So, I'm sitting outside, sipping some wine, and I suddenly feel like someone is staring at me

[Siwsan]

And there, sitting incredibly close, I see this:



The food bowl was empty and I guess hunger overcame her reluctance to approach me. A few seconds later she moved to the other side of the table and was even closer. I was so stunned, I couldn't even reach for my phone. The catmatizing continued until I got up and put more food in the bowl.

I can't wait to see if this happens, again.

[Phoenix61]

1. It was all part of the plan to train you to

feed her on command. They are sneaky little fur masters yes they are.

[Siwsan]

2. It would be nice if those kittens I saw were hers, but I doubt they are

The one I saw the clearest looks a lot like a dark grey and white, very long hair cat I occasionally see, during the day time but mostly it comes by at night.

[jmowreader]

38. You'd be surprised

I caught a pregnant cat who'd been dumped in my neighborhood. The mother cat was a shorthair tortoiseshell. The kittens were two black longhair, one Siamese-pattern longhair and one orange longhair.

[Siwsan]

39. Yea - she showed up with them, this morning, at the feeding station

One is pearl grey and the other looks like a fluffy Tuxedo. I think there is a 3rd that looks more like Skittish.

The kittens are very nervous and Skittish is VERY protective. I hope to be able to trap them, get her fixed and get the kittens adopted.

[Rebl2]

3. So true!

[First Speaker]

4. Human--I never drink...wine.

[malaise]

5. Ferals are amazing

They know exactly who to trust.
I brush the big one with a special cat broom and this morning one of the kittens came close enough for a brush. Can't wait to put her and the other one in the traveling cage to take them to the JSPCA to find homes for them.

[Sanity Claws]

6. If I stare at your wine glass

Will you give me some? What kind is it?

[Siwsan]

8. I don't think cats like Sauvignon Blanc

There is a wine from Chili that I sometimes get at Meijer, called 'Gato Negro'. She might at least appreciate the label.

[Sanity Claws]

9. But I do

Cheers!

[Warpy]

7. Cats don't say much, but they always get the point across

Looks pretty sleek for a feral beastie.

[Siwsan]

10. She's been eating well for a few months, now

I've added a wet/dry mix for her morning meal. She's usually here by 7, if not a little earlier. Then she stops by for a lunch of mixed dry foods. And sometimes she just comes over to hang out in the shade of my 'air conditioned' maple tree, which is where I am, right now.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

11. One of SCE's LoLCats cartoons from this morning came to mind.....

Thanks for sharing, Siwsan.........

[Siwsan]

12. I have most definitely paused my breakfast making to take care of hers.

She waits so patiently, and looks so cute, I can't resist.

[COL Mustard]

13. I See Another Problem In That Picture

Your wineglass has waaaaay too much air at the top!

[Siwsan]

15. I'd been out here for a while.

I need to find my insulated wine bag so I can keep a bottle next to me, at all times!

[lonely bird]

14. Remember...

Dogs have owners, cats have staff.

[GopherGal]

30. Stealing this...

For several cat-trained* friends.

*originally wrote "cat-serving" but that sounded as if it might be interpreted as indicating unusual culinary habits.

[Shermann]

16. That's not a "stare", that's the Malocchio!!

Otherwise known as the Evil Eye

[FuzzyRabbit]

17. My sister started feeding an abandoned cat.

Then a few weeks later the cat moved into her house and hasn't left.

Congratulations, Siswan, on finding your new cat. Or more correctly, congratulations, cat, on finding your new human.

[Siwsan]

18. I'm pretty sure she will remain my outdoor cat, but I would LOVE to be proven wrong.

I'd love to catch her, now, and get her to a vet for a check up and to be fixed, if she isn't, already. Her ears aren't notched so unless she was a pet for a short time and then was abandoned to life as a feral, she's likely a breeder. And I say "she" even though I have to 100% proof. But, as if yet, I've seen no woogies. But, I'm also afraid doing that would traumatize her and she might fun away, as soon as I bring her back.

[FuzzyRabbit]

24. Kitter came inside after it got cold during the winter.

She (the cat, not my sister) was fine living in the greenhouse until then. My sister would take her food every day, and then one cold day Kitter followed her into the house.

[Probatim]

29. I started feeding a feral cat 5 years ago. Turned out it was a neighbor's cat

who got tired of living with three screaming children under the age of five - apparently the daughter liked to carry the cat around like a loaf of bread.

So the cat escaped, lived in the woods next to my house, and ate chipmunks for 3-4 months. It took me almost two months to convince him to come in to the house. After two weeks of being here for a few hours a day, he's now family.

[link:|

[ShazzieB]

32. An orange boi!

How cute.

[Probatim]

33. He's the best cat we've had.

He still hides because of loud noises and from most guests. But he's good for keeping my feet warm at night and doesn't mind belly rubs.

[Permanut]

19. I hear exactly what you're saying..

We were adopted by a neighborhood stray (probably not feral, not that wild) a few months ago when we moved here. Looks like the 15 pound brother of your visitor. Delighted to have him come by for food, water and play, and will take some pets now. He can come by anytime, and stay as long as he wants. Even comes in the house now (eight months later).

[Ocelot II]

20. I seem to have acquired a skittish kitty, too.

He started turning up on my porch earlier this spring, when it was still quite cold and wet. There's a comfortable chair on the porch, and I'd see him sleeping on it. So I started putting out food. Then I put an electric pet bed warmer on the chair because it was going below freezing at night. As long as it stayed cold he spent most of his time sleeping on the chair, getting up only to eat the food I put out for him. Now that it's warm he doesn't spend much time on the chair, but he's started stalking me for food. Sometimes when I go outside to do yard work I'll see him lurking among the hostas, and he'll approach me cautiously but he won't get close. The other day I was reading outside on my back yard deck and I looked up and there he was, about six feet away and staring at me. So of course I fed him. Earlier today he appeared on my back steps, looking in the door, so I fed him. He ate two full cans of Fancy Feast and a slice of roast beef.

He's not very big so I think he's still young; he's a bottomless pit, will eat as much as I give him and he looks quite healthy. I'd like to catch him and get him neutered but so far I can only get within a couple of feet of him. I think he sort of trusts me, though, because he'll eat when I'm quite close to him. And today he gave me a couple of slow blinks, which I returned. I might have to borrow a live trap but I don't want to freak him out. I call him Buddy or Mr. Cat. Here he is:

[Siwsan]

21. Awww. SO ssweet!

My fear with live trapping Skittish is I'll lose all of the ground I've made. I really would love to get her checked, though.

[Ocelot II]

22. Same here. Mr. Cat seems to be getting a little more comfortable

in my presence but I'm afraid of losing whatever trust he has if I trap him and haul him off to the vet. And I don't know whether he's really feral - if so I'd have to set him loose again and he might not come back. If he can be tamed and become a house cat I might not be able to take him in because my cat is likely to have a monumental hissy fit. For the time being I'll just keep feeding him and trying to befriend him. At some point, though - when it gets cold again - I'll just have to do something.

[UpInArms]

23. Yay!

You are now “staff.”

[deepthought42]

25. You will feed me now, human. This is not a request

lmao

[housecat]

26. oh how I wish I could know what he or she is thinking

[mopinko]

27. she's got your number.

you have been assimilated.

[MLAA]

28. I'm wondering if she wanted your glass of wine!

[lonely bird]

31. Now, I must confess...

Fuzzy, our rescue dog, is the first dog we have had (all rescues) that is a hunter. He rid our fenced in yard of moles. And since we live in the country there are feral cats around. The neighbor put out food for one so about 5 of them hang around. Fuzzy HATES them. He is beagle, lab and husky. If the cats come in the yard and he is out he chases them. He actually caught one but, fortunately, it got away.

[Ocelot II]

34. My Mr. Cat is now definitely stalking me.

He turns up almost every time I go outside to work in the garden, or take trash to the alley, or pick up the newspaper, or generally whenever I show my face outside for more than a couple of minutes. I'll feel eyeballs on me and I'll turn around and there he is. Staring. So I go inside and open a can of cat food. When I go back outside he's right by the door. Waiting. He backs off a little as I fill the dish, but as soon as I move a few feet away he dives right in, eats every bit and licks the dish.

However, he doesn't like kibble. He wants Fancy Feast or some other canned food, or actual meat. I've been giving him the white meat from grocery store rotisserie chickens because I don't like white meat and my indoor cat won't eat people food at all. So Mr. Cat gets all the white meat, and completely rejects kibble. I've also been leaving sprigs of catnip as a garnish.

This evening he buttonholed me on the back steps so as usual I dished up some food for him, and sat down near him while he ate it. After he was finished he washed his paws and face and then laid down on the cool cement steps and rested, eyes closed. I continued to sit quietly, sweating and being bitten by mosquitoes, but I wanted him to feel comfortable resting with me nearby. I wish he'd let me pet him; whenever I see cats I want very much to pet them. Maybe someday.

After awhile he finally stood up, yawned and stretched, walked down the steps and disappeared into the hostas.

[Niagara]

35. I missed this OP previously.

This is great. She is communicating with you and is showing some trust. This is a big step for her.


I love this photo.

[Siwsan]

36. She brought her kittens by, this morning

She also let me know that I'd best keep my distance from them but I was thrilled beyond words to see them chowing down at the food bowl. I'm going to pick up some kitten food.

[Niagara]

40. Awww. I hope you can get photos of the kittens too.

Is there future plans to have a TNR for mama? If her kittens are weaned, now would be the time to have it done.




I had a horrible experience last October. A feral mama left 4 newborns in our uncovered boat, I went to check on them and left dry cat food for mama in close proximity of the babies. I couldn't believe that she had kittens that late in the season and I was worried that they would freeze to death at night, their eyes weren't even open yet. I went to check on them the next day, she ate the dry food, moved 2 kittens and killed the other 2 leaving them in the boat. We ended up burying the 2 deceased kittens in our yard. I haven't seen her since and I wanted to have a TNR done on her, so she still hang around but not constantly be pregnant. She had been hanging around for several years prior to this.

[YoshidaYui]

37. aww

Too many cats remind me of my Buzz...I miss that little guy, and cats need longer lives!

[Niagara]

41. Yes! Cats need longer lives!

Sorry to hear about your Buzz.