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| I feel sort of foolish. I was trying to feed my neighbor's cat while she was in another state for the summer.Her husband had given me some cash to buy food since he left a week or two after her. It's an outdoor cat. They tried to get her accustomed to eating at my house. The first night, I called her. She moseyed up from their yard and came to my porch, but wouldn't eat while I was out there. After a few days she disappeared for a week. Even the step daughter who was going to take care of her yard and do the monthly flea treatment couldn't find the cat. Then she started showing up again, never eating while I was with her. She would rub against my ankles while I was placing her food, but she acted afraid of sudden movements and never ate all that I put out. She's a multi-colored cat. We obviously never bonded. I never heard her meow. She never came around during the day, only at night, like they trained her. I worked late several nights a week, so she'd be out there waiting. Sometimes, Dad would put out a little dry food, but she wouldn't hang around when he came out. Some days I didn't see her at all. She continued to be stand-offish, despite feeding, since we had always tried to keep her away from our bird feeding enterprises. I retired September 30. Starting in October she started showing up around 6 pm or so. She'd meow, so I thought she was getting used to us. Then in November I noticed the green eyes. Why hadn't I ever noticed that before? She was begging more, so I would give her more treats or a tad dry food. I looked at her to see if she was gaining weight. No, she was looking thin. I noticed her colors were gone. I thought maybe she's molting her summer hair. I thought I was going crazy. My neighbor's cat was almost solid black! About a week before Thanksgiving, the cat was showing up every morning between 10 and 12, meowing for food. At first, I thought okay, I'll give you a little more. Then the noise became annoying. She started clawing at the back door. I was wondering if my neighbor was coming home for the holidays. I had seen her husband walking the dog once, but thought he must have gone back.Then right before Thanksgiving, he was cutting grass. I couldn't figure out why the cat was still coming to see me. She can't eat at both places. By now, you've figured it out. A second cat had slipped in. I never looked to notice it was a tomcat. The personality difference was not my imagination, the lack of picky eating was not just the cat adjusting to me, and the fur color and eye color were not signs of my going crazy. It does tell me I was going through the motions without paying attention. I'm really not a pet person. So here's my dilemma. I'm stuck with a demanding cat. I don't know his background, rabies, etc. I don't want to adopt him and the vet bills. I don't mind feeding him; in fact, since he's gotten dependent on me, I don't want to leave him hungry. But my dad is a bird watcher. He has made the sacrifice for the neighbor. He enjoys feeding the birds. Now only the jays and the squirrels come. I need to get the owner to take back the cat, or have someone adopt him. If he's going to be a stray, I should have him neutered, but I don't want to foot the bill for other vet things, like worming and flea medicines. And I feel very foolish for ignoring the signs. I should have realized there were other cats in the neighborhood. I've put out money of my own, even after the neighbors were home (it was hard to tell, since they had so many grown children checking on the house and yard and popping in and out). The cat has to go. The birds come first. |
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