The Shadow Knows

Some feral cats, a mother cat and three kittens, started appearing around our house last summer. Cute little buggers. The mother cat apparently tried to outrace a passing motorist and lost, then there were just the wee cats.

Mistake number one, my wife started feeding them. Mistake two, she named them: the solid black male Shadow, the two females with a bit of calico on an eye, Patch,  and the one with calico on the paw, Paw. This started with dry food. Then this escalated to nice moist canned food in the evening.

And then it got colder. So we bought a heated watering bowl. I took a tote, cut a hole in it and made a rug gate and put a heating pad on its bottom so they could stay warm. I further covered the patio table with plastic and put blankets for a larger warm spot.

Then evil struck with the event first of a possum who decided the tent and food was his. He was successfully scared off. Then came in succession two huge other feral cats the size of saber-toothed tigers that frightened our (oops they were called our cats) wee cats.

As a result I scooped up the endangered felines and deposited them in my office, which is a building separate from our house complete with a fireplace, a small shop and multiple computers and hundreds of books and many hiding spots.

Now came daily feedings, petting, playing, cat toys, catnip and scratching pads and the like. Shadow particularly likes to walk in front of the monitor while I write my blogs. He particularly likes the mouse pointer jumping around the screen.

Our cat companions continued to grow and so we cleaned their ears with ear cleaning goop, two types. We rid them of fleas, wormed them, thanks the supplies given to us by our granddaughter the vet. Then we took them to the Humane Society to have them neutered and given their shots. They clip feral cats ears to mark them as such or they can charge you much more if they do not clip their ears. Guess which we opted for? Yep, the ears are unclipped. We brought them home in their drunken anesthetic state (different anesthesia is used if they are not feral cats.) All seemed to return to normal as they began their recovery.

Then they disappeared! Cats are good at hiding in my office, which is officially known as the Schackteau, but we knew them all, and looked and looked and they were not to be found. We contacted hopeful witnesses, and we became very sad expecting that cat-nappers had had their way with our feline friends. We suspected that perhaps they their hair had been dyed and were being masqueraded and friendly skunks. Or, maybe they had been sold into cat slavery while cat pervert took advantage of them. Many dire scenarios came to mind. All seemed lost.

Then one morning while at the computer I looked up and there was Shadow (who real name or secret identity as some may know is Lamont Cranston.) It turned out the Shadow/Lamont had found an opening in a setout we had made for better insulate a decaying brick foundation, which was filled with insulation. Out of the corner of my eye I had seen a flutter of movement where he had emerged. A flashlight revealed four more eyes peering at me from the deep recesses of this ingenious hiding place. Eventually all came out and I sealed this escape passage. Shadow/Lamont, who had been squeezed by too much hugging upon his emergence by the lady of the house and myself, remained aloof for a bit but is now sitting in front of the computers screen as I type.

To lighten up from the political and religious scene you may find a few cat stories creep in here. I believe they have secret lives I am determined to discover.

Our intent is to find good homes for these adventuresome feline felons who are completely tame by now and insist on frequent petting and attention. This would be more in keeping with our vagabond ways, but is getting more difficult with each passing day.