Cats are notorious for showing very little allegiance to their owners/feeders. We often wonder where our Freddie spends his days.
When we lived in Brighton we had a visiting cat that we named Thomas. He would enter via the cat flap (we didn't have our own cat at the time), and he would spend his days with us. We neither fed nor encouraged him.
In those days we used to drive down to France a lot; our house here was always beckoning. Our only problem was Thomas who came to rely on us more and more. We didn't want him to just wander around the house for the several weeks whilst we were away, nor did we really want to lock the cat flap to keep him out.
We began to suspect that he had previously belonged to people who had moved away, and that he had become an abandoned multi-ownership cat; one of whom was us. Eventually we began to feed him as he always seemed hungry.
Eventually Lady M (Mumsy above) even considered bringing him over to France, but we had no idea who his other carers were; they might have been children, so the idea was instantly shelved.
Above was how I imagined her passing through the customs. It was just an idea!
I also wonder a lot where sneaky spends his days,
ReplyDeleteWe mooved once to a new housu here in the neighborhood and the cat that we had than did not want to moove with us.
When we brought Freddie to France, we were warned to keep him indoors for at least two weeks, or he'd disappear. I let him free outdoors almost at once, fed him, and he was fine.
DeleteWhen I was living with a boyfriend in my first apartment (age 19) there was a big orange tomcat that would come around and hang out with us and our friends. We would often hang out, smoke pot, and listen to music with our mysterious cat buddy keeping us company. We started calling him Sidney, since we weren't sure who he belonged to. I still associate Bob Marley's music with that wonderful, friendly cat.
ReplyDeleteTurns out he belonged a nice couple who lived next door, and his name was really Petey. They were quite amused to hear how often Petey had been coming over and making himself at home. We made jokes about his "double life" and were all happy to meet each other through him.
And over 10 years later, the male half of that couple ended up becoming my husband! Life is full of crazy coincidences. And cats often have multiple "owners". LOL
What a story! I think that multiple-ownership is probably much more common than we imagine.
DeleteI like the drawing. I moved four cats here and another one went to P's buildings. Moving the cats was like a horror movie. Eventually I got the knack of dropping them vertically into the cage and slamming the door. They settled well once here.
ReplyDeleteWe had to travel with Freddie in his cat box for a total of about 20 hours without letting him out. There was nothing else we could do. We filled the box with lots of newspaper, and just left him to complain (which he did).
DeleteCats certainly don't like travelling - we once had a cat who was pregnant - we were going to visit grandparents and didn't want to leave her so she came along and yowled for three hours in the car - I don't know who was more relieved when the journey finished us or the cat.
ReplyDeleteProzac (my cat of 17 years) was taken to the vets to be neutered and we found he had already been done. At lease it explained the month he went missing!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you have a neighbour who's an amateur vet'.
DeleteWe have a big tabby called Carlos living a few doors down from us. He does make us laugh, if you dare to drive up the road when he is lying on the warm grating, he just gives you an insolent stare and you have to drive around him. I actually think he thinks he's a dog.
ReplyDeleteTwiggy
I fed a tabby boy breakfast for a whole summer on the back deck but I found it odd that he was never here at dinner time. Most cats that scrounge would want food at night, too. So, I had an idea to put a collar on him with a little note attached asking if he had an owner and could they call me. Turns out he lived around the corner and would want out very early every morning (before they could feed him) and would be gone 'til dinner. I took it that he liked our breakfast better but didn't mind what they dished out at night. Because we liked him so much we just continued feeding him in the mornings along with our others and enjoyed his company for the rest of his life. His name was Tommy.
ReplyDeleteTwo restaurants per day. Sounds OK to me.
DeleteOne of the kitties that we feed disappeared for two weeks. We thought the worst. Then, two weeks later, she appeared again but was gone again within a few days. That was four months ago. On Christmas morning she was at my window again and when I went outside, she was all over me purring and wanting to be petted. Her belly was full and it did not look like she missed a meal. Because she was and is so friendly, I am sure she belongs to someone. Since we are feeding her and she has a warm home, I am afraid that she won't go home.
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem with cats; they have no allegiance.
DeleteOur old Nick used to spend a good part of the day in the warm weather sitting with the next door neighbour on her porch.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the eventual outcome? Do tell.
ReplyDeleteI really don't remember. I think he eventually just moved away. Probably found some other mug who fed him better than we did.
DeleteIt is said that dogs bond to their owners and cats to their location making it hard to move them. What happened to the cat?
ReplyDeleteSee above.
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