't come back.

While I was playing with Oliver, I noticed that MK came back to the side yard to play. He was all by his lonesome out there and he didn't seem as relaxed as he is when Oliver is with him. A few minutes after I opened the screen porch door to allow Oliver to leave, I noticed MK approaching. I did my best statute pose as I didn't want to scare him off. After a few more minutes he came right up to the back porch door and stood in the entry, about 5 feet away from me, surveying Oliver's porch. He must of stayed there about 10 seconds before heading back out - I was thrilled that he elected to get that close to me!

Never a dull moment here! Now I need to starting working on my plan to TNR this new kitty, but I'm not sure how to accomplish this with Oliver on patrol. I guess it's time to consult with Nancy, my mentor from the Community Cat Coalition group.

12 comments:

  1. Your yard is a black cat magnet! Good luck in catching the handsome stranger....I guess he's not directly related to your black cat gang :)

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  2. The new cat is so very tall! Good luck with the TNR!
    Jane x

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  3. No, never a dull moment in your neck of the woods, so to speak. Toby is the only abandoned one I'm seeing regularly now--there used to be a small long-haired brown tabby un-neutered male (with whom Toby would fight viciously) in our area, but he's been gone for a long time now.

    Good luck with Mr. Thin Man(cat). At the very least, he needs some fattening up. Of course Oliver would protect his territory--he knows he's got a good set up! :-)

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  4. Not surprised Oliver is defending his territory - especially if the new guy isn't neutered.....hopefully with some time things will settle in and everyone will learn to peacefully co-exist....

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  5. I love black cats (maybe why I'm so drawn to Oliver). MK sounds like he is getting more comfortable there...now the newbie needs some food so I hope Oliver will play nice.

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  6. How about you call MK Larry, and the two others Darryl??
    http://www.angelfire.com/retro/80sfun/tvnr.html

    As for getting all the kitties to get along, how about another food station.. some place off to the side.

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  7. We hope you manage to TNR the new kitty soon. Guess Oliver is just protecting his territory.

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  8. Oh we agree your yard is a cat magnet but that is so much fun for you...and for them it's obvious.
    purrs
    >^,,^<
    ♥Abby♥Boo♥Ping♥Jinx♥Grace♥

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  9. oh how fun! maybe feed new kitty at the front of the house?

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  10. Good luck with the TNR on the new kitty

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  11. Heidi (kittenhunter)March 19, 2012 at 3:22 PM

    I have to agree with having a second feeding station. And how about Pete and Repete(repeat)?

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  12. I LOVE Pete and RePete and Larry and his brother Darryl.

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