I Love Ferals
by Shelley
(Fairfax, VA, USA)
I have been feeding the cats who wander around my neighborhood for years. I am not sure whether they wander because they are feral or whether they are put out each morning by their owners who don’t care that their cats are outside.
I rescued one cat who was declawed (yes) and left outside. Tigger was one amazing cat. He blended in with my other 3 cats and immediately became top cat of the group. (what is a cat group called?)
Anyway, I loved him to bits and just died when he got an aggressive cancer and died two weeks after diagnosis. It has been a few years and I probably will still hurt like it was the first day without him. Major personality. Because he was declawed and neutered I believe he must have been a domestic cat who was lost or throw out of his house because of difficult elimination habits.
Funny thing is that once he got into my place and comfortable he was able to use the litter box without even being trained. Go figure.
My second cat who I pulled from the streets is another cat who belonged to someone. He was fixed and wandering (almost dead) on one of the local streets. I pulled over and called him over and he ran into my arms. And again he has been an amazing guy. He is personable and feisty all at the same time. A ball of energy in a small space.
So I probably don’t have any experience with the true feral cats but I love ’em anyway.
Thanks for this website. Anything we can do to bring the plight of ferals to the public is better than what the animal control folks do when they get their paws on them.
Take care and keep fighting….
Shelley
Hi Shelley… thanks Shelley. You are one of us. The troops. We understand cats (and animals generally, I believe). Meow.
I love feral cats and stray cats too. They need us most.
A group of cats is, apparently, called a clowder. I’ll do a post on that word if I can find out why!
