As were approaching the 1st birthday for a number of the ferals in the Northrup community, thought it would be a good time for an update.

Population – Back in the fall the population was 21 cats, the majority being born in the spring of 2017. Junior, the neighborhood tom was responsible for at least half the kittens while the remainder either found their way here on their own or the females left once the kittens were weaned.  Within the last week I have counted 15 cats, 6 have either moved on or didn’t make it through the winter.  20180406_151955

Territory – A few of the cats have expanded their territory to roughly a square mile.  this includes both the factory behind the house and the Court itself.  As seen in the pictures here, some of the cats have included rooftops  in their territory.

Family attachments – I have been watching the cts and have noticed that there is a strong attachment between cats born in a particular litter.  For example, one litter produced 3 gray cats who are inseparable.  The trio of gold tabbys can always be seen together. 20180407_110349 And the one mother  (the calico) who stayed here will usually be close to her daughter, Patches, the white and brown in the pictures below..

Feral Instincts – The cats have shown they are capable of fending for themselves.  We’ve seen several birds that have been dispatched by the young adults.  Clean kills every time.  Additionally we have not seen new cats try to come into the territory.  Judging by occasional tufts of fur on the sidewalk, the young cats have been defending their space.20180407_110108

How do the Oak Court Cats get along with the ferals? Mr Big, the Maine Coon, gets along with the ferals; they respect him, seeming to understand that they are in his territory.  Precious has no time for the ferals; she steps out into the yard and they take off.  Mr. Fatty doesn’t seem to care one way or the other; he ignores them and they respond in kind.

So we are watching for new litters; hopefully we can get to them before the cats are too old to be considered for adoption.  IMG_20171224_093553_323