I went out to the loft colony this evening and caught the three I know about that don't have ear tips. Might have all newcomers caught now. That would make 7 newcomers caught since mid December.
I caught 18 already out there 3 years ago to be fixed but didn't return about a third of those. Five of those 18 I caught mid January 3 years ago were big boys, several of whom had just shown up. I imagine they were coming in expecting to breed with females there. He has not seen them since however.
I don't really think these latest 7 I've caught are newcomers although he calls them that. The first four I caught and were fixed mid December were all teens, like siblings, born last fall teens.
Then I caught today the large brown tabby long hair and there are at least three or four other tabby long hairs. Not like this one is an outsider.
Well, to stop beating around about it, I caught the long hair gray tux tame one. The cats' hair is too long to tell if its a female or a neutered male. Acts male, however, but the vet will figure it out. Safely. Under anesthesia.
Then I caught the two others I"d seen without eartips--a short hair black adult and a long hair tabby.
Otherwise its been raining (pouring actually) and miserable weather and makes me just want to sleep all day and all night.
It was kind of a letdown to catch those three cats so quickly this evening. He hadn't fed the cats so two fixed ones immediately jumped into my car when I arrived to scrounge for food inside it. They wanted wet food. They don't get it from him and they know my car now, and know I'll have some with me.
I wasn't even out there 40 minutes. But those 40 minutes were the highlight of an otherwise tediously boring rainy weekend.
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| This is the tame newcomer. Looks like a boy but has no balls and none of the cats have shown up there fixed so far. This one is relatively new, compared to the regulars at least, but he has been feeding it many months already and the cat adores him. |
Do domestic pet cats also get ear tipped? It doesn't seem to be done here. They would be microchipped but otherwise, there would be no way to tell by just looking.
ReplyDeleteOnly if they're outside cats, which unfortunately many tame cats free roam. This one will get ear tipped as part of an outside colony. I wish around here all cats would be ear tipped as so many start out as house cats but people abandon them so frequently or let them free roam to be lost. It's such an easy way to know they're already fixed at least.
DeleteThanks for what you do.
ReplyDeleteSmiling....
DeleteMore good work. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks L and L. Happy to finish up this one at least.
DeleteWhen a new cat joins an existing colony are they immediately accepted, or is there a frosty period first?
ReplyDeleteIt can be very frosty, depending on if the colony is fixed or not and how long they've been together. Unfixed males have no friends. New cats, especially males looking for fights and sex, are often run out, depending however on different personalities and if the cat is very good at social interactions. If the new cat is young and needy, it may well be quickly taken over and accepted.
DeleteOh, that expression is adorable. I'm with Bill. Hugs, my dear.
ReplyDeleteSorry your weather's been miserable. It sounds like you've got that colony well in hand.
ReplyDeleteHow has yours been down there? Yes, I reviewed videos I took in the loft mid December, before catching the four teens, and every cat in the loft now Id'ed and in "custody" to be fixed today or already fixed. So these are the final three. Spring is coming however, already females are in heat due to the warm winter. There will be roaming males soon. Already had that young one show up here.
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