Calico Feral Cat And Bombay Cat Are Buddies

by Doug
(Union City, CA)

Skeeter and Pinto

Skeeter and Pinto

One day there was a family of six feral cats. I wanted to help them but realized quickly how this could multiply. We became cat wranglers and had them all fixed, but it took some time to do this.

My boys wanted to keep one. I told them our cat would not tolerate another cat. Well, I decided to give it a try and we kept a Calico. She was very afraid of humans, but eventually allowed us to hold and pet her, and then she would purr and drool. To my surprise, she became great buddies with our Bombay boy. They play and sleep together. Sometimes the Calico licks our cat until he gets upset.

So I am glad we kept her, for ourselves and our cat. I now think every cat should have another cat to play with and keep company.

A part of me felt bad that I "took" this cat from her family, but as our cat wrangler supervisor said, she is one of the lucky ones. She has the freedom to go outside, but it is clear she enjoys living in the house.

Update: 13th Jan 2010:

Thanks for the comments and what you are doing. Cats need our love and attention, but also our protection. Below is a "before" picture of Pinto with her brother Lion and sister Leiger having either their usual breakfast or dinner in our backyard. (Sorry, the picture quality is not that good.) Before, that is, we adopted Pinto. We continue to feed Lion, Tiger, Leiger and the dad, Smokey, breakfast and dinner each day, and they will come into our house to eat canned food. Pinto watches them eat, but we have to keep Skeeter in another room or busy eating. Pinto is free to visit with her family whenever she wants, and she occasionally plays with Lion, but when she goes outside, she usually goes just to wander around. We have given her family a chair to sleep in, a cover over the area and a cat house, like the one indoors.

three feral cats eating
Pinto, Lion and Leiger eating - photo Doug

This arrangement has drawn the attention of One Ear, so named because one of his ears is deformed and not readily visible. He is a huge, orange Tabby, that we don't think is feral, but is so dirty and uncared for that he certainly isn't an indoor cat. He has a wound near his good ear, undoubtedly from fighting, that just as it starts to scab over and heal, he scratches and draws a little blood, so it won't heal. He intimates the other cats, but he needs care and a home too, so I just work at keeping them, their foods and their beds (chairs) separated. It doesn't always work to well, but we just do the best we can.

Doug

Calico Feral Cat And Bombay Cat Are Buddies to Feral Cats

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Calico Feral Cat And Bombay Cat Are Buddies

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Oct 10, 2010 Feral Family cat...
by: Anonymous

I love your story about your feral kitty. I too have a feral. He showed up one day pawing at the back door and flirting with my cats through the window. I invited him in (tricked him actually) and he has lived with us ever since. He was previously neutered probably by a local cat group who trap, speuter and release, and still wears his cropped ear showing all upon recapture that he has already been neutered. He is wary of us but when I can corner him and spend time he becomes jello, loving the scratches under his chin, on top of his head and at the base of his tail. But once all is done he feels his dignity has been violated and he avoids me as much as possible. Once introduced and after a couple of mistakes, he uses the litter boxes faithfully and eats, plays and sleeps with my other cats. He now shares a cat proofed fenced yard that extends his kingdom beyond the house. We have lived together for a year now and I plan to spend more time with him this winter. It will be total success when he comes to me for that scratch.


Aug 13, 2010 Feral bombay
by: Janis

we had lost a black american shorthair to old age and went to the local shelter to try to get a similar one. Didn't find any there that were young, but as we left, a young woman was sitting in the waiting area holding a small black cat. I asked if she had just adopted it and she said no, she was part of a rescue team & was bringing him in. I asked how I could get on a list to adopt him & she laughed & said they would just release him & I would have to catch him again. She had caught him near a Burger King, lured him out of the bushes in the rain, and he was the only one that would come out. I said I would love to have him & she let me hold him, laughing that "they were ignoring her anyway". She said I would have to promise to neuter him, and also showed me that he would run into the large carrier, labeled "live animal" she had with her & stay to the back, very afraid of people. Anyway, she gave me cat & carrier and we took him home. He urinated on the way home as we waited for a train to pass, and there were feces in there with hm too, so by the time we got home, he was nasty. I took him out by the neck, & held him in the sink & washed him off, dried him & put him in our old cat's bed in a guest bathroom with a small liter box, food & water. He stayed in there most of the time for the first few weeks. The first thing I noticed about him was his extremely shiny flat coat, and his very thick muscular neck, & pretty wide-set eyes. I believe him to be a bombay. The breed was created about 100 miles from here. AS he has grown, we notice also how long he is. I had him neutered, all shots, and we keep him indoors. He does not seem to want to go out,watches me from the patio door, which he loves, when I am out, knowing I will bring him catnip, but actually steps back when I come in, and never paws at the door or screen. We've had him 4 months now, he trusts us enough now to pet him, and he rubs my legs, and follows me around like a puppy, laying at my feet when I sit. He does not like to get up on anything, ie laps,table, counter, which is a plus. I've taken in "strays" before, but he is totally different; doesn't seem to know about people at all. The vet commented that it is as though he wants to be friendly but doesn't know how. Instead of meowing, he chirps & squeaks mostly, and doesn't seem to purr, although a couple of times lately I've thought I heard a very low purr when I was rubbing his head. I've wondered if the non-meow language is something the colony develops to be as non-noticeable as possible. Anyone know anything about that? We intended to name him Midnight, Jr, but have ended up calling him "Lucky". He comes immediately when we call him. Very interesting little boy.


Jan 13, 2010 Skeeter and Pinto
by: Ruth

What a lovely story Doug and what a wonderful photo, I love their cat tree. I'm so glad it worked out well. It's sad we can't help all the ferals but not that many settle well in a house.
Your calico has the best of all worlds now, a good home, a feline friend, and her freedom too.

Kattaddorra signature Ruth


Jan 12, 2010 Calico Feral and the Bombay cat.
by: Rudolph.A.Furtado

The name "BOMBAY" has stuck to the "Bombay cat, while the name of its city of origin "Bombay" has changed to "Mumbai". Strange is the case of naming certain breeds of cat and the "BOMBAY CAT" is a total "American Breed" having no connection to the local cats from the Indian city of Bombay now renamed Mumbai. On the streets of Mumbai, jet black cats are not un-common but they have no characteristics to the "BOMBAY PEDIGREE CAT" and are ordinary ferals with total black colouration.Thanks to the "Bombay Cat", the name "Bombay" is nostalgically alive amongst Mumbaikars, recollection of an era in the early 20th century where "Black Leopards" were hunted in the suburbs of Bombay. I feel this is the reason that the "American Breeders" named this jet black cat "Bombay" as it resembled a miniature panther.The " Sanjay Gandhi National Park(Borivili National Park)" situated within the city of Mumbai still has wild panthers roaming within its protected forests. These leopards were r a few years ago in the "International News" as some began straying out of the park and preying on humans. This problem was sorted out by trapping the leopards and relocating them in other forests ultimately depleting the present population of wild leopards in the park.The actual reason for the "Bombay leopards" turning man-eaters was "Human Encroachment" into their forests as Mumbai's population keeps expending yearly and i fear for the future of one of the World's last national parks situated within a city.Ultimately if the panthers of "Sanjay Gandhi Park" become extinct at least the "Bombay cat' would survive.
Rudolph avatar


Jan 12, 2010 A great relationship
by: Finn Frode. Denmark

Thank you for this positive story, Dough. A neutered male often will "uncle" a younger cat and they'll have a great relationship. Don't feel bad for taking in that beautiful calico - by having the other ferals fixed you have achived more than most people ever do. 🙂

Finn Frode avatar


Jan 12, 2010 Lucky ferals
by: Jan Plant

What a heart warming story! Wrangling ferals is not an easy task,and God Bless you for doing it!I'm sure your lovely calico is quite happy now as she has two families!


Jan 12, 2010 Buddies
by: Michael

Hi Doug, thanks for stopping by and sharing. I think this nice story shows that we need not be automatically fearful about re-homing a feral cat on the basis that it will upset the existing cats.

Yes, it can cause upset but not always and when there is upset things most often settle into a routine. It is a question of time it seems to me.

This though is a great success story. If you have more photos, Doug, just email me:

mjbmeisteratgmail.com

substituting at for @


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