Feral Cat Buddies

I have two feral cats that seem to have adopted me at home.

There are two more on the periphery; a gray-and-white unit and another younger tabby unit. I can pet the first two. The second tier cats are standoffish and skittish.

The first two cats seem to have made my house their home.

Where I live, there are bears and raccoons and bobcats and, likely, cougars.

Over the years, since I've been here, I've lost 3 cats and, after we broke up, my ex-girlfriend later lost Ida, a large Red-Boned Coon Hound. To our local big-ass brown bear, I'd wager. A bear I have personally seen, at 2 am, in front of the local post office parking lot about a month ago. He was about 4' high at the shoulders.

Those who have read my blog can recall I got my own cat, named Mose, in 2005. He came from a local cat rescue organization and had his very own stuffed white teddy bear (which, the staff insisted, go home with him!). I raised him from a kitten and a finer cat never existed. He became bi-coastal -- meaning, he had two homes; my home in the mountains and my wife's home in the valley below. Unfortunately, whilst at my wife's house, he exited out the dog door one evening and never returned.

I don't think he was predated; I believe he wandered off and was captured by a local neighbor.

He was a great cat; friendly, loving, swift to ramp up the Cat Motor. I can only hope that he found a good family who are treating him well. He even won over my wife, who is a Dog Person and not a Cat Person in the slightest.

I miss Mose to this day. I miss him terribly. He used to be my blogging buddy (see the photo) and would lay on my upstairs desk with his head over the keyboard as I would create posts, snow falling outside the window, warmed by my desk lamp.

In Winter he would also jump up on the bed and nose himself under the covers, and sleep at my side or at my feet. If I lay on my side, he would curl himself up between my arm and my body. He knew where the Heat Generator was located.

Because of my inconsistent schedule, I cannot have any more animals at my house. Sometimes I'm at my house three days a week; sometimes I'm here four days a week. Sometimes I'm at my house for only one day. Sometimes, schedule-dependent, I won't hit my house for two weeks. The fact that I cannot have another cat disappoints me greatly.

I still work, I'm not retired, so I am subject to work.

I'd love to have my own dog, or my own cat. But quite frankly, that is not in the cards.

I must settle for my Feral Cat Duo. They greet me, loudly, when I return home, no matter the time, no matter the day. And they always manage to bring a spontaneous smile to my face.

BZ