colony | Bad Cat Chris

I am still putting food out for the ferals that hang around my place of employment but for a stretch of a couple of weeks I saw them very rarely. The food was always gone when I checked later in the day so I assumed they were just showing up later than usual. That surprised me because there is a school behind my work and activity increases exponentially after I get there.

One day I saw several birds interested in the food.

I worried that maybe the birds were eating it but I never saw the birds after that so I think that wasn’t normal.

Fortunately, I started seeing more of the feral cats again about two weeks ago. Some days I see only one and not always the same one but other days I see all three like this morning and when I took this video.

This fellow usually shows up independent of the other cats. Not sure if he is in the same colony or an outsider.

Today was a good day because the ginger and white cat was waiting for me when I got there this morning and the bullseye tabby showed up as soon as I brought the food out. Normally she (or he) is pretty shy but I think she is getting used to me.

There is one more cat, a white and black cat that I have not seen for a long time. I hope that one is okay.

I have seen my feral cat at work only occasionally since my last post about him.

I can understand his absence because we have had a lot of rain these last two weeks. My place of employment even flooded last weekend and then it flooded again on Monday while we were cleaning up from the first flood.

View from my work, August 3.

Friday was a dry morning but I did not see the cat around when I put food out for him. As I was looking for him, I spotted another cat in the distance. He was a gold and white cat that looked like one I saw a few times months ago, perhaps even over a year ago. I walked back inside and got my camera and quietly opened the door a crack to get some pictures as the cat moved in the direction of the food.
After he walked out of view behind the building, I waited long enough for him to get to the food and then I peeked around the corner to find he had stopped and was now looking at me. I don’t know how he knew I was there. It is a noisy environment and I walked very quietly. Perhaps he smelled me. Must be the deodorant.

I backed up and gave him more time and this time he was eating the food I put out.

After about ten minutes I thought the cat would be gone and I should put out another handful of food for my other feral. When I got outside I was surprised to find another cat where the food was. This one seemed to be looking for food but it was gone, or almost gone.

I snapped a couple of pictures and then put my camera away and slowly approached the cat. I knew he would retreat but I wanted it to stay close enough to see what I was doing. He, or she, backed off about ten feet and when I got closer, ran off to the left where, unnoticed by me, the gold cat was waiting for him. The two of them ran together around a nearby building and disappeared. Later the food was gone so one, or both, of them came back.

I noticed that all three cats are ear tipped, indicating they have been fixed, which is good. It also means that they may be part of a managed colony. If so, my food is more of a treat for them, but I would hate to stop putting it out since it is being eaten.

Feral Cats At Work

Feral Cat Update