With Ripper and all the pigeons gone, the yard has a very empty feel about it. Sure there are other squirrels out there, some are regulars which may get names once we are outside more often. Maybe the pigeons will return one day in the spring. But for now, it kinda makes me feel sad. The owls are hit and miss to the box, more miss with this ridiculously mild winter lacking snow. So, yeah, just blah...
In the fall I packed the dog house with fresh clean straw and the leftovers that I had got rammed under the shed. You know, providing shelter for the wild ones if they need it. Past winters raccoons, skunks and opossums have used these spots to hide out during the day or even spend a few days in when temperatures really dropped. Again, with these mild temperatures, there's been few "guests".
Then, suddenly, a few weeks back, this feral cat started using the dog house and under the shed. We'd seen this cat roaming the neighbourhood for at least 3 years now. I can probably count on both hands how many times he has come through our yard over the years. He was mostly seen out on the street and sidewalk. He's a muscular tom cat and has seen some s**t in his life. The scars on his face and one noticeable shoulder wound are testimony to that. He walks with a bit of a limp too. If only he could talk and tell of what he has been through. He's very skittish and has little trust of humans. I get that. I don't trust a lot of them myself.
One morning on social media, there was a post about a fund raiser for some cat rescue. I chimed in about this and that, and ended up sharing a picture of the feral cat here. Next thing I know, I was being contacted by someone from the rescue and there was a discussion about doing a TNR with him. What is TNR? Trap, neuter, and release. A great idea to help stop the spread of more feral cats. The rescue has had some luck with homing some of these kittys but there's no promise to that. I'd love to see him off the street and some place safe where he may be loved by some caring person who has the patience and understanding to work with him. I'm sure he wouldn't be all "open arms" to suddenly being indoors after so many years of living on the street.
Since I am willing to work with this cat, I have to get him on a routine of coming here, a feeding schedule, and next will be to slowly lure him with food in a live trap. Now here we are with a "yard cat".
On the colder nights, I find him in our dog house. Not that I go looking but when he hears me down back, he will run out of the house and go to the next yard over. I always say "sorry" and step back. I'm glad he is using the house. I've since put a heavy towel across the entrance to give him more privacy.
He doesn't spend all day and night here but he is here more often than he has ever been. It has been interesting watching him in the yard. On cold sunny days he can be found snoozing on these 2x4's next to the shed. The wood warms up in the sun and must feel good on his feet. I took this picture from the kitchen window. I didn't want to go out there and spook him away from this nice spot.
I am thankful that he doesn't chase birds or wildlife. That would be a big problem here in our wildlife friendly backyard. He walks past the juncos, cardinals and other birds, maybe gives them a glance and then keeps on moving. He can run when he wants to despite that limp.
If I am not out there in good time with food for him, he comes out from under the shed and sits there looking up towards the house. Haha! Who is training who here?
Last week we were at the point of where he would sit safely on the other side of the fence from the shed but still only be about 15 ft from me and he would watch me. Unfortunately something has happened to him in recent days. Maybe someone was mean to him? He's taken a couple steps back in the progress that we made. He's back to being very skittish and really keeps his distance, or hides further back under the shed, sometimes out of my sight line but I am sure he can still see me.
I'm disappointed about that but happy that he is still coming here everyday. Hopefully in the not too far off future he will be caught, tended to, and maybe if we're lucky, be homed. If not, he will be brought back out to "the street" here and at least won't help make kittens.
Angie has named him Dusty. We watched a WWE documentary on Dusty Rhodes the other weekend. Dusty had a hard life. This cat has had a hard life. There you go, his name is Dusty.
As people should realize, when you leave food out for an animal, you will most likely attract other animals. Depending on where you are, mice, rats, raccoons, skunks, opossums, foxes, coyotes, other feral cats and who knows what else may come in to clean up the dish. So far we've had a few visits from this guy. We're okay with that. He can use the help during the winter. He's harmless and can be beneficial to have around.
I know this is the same opossum that was around quite a bit back in the fall because of his scarred nose. He hasn't been much of a regular the last 2 months but has shown up a few times in the last week.
You can see a very short video here of him enjoying his score of Dusty's leftovers.
Wish us luck in helping this cat. And if you might have any suggestions on who or another organization that may help get him off the street and into a good home, please comment. I don't think Toronto Animal Services would be a good choice as they have told me that good cats go into the adoption system whereas bad cats get euthanized. They have too many cats coming in all the time and don't have the time or resources to work with cats with behavioral issues.
We have helped a few other cats over the years.
First there was Skittles who was living in our old shed for some time one winter. It didn't take long to train her and get her accustomed being fed. Then we worked on finding her a home, which Angie lucked out with someone through her work. Skittles became Sabrina with her new family and has been living the life of a spoiled rotten princess ever since. We had a reunion with her about 11 years after she was caught and homed. It warmed my heart to see her even though I'm sure she didn't remember me. So many mornings I was almost late for work, making sure she got fed before I went. I was working days back then and having to leave home by 5:15 AM.
Then there was Smudge. A lovey big boy. We tried to home him but weren't so lucky. I ended up taking him to Toronto Animal Services because having him in our yard wasn't Meadow approved. She loved being outside, on leash and harness of course, and couldn't stand any cat coming to her domain.
He was such a handsome boy.
Meadow didn't care how good looking he was. She hated him and really did want to hurt him.
I visited Smudge a few times at the shelter. It pained me seeing him a cage. I was told that he got adopted out after a few weeks. I hope that was true.
Then, last but not least, there was Sinatra. A tiny black kitten that found his way to our backyard and realized that under the shed was a great place to hide from anything that freaked him out. I worked quickly on this cat as I know helping a little kitten, or getting a little kitten help is much easier than helping an adult. I'm forever thankful that the Toronto Cat Rescue immediately put their hand up to take him in if I caught him. Three days after he appeared here, he was caught and some weeks later the mother of someone from the couple that were fostering him adopted him.
Sinatra was adorable. What kitten isn't? We played with a ball out back a handful of times before he went away. I still have that ball in the shed all these years later. I am immediately taken back to that time with him.
Him and his ball. Did you just go "awwwwwwwww!"?
So maybe "Changes" is not the perfect title to this blog but the whole yard vibe certainly has changed this winter. If you told me even just months ago that I'd be trying to help a cat, welcoming it to hang out in our backyard, I would have said "you're high!"
I'll be back soon with some wildlife photos and bits. Cheers!
