I'd like to tell you all a story and get your opinions on a few things I've been wondering about recently. It's long, so bear with me.
Three years ago, I was working in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. It's a city where cats roaming the streets is pretty normal. Some of them hang out in public spaces or wander into restaurants or bars, but most spend their time in the alleys, of which there are many. Azerbaijan is a former Soviet republic, and the buildings are mostly Soviet construction; square and robust with heavy concrete walls. Since the end of the USSR, Azerbaijan's economy has boomed thanks to the oil in the Caspian Sea, and a lot of the oil money has been spent on fixing up the facades of the old buildings in the main areas of the city. My flat was in a building on a pedestrian shopping street that had been done up to look like Paris. It was beautiful from the front, but to get into my flat I had to go around to the back of the building, through a rubbish-strewn alleyway and into a filthy courtyard. I often saw cats in the alley and courtyard, and since sometimes the outside door of my building was left open, the cats would often wander in. A few of them liked to hide in a sort of makeshift storage crate on the ground floor just inside the main entry.
I began to notice that one cat in particular could usually be found in that crate, or if the outside door was shut when I got home, she would race past me the minute I opened it and dive into the crate. Eventually she got used to seeing me and would come and meow at me as I unlocked the door, then follow me up the stairs to the door of my flat. She never came close to the door, but I felt bad for her and put a plate with some food scraps outside the door, and they were always gone the next time I looked. This was all very casual and I didn't really think anything of it until one evening I saw my neighbour from across the hall shout at this cat and chase her because she had pooed in the stairwell. I got a bit worried then because the stairs were all made of concrete and if someone kicked the cat down the stairs she could be seriously injured. I thought maybe I should stop feeding her or even stop letting her inside if the neighbours were hostile to her. However, the next evening it was cold and rainy and when I was unlocking the outside door, the cat came out from under a pile of rubbish in the dirty courtyard and meowed at me with big eyes, and I thought, I can't leave her out here in this weather. I let her into the building, she followed me up the stairs to my flat, and this time I opened the door and stood back to see if she would come in. She did, without much hesitation. I didn't have a whole lot to feed her, but gave her some scraps of chicken and let her stay the night. She wandered around the flat for a bit sniffing at things, then curled up on the sofa and fell asleep. The next morning when I left for work I let her out again and she seemed happy to go. She followed me down the stairs and raced out into the courtyard.
That evening I stopped at a shop on my way home and bought a packet of cat food. The cat was waiting for me by the outside door and bounced happily into my flat. I gave her the whole packet of food, which she practically inhaled. A few minutes later, she vomited, but then ate the vomit before I had a chance to clean it up. She didn't vomit again, so I assumed she had just eaten too fast, and maybe wasn't used to so much food all at once. I had no idea how she'd been living, what she'd been eating up to that point. I went to sit on the sofa and she followed me and curled up next to me. I petted her a bit behind her ears, but didn't want to touch her too much in case she didn't like it, and also I wasn't sure if she had any diseases, didn't want her to lash out and bite me or anything. But she seemed friendly and reasonably clean for a cat that hangs out in a filthy courtyard, so I didn't mind having her inside or on the sofa, and so we fell into a pattern. She would sit quietly next to me and sometimes put her head on my feet. Sometimes she would play with bits of paper or a piece of twine she found. Often, she would come sleep on my bed at night. Every morning she would happily go back outside and most evenings she would be waiting for me when I got home. I gave her half a packet of cat food a day and a warm, dry place to sleep, along with a litter box that she never used. I played with her but never petted her very much, not because I didn't like her but because I was afraid we would get too attached to each other. I was only in Baku for a few more months and I knew I wouldn't be able to take her with me when I left. The flat I was headed back to in England didn't allow pets, and I didn't know if vets in Baku would be able to give her shots/microchip, etc so she could travel. I didn't want her to come to rely on me only to have me disappear.
About a week before I left Azerbaijan, I stopped letting the cat in my flat. I felt terrible about it, but I thought the least I could do was to make sure she would be okay once I was gone. I gently blocked her from coming in the flat, then listened at the door to be sure she wasn't sitting out there crying. After a few minutes of silence, I opened the door and she was gone. I didn't see her again, which I hope means that she realised there would be no more food from me and went back to how she had been living before we met.
Now that I have adopted kittens and started reading this forum and learning more about stray and feral cats and their behaviour, I've been thinking about this cat again and wondering about her. She was so friendly that it seems unlikely that she was feral. Most of the cats I saw in Baku seemed pretty comfortable with people, and the people generally treated them with a sort of benign indifference. Some people would feed the alley cats and the cats that hung around bars and restaurants would get scraps. But I'm not sure if that would be enough to make this cat feel comfortable coming into my flat and letting me pet her. She also seemed quite robust, not skinny or malnourished. Her fur was a bit grungy, but thick. She seemed cheerful and good natured and not afraid of me at all. I suppose it's possible that she had other tame humans who fed her or took care of her in some other way. I'd like to think that's the case.
I really just wanted to tell this story to cat lovers and experts and maybe get some opinions on this cat's behaviour. Do you think it's likely she was a stray or had other people who fed her? Was I terrible for feeding and sheltering her when I knew it was only a temporary arrangement? Has anyone had any experiences with street cats like this?
Here's my favourite picture of her, with her head on my feet:
And some other pictures, so you can see what she looked like:
Three years ago, I was working in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. It's a city where cats roaming the streets is pretty normal. Some of them hang out in public spaces or wander into restaurants or bars, but most spend their time in the alleys, of which there are many. Azerbaijan is a former Soviet republic, and the buildings are mostly Soviet construction; square and robust with heavy concrete walls. Since the end of the USSR, Azerbaijan's economy has boomed thanks to the oil in the Caspian Sea, and a lot of the oil money has been spent on fixing up the facades of the old buildings in the main areas of the city. My flat was in a building on a pedestrian shopping street that had been done up to look like Paris. It was beautiful from the front, but to get into my flat I had to go around to the back of the building, through a rubbish-strewn alleyway and into a filthy courtyard. I often saw cats in the alley and courtyard, and since sometimes the outside door of my building was left open, the cats would often wander in. A few of them liked to hide in a sort of makeshift storage crate on the ground floor just inside the main entry.
I began to notice that one cat in particular could usually be found in that crate, or if the outside door was shut when I got home, she would race past me the minute I opened it and dive into the crate. Eventually she got used to seeing me and would come and meow at me as I unlocked the door, then follow me up the stairs to the door of my flat. She never came close to the door, but I felt bad for her and put a plate with some food scraps outside the door, and they were always gone the next time I looked. This was all very casual and I didn't really think anything of it until one evening I saw my neighbour from across the hall shout at this cat and chase her because she had pooed in the stairwell. I got a bit worried then because the stairs were all made of concrete and if someone kicked the cat down the stairs she could be seriously injured. I thought maybe I should stop feeding her or even stop letting her inside if the neighbours were hostile to her. However, the next evening it was cold and rainy and when I was unlocking the outside door, the cat came out from under a pile of rubbish in the dirty courtyard and meowed at me with big eyes, and I thought, I can't leave her out here in this weather. I let her into the building, she followed me up the stairs to my flat, and this time I opened the door and stood back to see if she would come in. She did, without much hesitation. I didn't have a whole lot to feed her, but gave her some scraps of chicken and let her stay the night. She wandered around the flat for a bit sniffing at things, then curled up on the sofa and fell asleep. The next morning when I left for work I let her out again and she seemed happy to go. She followed me down the stairs and raced out into the courtyard.
That evening I stopped at a shop on my way home and bought a packet of cat food. The cat was waiting for me by the outside door and bounced happily into my flat. I gave her the whole packet of food, which she practically inhaled. A few minutes later, she vomited, but then ate the vomit before I had a chance to clean it up. She didn't vomit again, so I assumed she had just eaten too fast, and maybe wasn't used to so much food all at once. I had no idea how she'd been living, what she'd been eating up to that point. I went to sit on the sofa and she followed me and curled up next to me. I petted her a bit behind her ears, but didn't want to touch her too much in case she didn't like it, and also I wasn't sure if she had any diseases, didn't want her to lash out and bite me or anything. But she seemed friendly and reasonably clean for a cat that hangs out in a filthy courtyard, so I didn't mind having her inside or on the sofa, and so we fell into a pattern. She would sit quietly next to me and sometimes put her head on my feet. Sometimes she would play with bits of paper or a piece of twine she found. Often, she would come sleep on my bed at night. Every morning she would happily go back outside and most evenings she would be waiting for me when I got home. I gave her half a packet of cat food a day and a warm, dry place to sleep, along with a litter box that she never used. I played with her but never petted her very much, not because I didn't like her but because I was afraid we would get too attached to each other. I was only in Baku for a few more months and I knew I wouldn't be able to take her with me when I left. The flat I was headed back to in England didn't allow pets, and I didn't know if vets in Baku would be able to give her shots/microchip, etc so she could travel. I didn't want her to come to rely on me only to have me disappear.
About a week before I left Azerbaijan, I stopped letting the cat in my flat. I felt terrible about it, but I thought the least I could do was to make sure she would be okay once I was gone. I gently blocked her from coming in the flat, then listened at the door to be sure she wasn't sitting out there crying. After a few minutes of silence, I opened the door and she was gone. I didn't see her again, which I hope means that she realised there would be no more food from me and went back to how she had been living before we met.
Now that I have adopted kittens and started reading this forum and learning more about stray and feral cats and their behaviour, I've been thinking about this cat again and wondering about her. She was so friendly that it seems unlikely that she was feral. Most of the cats I saw in Baku seemed pretty comfortable with people, and the people generally treated them with a sort of benign indifference. Some people would feed the alley cats and the cats that hung around bars and restaurants would get scraps. But I'm not sure if that would be enough to make this cat feel comfortable coming into my flat and letting me pet her. She also seemed quite robust, not skinny or malnourished. Her fur was a bit grungy, but thick. She seemed cheerful and good natured and not afraid of me at all. I suppose it's possible that she had other tame humans who fed her or took care of her in some other way. I'd like to think that's the case.
I really just wanted to tell this story to cat lovers and experts and maybe get some opinions on this cat's behaviour. Do you think it's likely she was a stray or had other people who fed her? Was I terrible for feeding and sheltering her when I knew it was only a temporary arrangement? Has anyone had any experiences with street cats like this?
Here's my favourite picture of her, with her head on my feet:
And some other pictures, so you can see what she looked like:
