Shutting Down?

I can feel your pain when you write of missing the cats. I feed 2,
sometimes 3, feral cats that come to my backyard deck. I know how
worried I get if they don't show up on time or if they miss coming for a
day or two.

But I'm glad that one of your old timers met up with you last night.
You did and still are making a difference, even if it's only for that
one old timer, bearclaw. Prayers for better health and sound sleep are
winging their way to you.

wrote in message
...
: To avoid any more kitten-dumping, I'd rather not say specifically. But
: generally, the colony in question is in the south San Francisco bay
: area. Last night, for the first time in weeks, one of my old timers
: came back and jumped right in the car window like he always does. He
: gorged on food and then, when he couldn't eat any more, he refused to
: leave. So, as tired and sick as I am, I sat there in the car with him.
:
: I wish he was this tame with everybody; he let me examine him all over
: with lots of kneading and purring. He'd be a breeze to place in a home
: if this was his usual personality. Unfortunately, he becomes
: aggressively feral when he's approached by others. He actually
: frightened clinic workers briefly when we had him fixed--one of them
: thought he was a bobcat. He's a huge cat, a horse really, with only a
: stub left from losing his tail in an engine compartment as a kitten
: (before I was able to trap him). He's lucky he wasn't killed that day.
: There's no fat on him, either (well, his belly *was* pretty round when
: he finally finished eating last night).
:
: With me he's docile as a kitten. I can pick him up and carry him
around
: as long as there's nothing to scare him. With the other cats, he's a
: coward. The feeding station will stay open as long as he is there.
:
: But, it took a long time to gain his trust. And he doesn't come around
: all the time. I have no such relationship with any of the cats eating
: there now. I can't gain their trust if I don't ever even see them.
:
: Yes, I have gone at weird times, like before sunrise.


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