The strays in my new 'hood.

Murrmurr

Murrmurr

SF VIP
Location
Sacramento, California
I'm actually seeing more free-roam cats at my new(to me) house than we had at the apartment. I asked my neighbors to make sure they don't belong to someone, and everyone said the big grey tabby with the white chin has a home, but the rest of them don't.

One of the homeless ones is a pregnant female who looks very young; like maybe 5 or 6 months old at the most. She's a frantic little thing and not at all shy about asking for food, so I call her Gabby. She's orange with a tortoise shell pattern. I've read that something like 85% of orange cats are male, but this cat definitely looks pregnant, so I made her a birth-shelter. I hope she uses it, mainly because it's in a safe place...I do not need kittens.

I'll report her to the Humane Society on Monday. I sure hope they come and get her. If they do, they'll keep her til the kittens are about 8 weeks old or so, then spay her and return her to the area, and put her kittens up for adoption.

There's also a husky black cat. Completely black with gold eyes. I call him Turkish. He's got a male vibe, I guess because the huskiness is all muscle, but I'm not sure. He doesn't come around very often.

There's a really pretty long-haired Calico that is female. My granddaughter Ariel named her Cassandra...I think that's what she settled on. I need to ask her. I told Ariel I'll trap Cassandra for her if her parents say she can take her home. She has a notch on her ear, so she's been spayed and vaccinated....Cassandra, not Ariel.

Lastly (so far) there's a cream-colored cat with a light brown shadow along all its tips and edges, including all the edges of its facial features. And I swear its face looks like a monkey's face, so I call this one Gibbon. It will come and eat, but it won't come near anyone. It just sits way over at the edge of the yard staring at me until I've put the food down and gone inside. Gibbon is kind of creepy lookin'.

We trapped Danny and brought him and his little cabin here after we were all moved in. He obviously likes it here.

I finished building 2 cat-huts plus the birthing shelter for Gabby, so I've got a couple more to go....so far. I need to get more supplies.
 

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I can recall back in 1980-2000 that digs would roam the streets, typical to see 4-8 a different times, no "Packs" then.

Now living in Vancouver, I can count on one hand from 2008-2023 how many loose dogs I've seen. The surprising thing is, we're now down to two people in the animal control part AND they also are code enforcement, and two other jobs.

We now are told "Call the humane society"
 
Disgustedman said:
I can recall back in 1980-2000 that digs would roam the streets, typical to see 4-8 a different times, no "Packs" then.

Now living in Vancouver, I can count on one hand from 2008-2023 how many loose dogs I've seen. The surprising thing is, we're now down to two people in the animal control part AND they also are code enforcement, and two other jobs.

We now are told "Call the humane society"
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The only dogs I've seen around here are on a leash. I suspect the county is far more diligent about stray dogs than stray cats.

Cats won't bite your face off.
 
Kudos to you for everything you are doing for these strays. We've had numerous strays show up at our house, maybe because we always have at least 2 indoor cats.

We had a female cat and kitten show up in winter and kept them both inside until it got warm enough for them to go back outside. Our next door neighbor called animal control on them because they were digging up her plants. I was devastated when I saw them being taken away.

We also brought a male feral cat inside and he actually slept back-to-back with one of our cats. However, he would never let us touch him so we couldn't take him to the vet to get the shots necessary to make sure he wouldn't give one of our cats some type of disease. When he went back outside it was cold, so I lined a cat box with blankets and covered it so he would have warmth.

It breaks my heart when I see stray feral cats that have to fend for themselves. Keep doing what you're doing!
 
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seadoug said:
Kudos to you for everything you are doing for these strays. We've had numerous strays show up at our house, maybe because we always have at least 2 indoor cats.

We had a female cat and kitten show up in winter and kept them both inside until it got warm enough for them to go back outside. Our next door neighbor called animal control on them because they were digging up her plants. I was devastated when I saw them being taken away.

We also brought a male feral cat inside and he actually slept back-to-back with one of our cats. However, he would never let us touch him so we couldn't take him to the vet to get the shots necessary to make sure he wouldn't give one of our cats some type of disease. When he went back outside it was cold, so I lined a cat box with blankets and covered it so he would have warmth.

It breaks my heart when I see stray feral cats that have to fend for themselves. Keep doing what you're doing!
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I started caring about them when I lived in Yuba City (Calif) and an abandoned pregnant cat started hanging around my yard. She belonged to my next door neighbor, and when they moved they didn't take her with them....probably because she was pregnant. I put a cardboard box out in my sideyard for her, and only 3 days later she had her kittens in it. Six of them!

What got to me was watching the kitten's numbers dwindle. They were disappearing one by one from dog attacks, cars, probably parasites, or maybe, hopefully, people were taking them in, who knows? When there were only 2 left and they were eating food, I kittnapped one of them when it came to the food dish. I gave him to my daughter. She still has him; 9 years now. I tried to nab both of them, but the one was too quick. It ran under the house.

I finally caught that one a few days later, but I had to take it to the animal shelter because half its face was hanging off and it was very lethargic. Probably a dog or racoon got him, I don't know, but it was horrible. And it was so tiny and cute, too, and the last one at that point.

Anyway, that's when I decided to help them however I can.
 
I was on my way to becoming that crazy cat guy. I made a door for my two cats to come and go. Apparently, my female cat went out on a date, and..............So I had a bunch of kittens on the way. One night, I was watching TV with my two sprawled out on the floor. Then it dawned on me that I was hearing meowing, and it wasn't from my two. Turns out there was a female stray giving birth under the couch- she had 5. Then my cat delivered -5 more. I couldn't throw the stray out, it was close freezing at night. So that's 13 cats. I gave the kittens & stray away, plugged up the cat door, and had my two fixed.
 
We are not cat people. We have dogs that only use about half of our 1+ acre yard which is fenced. The rest of the yard is wildlife habitat we created. Woods, prairies, shrubs etc make for excellent bird habitat. We also feed birds in winter. So when we see other peoples cats take birds off our feeders or from nests we get a bit testy. We've had a few over the years and so we put out live traps that are quite visible from the street. We also let our neighbors know that if they had a cat they needed to keep them out of our yard and that any cat caught will be taken to the county shelter where they will have to pay to get them back. I also reminded them that the fox who lives across the road may also take care of their cat. No cat troubles for 2 years now.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I was on my way to becoming that crazy cat guy. I made a door for my two cats to come and go. Apparently, my female cat went out on a date, and..............So I had a bunch of kittens on the way. One night, I was watching TV with my two sprawled out on the floor. Then it dawned on me that I was hearing meowing, and it wasn't from my two. Turns out there was a female stray giving birth under the couch- she had 5. Then my cat delivered -5 more. I couldn't throw the stray out, it was close freezing at night. So that's 13 cats. I gave the kittens & stray away, plugged up the cat door, and had my two fixed.
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I had a tenant call one day to complain that large dog had squeezed in through the doggie door during the night and they woke to it standing by the side of their bed staring at them.

Today, we have the neighbor's cats jumping on windows trying to get at my indoor cats and using our goldfish pond as a supermarket on the way. The other day I accidentally opened the backdoor with the alarm still set and you should have seen them run!

Murmmurr, Hope you are staying safe and warm during is batch of storms and thanks for sharing your good heart with all of us.
 
I grew up with dogs, but my wife is a cat person So it has been all cats. Our cats have been limited to the house. Loved them all, but my personal favorite was a male Birman. Willy spent half his life asleep in my lap. When the door bell rang he was there to greet visitors. I loved them all, but Willy was special.
 
Happy Heart said:
I had a tenant call one day to complain that large dog had squeezed in through the doggie door during the night and they woke to it standing by the side of their bed staring at them.

Today, we have the neighbor's cats jumping on windows trying to get at my indoor cats and using our goldfish pond as a supermarket on the way. The other day I accidentally opened the backdoor with the alarm still set and you should have seen them run! :ROFLMAO:

Murmmurr, Hope you are staying safe and warm during is batch of storms and thanks for sharing your good heart with all of us.
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A few heavy rain storms passed through last week, but they didn't last long. So it's been mostly sunny, but you can't feel the heat because of freezing winds coming off the snow-packed mountains. Typical late-winter weather for the Calif central valley.
 
I hate hearing that. We had two orange females so she could certainly be pregnant. Poor cats, it's not their fault. I won't let the 3 at my work place go hungry but I think I need to see if the new one that showed up can get trapped and fixed. (male) I don't trust the people who run the thrift store or do the trap and release. But I need to contact. He looks like he's been fighting.
 
Remy said:
I hate hearing that. We had two orange females so she could certainly be pregnant. Poor cats, it's not their fault. I won't let the 3 at my work place go hungry but I think I need to see if the new one that showed up can get trapped and fixed. (male) I don't trust the people who run the thrift store or do the trap and release. But I need to contact. He looks like he's been fighting.
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He probably has been fighting. I've seen that here, so I'm assuming the females are in ...I think the word is estrus? Or it might be because I'm putting food out every morning and evening, but I don't think so. They seem to know the pecking order.

I forget who told me that about 85% of orange cats are male. It was probly someone up in Susanville. Not that that means anything to you, so: Susanville (Calif) is up in the mountains where almost everyone knows a lot about animals. Mostly wild animals, though.

Anyway, I'm gonna look it up.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I was on my way to becoming that crazy cat guy. I made a door for my two cats to come and go. Apparently, my female cat went out on a date, and..............So I had a bunch of kittens on the way. One night, I was watching TV with my two sprawled out on the floor. Then it dawned on me that I was hearing meowing, and it wasn't from my two. Turns out there was a female stray giving birth under the couch- she had 5. Then my cat delivered -5 more. I couldn't throw the stray out, it was close freezing at night. So that's 13 cats. I gave the kittens & stray away, plugged up the cat door, and had my two fixed.
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Sure you did, why I'll bet you're why this happened!!!

https://youtube.com/shorts/lN2MAvsOEnw?feature=share

(just kidding I know you'd never be so heartless)
 
Remy said:
I hate hearing that. We had two orange females so she could certainly be pregnant. Poor cats, it's not their fault. I won't let the 3 at my work place go hungry but I think I need to see if the new one that showed up can get trapped and fixed. (male) I don't trust the people who run the thrift store or do the trap and release. But I need to contact. He looks like he's been fighting.
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Per cattime.com ; Orange cats are usually male. The reason? The gene that codes for orange fur is on the X chromosome. Since females have two X's and males have one X and one Y, this means that a female orange cat must inherit two orange genes — one from each parent — whereas a male only needs one, which he gets from his mother.

petkeen.com says the same, and adds that approximately 20% of orange cats are female and 80% are male.
 
Murrmurr said:
He probably has been fighting. I've seen that here, so I'm assuming the females are in ...I think the word is estrus? Or it might be because I'm putting food out every morning and evening, but I don't think so. They seem to know the pecking order.

I forget who told me that about 85% of orange cats are male. It was probly someone up in Susanville. Not that that means anything to you, so: Susanville (Calif) is up in the mountains where almost everyone knows a lot about animals. Mostly wild animals, though.

Anyway, I'm gonna look it up.
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More orange cats are male. The 3 established ones at my workplace are fixed. A calico, a orange/white male and an all orange male. They all have good weights on them.

This newer gray and white one is eating someplace else. No way is he as big as he is on only the food I put out. Sometimes he's not there. There are a couple of other feral feeding spots along the gulch behind my workplace that are maintained. He may go to one of them. But he's not fixed and ear clipped like the other 3 are.
 
Gabby, the pregnant stray that's been coming around for food and shelter - she had her kittens!! Every one of them is orange, at least the ones I can see. Looks like 4 of them. And she had them in the "birth box" I made for her!

I'm pretty sure she started having them yesterday evening, because she didn't scramble to the food dish like she usually does. She'd been eating everyone's food...obviously loading up for her post-partum fast. Many years ago I had a cat who had 3 litters, and I remember she did this. I don't remember how long she went without eating, but I think it was 2 or 3 days.

I checked on Gabby about an hour ago. She was in one of the other shelters I built, and her kittens are in the birth box. She was cleaning herself. The kittens were huddled up in a little orange furball, sleeping. Man, they're tiny. They look healthy, though.

Also, none of the other cats are coming around today. Not even Danny, her partner and protector, also an orange cat. I'm fairly certain this is Gabby's first litter, so I'll keep checking on her. The birth box is a bit smaller and warmer than the cat shelters, and it's in a pretty protected spot, but I'll keep checking on them for a while. Like for at least a few weeks, I guess.

(My sister) Bonnie's going to want me to bring them inside, I just know it. She's gonna make a lot of noise about it. She might even say F U and bring 'em in herself. But what then? What am I gonna do with 4 or maybe 5 kittens?

(My granddaughter) Ariel will probly want one, but her dad (my son) isn't at all fond of cats even though we almost always had one. But her mom will say Yes, and I think her mom's the boss.

Anyway, Gabby's kittens are born. They're really cute.
 
Murrmurr said:
Gabby, the pregnant stray that's been coming around for food and shelter - she had her kittens!! Every one of them is orange, at least the ones I can see. Looks like 4 of them. And she had them in the "birth box" I made for her!

I'm pretty sure she started having them yesterday evening, because she didn't scramble to the food dish like she usually does. She'd been eating everyone's food...obviously loading up for her post-partum fast. Many years ago I had a cat who had 3 litters, and I remember she did this. I don't remember how long she went without eating, but I think it was 2 or 3 days.

I checked on Gabby about an hour ago. She was in one of the other shelters I built, and her kittens are in the birth box. She was cleaning herself. The kittens were huddled up in a little orange furball, sleeping. Man, they're tiny. They look healthy, though.

Also, none of the other cats are coming around today. Not even Danny, her partner and protector, also an orange cat. I'm fairly certain this is Gabby's first litter, so I'll keep checking on her. The birth box is a bit smaller and warmer than the cat shelters, and it's in a pretty protected spot, but I'll keep checking on them for a while. Like for at least a few weeks, I guess.

(My sister) Bonnie's going to want me to bring them inside, I just know it. She's gonna make a lot of noise about it. She might even say F U and bring 'em in herself. But what then? What am I gonna do with 4 or maybe 5 kittens?

(My granddaughter) Ariel will probly want one, but her dad (my son) isn't at all fond of cats even though we almost always had one. But her mom will say Yes, and I think her mom's the boss.

Anyway, Gabby's kittens are born. They're really cute.
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Congratulations! Is there a free neutering program/clinic in your city? I adore ginger cats :)
 
Pinky said:
Congratulations! Is there a free neutering program/clinic in your city? I adore ginger cats :)
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There is, but if the cat is friendly and lets you pet them, no free neutering for you. Gabby hasn't ever been particularly friendly, but she has let me pet her. And now that she's had her kittens she might be even more friendly.

I don't want to have to pay to get her spayed, but I probably will. If she's gonna live in my yard, I have to....I'm pretty sure the stray males outnumber the stray females.
 
I checked on the new family and it doesn't look good. Gabby was still in the shelter and left the babies in the birth-box, so I moved them into the shelter with her.

I found 2 dead ones. Probably still-born.

The 4 live ones are in with their mother now, and I also put in a warmed-up sock full of rice. The babies felt very chilly, so I'm sure glad I took that out there with me. I didn't put it up against their bodies, I basically just laid it across the entry where it will warm any incoming breezes. The entry has wide vinyl strips hanging down over it, though. I cut them from a vinyl table cloth. There's some hanging over the exit door, too.

The babies were crying by the time I moved them. They've stopped now. I hope that's because she's letting them nurse. Could be the warmth, though. I'll keep checking on them.
 

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