New Cat at Feral Cat Feeding Station

A new Bengal mix  cat with thin body invited himself for breakfast at the feral colony feeding station.  I suspect that the cat was hungry and did not realize that he was not welcomed.

This feeding station is a quarter mile inland and is nestled amongst mature trees and jagged rocks.  This cat did not appear to be feral as when the queen cat approached him the cat cowered by lowering his body close to the ground, eyes down and continued to eat from the food bowel. 

The queen cat hissed and showed her claws. The Bengal did not know how to react. So he continued to eat from the bowl. The feral cat became aggressive; she lunged at the  cat and the new cat ran toward the neighborhood. The feral cat kept her ground and aggressively chased the uninvited cat.  

I called the other cat caregivers in my neighborhood to let them know about the misplaced cat and what had occurred when the cat tried to eat at the feeding station.  I also asked if anyone had seen the cat, or knew of anyone who had lost a cat. I was not sure if the cat had wondered away from their home and got lost or if the cat was abandoned.  The cat did not have on a collar but could have microchip identification. 

We are all on high cat alert because this stray cat will get into trouble if they cross the path of a feral tomcat, especially if the lost cat is not neutered.   

Whenever house cats or abandoned cats wonder into the forest they run a high risk of being hunted by predators.  If we do not rescue these abandoned house cats then they will suffer as they do not know where to go for food or where to go for a safe shelter.  

All caregivers are taking steps to watch and provide the cat with food, water and shelter.  I have opened up my garage shelter to the cat.   Tonight we are leaving the door open as late as we can. We  have to monitor the kitty door due to the raccoons in our area.

If we are able to capture the cat we will take him to our veterinarians to be scanned for a microchip. At this point we do not know if the cat has a home in the neighborhood or if the cat was abandoned.  

Photographs of Feral Cats in Autumn

 

Today was a beautiful warm autumn day.   A perfect day for spending time outdoors as cold weather will soon be here. I  arose early and was on the trail by 7am.  I hiked to feeding station in the forest and while I was waiting for the cats to eat their food I was able to take photographs of the feral cats in their forest habitat.

Here are some photographs of three of the feral forest cats that I have cared for since 2004.

Feral Cat eating canned food

 Feral cat resting on wood pile

Tuxedo (black and white) cat lying on down tree in forest

Feral cat lying in the sun