No Feral Kitties

 

Today something happened that hasn't happened in two years.  There are no cats whatsoever in the yard.  

How did this happen?  I guess it was the beginning of the end when Ole Grey left.  Mrs. Cat, even though she was expecting, never had kittens that I could see.  Well, all sorts of things can happen to kittens.  Now Mrs. Cat has left.  Why?  I last saw her sneaking off into the woods, where she could monitor the cat food situation from a safe distance.  What goes on in the feral cat mind?  Maybe she did have kittens, and she thought, "I better move them to a safer place than under the house."  So she took them to an old tree stump.  

Recently I posted an article I read about birth control for feral cats.  The thinking of the author was that, because of Covid, the vet might be too busy to spay or neuter "your" feral cat.   The facts are, the same person wouldn't imagine that you got rid of your squirrel problem by taking them to the vet and having them spayed or neutered.  Why?  It's hard to convince squirrels to go with you to the vet.  They are elusive and smarter than us, so that they can be almost impossible to trap.  And suppose you caught one in a trap?  What now?  Oh, just reach in there and grab it!   Have you ever heard of "fighting like a wild cat"?  

The birth control for feral cats idea had some merit, however, the vets don't use the drugs that would do the job for birth control.  Not in this country anyway.  For that there is spaying and neutering.  So you're back to square one.  But if you could get these drugs, which you can't, the treatment would cost in the neighborhood of $100 a month per cat.  But you could feel good about having saved cat lives.  

Someone told me, when one of the feral cats ran up and began scratching me, "Well, that would be the end of it with me."  Really?  Did they think my patience with feral cats had finally reached the breaking point?  What if I didn't feed them?  Would they leave?  No, they live under the house.  They have found their sanctuary as far as shelter goes.  Well, shall I speak firmly to them?  What if one decides to become more aggressive and start shooting? They are tricky targets.  

Well, I'm afraid the feral cats have come to a sad end.  I'm not sure how it happened, and it truly seems pathetic, but I'm sure glad they're gone.  

UPDATE

Mrs. Cat showed up at my backdoor today, along with my favorite kitty, a fluffy white with undertones of yellow cat.  He's a friendly cat, but he seems to be saying, "Hey.  Where did the other kitties go??" Maybe I'm not so safe.  The tabby cat, Mrs. Cat, came up and began inciting a cat fight with him.  No you do not scratch my pretty kitty!  I picked up a can of spinach, and threw it in her direction.  It landed frighteningly close to her and she ran away.  

Well, I still have problems with at least one feral cat.  Boo hoo.