Cat Chat

Ste Diane

We have a couple of problems.

This ......

and this ......

They are quite sweet really but they aren't ours.

The tortie is a female and the tabby is a male kitten (unneutered). They started calling by a few weeks ago and gradually they are spending more and more time here. We started by refusing to have anything to do with them, in fact we actively chased them away but that had no effect and the tortie obviously enjoyed the attention because she was here more and more often.

Last week we took a better look at her. She is obviously under-nourished so we gave in and started to feed her. Now she has been joined by the boy who we think is her son. He is nothing but fur and bones but such a beautiful cat with a really loud purr.

We are fairly sure they belong to the neighbours, who are tenants, as the cats appeared around the same time as the tenants moved in. They don't seem to be being fed though, just last week the neighbours weren't seen for four days and the cats were here all the time. They do seem to disappear when the neighbours are home but they always return after a short while.

Misty and Figgy strangely take no notice at all of these two. Figgy, who has been seen chasing off other cats in the past, was even seen licking the boy in a grooming way yesterday and quite often allows him to follow him on his mouse hunting rounds.

We've not allowed them in the house, we just give them a few biscuits now and then. The dilemma facing us is how far we go with caring for them. If they aren't being fed then they surely won't have been vaccinated - the little boy should be neutered soon too. We're going to be away for two days soon and can't do anything for them. We'll have to review the situation when we get home and see what happens. Meanwhile, we hope they start putting on a bit of weight - I wonder if their owners will notice?