Monthly Archive

It has been a while since the past post; I’ve been busy on some other things.  Today I’d like to update on the progress made in dealing with the stray cat population in the neighborhood.  The city where I live supports stray-cat population control through a relationship with the local animal shelter.  To summarize, the city picks up the cost of neuter/spay when a stray is brought in.  The cat is added to the shelter population for adoption or, if an older feral, released in the neighborhood where he was picked up.

In 2015 we successful in that we trapped 6 feral (the parents and 4 of their 5 offspring). The kittens found new forever homes and the parents were released in the neighborhood but have since moved on.

This year we again set out to trap strays.  3 new strays moved into the factory yard. The adult is a large tiger; I guessed his age at 2 to 3 years and he seemed to be quite well fed which leads me to think he was someone’s cat at one point.  There are 2 kittens, maybe 6 months old at this point that have taken to visiting our yard, looking to share a meal with our own cats. The 5^th kitten from last year’s litter is still here, visiting most every morning for a meal.

Working the trap for a 10 day period we were able to capture the adult tiger (taken to the shelter) and Paul the Possum (repeatedly).

The current stray population:

Junior, 18 month old tiger.  He has managed to avoid the traps (we’ve tried to catch him on a dozen occasions but have not been successful) and has settled into the role of ‘neighborhood cat’.  While he still stops by here in the mornings for a meal, he is also fed by some of the other people living on the court.

The Kittens – They started showing up in the back during the summer.  Not sure where they came from but, due to their coloring, we think their parents started to visit the yard in the early spring.  Always seen together, they come out at sunrise and again near sunset, looking to get a handout.  Mr. Big, our Maine Coon, has taken an interest in these kitties and visits with them at meal time.

Paul the Possum – A frequent visitor, Paul has spent more time in our trap than all other captures combined.  He likes the cat food we put out and doesn’t seem to mind getting caught, as long as there is food available.

And the Court Cats are all doing fine.  Precious just celebrated her birthday; she’s 13 and is talkative.  Fatty and Mr. Big are doing well; they spend the autumn days sleeping on the back steps, warmed by the sun.