Love dem tipped ears

I'm so excited!!!!!!! One less thing in the world to worry about...and I'm a
worrier. We seem to have a large cat population in our neighborhood. It's the
sort of area, apparently, where the people who have cats let them out a lot or
keep them out (mine stay inside all the time). I know several of them have
homes but there are always more. Therefore, we always have food outside for
any hungry kitty that happens along. About 5-6 weeks ago, a cute, smallish
black and white started eating here. Can't touch him/her but he/she will get
within about 5 feet of us. I also have been unable to catch a glimpse of
his/her "privates," but, to me, the kitty "looks like a girl" in the face.
Well, this had me severely worried. In the past, I have lucked out and the
ones around have been boys. One we had fixed and another, who I was sure was a
girl, we finally were able to pick up and "she" turned out to be a neutered
male, so my discernment skills are not all that great. But I was getting
worried 'cause this is kitten season and this black and white looked to be
getting fatter so I was thinking I better borrow a trap and do the deed. Now,
I hate trapping, I find it exceedingly stressful...as well as the fact that you
then have to have somewhere to take the cat the next day to be neutered so I
was dreading this.

Well, today, Tony mentioned offhandedly to me that he had noticed that the
kitty's right ear is tipped. I never saw that (and, of course, since he's a
guy, assumed he was wrong). Well, he/she was out there a few minutes
ago...he/she almost never leaves our backyard...and, sure enough, that right
ear is definitely tipped!!!!! I can't believe it and now I don't have to do
it. I'm shocked, in a good way, that there is apparently someone else in our
neighborhood who is trying to keep the feral/stray population down and also
wonder why the kitty showed up in our yard and never leaves. I would assume
that whoever had him/her TNR'd would have continued to feed them as that is
generally the plan. But I suppose the cat may have just decided to move on to
a less crowded area or whatever but I am very happy for the little girl/guy and
will, of course, continue to feed him/her. We have selected a unisex name for
him/her, "Joey," until we can maybe actually touch him/her and be able to
genderize it. Joey has a little kitty house we made up from a big dog kennel
as well as an upholstered chair in the carport to sleep in (plus this is
Arizona so it never gets unbearably cold). We also have a ton of bushes in our
yard that Joey hides in and he/she seems to love our roof as I hear him/her
jump down from there every morning. I guess I was so busy trying to see Joey's
privates and see how plump he/she was getting that I missed that cute little
cut off ear. If we can tame Joey at some point, we might bring him/her in to
be an indoor cat but, for now, at least Joey isn't gonna be a mommy this
spring.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

"MacCandace" wrote in message
...
I'm so excited!!!!!!! One less thing in the world to worry about...

snipped --Ha! Pun, in a couple of different ways, considering the post's
content!

I guess I was so busy trying to see Joey's
privates and see how plump he/she was getting that I missed that cute
little
cut off ear. If we can tame Joey at some point, we might bring him/her in
to
be an indoor cat but, for now, at least Joey isn't gonna be a mommy this
spring.

Or a daddy, if Joey's male, but has been neutered. (Which could also
explain why this cat may appear to have a "girl" face, & if really a male,
why his testicles aren't super-obvious.) No matter Joey's gender,
excellent, either way! :-)

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

"MacCandace" wrote in message
...
I'm so excited!!!!!!! One less thing in the world to worry about...

snipped --Ha! Pun, in a couple of different ways, considering the post's
content!

I guess I was so busy trying to see Joey's
privates and see how plump he/she was getting that I missed that cute
little
cut off ear. If we can tame Joey at some point, we might bring him/her in
to
be an indoor cat but, for now, at least Joey isn't gonna be a mommy this
spring.

Or a daddy, if Joey's male, but has been neutered. (Which could also
explain why this cat may appear to have a "girl" face, & if really a male,
why his testicles aren't super-obvious.) No matter Joey's gender,
excellent, either way! :-)

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

MacCandace,

I'm so glad to hear that it turned out good for you! There are,
IMHO, way too many people out there who do not take proper care of the
cats in their neighborhood. It can be really rough, sometimes, but I
just wanted to thank you for being a proactive person and helping to
make sure that cats stay a joy and not a menace. It breaks my heart
to think about all the cats that are brought into the world only to
find that they have no home, and so must be put to sleep early in
their lives. We've "rescued" a few such kitties, but sometimes it so
hard to look around the shelter and realize that not all of them will
make it out alive. Thank you so much for helping!

Sincerely,
David



itter (MacCandace) wrote in message ...
I'm so excited!!!!!!! One less thing in the world to worry
about...and I'm a
worrier. We seem to have a large cat population in our neighborhood. It's the
sort of area, apparently, where the people who have cats let them out a lot or
keep them out (mine stay inside all the time).

MacCandace,

I'm so glad to hear that it turned out good for you! There are,
IMHO, way too many people out there who do not take proper care of the
cats in their neighborhood. It can be really rough, sometimes, but I
just wanted to thank you for being a proactive person and helping to
make sure that cats stay a joy and not a menace. It breaks my heart
to think about all the cats that are brought into the world only to
find that they have no home, and so must be put to sleep early in
their lives. We've "rescued" a few such kitties, but sometimes it so
hard to look around the shelter and realize that not all of them will
make it out alive. Thank you so much for helping!

Sincerely,
David



itter (MacCandace) wrote in message ...
I'm so excited!!!!!!! One less thing in the world to worry
about...and I'm a
worrier. We seem to have a large cat population in our neighborhood. It's the
sort of area, apparently, where the people who have cats let them out a lot or
keep them out (mine stay inside all the time).