The Story of Calico
6Oct17 Part 2
Feral cats have territories much like the brats I feed. Some cats have made their territory by the bus stops. These cats are pretty friendly banking on crazy old ladies like me to have pity and feed them.
One day last spring I was waiting for the bus and saw this cute little calico cat. I immediately named it Calico and she came right up to me, purring and wanting to be petted. I explained I couldn't feed her, but she didn't care, she liked the lovin'. Every time I would go to that bus stop I would look for Calico, and if she saw me would come up to be petted. Sometimes I would remember to bring food, but as luck would have it, on those occasions Calico wasn't around.
One afternoon, still in the early spring, I was taking a walk and Calico comes up to me purring loud. I pet her and feel movement in her widened tummy. She was pregnant.
Now Calico is a very small cat about the size of a year old kitten. I'm thinking children having children. But anyway her mommy hormones were in full gear and she wanted lots of petting. I obliged. Well, a few weeks later I saw Calico again, and she was no longer pregnant and her teats were well pulled. No kittens.
David and I were thinking since Calico was so young and small it was possible the kittens didn't survive, or if so not for long after their birth.
Time goes by and in the middle of summer I saw a man go into a nearby apartment. Calico sat on the sidewalk watching him, he came out and petted her. He's probably a feeder. Plus, the there's an empty lot by the bus stop where Calico hangs, and probably there's a lot of mice there. Well anyway we eventually saw four kittens playing in that lot and realized Calico was a good mom after all. The kittens were almost as big as Calico.
One afternoon while we were waiting for a bus, there was a bird on the ground pecking for food in the empty lot. Calico crouched down and attacked. The bird flew off in time and circled and scolded Calico with a loud squak. Another time I walked by and saw Calico nursing her younguns right by the sidewalk. The would be the younguns who are as big as she is. She got up and greeted me, and the kittens started chasing each other's tails.
Then I didn't see Calico for awhile. Until today. Instead of by the bus stop she was hanging out by the steps for the sidewalk that leads to our apartment between the other apartments. The same sidewalk where Patch and Mask hang out.
I sat on one of the steps and petted the little cat and noticed her ear was clipped. I also noticed a small area on her side had been shaved. Little Calico can't have anymore babies. What surprised me is they come in on the side rather than through the underbelly. Every cat I ever had spayed had a shaved underbelly.
But anyway, Calico was hungry and I tried to coax her to come with me. She was following nicely along the sidewalk until Patch and Mask saw her. I saw a kitty fight brewing and picked up Calico. She didn't want to be picked up and I put her back down but she jumped deeper into the brat territory. I tried to act as an intermediary between the cats but the brats immediately got into position to surround little Calico.
I picked her up again and she tensed up in my arms trying to attack the brats but I managed to get her far enough away that she could scamper back to her own territory. You know, the brats have let enough cats in, I didn't think they would mind a little one passing through, but boy they were having none of that. Anyway, the brats followed me for a bit and I reminded them, that if they wanted more food they had to come upstairs and get it. They didn't follow any further.
Feral cats have territories much like the brats I feed. Some cats have made their territory by the bus stops. These cats are pretty friendly banking on crazy old ladies like me to have pity and feed them.
One day last spring I was waiting for the bus and saw this cute little calico cat. I immediately named it Calico and she came right up to me, purring and wanting to be petted. I explained I couldn't feed her, but she didn't care, she liked the lovin'. Every time I would go to that bus stop I would look for Calico, and if she saw me would come up to be petted. Sometimes I would remember to bring food, but as luck would have it, on those occasions Calico wasn't around.
One afternoon, still in the early spring, I was taking a walk and Calico comes up to me purring loud. I pet her and feel movement in her widened tummy. She was pregnant.
Now Calico is a very small cat about the size of a year old kitten. I'm thinking children having children. But anyway her mommy hormones were in full gear and she wanted lots of petting. I obliged. Well, a few weeks later I saw Calico again, and she was no longer pregnant and her teats were well pulled. No kittens.
David and I were thinking since Calico was so young and small it was possible the kittens didn't survive, or if so not for long after their birth.
Time goes by and in the middle of summer I saw a man go into a nearby apartment. Calico sat on the sidewalk watching him, he came out and petted her. He's probably a feeder. Plus, the there's an empty lot by the bus stop where Calico hangs, and probably there's a lot of mice there. Well anyway we eventually saw four kittens playing in that lot and realized Calico was a good mom after all. The kittens were almost as big as Calico.
One afternoon while we were waiting for a bus, there was a bird on the ground pecking for food in the empty lot. Calico crouched down and attacked. The bird flew off in time and circled and scolded Calico with a loud squak. Another time I walked by and saw Calico nursing her younguns right by the sidewalk. The would be the younguns who are as big as she is. She got up and greeted me, and the kittens started chasing each other's tails.
Then I didn't see Calico for awhile. Until today. Instead of by the bus stop she was hanging out by the steps for the sidewalk that leads to our apartment between the other apartments. The same sidewalk where Patch and Mask hang out.
I sat on one of the steps and petted the little cat and noticed her ear was clipped. I also noticed a small area on her side had been shaved. Little Calico can't have anymore babies. What surprised me is they come in on the side rather than through the underbelly. Every cat I ever had spayed had a shaved underbelly.
But anyway, Calico was hungry and I tried to coax her to come with me. She was following nicely along the sidewalk until Patch and Mask saw her. I saw a kitty fight brewing and picked up Calico. She didn't want to be picked up and I put her back down but she jumped deeper into the brat territory. I tried to act as an intermediary between the cats but the brats immediately got into position to surround little Calico.
I picked her up again and she tensed up in my arms trying to attack the brats but I managed to get her far enough away that she could scamper back to her own territory. You know, the brats have let enough cats in, I didn't think they would mind a little one passing through, but boy they were having none of that. Anyway, the brats followed me for a bit and I reminded them, that if they wanted more food they had to come upstairs and get it. They didn't follow any further.
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