- Joined
- Apr 26, 2017
- Messages
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- Purraise
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I have 10 cats. The family dynamics are as follows:
1 feral cat who lives in the woods behind me and mothered many of the others (4 yrs old).
2 pet cats I took in from other people (2-3 yrs old).
2 half domesticated feral kittens from the mother's 1st litter. One lives in the woods 75% of the time. The other now lives mainly in doors but still exhibits feral/territorial behaviors toward other cats (almost 1 year old).
5 sibling litter (mom's second litter) which were all raised together indoors. They occasionally exhibit territorial behavior but are pretty adaptable to outsiders due to being young and raised together (6 months old).
We went to look for the feral mom at the edge of the woods yesterday. We were all playing and carrying on when I turned around to see a skinny female kitten waiting by the food bowl.
She first showed up at the bowl a couple of months back. Same situation. I was too busy looking for mom to notice her until she was at the bowl waiting for food.
With 9 well fed assorted cats potentially in tow I usually wait to put the food down until their feral mom comes. She will protect her food from the others until she's eaten what she needs.
The first time I saw the little skinny girl at the bowl mom had been eating but had stopped and moved back and let the little kitten take over her bowl. That was 2 months ago. I was shocked. Mom never does this. I assumed she had become full quickly because I leave food accessible to her 24/7 in my shop (garage). Still, this was very out of character for her so I had to re-check my math about when she had which litter vs when she was fixed vs how much time was in between to be sure in my mind this new stranger was not her own lost kitten (it's not).
The woods get about an acre and a half deep directly behind us but have been cut and developed just to our right. This means cleared properties are to our right. The woods to our left stretch for about 20 + acres alternating in depth depending on how developed the properties they are sandwiched between have become.
After I first saw this little skinny stranger kitten I assumed she belonged to someone close by because she knew exactly what a food bowl was for and knew exactly how to charm the person putting out the food so as not to be run off. I would look out from the house and see her wandering the woods line sometimes. One day I saw her happily playing in the yard to the back right with a litter mate. They are cat people who had 3 female indoor cats so I guess one of their pets got knocked up and had a litter. Once I knew she had a home and they were cat people I stopped looking for her. Sometimes she and her litter mate would eventually show up while I and my 9 cats were out looking for my feral mother cat.
This most recent time it was just the skinnier one. Again, she went right to the bowl to wait for me to feed but I did not notice her until my feral mom didn't come out. She was so skinny that I opened the can anyway and gave it to her instead. I did not expect this to work out well for her because 9 other cats were also waiting for their turn.
To my surprise not 1 cat tried to swat her away. Not 1 cat tried to even share the food with her. Nobody attacked her. Surely the 5 sibling litter would have just all tried to grab a bite with her. Surely the half feral older kittens would have attacked her over taking the "good stuff". All 9 cats will swat and growl at each other over cheap food much more so for coveted treats and quality canned food.
Is it possible that since all of my cats are so well fed that even the half feral ones would have compassion for a starving stranger who's territory overlaps with theirs?
I sat there and watched in amazement while 9 typically competitive cats let this skinny young girl eat totally undisturbed until the plate was clean.
1 feral cat who lives in the woods behind me and mothered many of the others (4 yrs old).
2 pet cats I took in from other people (2-3 yrs old).
2 half domesticated feral kittens from the mother's 1st litter. One lives in the woods 75% of the time. The other now lives mainly in doors but still exhibits feral/territorial behaviors toward other cats (almost 1 year old).
5 sibling litter (mom's second litter) which were all raised together indoors. They occasionally exhibit territorial behavior but are pretty adaptable to outsiders due to being young and raised together (6 months old).
We went to look for the feral mom at the edge of the woods yesterday. We were all playing and carrying on when I turned around to see a skinny female kitten waiting by the food bowl.
She first showed up at the bowl a couple of months back. Same situation. I was too busy looking for mom to notice her until she was at the bowl waiting for food.
With 9 well fed assorted cats potentially in tow I usually wait to put the food down until their feral mom comes. She will protect her food from the others until she's eaten what she needs.
The first time I saw the little skinny girl at the bowl mom had been eating but had stopped and moved back and let the little kitten take over her bowl. That was 2 months ago. I was shocked. Mom never does this. I assumed she had become full quickly because I leave food accessible to her 24/7 in my shop (garage). Still, this was very out of character for her so I had to re-check my math about when she had which litter vs when she was fixed vs how much time was in between to be sure in my mind this new stranger was not her own lost kitten (it's not).
The woods get about an acre and a half deep directly behind us but have been cut and developed just to our right. This means cleared properties are to our right. The woods to our left stretch for about 20 + acres alternating in depth depending on how developed the properties they are sandwiched between have become.
After I first saw this little skinny stranger kitten I assumed she belonged to someone close by because she knew exactly what a food bowl was for and knew exactly how to charm the person putting out the food so as not to be run off. I would look out from the house and see her wandering the woods line sometimes. One day I saw her happily playing in the yard to the back right with a litter mate. They are cat people who had 3 female indoor cats so I guess one of their pets got knocked up and had a litter. Once I knew she had a home and they were cat people I stopped looking for her. Sometimes she and her litter mate would eventually show up while I and my 9 cats were out looking for my feral mother cat.
This most recent time it was just the skinnier one. Again, she went right to the bowl to wait for me to feed but I did not notice her until my feral mom didn't come out. She was so skinny that I opened the can anyway and gave it to her instead. I did not expect this to work out well for her because 9 other cats were also waiting for their turn.
To my surprise not 1 cat tried to swat her away. Not 1 cat tried to even share the food with her. Nobody attacked her. Surely the 5 sibling litter would have just all tried to grab a bite with her. Surely the half feral older kittens would have attacked her over taking the "good stuff". All 9 cats will swat and growl at each other over cheap food much more so for coveted treats and quality canned food.
Is it possible that since all of my cats are so well fed that even the half feral ones would have compassion for a starving stranger who's territory overlaps with theirs?
I sat there and watched in amazement while 9 typically competitive cats let this skinny young girl eat totally undisturbed until the plate was clean.