Disappointed Cat

He was really hoping for a break in the weather, but instead it's been rain, rain, high winds, rain and more rain. A disappointing season for Disappointed Cat. He had expected better from us, and we did not deliver...

Still, although we may not get everything we want for Christmas, life has its good points. We're still here, for instance, and another year has nearly passed. Though sometimes disappointed, we are always thankful for our many blessings.

Happy holidays.

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2016 Feral Cats Calendar | Chriss Pagani art | Cat Cartoon T-shirts | Art gifts
dharma nature meditation

Siamese Cat in Black and White

I had some black and white film I needed to use up, and this beautiful Siamese-type feral kitty just happened to be there. It's a great pose! This cat has very strong markings and a medium length coat. You might even call it long-hair, I don't know; some of that is just winter coat, I think.

A moment later, it sprinted away....
Such a pretty kitty. If only it were tame. But, that's life I guess. There are a million pretty kitties out there without homes. It's sad so I try not to think about it.

If You are on Facebook....

We could use your help. The "we" here is figurative; I need you to help my friends... There is this thing called Chase Community Giving and they are giving money to charities. The top 200 charities get some money and there are several cat charities that need you...




United Paws - VOTE!

Please vote for United Paws; they help me rescue cats. This isn't me - I'm not a charity, I'm just me. But United Paws has been so helpful; I don't know what I would do without them.

There are others who need you too, like Save a Gato ... you get to vote for up to 20 charities but, as I am writing this, there are only 10 days left to vote.

There are so many suffering animals out there, I'd like to see all my friends stand up and be counted. You know, lots of people think about doing good things - this is one of those rare times where actually doing something really good is about as easy as thinking about it.

Will you help? Please vote.

If you are looking for others to vote for, my voting list is here. (Hopefully this link will work). This is by no means complete but it gives you some other worthy charities to consider in spreading your 20 votes around.

Wild Thing Punk Tom - Feral Cat Photo Of The Day

Once again, I managed to capture the wild-looking feral tom cat I call Punk. He looks so tough! Yet he's scared of just about everything. I probably shouldn't say that, though, as it kind of spoils the illusion he wants to create as a tough feral tom cat. He looks like a little tiger.

We've seen punk before (original photo which is featured the 2010 photo calendar and the giant fine art print edition, plus posts here and here) - he's just a little harder to photograph than your average feral cat because if he sees anyone looking at him, he's gone. But I find him so fascinating and unusual that I can't resist hunting for him - no doubt aggravating Punk further.

Lucy The Cat - FORMER Feral Cat Photo Of The Day

This is Lucy The Cat today - a former feral rescued as a kitten. Lucy has the bobtail that is so common in one local feral cat community. As you see her today, Lucy is beautiful, smart, curious - and very people friendly. Once she was feral kitten, abandoned by her mom - she had a rough start to her life and it almost ended much too soon....

One day in June of 2006 while out on a morning feeding session, I heard a kitten crying. At first I couldn't find it and had to give up. I came back about an hour later, though, because I was worried. I finally found this little gooey eyed little kitten under the corner of a barn. There were no other kittens or mother cats around so I cleaned her up and moved her closer to where the other cats were - hoping some mom would take her in. I guess I just didn't want to face bottle feeding yet another kitten; I already had one I had rescued the week before and the idea of taking in another kitten so young felt like too much.

Baby Lucy, right after rescue - June, 2006

She cried and cried. No mommy ever showed up so I took her in and bottle-fed her.

Feral Cat Photo Of The Day - Handsome Boy Feral Cat

We've seen glimpses of this young tom before; this time a long lens and some luck means he now has a portrait shot.

Mostly, feral cats don't trust people at all, and for good reasons. Some feral cats are very difficult to photograph while others have become used to me and are almost friendly. Handsome Boy is somewhere in between. Even though I've been there feeding and caring for these semi-wild animals all his life, he still doesn't trust me. And that's just as well, I guess.

Feral Kittens Cat Photos Of The Day - Queen and Litter of Kittens

Some previously-seen kittens get captured with mom ...or at least one of the queens that is still taking care of them. They are lucky babies...

We've seen many kittens younger than these left to try to survive on their own. It's just part of the hard life of being a feral cat. But this mother is very dedicated. Here is another picture...

Feral Cat Photo Of The Day - Lounging Napping Fuzzy Cat

At this time of year, the opportunities to sun oneself are becoming more rare. This young tom is taking advantage of one of those declining opportunities.... while still hiding (just to be on the safe side.

Cat Photos Of The Day - Meet and Greet, Plus KayKay

The two littermates who were abandoned a bit young have become more socialized in the feral community. Even if mom isn't around anymore, there are others who look after them.

They are still young enough that they could be tamed if I could find homes for them, although taming is much more difficult at this point. I have picked up and handled the white kitten a couple of times.

Feral Cat Photos Of The Day - 3 Orange-Buff Tabbies, 'Farm Cats'

Dumping cats... You can only see two heads because the third cat is tucked-in pretty tight. They are probably close relatives or even littermates; these now-grown orange tabby cats stick together, which is a good thing.

The orange trend in this particular feral colony started a few years ago with a cat that was probably dumped. I'm sure it was former pet because it was friendly.

I live in a rural area near dairy farms; which is why I have access to so many feral cats in case you wondered. Many of the cats in these colonies, however, are regular housecats. People often dump cats when they become inconvenient. They probably choose a farm area because they believe some myth about cats having great lives on farms.

People think (or want to believe) "Oh, a dairy farm. Lots of milk, the kitty will be fine. Just fine..."

Well, this is the post where I tell you the sad truth. That whole "dairy" thing is just a myth, my friends. The truth is that  a modern commercial dairy is a terrible place for a cat - especially a house cat that has never lived outdoors. This isn't the 19th century! Modern commercial dairies are mechanized, stainless steel-lined factory operations. Hardly a drop of milk is spilled and what does find its way into the stainless steel run-off gutters is heavily contaminated with cleaning fluids and other chemicals. No milk for kitty.

Instead, what your pet will find is an inhospitable climate and a colony of very hungry cats competing for the one and only resource the commercial dairy offers: field mice.

If your cat is not a top-notch hunter, it will slowly starve to death. If it is a hunter, it has a chance. There aren't enough mice to go around, however, so even a good hunter will find itself constantly on the edge of starvation.

That dairy doesn't sound so great after all, does it? It isn't....

Feral Cat Photo Of The Day - Punk Tom Returns

A personal favorite, it's slightly intimidating looking Punk Tom, the feral cat. Whether through Scottish Fold ancestry or injury, he has those folded ears and spiked hairdo. He looks mean! The funny part is, he's probably one of the most timid tomcats in the feral colonies. It's difficult to get his picture even from a distance.

Feral Cat Photos of the Day - The Return of 'Cow Cat'

She is rather difficult to photograph because she is so frightened around people. Feral cats have a natural fear of large things including people - some are more scared than others. This beautiful black and white 6 month old kitten is very frightened.

It takes a long lens to capture her since she runs away if you get within 50 feet. Nevertheless, I've managed to capture a few shots of this beautiful kitty....

Feral Cat Photo of the Day - Gort's Portrait Head Shot

This is Gort today. Once a starving, sick feral kitten, today she is a beloved pet. Lucky kitty! I just wish there were more homes so other cats could be lucky, too.

As much as this photo might look posed, it is NOT a studio shot. I promised you all natural, all the time - and I meant it. Gort is on top my work van (my mobile studio). She has just spotted me and is running toward the edge of the roof to greet me. I snapped her photo from several feet away; the white surrounding her is just a cloud-filled sky as I shoot upward toward the roof.

Feral Cat Photo of the Day - Tuxedo Cat Shemp

Part of the litter produced by the original "Gray Cat" before I trapped her and took her to the vet for spaying. She had four sons, which is rather unusual in a litter.

Somehow those sons got named Mo, Curly, Larry and Shemp. Later, the biggest cat, Mo, would become defacto King of the Colony for a few years.

Feral Cat Photo of the Day - The Return of Cow Cat

She's the oh-so-difficult-to-photograph feral cat that is almost an obsession. Along with Punk Tom ...the two of them are among the most "different" looking cats in the feral cat colonies. And they are both terribly shy, even more than the average feral cat.

Therefore, I am all the more determined to capture their images.

By the way, I believe the cat in the background is the mother shown in the famous award-winning photo, Mother Cat and 3 Kittens:

Feral Cat Photo Of The Day - A Lonely Road Cat

I walk a lonely road - the only one that I have ever known.
Don't know where it goes - but it's only me and I walk alone....

I walk this empty street, on the boulevard of broken dreams...
I walk alone.

My shadow is the only one that walks beside me.
Cold and hungry, I must keep moving.
Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me.
Until then.... I walk alone.

Feral Cat Photo Of The day - Not Really Cat Prison

A calico cat is not really in cat prison; she's just on the other side of a cattle fence from my shooting location. She's a beautiful tuxedo calico - kind of rare. She's quite feral, too. The little earmark on her left ear, however, tells us that I have trapped this cat before. She's been to the vet for spaying.

I am thankful for this.

Feral Cat Photo of The Day - The Cat Unseen

In the brush, behind the tree, in the shadows ... the life of a feral cat; unseen, unwanted, unloved.

If you don't like feral cats remember that we humans created their plight. No animal would choose to live the life of a feral cat for it is much too difficult, too dangerous, too painful. Yet they know no other life.

Feral Cat Photo of The Day - Beige Cat, Watching, Wary

On alert... even though I am far away with a long telephoto lens, Beige Cat knows I am there. She watches me from afar. She is wary: You never know what people are going to do; they cannot be trusted.

Feral Cat Photo of the Day - 2 Cats in Cat Fu Tussel

Featuring "Gray Cat" from yesterday versus an unknown but pretty cat. This bit of cat-fu is really just play fighting. The tabby-co tom is in mid air doing a back flip.