Mort the Cat

A double exposure of our own feral cat rescuer Mort the Cat, in the wild... so to speak. Mort likes to wander far and wide. Sometimes he's gone for days at a time. And when he returns, sometimes he brings back a feral cat he found. Mort is a rescuer. I wish he'd stay closer to home, however.

Today is the first chance I've had to take new photos. Mostly it's been weather issues but sometimes I'm just too busy. I'm glad I got this picture, anyway.

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Hiding Spot

More stripes would help but when you're a harlequin or cow cat, you have work with what you have. Spot the Cat is doing his best to hide, just because that's what cats do. Spotsy has been around for quite awhile; here is recent photo of Spot on patrol ... and he's also the kitten shown at the top of the Top 10 Cat Names page! We love Spot. He's always been very small but he's healthy and happy and very friendly.

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Lucy in the Yard, with Cat Food

Lucy the bobtail cow cat, in the feeding area of the yard...with cat food.... and PEX plumbing pipe, because I've had to do some plumbing work, lately. She doesn't associate with cats all that much, but Lucy decided to go out and see how the poor folk are living.  ...Lucy is a mostly-indoor cat, in case you couldn't tell.

She's been a little antsy... Fleas have been making Lucy kind of crazy. It seems like there isn't much left that's effective: we've been through Revolution and Advantage and all of that. It only sort of works, anymore. I hope they come up with something new and more effective, soon. In the meantime, we just try to cope... like Lucy tries to cope with the fact that there are other cats in the world, and she's not that big a fan of cats.

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Spotsy On Patrol

Spot is on patrol, keeping an eye on things and generally enjoying the nice weather we've been having. Although Spotty is a little boy - always smaller than average - he still manages to fit in somehow.

I remember when I found Spot as a tiny abandoned kitten. He was so sad and alone. His kitten picture graces the "Top 10 Cat Names" page, and you can see it on the sidebar! Back then he was all whiskers and not much cat.... I tried to find him a home with no luck, but instead he grew up here - and grew into a gentle and sweet kitty.

Spot is the NUMBER ONE friend of rescued kittens. When lone feral kittens arrive here, Spot is the one who will bathe them, curl up with them, and give them a play partner as they grow. You couldn't ask for a better kitten babysitter. That's just one of the many reasons why we love Spotty.

Harlequin Rustic

Cow cat Lucy found herself a perch on an old wooden chair. The background of knotty and weathered plywood made a perfect background. I thought it was the perfect picture in many ways. Mostly, it's just being in the right place at the right time.

Lucy is one of the lucky ones, as regular readers know. She started out as a sickly feral kitten but is now a pet. You can find the tag "Lucy" below and see her history. Lucy is a happy pet for the most part, although she does have a few peeves and issues. Smart cats tend to be that way.

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Relaxed But Alert Mort

Enjoying a little sun while still keeping an eye on things, it's rescue kitty Mort, the wannabe pet. I think he's just watching another cat in this case but Mort likes to keep an eye on the world in general. I also think he's over-curious sometimes and wanders much too far from home.

Of the sick kittens I rescued in 2009, Mort is pretty much the only one left. He really wants to be a pet, too, although at this point it's hard to imagine relocating him - he's so used to the area he grew up in. Back then, he was a very sick kitten. He survived only with medical intervention, 24 hour care and lots of love. He seems pretty healthy, now!

I only think about him still finding a home sometimes because this area is not completely safe. Mostly I worry about coyotes. Thankfully Mort is still with us but many of his friends haven't been so fortunate. I keep trying to find  way to make things safer but some of it is just beyond me.

Anyway, Mort seldom misses an opportunity to get petted. Although he's somewhat timid at times, he's a very friendly boy by nature. We love Mort.

Mort In A Clear Blue Sky

Mort is such a sweet kitty, one that really wants to be a pet. Here he is atop my broken-down van, which is also my home. He is the last of the kittens I rescued in 2009, and he's a bit of a wanderer - which worries me. The only place safe around here is the well-lit part of the yard ... the "compound" area. Outside of that safe zone are coyotes and cars. Not too many cars, thankfully, but still...

With his wanderlust (even though he's fixed of course) I don't know how long he'll be with us. But at least while he's around I try hard to give him a good life: plenty of food and some petting. That's not so bad, I guess.

Rare Capture

IN FADING LIGHT: It was starting to get dark and I was doing my last round of feeding.... I always have a small pocket camera with me but if I use it at these times, it's after the feeding is done; I can't juggle cans of food, a bucket of dry food and a camera all at once!

So as the light waned, I was just doing my thing, feeding over by the burned-out cat trailer, when I saw this beauty (above). I had seen this girl(?) before: I knew this kitty had been in the feral colony for at least a couple of years, maybe longer, but I had never got a close-up look ..and not ONE photo!  Too shy, too quick to run away.  I saw her only from a distance.

I don't know if this gray and white "cow cat" (as I call the color pattern) was living off of hunting or if it snuck a bite of food after I left, I just knew I didn't see it at feedings, and only caught an occasional glimpse from far away.  But on this evening, suddenly there she was ... gray and white cow cat!

In my heart, I knew it was now or never. Even though my hands were filled with stuff for feeding the cats, I groped my pocket and pulled out the little camera - trying to avoid spilling the cat food at the same time. As I did this, gray-white cow cat began to walk away...  I could see this out of the corner of my eye. Yet there was no way to hurry, and even if I could rush the process, I knew that turning suddenly would make this ultra-shy kitty run.  I tried to remain calm, knowing after these years this might be my only chance at a photo.

I got the camera running an moved the zoom to max, all without looking toward the kitty to see if she was still there. When the camera was ready, I gently turned to look into the rubble of the destroyed cat trailer, only to see her walking away from me. Well, at least I could get a shot of her receding form, it would be better than nothing.

As I raised the camera to my eye, Gray-White Cow Cat turned one last time and looked at me. It was a pause that she'd never made before. She never had given me even half a chance to photograph her. ...Until now.

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Kitties come and go in our lives, and feral cats live their own lives largely in anonymity. I record them so that they will be remembered; so that they will remain a part of our family.

For this one moment, Gray-White Cow Cat decided to share her life with us. She paused and contemplated. But only for an instant...

...And then she was gone.



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Spotsy Cat, Up Close

Spot the Cat, up close and personal ...Spotsy is about 8 months old now and he really wants to be a pet. He's getting to be shy around strangers, though.

The weather around here is still rather winter-like. In fact, it seems like "spring" is coming later every year. What's the deal with that? Anyway, we had a semi-spring day a couple of days ago and I snapped a quick closeup of Spot (400mm) ... He's sitting on my lap right now, actually. He doesn't know he's an Internet star. :)

A Safe Place To Sleep, Feral Cat Photo of the Day

Even for well cared-for feral cats, there are dangers in the world: Dogs, raccoons, eagles, coyotes ...what to do when you need to rest?

Beige Cat has found a place to sleep, close enough to people to feel a sense of protection from all those other scary things out there.

In the real world, there is no place that is one hundred percent safe for any of us. The feral cats around here do pretty well but it is a rural area and there are coyotes. We lose some cats every year this way, unfortunately including Cow Cat, I think. I haven't seen him in more than a month.





We miss you, Cow Cat

Reemergence of Cow Cat - Feral Cat Photos of the Day

Photos of Cow Cat are rarer than Bigfoot. Sometimes she seems more legend than substance, Cow Cat is seldom seen by her own choice. Finally, with much determination, her image is captured again...

I don't know why she is so cautious. Yes, she's a feral cat, but she grew up in a colony where people regularly provided food and care.

She waits for me to leave before she comes to feedings. Capturing her image requires a long telephoto lens, patience and stealth. She is a such a beautiful cat, though, that she's worth it.

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 - 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 - Cow Cat and Friend

Someday I will get a good photo of the little feral I call "Cow Cat." The name comes from her black and white coat, which reminds me of the Holstein dairy cows in the area.

This kitty is more frightened of people than average - she runs away if I get within 200 feet. So the photographs of her (so far) have been at the far limits of my long lens. She's beautiful, though, and I wish I could turn her into a pet.

Her friend is a cute little calico cat I may have caught in a photo before. She may even be one of the ones I've managed to trap and spay. Difficult to tell from here (they have ear tattoos).