Folder: SOME OF THE ANIMALS IN OUR LIVES
A few weeks before the winter solstice in 2020, we started to see a very shy and extremely timid black and white cat in the garden. He (it is a fella) was scared of his own shadow.
After much gentle and patient persuasion (bribery with food and drink) the cat will now [May 2021] tolerate cuddles and strokes. A series of images depicts this development, and his toleration of Ben de-Dog. He visits us for a few hours every two or three days, has some food and a sleep on a chair (or by one of the radiators) then pushes off again, sometimes he will stay for most of the day ... he has an igloo cat bed and another litter tray in one of the outbuildings. On arrival, especially when it is after the third awayday he is usually ravenous and shouts about it, very loudly !
We think he's an older cat, still entire, that has been living feral, or nearly so, for some months. He has got quite a few battle scars and sometimes turns up with deposits in his fur. He is also likely to be lactose intolerant, which is a shame, as he loves milk - now served as a slight tinge of colour in water (a dilution which his system will accept) He's also been treated for internal / external parasites ... At the beginning of June he came for an extra couple of days, mainly to rest a sore paw - he arrived with a limp but was using the leg / paw almost normally, some 36 hours and several feeds / sleeps later ...
The visit ratio is now - mid-October 2021 - more here than not. Up to four or five days before the wanderlust overcomes the desire for food and comfort. This factor has been uprated by the addition of a fleece hammock on the radiator and an indoor pop-up tent. He definitely likes his cuddles - and getting to be chest, not lap, cat - but he is still very wary of sudden or unexpected movements and loud noises, especially bangs. These extra comforts mean he is usually back after a night away, unless it is raining.
He was here for Chrimble 2021, but we haven't seen him since then, maybe he's gone on his travels. The weather has been quite horrid, so I hope he's found somewhere else warm to stay. The alternative is he's passed over, if that is the case, I hope, if he didn't die in his sleep, then it was quick and painless.
I do have a few extra images to upload, mainly from his summer visits.
A few weeks before the winter solstice in 2020, we started to see a very shy and extremely timid black and white cat in the garden. He (it is a fella) was scared of his own shadow.
After much gentle and patient persuasion (bribery with food and drink) the cat will now [May 2021] tolerate cuddles and strokes. A series of images depicts this development, and his toleration of Ben de-Dog. He visits …
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