Feral Family Pics 2

Four in one pic! Who would guess this delightful quartet all used to be undomesticated cats. Look at them now. Gorgeous.

Couldn't Resist

Sasha, sister of Sihri (the champagne and white kitty in the bannerhead), the duo otherwise known in my family as the Squeaker Sisters.

Quick Quiz and Bios

Question: Which of these two cats – the ginger or the white one – are feral cats?

Well, the answer is both of them – they are brothers from the same litter. It would probably be more accurate to say they are ex-feral cats, as they have been domesticated and live in and around the house.

Their mother who I have named Mimsy is extraordinarily fertile and unfortunately for us, too savvy to get caught in a cat cage so that we can have her desexed. She lives at the back of the family property in a cat shed which my generous and kind hearted father built for the coterie of ferals we have living on the farm. Mimsy is a tortie and white cat and has given birth to many multi-coloured offspring, which I will gradually introduce you to over the upcoming weeks. Some remain here with me and others have gone to loving homes with various good-hearted cat people. Unlike their intelligent mother, these two wandered into the baited cat traps (loaned to us by the Animal Welfare League) when they were about eight weeks old. We promptly brought them to our rumpus room which we have converted to a rehabilitation centre and home for cats. The rumpus room is set away from the rest of the house and has a tennis table and old furniture in it with lots of places to hide for the newcomers who need a feeling of safety and security in the first instance before they begin trusting humans. It's warm in the winter and cool in the summer if you open the windows and doors.

It took about three days to have Saffron and Snow purring and in my lap. They were the second lot of cats I had taken in. The socialisation period can take between 24 hours and three weeks, depending on the age and temperament of the cat in question. These two are exceedingly gentle and very placid in nature. Snow is so relaxed when you pick him up that you think there is something wrong with his muscles. He elongates and drapes over your arms as if he is a droopy piece of material. In summer I need to put sun tan lotion on the tips of his ears and nose, as white cats are particularly vulnerable to skin cancers. He also has a distinctive walk that reminds me rather ironically of the Peggy Lee "Peg" dog character in Disney's Lady and the Tramp (watch the YouTube clip below right to the end to see the walk I'm talking about).

Saffron is slightly more shy in nature but enormously affectionate. He is one of those cats who is never any trouble and he loves being in on the action – he goes walking with the dogs and my sheep (singular) when we troop around the farm in the morning to do chores.

Many people have wanted to take Saffron and Snow home with them but it's never going to happen – we adore them too much. I do not sell or trade animals. The only thing I do is find good homes for some of the kittens I look after. If I didn't the cat population would be double on the farm. And by the way, the interview process for the people wanting these kittens is tough!

Introductions All Round

The kitty you see in the blog photo is Sihri. She has just been desexed and is about 7 months old. She came to me via a neighbour who was at the local farm supplies store earlier in the year when a man approached her with a box. He said it contained two feral kittens he had found on his property and he wanted to know where the local pound was. She said she would take them, and then – knowing that I rehabilitated cats – she promptly rang me up and asked me if I would take them as in two days time she was flying to Alaska for six months and could not look after them herself. I said yes (I was looking after five other feral kittens so two more wouldn't have made much of a difference) and she turned up five minutes later with the box. 

The rest of my family went ballistic when they found out and I began weeping from the frustration of not knowing what to do and having to pass the poor little things on again down the line. Before I even had time to examine them properly, I had to ring up the Cat Protection Society in Sydney. The woman on the phone was able to discern what I was saying in between sobs and told me to drive them to the shelter when I had a chance. I said I would do it the next day.

In the meantime, I opened the box and looked in. Huddled on an old towel behind a white baby's cushion were two tiny females not older than four weeks. One was champagne and white and her sister was calico coloured (which is basically a grey tortoiseshell). They hissed at me and looked absolutely terrified and traumatised. They were also starving because when I put in some food for them, they lurched themselves onto the plate without a second look at me. I suppose Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs applies to animals too.

When the others family members saw how tiny the kittens were, they relented. When they saw how well they bonded with me several weeks later, they said they could stay. (Please note that I will post later on about the differences in the bonding journey between all of my feral cats. You will also find out about Sihri's sister Sasha.)

This pic was taken in the front garden a few days ago. My friend J calls Sihri a little Hollywood glamour cat and indeed she is. At the moment she is lolling between my legs and the recliner chair from which I am working. I also have a little black and white boy who was wild about ten days ago but who is now standing on my chest purring and licking my face and playing footsies (or pawsies) with my hair. Did I tell you how wonderful cats are?