Bengal Mania

A year ago now, the family that lived below us on the hill moved away and we started seeing a small black kitty visiting our yard. We have a number of kitties of our own that enjoy playing and hunting gophers in the yard and it is a very safe place with fencing, gentle slopes and a loving kitty family. Since I work from home, I go out and check on the kitties many many times during the day, making sure they're close by, in good shape, pampered and protected. A new kitty visiting the yard gets their attention pretty quickly, and therefore gets my attention quickly too, as I see my kitties come up to the safety of the deck to watch the new visitor.

The yard is pretty large, with lots of bushes, trees and (I admit) sections of tall grass that I hadn't gotten mowed down yet. Great for kitties to play, hide and ambush each other. Sometimes it takes me a while to finally see what they're telling me is right out there, but in this case, this new little visitor was easy to spot. All black, small, it looked very interested in the other kitties. It would sit down in the field a bit and just watch us, looking for all the world like it wanted to join in. Given that the house below had now been vacant for about a week, and that the owners had left a couple of their dogs at the property (Yes, heartless, but he finally came by every few days to throw out food. I fed and comforted them every morning and was ready to step in if he stopped showing up), it seemed quite likely that this new visitor kitty had been abandoned and was probably hungry, lonely and scared; especially since it did not look very old. A week would have been about the right amount of time for it to grow hungry enough that it would venture up to where it heard other kitties and activity. This series covers the transformation that this new little kitty went through, and what a tremendous transformation it was too. These are the posts as they happened on Facebook covering the journey this little one went through. Please follow along as we tell the story of saving this little heart, and the journey we went through with him.

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April 27, 2012

There has been a strange cat coming up to see us. Didn't seem too afraid, but didn't come all the way up either. I figured if they had a cat down there, it would find its way up here, so I'll keep a watch for him/her. We had 13 when Pan was here. This one is another all black one. I thought it was Carbon at first, but then it stood up and had a white patch on it's throat and, of course, looked afraid at me. I actually had a stupid thought that "Gee, I hope he comes back if he needs help..."

Of course, he'll come back. they all do. Yes, the new black kitty has been hanging around all day. I'll see if he'll come closer tomorrow. The other kids have been watching him/her, letting me know where (s)he is. The timing would be about right for her to have come from down at the abandoned place. I don't even know if it's a she or he, but chances are (given the owners...) it isn't fixed! If (s)he is around for another day or so, I'll bring out the safe trap and see what I can catch. Since I haven't seen her/him before, I'm thinking (s)he was kept inside the house and got let out when she was dumped, so hopefully hasn't had a chance to "get busy". Nonetheless, if (s)he continues to be around as much as she was today (and I'm thinking yesterday afternoon, as the kids were acting funny then), I won't waste much time and trap her/him to check. Admiral Ackbar was here on and off for 9 months before he finally moved in; a story in and of itself. This cat seems a little more desperate, and not nearly as afraid. (S)he was right up to the edge of the deck when I went out, and I was talking to her because I thought it was Carbon until (s)he looked up at me, and then didn't really run away. This evening, (s)he nearly came right up to the front door! The kids usually make friends first, and since they were still skittish today, that tells me (s)he hasn't been around before, but was very brave coming right up..... so I think I'll be seeing more of him/her tomorrow. I almost put out the trap tonight, but I'll give him/her a day or two in case (s)he's just a new neighbor. If (s)he continues to look desperate and hungry, then I'll act. April 30, 2012

Just convinced a new little black kitty to have some food. He (looks like a he....) was VERY hungry. Wasn't super skittish, came right up to the door while I was just inside. He would eat some noms and look up at me through the door's window.

I hate people that would abandon animals. When I was jingling the food bowl, and he was sitting about 30 feet away, he looked and started licking his lips. I went back inside and he came over pretty fast and just started chowing down. If he's going to hang around, I need to get him checked for a chip, diseases, pregnancy (if it's a girl)... Doesn't seem feral; just scared.... and abandoned. May 1, 2012

Yes, there is a new black kitty hanging out in our weeds. sigh..... he's hard to tell apart from the two other black kids we have, so I keep startling him. So much to do today, with keeping a lookout for a new little black kitty to wander by.

Oh yes, this is exactly what we need right now. His face looks like a boy, but his size, structure and demeanor looks like a girl. Its a mystery! I also don't know if this isn't just an adolescent kitten. May 2, 2012

Posted a note at the mailboxes for the lost kitty. I doubt that anyone will call.

May 3, 2012

As I expected, no call about a lost kitty. The trap comes out this afternoon. Black Bart (a working title) should be easy to catch.

NEXT - Capture! What will I catch? Is it a he? A she? Feral? Domesticated? Thank you for following along! Peace, Joy   Tags: black, cat, family, feral, found, Kitty, lost, rescue, stray
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