Thursday, July 21, 2022

Unsolved Mystery

 Tim and I stopped to talk with a neighbor. She introduced me to Henry, who lives on her front porch. "He's a feral, but he doesn't know it," she said. I told her about my little feral, Mangey. 

She listened and said, "We have a little black cat on this end too. He's got some eye troubles." She also told me that there is a squadron of people who tend to the ferals on that end of the street. She said that some of the cats at that end of the street have mange, too. Someone has been treating them with Ivermectin, as well. 

I thought that was pretty cool, that there are a bunch of quiet people trying to make things better for these poor creatures. I also worried...what if the black cat with the eye problem was MY feral? What if it was Mangey? 

Anyways, Tim and I had some running to do. We went to look at a property first thing this morning and did a little running around in the name of due diligence This will certainly be one that requires some thinking. 

We got home and I unpacked some groceries. Tim was heading out to test drive the dump truck and its new transfer case. He stuck his head back in the door and hollered for me. "Your little cat is here!"

What? WHAT???? He was living a pampered life indoors, or so the neighbor had told Tim. 

Except...well...

Meet Mangey. 

Mangey was sitting in the driveway as if he hadn't been gone for nearly 3 weeks. He meowed when he saw me. Tim said, "I put some catfood out, but he's not hungry." (But he wouldn't be, if he was someone else's cat though, would he?) I went out to talk to him about his new home, but he rubbed against my legs and then trotted to the door and waited expectantly. 

The little stinker. He knows who he's dealing with.

I went in and got the good stuff for him and set it on the stone wall where he likes to dine, and he tore into it as if he had decided he was hungry after all. 

So...whatever black cat is at the neighbor's house isn't my feral cat...unless he has made it clear to her that he's just not cut out for a life of leisure. I do not know. But also...whatever black cat is down the street with his eye problem isn't my feral cat either, which made me feel heaps better. 

In summation, this mystery is not solved after all. 

Walking back to the house, I noticed he'd brought his friend. 

Some cats are happy with their Tender Centers. 


36 comments:

  1. I knew he wouldn't be able to resist the lure of an adoring female admirer with a ready stash of top class grub.

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    1. It's the grub. I have a soft spot for him because he was sick.

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  2. Is one cat male and the other female? You may see kittens ….

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  3. Waitaminute, waitaminute... this is Mr. M??

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    1. Mangey, who was renamed the divine Mr. M. Yes. That is him.

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  4. He obviously approves of you!

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  5. Is there a low cost spay/neuter clinic nearby? It would be a good thing to trap the ferals and get them fixed to prevent hordes of future generations!

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  6. I tried to tap into that, but that's a good point. Since Deb down the road knows about the other people working to help the animals maybe she knows more.

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  7. Don't know who said it but "I am the cat that walks alone. All places are alike to me."

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    Replies
    1. Rudyard Kipling...i got a small framed print with that quote as a gift for my daughter one Christmas.

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  8. You are starting up a cat house!

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    1. If only we could get a liquor license and a piano player, we would be in great shape.

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  9. How sweet! Try the fancy food on his friend. Linda in Kansas

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    1. Oh dear. At some point, my agreeable husband would become far less agreeable.

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  10. Mr M is indeed divine. He looks like my Mini. I have a soft spot for black cats. OK I have a soft spot for all cats. His mate is rather gorgeous, too.

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  11. I hope you look into the spay/release program. You would be doing a big favor all the way down the line, including a lot of kittens that don't have to die out in the bushes or crossing a road.

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    1. Unfortunately, our area does not have one. It would be the answer, wouldn't it? What we have is an organization that takes in animals and euthanizes the cats fairly quickly. Dogs last longer, but they run a very stringent adoption program, refusing to give an animal for the strangest reasons. An example? People are routinely turned down for dogs because they have jobs. I find it absurd. Every person working at that shelter would have a pet at home waiting for their return, I'd warrant. The program has figured out that they make money for keeping the animals, not for finding homes for them. An inhumane humane society.

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  12. It's sad that there are so many feral cats. Mr. M looks wonderful. Your mange treatment worked and he looks healthy.

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    1. You can see traces of thickened skin between his shoulder blades, but really, he looked so pathetic before. No hair between his ears and down towards one eye, and a 'stripe' down his back to just behind his shoulder blades. I couldn't believe how quickly he got better. Everything that I'd read indicated that it would take time. This really was immediate. Something that I'd read though is that unhealthy animals can fight off the mites. I was feeding him the good stuff as well as medicating him. I think that he was healthier and recovered more quickly I am pleased.

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  13. I am not sure that I understand the “Tender Centers” bit. Is that the name of the cat food?

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    1. Yes. The gray tabby eats the tender centers. Mangey is a cat of refined tastes.

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  14. Beautiful kitties! One of my grandcats is black, so I'm always drawn to them. It would be nice if you were able to get them spayed/neutered. -Kelly

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    1. I am not sure what is possible. The local vets have quite an expensive checklist.

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  15. When i was a student we had a black cat very like that. We used to think it was a very hungry cat, till we finally worked out that there was another identical black cat popping in through the cat-flap and having a free meal.

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  16. Oh how funny. We had two long haired black cats. I adopted one. He did not want to be an innie. But during the time we tried to change his mind, I once let him in as Tim worked in the yard. He watched another identical cat walk out of the garage. He was so mad. He thought I knew and was trying To adopt two cats.

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  17. Hmmmm...sounds like there are quite a few black cats running around! I wonder if your neighbor simply let him out? Maybe she decided he needed to be an indoor/outdoor cat?

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    1. Don't know. More investigation is required.

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  18. I've seen feral cats looking out from the sewer drains. I'm afraid, next to chickens, Hawaii has a problem with a feral cat population that is exploding in some areas. All this makes me wonder why we have so many feral chickens in that case. Mangey is lucky to have several people looking out for him.

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  19. Uh oh... I thought I'd left a bunch of comments on your posts, but it could be in your spam box. Orrrr...... my brain forgetting what I did or didn't do. Doggone it.

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  20. Mangey looks like a healthy, little fella! His friend ain't so bad either. It's heartening to read that cats in need in your area are being looked after. :)

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  21. He's come a long way! I'm pleased with his progress.

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