Allotments 4 All
Produce => Wildlife forum => Topic started by: Squash64 on August 06, 2010, 17:22:48
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I've written about feral cats at our allotments before but I thought those cat-lovers here might like an update.
I started feeding a feral cat at our allotments last year. I do like cats but can't have one because my two terriers would try to kill it. Anyway, I started off by feeding this one
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She comes every day and over time has got so used to me that as soon as I get to the plot she is there, waiting for her food. She will sit just a foot or so away but doesn't actually come close enough for me to try to touch her.
Then this one started to come.
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It looks quite similar to the first one but has tabby patches instead of tortie ones. It isn't so friendly as the first one but is slowly getting used to me.
Then this one appeared
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I've been told that because of the colouring this one is definitely a female. She is as friendly as the first one and watches me while I work.
A couple of days ago, this one turned up
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This one looks quite different to the others and is very nervous of me, at the moment.
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they are definately informing each other where they can be onto a good thing! What cuties :-)
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they are definately informing each other where they can be onto a good thing! What cuties :-)
This is something I've been wondering about. How do the new ones find out about my cat cafe?
They are beautiful cats and I don't mind feeding them. Mind you, if hundreds turn up I might change my mind. :o
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We have one on our site a fluffy black cat as far as i can see as no one ever gets very close to it. I am quite happy it's around it doesn't cause any problems and probably helps keep down the mouse and rat population.
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My daughter had a similar thing going on in her garden. She ended up with 4 or 5 but is now down to the original one. They call her Kitty but others have different names as she is fed by most of the road but seems to call daughters garage home. Daughter has asthma & granddaughter is allergic to cats so she can't go in the house but will sit on the step & watch what is going on.
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I only saw the one when I came but they all look really healthy cats Betty.
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Thanks for the update :) they all have such lovely colouring, and do look healthy.
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Lovely. Do they deter the pigions?
Bees do a little dance. Blackbirds have a particular pink pink pink call when they see a cat. I don't see why cats cannot tell each other where to find food.
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Good for you, bless your heart, it is very kind of you.. really touched me XX Jeannine
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I've just seen a kitten this morning! It was with the first cat, the white and tortie one but when it saw me it ran away frightened. I would guess it's about 10 weeks old and is tabby without any white. Mum kept following me this morning, almost as if she was trying to show me that she had a kitten with her.
Digeroo - you are right about the blackbirds, that's how I can always tell that the cats are around.
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Why don't you tell everyone how you call the cats Betty ;D
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Why don't you tell everyone how you call the cats Betty ;D
Doesn't everyone whistle their cats? ???
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Ah but what tune Squash?
Born Free ............................... as free as the wind blows .......................... ::) ::)
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Sometimes its"I taut I saw a puddytat a cweeping up on me" ;D
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Well done Betty for being so good to your little army of feral cats. They are all so beautiful. They look content enough with having you as their human slave to feed them. Its a pity though that they are left to constantly have kittens who in turn will have more kittens. Cats protection could lay humane traps for you to catch them and they would spay and nueter them free of charge. The hardened ferals could be returned to your lovely site to continue to live in freedom and luxury and the younger ones tamed and found loving new homes. Hope you dont think im sticking my nose in being a newby but im thinking of you and the cats in the long term, better to have a few ferals to enjoy than a huge amount of cats to worry about :)
Linda
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Betty does have the ferals neutered. This latest one is a new comer. Knowing Betty she will have been on to the Cats Protetion league already.
They will of course rehome the kit if possible and neuter the mother.
Being new on this forum you will not be familiar with Bettys posts about her ferals.
Welcome to A4A.
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then of course there is always "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" from the Aristocats ;D ;D ;D
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Oh bless!!-There was a colony of ferals on my allotments in Leeds. I`m sure the late `Conker` was an offspring. I found him stuck up a horse chestnut tree,when a kitten, between the house and my allotments and he had all the markings of the ferals.
He was a true `allotment cat` the times I found him sitting under a cold frame or hunting for rabbits.
He moved with us and could be very affectionate but never lost his hunting nature-he would go almost a mile to the gravel quarry to bring rabbits home. One day he didn`t-I have seen double decker buses stop to allow him to cross busy roads in Leeds-but I guess his luck ran out one day-he made it to 9 though so for a cat of his nature that`s not bad
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Well done Betty for being so good to your little army of feral cats. They are all so beautiful. They look content enough with having you as their human slave to feed them. Its a pity though that they are left to constantly have kittens who in turn will have more kittens. Cats protection could lay humane traps for you to catch them and they would spay and nueter them free of charge. The hardened ferals could be returned to your lovely site to continue to live in freedom and luxury and the younger ones tamed and found loving new homes. Hope you dont think im sticking my nose in being a newby but im thinking of you and the cats in the long term, better to have a few ferals to enjoy than a huge amount of cats to worry about :)
Linda
Hi Linda and welcome,
No, of course I don't mind you giving advice about the cats. :)
I have always had dogs and my dogs have always hated cats so although I do like cats, I need all the help I can get.
Alan, from the Cats Protection visited us this morning and we discussed having our cats neutered. He is going to bring a trap and we will hopefully be able to get on with it. We had help from him last year when we had a lovely ginger tom done. (We brought the tom back here after the op and we haven't seen him since!)
We are very grateful to the CP and try to support them as much as we can. They are having a stall at our Summer Fayre this Saturday, and we give them surplus vegetables for one of their members to make into chutney etc which she sells fot their funds.
Do you have cats yourself? Ragdolls?
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Betty I am sorry, I think I jumped the gun a bit spouting off about neutering and spaying. Shirl put me right that you already got cats done by cats protection. They are so good at getting cats done for people. I bet they are more than happy to help out as you obviously do such a kind job in feeding and looking out for them.The cats are very clever they have got the best life absoloute freedom and a regular meal ;)
Yes as my nickname implies I have Ragdoll cats 5 in total and one RagdollxPersian, all cats to me are adorable and I couldnt live without one.
Too bad the ginger tom dissapeared after he got the chop. Knowing gingers very well I bet he has his paws firmly under the table of some adoring new owner (although you never truely own a cat, they just honour you with their pressance.
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Betty further to Ragdoll Lady's comment here's the post where she showed us all her lovely cats!
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,61972.0.html
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No problem Linda, you didn't know what had gone on and if I hadn't already been in contact with Cats Protection then your post would have pointed me in the right direction.
Once our Summer Fayre is over we will get down to trying to trap the cats and have them neutered. Alan from the CP explained that cats have short memories and will soon forget what has happened to them. I was also concerned that they will be returned to the allotments the same day as their ops but he said that the wound will be tiny and will be glued rather than stitched. I suppose I am worrying too much...
I remember the post about your beautiful cats now (thanks Flighty) - they are amazing! Do you breed/show them?
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Betty the man from Cats Protection is right cats have short memories and they will get over the op really quickly. Ferals are often more hardy too and they will have been thoughly checked out by the vet before they get their op. The boys will be less likely to fight and scent mark with strong Tom Cat smell and the girls will keep their condition with not having kittens all the time and will be very unlikely to get a womb infection which can kill them. They use glue and disolveable stitches at lot now.
Thank you for the kind comments about my cats. We are just pet owners as I dont think I could part with kittens id be forevever worrying if they were being looked after properly. We do show them occasionally. Its a nice hobby as you get to see some wonderful cats and meet some nice people (and laugh at the ones who are not so nice and take it too seriously) We have three proper show cats who have been very sucessful considering they dont do many shows, Jasper our cross has done well in his pedigree pets class and our other two have been on rescue stands at shows promoting cat rescue. Which has been fun, and has helped us do our bit to promote our cat breed.
Linda
Ps If you every need any advice on anything cat related I am always here
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We have an allotment cat, he has been taken to the vet by one allotment man, and has lost the sight in one eye. He is fed twice a day by one man in the morning and one at night. One man was going to take him home last winter as it was so cold, but he has a shed he can go in and a selection of beds and boxes. The only trouble with feeding cats is that they wait for the food and it is OK if you don't mind feeding them in the winter when it is dark and cold. I fed Charlie 18 years ago, as he was starving and sleeping rough in my garden, and now I am committed to him, he is asleep on the bed as I type. Dulce came in as a kitten and ate Charlie's leftover food and now I am stuck with Dulce. He won't go home, I push him over the back fence and he bites me. Think the owner has given up on him, the other twin Gabanna stays at his home, mostly, but does go next door and here occasionally to kiss his brother. I agree you must try and get the cats neutered as one or two cats are OK, but not so good if you get a whole colony of cats. We got that when I lived behind a milk yard and they fed the cat/cats, ended up with hundreds and then the shop/office next to me had a problem with fleas and had to be sprayed by pest control. I do not feed the allotment cat, although I am tempted. He knows me now and will sit and watch me work. Saw him the other day with a mouse in his mouth, so the point I am trying to make is perhaps you have to cruel to be kind, if you see what I mean, as once they are being fed they stop hunting, and if you fed them in the summer have to keep it up for ever. I used to work for the Cats Protection League as a volunteer but unfortunately the one local to me closed. Love your cats Ragdoll, have always had cats. One of my cats was a Siamese, Prince Chan Subuka, he was more like a dog. Charlie is a bit thick, and Dulce is very intelligent. They all have different characters. Enough about cats, could go on for ever.
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This post made me smile. I did wonder when the word 'kitten' would crop up! However, it's reassuring to know that the CPL look after feral cats wellbeing too. Got a CPL calendar. Can't have cats as I have to bring in a bird from my aviary from time to time. 3 budgies and 3 cockatiels.
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Ps If you every need any advice on anything cat related I am always here
Thank you Linda, I will remember that.
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This post made me smile. I did wonder when the word 'kitten' would crop up! However, it's reassuring to know that the CPL look after feral cats wellbeing too. Got a CPL calendar. Can't have cats as I have to bring in a bird from my aviary from time to time. 3 budgies and 3 cockatiels.
Our local CPL have been really helpful with our ferals. Last year they brought us a trap so we could catch one and have it neutered. Then when a kitten was caught in the trap they came and collected her, had her vet-checked and re-homed. They came and collected a tiny kitten we found on one of the plots and hand-reared her till she could be re-homed.
We try to help them in return by giving them a space at our Summer Fayre for fund-raising, and by donating produce to them.
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This post made me smile. I did wonder when the word 'kitten' would crop up! However, it's reassuring to know that the CPL look after feral cats wellbeing too. Got a CPL calendar. Can't have cats as I have to bring in a bird from my aviary from time to time. 3 budgies and 3 cockatiels.
Our local CPL have been really helpful with our ferals. Last year they brought us a trap so we could catch one and have it neutered. Then when a kitten was caught in the trap they came and collected her, had her vet-checked and re-homed. They came and collected a tiny kitten we found on one of the plots and hand-reared her till she could be re-homed.
Thats really good to know Betty. Having a strong CPL in your area can only be a good thing. Its nice to know that you help them fundraise as they are always strapped for cash specially right now when there are a lot of kittens about.
We try to help them in return by giving them a space at our Summer Fayre for fund-raising, and by donating produce to them.
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I think the tortie/white cat knows my car! I was over at the allotments quite early this morning but didn't go straight to my plot where I feed the cats. I was near the meeting-room when I spotted the cat going away from me. As soon as she saw my car she turned round and came running over. Luckily we keep cat food in the meeting-room too so I gave her some there. While I was busy inside, she came and sat just inside the doorway and watched me. :)
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she has obviously got attatched to you Betty otherwise shed have eaten her grub and scarpered ;) I have a big black and white moggy who visits me lets himself be known by looking through our glass front door and miowing loudly. My cats eye him up the other side. He is a cat with real cattitude and hisses and growls and has had me several times in the past. But you persevere and is lets me stroke him now while he eats treats from my hand. He is lovely comes from a house where there is another cat and two young children. He is well fed but I dont think they have time for him which is a bit sad. If my cats are inside he potters round the garden with me. He has "had" hubby and mother in law(good choice).
He dissapeared for two weeks and I thought the worse till hubby worked out that their car was missing in the drive. True to form he then appeared on my doorstep looking somewhat thinner, bedraggled and very angry could have sworn he told me hed been to a cattery and he wasnt hapyy. Thing is if only his owners spoke to their neighbours (we all tried) I would have willingly looked after the two cats and saved them a fortune.
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The terrible twins, not feral cats, but not my cats are both playing in the road and out the front with all the traffic. My cat (Charlie) is asleep on the bed, well he is 18 plus. Gabanna came and got Dulce and they have both gone off hunting. Looked at their owners house and no lights on. Gabanna (who we call the hoover) came in and quickly polished off the cat food. I am very fond of those two cats, but don't understand how they were let out on 5 November, but they came here to me and also for Xmas. We have a few more cats on our allotments, but they all look well fed and as we are surrounded by houses, think that most of them have a home, apart from the allotment cat which the Italians feed twice a day. Yes they definately know cars, as the allotment cat hears the Italian's car before I do, then I hear the gate open and he is waiting for his food and a quick cuddle.
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We have a new addition at the allotments now - a very friendly 'outdoor' cat called Felix has been re-homed to us by the Cats Protection. Apparently he will not live in a house and they know we are cat-friendly so they asked us to have him.
He had to live in a large cage for the first two weeks and when I went to feed him one morning I had such a shock - there was a little kitten in with him! It was one of our ferals and had managed to squeeze through the bars of the cage.
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I've called the kitten Triangle because of the marking on its face and he waits with Felix every morning for me to arrive and feed them.
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Triangle is getting much braver now and so long as I walk slowly past him and don't make eye contact he doesn't run away.
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Felix is a lovely cat and so friendly, I don't understand why he can't live in a house. But I don't know much about cats really, I just like them.
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I am so glad that Felix has found a home with you Betty. I know that the cats on your site are very well looked after. I'm sure that the C.P.L. knew that he would have a good life with you and your fellow plot holders
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that's a lovely update Squash and great photos.
Triangle looks a real sweetie :)
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Lovely story, Squash, there's no accounting for cats! Many cats prefer being outdoors, our two black moggies had free choice for twelve years and only started to spend any significant time indoors in their last year. My new kittens are also spending much of their time outside - but then, I'd rather be out than in too!
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Triangle is getting much more confident now. To begin with he would run away when he saw me but now he must realise that I feed him so he waits near the door of the pavilion while I am inside getting it ready. Yesterday he actually came inside and sat on the mat near the door. I don't know much about cats so I don't know how likely it is that he will ever become completely tame like Felix is. But slow progress is being made.
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He will more than likely be like Felix if he is spending most of the time with him. I do hope so.
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Yes he will over time and with confidence get a bit more tame. Not sure if he will ever be as tame as Felix though :-\
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I wish I'd had my camera with me when I fed them this morning - Triangle actually came inside the kitchen for the first time! Then when I fed them both outside he carried on eating while I put the water bowl down, just next to him.
I also missed the chance to get a photo of another kitten who has started to feed with Felix and Triangle. He is the same size as Triangle and a beautiful tabby with a sort of ginger shading to the stripes. He is still scared and runs and hides when I put the food down.
When I went over to my plot the cats I feed there were waiting for me and the one I call F T T (Fluffy Tabby Tail) came running towards me for the first time. This is a completely feral adult cat who I have only been feeding for a few months and it was so nice to see him do this, rather than run away as he used to before.
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This is F T T, unfortunately not showing his lovely tabby tail. :)
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I reckon you have earned the title of Catwoman Betty
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I reckon you have earned the title of Catwoman Betty
My new avatar looks just like me doesn't it Shirl?
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Thats better. Now I won't have to put my hand over your avatar any more. I may just change my avatar, getting abit bored with tehse bloomin meercats
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You do such good work with the cats Betty and I love to read about them :)
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Thats better. Now I won't have to put my hand over your avatar any more. I may just change my avatar, getting abit bored with tehse bloomin meercats
Didn't you like the thingy I had before then Shirl? You never complained when you were holding a real one the other day. ;)
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You do such good work with the cats Betty and I love to read about them :)
Thank you, that's very kind of you :)
I've never thought of myself as being a 'cat person' before but I really like all our ferals (and Felix too of course) but I think I am slowly being converted.
Of the four I feed every day on my plot only one is still jumpy when he sees me. He runs a short way away and then sits and watches me while I put the food out. The others either follow me, or run towards me like the one yesterday did.
I don't know if cats learn behaviour from other cats or not? I wonder if Triangle the kitten will learn to be friendly because he sees Felix coming for a fuss?
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If you feed them they will be your friends for life and gradually trust you more. Poor Charlie was in a terrible state, long haired and matted underneath. Used to chuck food out the back door and after a few weeks got to trust me. Now I can brush him, cut the lumps out and hold him upside down (only to get at the lumps), but I have had him for 18 years now. I don't believe where the time has gone. 'Hoover' (Gabbana) is a bit nervous and comes in the cat flap and eats the food if I am not in the kitchen but Dulce talks to me and paws my face (without scratching) but does have a good bite and scratch of my feet in bed. Be careful as cats can talk or communicate with each other and before you know you will be feeding the whole cat population in your area. Do Cats Protection vaccinate and de-flea or will you have to pay for any vets visit if they get ill. Vets are expensive nowadays. I am going to put a notice on my front door, NO MORE CATS.
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I really believe there is such a thing as cat culture. We have two cats who learned that there is water for them in the bathroom and a glass on the bedside table too. When we introduced two other cats to the house it took about six months before there was a queue at the bathroom glass most nights. The new cats had never drunk from a glass before, but had learned what to do.
Nightly medication for one of them has become a ritual too, after the Metacam there are ham/cheese treats available so everyone gets themselves ready at about 9pm. I know this is all about food, but it seems to me that they love the ritual as much as the grub!
Cat Culture rules in our house! Your cats clearly know where they are safe and cared for Betty, more power to your elbow!
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I managed to get a photo of the latest kitten this morning. He waited till Felix and Triangle had finished eating then he crept out from underneath the pavilion and ate the leftovers.
I love his colouring!
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Triangle continues to get braver every day.
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He comes into the kitchen now while I'm getting the food ready.
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Be careful as cats can talk or communicate with each other and before you know you will be feeding the whole cat population in your area. Do Cats Protection vaccinate and de-flea or will you have to pay for any vets visit if they get ill. Vets are expensive nowadays. I am going to put a notice on my front door, NO MORE CATS.
I think the word is already getting around!
Cats Protection will have them neutered for us, free of charge. I suppose the vet would vaccinate and de-flea at the same time, but I wouldn't expect CP to cover this too. They use the same vet that I do for my dogs and I could always ask him about it.
Shirl has come up with a good idea to cover the cost of vet bills if they arise - she has suggested we do some fund-raising especially for the cats, maybe at our next event.
I have to admit that if any of the ferals become ill it will be a problem to get them to the vet. We have a trap, but how would we trap the right one?
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I really believe there is such a thing as cat culture. We have two cats who learned that there is water for them in the bathroom and a glass on the bedside table too. When we introduced two other cats to the house it took about six months before there was a queue at the bathroom glass most nights. The new cats had never drunk from a glass before, but had learned what to do.
Nightly medication for one of them has become a ritual too, after the Metacam there are ham/cheese treats available so everyone gets themselves ready at about 9pm. I know this is all about food, but it seems to me that they love the ritual as much as the grub!
Cat Culture rules in our house! Your cats clearly know where they are safe and cared for Betty, more power to your elbow!
I wonder if I get some of the cat treats I could get Triangle to come to me for one? Worth a try.
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Well Betty the new kitten looks so healthy. I can't wait to see it.