Hello fellow cat crazies!
My predicament:
For the past several months I have been leaving cat food on my patio (I live in an apartment) because I noticed a few cats running around. When I started to leave food out I saw at least 6 different cats coming to eat and one opossum. One cat that comes regularly is a small female, white with buff patches on her back, a dark brown striped tail and blue eyes. She's really quite petite and unique looking. I think she is still kittenish- maybe a year old. She was VERY skittish at first and would run off as soon as she saw me come to the door.
The last 6-8 weeks there has been a male coming too. He is clearly someone's pet that they let out at night and he is not neutered. He lets me pick him up and pet him, he even loves on my small dog. Here is the kicker- for the last 6 weeks or so, every time he comes around she is with him. she LOVES him, I have never seen cat behavior like this before. She literally follows him wherever he goes, eats from the bowl while he eats, rubs her face on him, grooms him, it is totally bizarre!
Lately I have been sitting outside when they show up at night and trying to touch her. She will eat treats that I toss towards her, and she will even come up and eat from the food bowl that's right next to me IF he is on the porch with me. She is VERY vocal. I always know when they are outside because she is constantly mewing. She has never hissed or growled at me. If she is eating and I reach out and softly touch her she starts to knead her paws and acts like she likes it but the second she looks up and sees that its my hand touching her she darts back out of reach. She will stay just out of the railing on my patio and watch me while I sit out there with her boyfriend. Sometimes she will come up and eat or come up and lay with him while I am out there, but if she thinks I am going to try and touch her she darts out of reach.
The past week I have noticed she has become rather large around the middle and I am quite certain she is pregnant. As I said, she was very petite before and I think she is still a kitten- her belly is really round, not like my inside cats, their fat hangs further back between their back legs and it "hangs" hers looks more solid and is further up in the middle of her body. When she sits she looks triangle shaped from behind.
ANYWAY- I know you all were wondering if their was a question here-
Does this sound like a feral cat to you? At first I thought she was, but now that I see her around her boyfriend I think maybe she has just been a stray for a while.
Also, should I try to bring her inside since she is pregnant? as I said I live in an apartment (2bdrm 2bath approx 1100sq ft) and I already have 5 (YES FIVE!) cats and a small dog living inside. (epitome of crazy cat lady I know!) Its just my husband and myself as far as humans go, so I COULD put her in our extra bedroom that also has a walk in closet- but I don't want to stress her out- and I wonder if my other cats sticking their paws under the door and making noise and the smell of them might stress her out too much.
What do you guys think?
I will try to get a good picture of her tonight if I can.
Thanks cat people! your feedback is much appreciated!
My predicament:
For the past several months I have been leaving cat food on my patio (I live in an apartment) because I noticed a few cats running around. When I started to leave food out I saw at least 6 different cats coming to eat and one opossum. One cat that comes regularly is a small female, white with buff patches on her back, a dark brown striped tail and blue eyes. She's really quite petite and unique looking. I think she is still kittenish- maybe a year old. She was VERY skittish at first and would run off as soon as she saw me come to the door.
The last 6-8 weeks there has been a male coming too. He is clearly someone's pet that they let out at night and he is not neutered. He lets me pick him up and pet him, he even loves on my small dog. Here is the kicker- for the last 6 weeks or so, every time he comes around she is with him. she LOVES him, I have never seen cat behavior like this before. She literally follows him wherever he goes, eats from the bowl while he eats, rubs her face on him, grooms him, it is totally bizarre!
Lately I have been sitting outside when they show up at night and trying to touch her. She will eat treats that I toss towards her, and she will even come up and eat from the food bowl that's right next to me IF he is on the porch with me. She is VERY vocal. I always know when they are outside because she is constantly mewing. She has never hissed or growled at me. If she is eating and I reach out and softly touch her she starts to knead her paws and acts like she likes it but the second she looks up and sees that its my hand touching her she darts back out of reach. She will stay just out of the railing on my patio and watch me while I sit out there with her boyfriend. Sometimes she will come up and eat or come up and lay with him while I am out there, but if she thinks I am going to try and touch her she darts out of reach.
The past week I have noticed she has become rather large around the middle and I am quite certain she is pregnant. As I said, she was very petite before and I think she is still a kitten- her belly is really round, not like my inside cats, their fat hangs further back between their back legs and it "hangs" hers looks more solid and is further up in the middle of her body. When she sits she looks triangle shaped from behind.
ANYWAY- I know you all were wondering if their was a question here-
Does this sound like a feral cat to you? At first I thought she was, but now that I see her around her boyfriend I think maybe she has just been a stray for a while.
Also, should I try to bring her inside since she is pregnant? as I said I live in an apartment (2bdrm 2bath approx 1100sq ft) and I already have 5 (YES FIVE!) cats and a small dog living inside. (epitome of crazy cat lady I know!) Its just my husband and myself as far as humans go, so I COULD put her in our extra bedroom that also has a walk in closet- but I don't want to stress her out- and I wonder if my other cats sticking their paws under the door and making noise and the smell of them might stress her out too much.
What do you guys think?
I will try to get a good picture of her tonight if I can.
Thanks cat people! your feedback is much appreciated!