New Addition(s?) to the Cat Colony!

When I moved into my new apartment, the first ‘neighbor’ I met was actually a stray black cat from across the alley. I was standing on the back steps, seeing how the alley looked and there was a tiny black cat traipsing along the fence. She saw me and scampered over. That was odd, and I guessed she was an indoor/outdoor cat. Nope, she was a stray, who spent her entire life on the streets. But how did she and the 4 other cats get to be so friendly toward strangers??

It turned out that there was 2 good samaritans who had been feeding the colony for years. One, a neighbor, found the mother cat and took care of her and when she gave birth, had each cat TNR’ed and released back into the alley. Each morning, one of the feeders would bring fresh water and feed them once a day, and track their general health. She would spend money for antibiotics and is an overall saint. When the first feeder’s health started to decline so the second one fed the cats on a regular basis but she lived a neighborhood over. I offered to feed the cats when the weather turned cold and I ended up taking the reins permanently. One neighbor jokingly said I’m not allowed to ever leave.

The colony was 8 cats each with their own individual personality and habits. Most of them are siblings with a smattering of discarded pets who found their way to the alley. Over the past year, we lost 3, one I fostered for 2 weeks while he rested from bite wounds and a rabies quarantine and he eventually got adopted, and two were put down from medical complications.

For a while I was wondering if the colony would grow or just disappear over time. Part of me wanted to have more cats present so the colony could thrive but I think it was selfish for me to think that way. But then in the past couple weeks, I noticed a tan cat magically appear. He’s super skittish, not sure if he’s TNR’ed as he wouldn’t let me near him and the other cats hiss and growl at him if he’s near. Last week, as I was feed them dinner, I counted 5, turned around and saw another black cat run up. He was tentative at first but smelled food and immediately warmed up to me. I was a little confused by the presence of the new cat and didn’t get a good look at him. He immediately inserted himself into the colony and ate with the other cats. Food brings everyone together.

TanCat doesn’t seem to know boundaries. Krampus (black cat) does not like social time.

The next morning, I went out with their bowl of food and he was there and this was the first time I got a good look at him. He’s a largish black cat with white socks and a funny white mustache. He has a cloudy eye and his meows sound like Ray Romano which is kind of hilarious. He immediately ran up to me and started rubbing himself against my legs which means he’s a stray. He has his ears clipped so I’m not too worried about him impregnating the other cats (who are also clipped) and he seems to do well with the other cats. This is the first week with him and I’ve dubbed him Franklin.

Franklin greeting me in the morning.

So the colony is doing well, vaguely back to 7 if you count Tancat and they have houses built to stay warm and 2 meals a day, come rain or come shine.

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