So, there we were a couple of Friday nights ago, gathered in quiet, dignified conversation around the library fire – well, come to think of it, not so dignified – when there was a window-rattling THUMP. It seemed to come from right under our feet.
Our talking stopped. I went to the door to look outside even though the disturbance had occurred almost within our midst. Then it happened again, this time a few feet to the east, under the living room floor. And now it was several thumps and bumps accompanied by angry caterwauling and carrying-on. Cats!
We reminisced a bit about the time two years or so ago when Nyel and I trapped four Ferrell cats—a mama and three kittens, pure black with a few white markings – who were living under the house. It was a one-at-a-time procedure, long and drawn out and involving a live trap from the Humane Society, delivery to the vets for neutering, and then release back in Oysterville. I wasn’t happy about the bringing back part of the process but…
Meanwhile, our across-the-lane neighbor Sue (who is much more soft-hearted than we) put food out for the cat family and they were eventually lured into taking up residence in her cypress hedge. Two of them still live there. We catch glimpses of them now and then and they look fat and well cared for. I think they are actually friendly toward Sue, but they give us wide berth.
When we had chickens, the cats would come snooping around the coop now and then, but it is mostly in the spring that they hang out under our house. And ‘carry on.’ That, of course, begs the question, “Do spayed and neuterd cats still have a sex life?” The answer (you can find out anything on the internet!) is “not usually.” Well, leave it to the cats of Oysterville to do the unusual. I just wish it wasn’t happening under our house!
Maybe there are some who have joined the “fixed” ones?
Several years back we had two young kittens show up. . a white (Whitey) and an orange (Morris). Whitey was friendly (the leader) and would let us pet him..but Morris was the most fraidy cat we ever encountered. They hunted around our yard all summer -of course, our daughter a lover of any animal, fed them.
In fall, we found Whitey on the side of the road, picked him up and had him cremated. Morris hung around more now and winter was coming so Tom built him a shelter out of a tote. Put in a door, lined it with styrofoam and straw and he was a happy cat. Of course, the free meals kept him happy too! We almost got him to come into the house once. We had a domestic – black named Spooky who didn’t seem to mind our outside boarder. The two sniffed each other at the open door, then both turned around as though they could care less about them.
The autumn of the second year Morris got up in afternoon (he usually was gone about 8 hours), ate his fill and sauntered down the road in our subdivision…he never returned. We looked for him everywhere, even at Humane Society but after several weeks he never returned. We have coyotes & hawks around here..we fear he met one of these that last day. We have seen some orange stray cats around..hmm, wonder if they are his offspring..still miss that “fraidy cat”.