PART 1. FREDDY THE FREELOADER We've always had domestic cats. It was in 1994 when we had Patches, an aging female Calico and Buffy a young energetic female. We were partial to females. Buffy would guard the property and eagerly chase off the cats she didn't approve of. However, some cats both domestic and feral were accepted. It was about this time when we began to notice a very mature black male feral cat, hanging around the house and chilling out with Patches and Buffy. We could tell he had really been around and that life might not have been good to him. The girls (as we called them) completely accepted him and he was real sweet with them knowing that neither one of them could satisfy his primal urges. We could hear him in the night, roaming the property, moaning and pining for female company. The girls slept with us and raised their heads when they heard him outside. Every morning, he would be waiting for me at the den door where I went out to get the newspaper. I began feeding him and he gradually started coming into the kitchen to eat with the girls. He was very mellow for a feral cat and the girls liked him. He and I became buddies and this is how I got started with ferals. We named him Freddy after the Miles Davis jazz tune "Freddy the Freeloader" because we would joke about him freeloading off us.

BUFFY

PART 2. MAMA KITTY By now Freddy and I are getting pretty tight. I was amazed that I could eventually pick him up, put him on my lap and pet him. This was my closest encounter with a feral and he certainly needed to be loved. He wasn't a particularly handsome animal. In fact he looked a little dog chewed, but his disposition and that loving look in his eye overcame all that. Every morning the routine was the same. He'd come in, eat, get some loving, lay around, scratch a bit and lick himself silly. Why do cats lick so much and then go out and roll in the dirt? After he's had his fill of goodies, he's gone until the next morning. We would hear him at night though, moaning and pining as usual. He was a friend to the girls, and any friend of theirs is a friend of mine. Lily and I began noticing a young skinny black and white cat darting around the backyard every once in a while. It was like watching one of those Roadrunner cartoons. We soon found out why. It seems Buffy had decided that we were going to see as little of this newcomer as possible. We decided the newcomer was a female. Buffy and Patches would go out for the day just after their morning meal. That's when I started noticing the newcomer sitting on top of a sawed off tree trunk hidden by some branches just a few feet from our den door. This poor little animal was obviously very hungry. So you know what I did? Right. I put food and water just outside the door. She would warily crawl to the bowl with her pistol eyes darting right and left, keeping an eye out for Big Bad Buffy who, for some reason was still putting heat on her. Lily was beginning to ride me about all this. She felt I was gaining a reputation with the neighborhood cats as a soft touch. I really had no problem with that. We named the newcomer Wild One. Considering her behavior, we felt this was appropriate. She was the spookiest cat that we have ever seen. Wilder than the coyotes that roam our hilly neighborhood. I can honestly admit, Lily and I coming home late at night, have walked closer to the coyotes than we could with the Wild One. I couldn't get within 20 ft. of her. She was going to be a challenge for me. Over a period of time, I started putting the food just inside the den door. I would prop the screen open about 1 1/2 ft. so she could come and go and not feel trapped. She went for the bait. Gradually, after a few weeks, moving the food a little at a time, I got her eating in the kitchen where the other cats eat, but HeeHeeHee, not at the same time. I would sit in a part of the den reading the newspaper and observing her so I wouldn't spook her. She would crawl in towards the kitchen with her belly rubbing the floor the way cats do when they're really scared, looking all around for you know who. I couldn't even turn a page of the newspaper because it would spook her, sending her flying out the door while I'm reading parts of the paper I'm not interested in. Patches was indifferent to this new situation and didn't give a lick. Buffy was a different matter and Wild One sensed this. Her meals, although stressful, were appreciated and over time Buffy didn't give a lick either and Freddy just licked himself. Lily and I were beginning to observe that the Wild One was looking more like the Wide One. There were definitely outside forces at work here which had nothing to do with our charitable efforts. Yep, you quessed it. The Wild One has now been upgraded to MAMA KITTY and Buffy has been down graded to merely stand offish. So Mama Kitty kept coming in for her meals dragging her larger belly across the floor creating a rare dust free zone in our home. Meantime, Patches is failing. She has always been healthy with minimal visitation to the vet, but she is getting old. When an aging cat only sits in one place both inside and outside, refusing to eat or even to drink, it's time to be thinking about that final obligatory trip to the vet. God I hate this situation. When exactly do you do this? Today? Tomorrow? Next Week? Shall we wait to see what happens? In the meantime, the cat feels like shit. I've been through this before and the answer is: Do yourself and the cat a favor, no matter how gut wrenching, suck it up and get the poor animal to the vet because the situation is not going to get better. The vet sometimes asks if you want to accompany your pet in the process. I always go in to see that every thing is proper and to hold my Love as she goes. That's the least I could do for someone who has given me so much pleasure. I always felt I handled myself well in these situations. I was cool, but only up to a point. It happens the same way everytime. As I close the door upon leaving the vet, a huge rush goes through my body and my head fills with tears. I walk quickly to the car so no one will notice me and make the short but difficult drive home, Goodbye Patches. Thanks for 16 years of love and wonderful memories.

MAMA KITTY (a mysterious cat)

Mama Kitty was very wild and unapproachable. I would feed her outside and she would meow her approval. Eventually she gave birth to her babies in our backyard. After I would feed her, she would then go nurse her babies. This went on for 5 months. Seeing that her feral kittens were in good hands, she split, never to be seen again. We don't know where she came from and we don't know what happened to her. She was a wonderful mother and we miss her. She left us 4 beautiful kittens that are giving us much love & joy.

 

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