3 posts tagged “cats”
It's that time again. Time to get the outdoor colony members neutered.
For those that do not know, since July of 2006 I've been care-taking a colony of semi-feral (they were born outside, aren't too used to humans, but are way too docile to be anywhere near truly feral) cats that reside in and around my apartment complex. There are seven "regulars," five of whom I've gotten spayed/neutered in the past year and change. Two males are the ones that aren't fixed yet, and we hope to get them taken care of on the weekend of the 17th.
It all started out innocently enough, last summer I walked to my car one morning to see two cats eating some dry food left out on a curb above a storm drain near my car. I said hello to them but they bolted when I got too close. I thought to myself, "I should bring some food down to them tomorrow." And so I did. And we progressed from there.
I'm not the only one who feeds them. There is one other person in the building who feeds them regularly as I do, and several who feed them semi-regularly. We have a person or persons who always leaves their Chinese and Thai and Indian leftovers (complete with styrofoam clamshell box) out for the cats. Those go right in the trash can as soon as I see them. But I do seem to be the one who went ahead with seeking out trap-neuter-release programs and trying to put the kibosh on further generations of unwanted kittens (to grow into unwanted cats, with short, difficult lives). I've worked with a number of kind and interested people, though, and no one really seems to mind the cats, even the apartment maintenance people.
Something about animals gets to me on a really profound level, and cats especially. When I saw those two cats last July, there was never really a doubt that I would start feeding them/caring for them. I felt totally powerless to do anything else. Sadly I don't always have that reaction about human beings in need, and I'm not sure why. Maybe because a cat has never cut me off in traffic or said hurtful things to me. Maybe it is because animals are simpler in their needs and expression of those needs. Maybe it's just because they're so damn cute. But in a lot of ways it looks like I really am turning into a crazy cat lady...they're just not all living in my home. Which is good, because that would piss Oz and Desmond off to no end. =)
This is clearly turning into the Blog Where I Post Cat Pictures...and Not Much Else.
For today's enjoyment:
I'm quite beside myself - I've had cats my entire life. We almost always had two around the house when I was growing up, sometimes three, never one for long (there is always another cat that needs your love and care; that's one of life's great lessons right there). And never ever ever, in the 35 years of cat guardianship, have I had two cats that did things like bathe each other and sleep cuddled up. (Maybe it's not obvious, but in this picture Desmond is actually just licking Oz, not biting him or attacking him. Des did manage to wake Oz up from a nice nap, though, which may explain the disgruntled expression.)
And the other night, having a bad bout of both insomnia and a neighbor doing some kind of DIY project involving a hammer out on his balcony until 1 a.m., I woke to find Oz sprawled on my bed, tummy up - and Des curled up next to him, head on said tummy. Words cannot actually express how happy this made me. They're lucky I didn't run get the camera right then...but they were too sweet to wake up.
This is a good thing to keep in mind when, say, one or the other of them jumps onto the bed and leaps on you, right in the vicinity of your bladder, at 3 a.m.
I have an Oz/Desmond video! And I've just recalled Vox's video posting capabilities. So it's time to try it.
This thing has music, which might or might not work. I was playing with iMovie and felt like trying it out. Now, let's see if this works if I post it!
