Daily Kitten Chat Forum » General Chat

1. 

   First a little background: I have a local feral who comes around almost every morning and I give him some food when he shows up. He is always polite, eats just a little, hangs out for awhile, and then... off he goes. He won't let me touch him at all, but he is content to sit about 10 feet away, giving me the slow eye blinks. He looks very healthy and well fed. I call him Shadow, he is a black cat with green eyes. Here is the thing - he is a trap-neuter-release cat, with his left ear tipped. When the weather is bad I don't see him at all (in fact I hardly saw him at all last winter, then spring came and he showed up again). I've always wondered what his story was. Today, I think I found out.

   I was at the dentist. My dentist's office is about 1/2 mile from where I live. As I was checking out, I was looking at their picture gallery (they are huge cat lovers and almost everyone who works there has cats). There was a picture of 3 little black cats, with green eyes. Looked awfully familiar. I asked who they were. "Oh, that was the last of the feral litters that we had here - there were 2 litters, one was the black kittens". Turns out that they know a woman nearby who has a bunch of money and has decided to use it to help feral cats. They had all the kittens fixed (and ears tipped, of course) and now the cats live in a colony in back of the office (there are woods back there). They have a house for them and feed them and make sure they have their shots. As for my kitty, they are pretty sure it is the one they call "Peanut". He tends to disappear for awhile and then rejoins his colony family when he feels like it. Is it normal for a cat to have territory that covers 1/2 mile?

   Then they asked me if I had seen any of the cats from the other litter - all tiger cats. I started laughing - sure enough, Shadow brought a couple of them by last year, but they never came back. Apparently they don't like to wander the way he does. So, the next time he stops by, I will have to call him "Peanut" and see what he does. I'm glad to know that he is looked after and has a nice place to live when the weather gets bad. I guess he just likes to pretend that he is the big bad feral cat, living in the wild. Ha!

   Posted 3 years ago by NNGM #

2. 

   Oh how wonderful!!! and what a wonderful woman who did all that for the ferals!!! Send a Hello to Peanut from me!!!

   Posted 3 years ago by 2bpurring #

3. 

   My dad knew of a huge and affectionate male cat who had a five-mile territory in the Ozarks. "Lightning" weighed about 20 lbs and would "mroew" at Dad's back door, quietly soliciting food. Dad was utterly enchanted by Lightning's satin black coat and haunting green eyes, and he fed him heartily every time. Then the big boy would disappear for another week, making his rounds at other houses.

   Every winter, however, Lightning would vanish completely. Dad was very worried about his feline pal that first winter, and he found out how wide a territory Lightning had by walking around through the snow and talking to the neighbors. Seems Dad's furry buddy hit every house in a 2-3 mile radius from Dad's home.

   It was then that Dad discovered that one of the snow birds who lived in the region would pack Lightning into his car and he and his wife would drive down to Palm Beach for the cold months, leaving in October and returning around Easter. Seems Lightning loved road trips.

   Lightning must have lived about 15 years, spending his last days in luxury on the beach in Florida. He had a very full and happy life.

   I envied that cat.

   So did my Dad.

   Posted 3 years ago by Emma #

4. 

   Awwww, what a great story, Emma!

   Seems Peanut/Shadow's got it made, NNGM! And what a wonderful thing for the lady to take care of those ferals!

   Posted 3 years ago by GreatDane #

5. 

   that is way too cool that you found out where shadow, aka peanut is from. My dentist is no where near that cool

   Posted 3 years ago by TheKnittingNinja #

6. 

   I love stories about cat adventures. I would like to meet Lightning or Peanut. I've heard of cats leading secret double lives. If we're lucky we get to find out about them.

   Posted 3 years ago by krazikat #

7. 

   Remember the one in England? Don't know if it hopped the bus or what, but the lady would later in the day, drive to a certain spot, and there he would be waiting to be picked up. Next day, repeat. I always wondered what the cat did during it's daily sojourn!

   Posted 3 years ago by paulajeanne #

8. 

   NNGM, that is wonderful about Peanut aka Shadow's lifestyle. I kinda wonder about the latest patio cat I have, he is already neutered w/o ear tipping so I took him in for shots (since he sneaks into the house anyways). While there they said besides his dental work needed he was healthy and about 8-12 yrs old (with them leaning more towards the 8 yrs old) weighing about 13 lbs. Don't know what his name is though because he doesn't answer to anything but he is a lovebug at least with me he is.

   Posted 3 years ago by AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew #

9. 

   What a great story about Peanut/Shadow!!! Wouldn't you just love to tag along as he makes his rounds to see where his day takes him! And what a sweet dentist!!

   Posted 3 years ago by sullis #

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