Last night while I was watering my plants on the side of the house, Vince was trying to get close to the cat. He had a bag of treats and the cat was hiding behind the weeds but she wanted no part of being friendly.
Treats for the Cat
When Vince went out to put food in her bowl, he saw a black spot in the weeds so he went back and got treats and thought he could bait her into coming out but she ran deeper into the woods and as long as we were anywhere outside, she was not coming back.
When I went out this morning, her bowl was empty, so either she got it or something else ate it. Anything is possible around here.
This morning she was squatted down behind the well house. I talked to her and she didn’t run off but she didn’t come close to me. In the mornings I can get about 8 feet from her but in the evenings, she seems to want to keep a little more distance. I guess she’s hungrier in the mornings.
Vince is still determined she’s a boy. Vince was saying “he” this morning and I said “You know it’s probably a ‘she’.” He said “We don’t know that!” Odds are 1 in 3,0000 it’s a boy and he’s holding out hope! I guess that’s a good thing but I’m going on the basis that it’s a she and if we don’t catch her soon and get her to the vet, we’re going to have kittens and we do not want that!
Kat says
You are right about the colors. Orange or orange and white cats are always boys, tortiseshell and calico cats are always female. (Almost always). It’s determined by genetics. The only way for them to go against those color rules are for a random genetic mutation to occur. Which does happen, but like you said, not very often 🙂
Myrna sossner says
You’ve got that right! Baby is yellow long haired …. and as macho as a cat can be! LOL!
Sheri says
We put food out for a very friendly cat who likes us to pet him in the mornings and afternoons, but in the evenings he dashes away from us. I suspect it’s because he is more alert to things going on around him, not wanting any prey (like the coyotes we have in our neighborhood) to sneak up on him. I leave him alone in the evenings, because I don’t want any prey to sneak up on him, either!
The other cat that we feed doesn’t want to get near us in person, but has learned that we won’t bother him. He used to run if he saw us behind the glass of the door to the deck (where the food is) but now he just watches us as he eats, to make sure we aren’t going to open that door.
Janet says
I’ve made friends with several feral cats over the years. I used sardines.I would say”Hi Kitty Kitty” in a high pitched voice, and put the dish down,back away and sit down in view of the bowl. After 3 or 4 days of the same routine, I’d stay 2 or 3 feet closer. After about 2 or 3 weeks, I could sit right near the bowl. Then, when I’d sing my song, the cat started coming to me! I’d put the bowl down, and the cat’s face was in it, before it touched the ground, so I started petting it’s head. Next thing I knew, I had a new friend! Also, I never left any food out-it’s a welcome mat to too many unwanted, and unsafe, critters hanging around. If your cat doesn’t like sardines, try tuna.
wanda jordan says
Like Janet I did this. I started with bowl out away from me. Talked to cat each day. After about 3 days moved bowl closer to house/me. Kept moving till finally bowl was right beside where I was sitting. Waited couple more then reached out and petted it( another story I said boy hubby said girl really fluffy cat , took to be fixed and vet laughed it was a boy but his name was Peaches by then so it stuck)anyway run away first time but got better each day. Just hang in there but pick the same spot and get you a chair and wait.Move bowl closer to chair each time. but Judy are you going to fix every cat that comes around?If so contact SPCA and they might do it for free and save you some money.
JudyL says
So far, in four years, all that have shown up have been caught and taken to the shelter, except for Boots. We need an outside cat to hopefully keep the mouse population down. I believe that if I’m going to keep any kind of animal, it needs to be “fixed” because I think it’s cruel and inhumane to allow them to continue to breed so any animal that we keep, as evidenced by Speck, Boots and Rita .. yes, they will be fixed and I have never, nor will I in the future, expect anyone else to pay for anything we do so we’ll fork over the cash and get it done.
Pam C says
I was raised on a farm and we had many litters of kittens. We had one male calico that my father gave to a work friend. He remained kitten size. I always thought that the defect that made him a male calico also affected his growth. Wikipedia says, “Because of the genetics involved, calico males are rare, and generally have impaired vitality and are almost always sterile.” I guess the impaired vitality is what kept this guy little. I don’t know if he had a shortened life span or not. I doubt a male calico would survive on his own in the wild.