Every morning the routine was the same. Freddie the freeloader (our resident male feral cat) would come in, eat, get some loving, lay around, scratch a bit and lick himself silly. Why do cats lick so much and then go out and roll in the dirt?

After he's had his fill of goodies, he's gone until the next morning. We would hear him at night though, moaning and pining for female company as usual. He was a friend to the girls (our resident domestic spayed female cats, Buffy and Patches.

Lily (my wife) and I began noticing a young skinny black and white cat darting around the backyard every once in a while. It was like watching one of those Roadrunner cartoons. We soon found out why. It seemed Buffy had decided that we were going to see as little of this newcomer as possible. We decided the newcomer was a female.

Buffy and Patches would go out for the day just after their morning meal. That's when I started noticing the newcomer sitting on top of a sawed off tree trunk hidden by some branches just a few feet from our den door.

This poor little animal was obviously very hungry. So you know what I did? Right. I put food and water just outside the door. She would warily crawl to the bowl with her pistol eyes darting right and left, keeping an eye out for Big Bad Buffy who, for some reason was still putting heat on her.

Lily was beginning to ride me about all this. She felt I was gaining a reputation with the neighborhood cats as a soft touch. I really had no problem with that.

We named the newcomer Wild One. Considering her behavior, we felt that was appropriate. She was the spookiest cat that we have ever seen. Wilder than the coyotes that roam our hilly neighborhood. I can honestly admit, Lily and I coming home late at night, have walked closer to the coyotes than we could with the Wild One. I couldn't get within 20 ft. of her. She was going to be a challenge for me.

Over a period of time, I started putting the food just inside the den door. I would prop the screen door open about 12" so she could come and go and not feel trapped. She went for the bait. Gradually, after a few weeks, moving the food a little at a time, I got her eating in the kitchen where the other cats eat, but HeeHeeHee, not at the same time.

I would sit in a part of the den reading the newspaper and observing her so I wouldn't spook her. She would crawl in towards the kitchen with her belly rubbing the floor the way cats do when they're really scared, looking all around for you know who. I couldn't even turn a page of the newspaper because it would spook her, sending her flying out the door and me reading parts of the paper I'm not interested in.

Patches was indifferent to this new situation and didn't give a lick. Buffy was a different matter and the Wild One sensed this. Her meals, although stressful, were appreciated and over time Buffy didn't give a lick either and Freddy just licked himself.

Lily and I were beginning to observe that the Wild One was looking more like the Wide One. There were definitely outside forces at work here which had nothing to do with our charitable efforts. Yep, you guessed it. The Wild One has now been upgraded to MAMA KITTY and Buffy has been downgraded to merely stand-offish. So Mama Kitty kept coming in for her meals dragging her larger belly across the floor creating a rare dust free zone in our home.

Copyright © Bill Franks
February 9, 2004