Four Ferals

I know this photo is marginally clear because of the reflections on the glass, but there are four tabby cats here among the wonderful cats I’ve met in the past weeks. They are cared for by a couple who live in a neighborhood backed by woods, and while they’ve always kept a few cats in the house, both breed cats and rescues, they’ve also always fed cats in the outdoors.

Nearly lost in the reflections at the bottom are two tabbies, one who was feral, Julia, and gave birth to the two lovely pale gray tabbies lounging on the concrete, Liam and Ceili. She has calmed down enough to be comfortable around humans, probably with the help of Amy, the other tabby, who was a stray and also had a few kittens.

All cats were trapped and spayed or neutered as soon as possible with the help of the Homeless Cat Management Team in Pittsburgh—if you look closely at Liam and Ceili you can see on each that one of their ears has been tipped, the universal sign of a cat cared for through TNR. Homes were found for a few, and these live outdoors and regularly receive veterinary care, given fresh food and water daily (note the blue water bowl with the “cord” that keeps it heated through the winter—they had a line installed just for that), and they even have toys. In winter they are given shelter but they still head to another place to sleep.

Outdoors with the exception of Amy, who comes into the house every afternoon to pick at the food that Scruffy and Christie, the two lucky rescued indoor cats, eat, and to enjoy the indoors until she wants to go back outside.

There are deer and turkeys in the yard along with the usual possums, raccoons and groundhogs, and they feed birds at several stations year round as well, but all seem to get along with no injuries or predation.

One of these days, perhaps, I’ll get better photos of them. They are cautious but friendly, and I hope to meet them outdoors!

[twitter-follow screen_name='portraitsanimal']