Cathouse Update - A Death In The Family

To start off, Little Boy got into two fights with the gold and white cat below. This was the afternoon fight. He was all wound up from his morning joust.


(Below): Here Ramses looks on, and it seems to be a pretty hair raising experience for him too.


(Below): A close-up of Ramses.

(Below two photos): Later in the afternoon the whole fam-damily shows up. VB thinks this photo directly below is so typical of dysfunctional families. Mean Mama looks on as juvie, Little Boy aka Scarface eats, and somehow through those extra eyes in the back of his head, senses his bitch Mama watching him with disapproval.


(Below): The ass sniffing begins. For some strange reason, every member (Mean Mama and her kids) are all gathered on the porch for a feeding. This is unusual.

(Below): That evening Doggie and VB had quite an experience. Sure, Mean Mama's daughter would be protective of her newborn baby, but on this night she was aggressive. Like a snarling dog, creeping forward, with the threat to pounce, she followed and harassed us during our walk in the yard. (Reminder, it's VB's fucking yard bitch!)

Well, the next day she was on the front porch all morning snoozing, seeking comfort from her older brother, Little Boy aka Scarface (from another litter). It was after that we realized her little kitten baby must have passed away. She looked sad, and Scarface was very comforting.



(Below): Yesterday morning. Back to kitty play. She was too young to have a child to begin with. She is still so small, and looks like a kitten herself. So, for that past several days she's been getting back into the kitten groove - playing in the yard, keeping company with her brothers, and just being a cat. That won't be for long. She will go back into season, and we will go through another round.

Cathouse Update - Non-related Cats

Lastly, but certainly not least, are all the cats that are "unrelated". They are the ones who show up only for food, or sex. They don't "hang out" here as much as some of the others. Most live within two blocks from our house, emanating in all directions.

(Below): A male with sad eyes. We've seen replicas of him here and there in the neighborhood. There's another one, very similar, who's tongue is always hanging out from his mouth.


(Below): White Cat In A Hat - he looks like he has a cap on his head. He's a variation of all the long haired, hairy white cats, like The Blue Eyed Sex Maniac.


(Below): Another gold and white male.


(Below): Black Cat has just started visiting recently. Not Mean Mama's son. This one has a white marking on his chest, and Mean Mama's was all black.

(Below): The Blue Eyed Sex Maniac, who is no longer around, but reproductions seem to be popping up everywhere! VB is sure you will see resemblances among several new cats, and a few VB hasn't even photographed yet. This dude got around!


From cat vs. cat
"A frightened cat's first choice will be to avoid potential conflict altogether and escape. If he can't escape, or feels backed into a corner, a cat may resort to aggression. First he will display a defensive body posture: an arched back with his hair standing on end at first and then a crouch with ears rotated back and flattened against the head. His pupils will be dilated and he will probably growl, hiss, and perhaps spit. He may even be caught in two positions at once. His upper body and front feet may face forward, ready to do battle if necessary, but his hindquarters may face sideways, ready to help him bolt at the first opportunity for escape. He will stay in the defensive posture until escape becomes possible or the opponent retreats."

(Below): A review of sorts. The Blue Eyed Sex Maniac going after Johnny Come Lately (the gray cat.)


(Below): Johnny Come Lately this year, before his full blown eye infection. We're beginning to think he's deaf and possibly going blind. Doggie has "bumped" into him several times, when he should have clearly seen her. VB has to tap him with the cane on his rear for him to realize she's been banging the damn thing on the floor, and he isn't responding (mostly when he's howling at another Tom). Not sure what's up with him, but it's not good.



(Below): Scaredy Cat. The two photos below this one are of his female posse. They are a colony. They rub against each other and eat together. VB has seen him scratched up, and he's an awfully scruffy, scared as shit looking fellow, but he apparently has his charms. As The Boss Man would say, "God bless him."



(Below): Son Of Scaredy Cat (up a tree no less.)


(Below): A very sweet gray and white female who feeds here daily.


(Below): The ear cut female we thought was neutered. W-R-O-N-G! She's had several litters, but never brings them around for us to see.


(Below): Bad Ass Cat's Bro. (We haven't seen Bad Ass Cat lately.)


(Below): A sweet kitty that showed up recently. She is pregnant, and appears to be approachable, although VB hasn't tried, yet. She was in tight with the black nosed female (now one month disappeared), who was tight with Big Love Momma. She's pretty much on her own these days. Here early in the morning, she hides on our back porch, and lets VB know she's hungry.


(Below): We've decided to call him Ramses. He showed up exactly a week before Number One Son's visit in March. VB spotted him on a walk about a week before that (This is how it always happens. VB goes for a walk. Stops. Takes a few photos of a cat or cats. Next thing you know, they're on the porch.) He rubs up against you, rubs all over you - your shoes, your pants, the screen door. He wants to be petted, all over - back, behind the ears, under his chin.... He loves small balls and we constantly have to go into the garden as he whacks them off the porch. VB has had to buy new ones for him too. He's a sort of nerdy. He will quietly walk up behind other cats, hoovering over them, breathing down their necks, while they eat or lounge, and just stare at them inquisitively. When they realize it, they jump out of their skin, but there's never any fighting. It's almost as if they think he's a freak. Sometimes this behavior borders on a form of intimidation. He's young, but tall. Oh, and Doggie climbs right into his face, and has almost sat on him, with no reaction on his part. That's another aspect that makes VB think he's a lost (or thrown away) pet. All he does is eat, sleep, play soccer, and preen himself. He rarely leaves the garden, but is so anal, he will hop over the fence, into the next yard, when nature calls. VB has gone around the hood with a photo, but no one seems to recognize him. This coming week he gets put into a crate, and taken to the vet, who most of the cat folks here use. Perhaps he might recognize him. If not, he will be neutered. BTW, two birds (or their remains) have been found in the yard since he arrived. He's apparently very good at stalking, too.


(Below): Newcomer, just recently. Another male.



From an article: Feline Social Behaviour
"Because cats are asocial, there is no hierarchy and fights are therefore common. The results of these conflicts are often not predictable. As a result, communication is important between cats to avoid interaction with each other, thereby reducing the number of fights.

The feline social system is actually quite flexible, ranging from solitary individuals to large colonies. At which end of the spectrum a cat will sit depends highly on the resources in the area, including food, shelter, and breeding females available. Cats that hunt for their food often live alone because of the small portions of their prey (for example, mice). However, those that have a constant source of food, such as those that are fed by humans, often live in groups.

In general, a solitary cat has a home range consisting of favorite spots and regularly traveled paths. Home ranges may overlap between neighbouring cats. On the other hand, an individual’s territory is usually smaller than the home range (or often the same size in the case of house cats), and this is an area that is actively defended."


An interesting insight into ferals and the question, "What the hell do these cats do all day?"
The Day in a Feral Cat's Life


Last, but certainly not least - Who's Your Daddy (below). Here he sits next to the food station at a neighbor's house, two blocks over. He still stops by now and then, giving all the other cats the shivers. He came by with a limp last fall, and is back to his old self now.


As VB was finishing this, after one fight in the morning, and just after walking Doggie, we heard caterwauling from the front porch. We were just out in the front yard, and me thinks, "WTF! There weren't any cats out there!" As you can see, it's Little Boy with the gold and white cat pictured earlier. This is not good. If you blow up the photo, you can see loose white hair on the gold and white's coat. The fur went flying before VB could even get her camera lid off. They both practically knocked each other off the porch, hanging off the rails, and then started over again.

This was the second fight between Little Boy and this specific cat this day, and as the one went over the fence, Little Boy followed. You could hear the screeching and yowling as the fight continued up the street. Later we heard more shrieking. Little Boy had cornered another cat who is literally clawing the wrought iron rails at the topmost section near the ceiling. Little Boy is aggravated, and VB has seen this before. He will often sit at the screen door, and sniff at Doggie on the other side. On this day, he jumped up and attacked the screen door, hissing. Doggie just took a couple of steps back, stared, and looked up at VB as if asking, "What the fuck crawled up his ass and died?!" The same exact thought going through VB's mind.

And, who sits below and watches it all? Ramses. Looks like it's a hair raising experience for him too.



After all three fights, (and who knows how many after later in the day) Little Boy showed up this morning looking unscathed. Still in a pissy mood, he proceeded to get cocky with another cat he chased out of the yard. Ramses was on the porch watching; Son Of Scaredy Cat was on the big padded pot in the yard; the little female kitten (pregnant) poked her head out of the back porch nervously; and Johnny Come Lately was laying on an air conditioner oblivious to it all. Subject of this hissy fit must have run off before VB could spot him.

VB would love to put a small camera on Little Boy's head to see where he goes, who he sees, and how bad he acts when he's not in the yard.

Cathouse Update - Events

We get a lot of feline visitors for two specific reasons - food and sex. As in the photo below, one reason is the "season". This photo should be titled, "Take A Number." We have quite a few females that feed here, and they attract males, old and new, when they go into season (or as we dog lovers call it "heat.") It can get crazy, with males lined up waiting for the moment they can pounce, or waiting for her to decide when she wants to do the nasty. And somehow the females all seem to go into season at exactly the same time, or within days of each other. There were nights here in February, when VB took Doggie out, and she could hear screeches coming from the next yard, the yard next to that, and so on. It was like an evening of caterwauling and mating.


Some cats, like Johnny Come Lately below, can't wait. They'll jump a girl even when she's trying to put some food in her belly. And as long as the girl keeps her rump to the ground, there ain't gonna be none of that funny business taking place. She'll do it when she's good and ready. Once VB gets the cane out, and bangs it on the floor of the porch, it ain't gonna happen here ever!


Below is "Bad Ass Cat's Brother." He's an old timer. VB remembers seeing him around before Doggie #2 passed away. He's not a regular visitor like some of the other cats. He's here for one reason alone, and he's a very patient fellow, as well.

Mating behaviors, courtship rank and mating success of male feral cat (Felis catus)

"We examined the factors influencing fighting ability, rank during courtship, and mating success of the male cat. Males with heavier body weight mostly won over lighter males in the agonistic encounters during the estrous season. Heavier males occupied the more advantageous positions to copulate with the estrous females and had higher mating success. These results suggest that body weight was one of the important factors affecting the courtship rank and the mating success of the male cat."

And now, of course, we've come full circle. All the females have given birth these past few weeks. They are obviously nursing, and for some, they will be in season again very soon, if not already, as the photo below shows.

He's waiting for the gray and white female, snoozing on the platform above the yard. She's in season, and just gave birth a few weeks ago.



Now for the good news. Two articles below discuss a new drug which prevents pregnancies in female cats. From what VB's gathered on the website, feralstat, it can be given to a colony of cats with little chance of side effects. When VB left Cairo in October 2008, there were eight new kittens feeding here. When she returned, only three were still around.

VB e-mailed the feralstat folks and they called her back (she has a Vonage phone account, with a local Connecticut number, which rings in Cairo - it works through the Internet connection. VB highly recommends it to all expats - it's a huge money saver.) Anyway, VB spoke with the Dr. who came up with this, and he said he is willing to ship overseas. Our problem is that our company only allows paper mailings. VB returns to the States in a little over two weeks for a short visit. She plans on picking up some of this for the feral community here in her neighborhood. According to the Dr., VB needs to add up ALL the cats she feeds. Since the medication is put out once a week in the food, it must be enough to ensure the females get their dose, even though the males will also be eating the food. Considering the costs of neutering (if you ever catch any to begin with) and the rising prices of cat food, the price of $67.00 for four months sounds pretty reasonable.

We get new cats here all the time, whether they be kittens, males in pursuit, or hungry females nursing their babies. So, it seems as if we go through cat food sooner than we used to. As a neighbor's son said, We started with one cat. Then there were three, then six, and now twelve." And during that visit, VB observed some of the same cats that feed at her place, eating at his house. They live two blocks away, so that should give you an idea of the territorial range of some of these Toms. Actually, maybe VB will drop some medication off to him and his family too.

One day, this next week, VB will have to sit in the dining room and watch, and count all the visiting cats. But, then we have a feeding dish on the back porch, by our bedroom, too. Some cats are afraid to come onto the front porch, so we put out a separate plate for them. This is gonna be a bitch!

Oral Contraceptives for Cats

Oral Cat-raceptive

"Connecticut company helping to keep feral cats barren"

"A Westbrook group has developed FeralStat, a drug for female cats that keeps them from getting all hot, bothered and pregnant.
Feral cat caretakers know better than anyone that catching, sterilizing and releasing each one is not possible, but every cat’s gotta eat.

So, to keep cats without kitten, the folks who feed them mix FeralStat with wet cat food once a week and set out the feed bowl for all the cats in the feral colony."

"FeralStat wants to ensure that people are using it for the right reasons and any potential cat contraceptive-giver must take a survey and then speak with a FeralStat vet.
A four-month supply costs $67 and treats as many as 81 cats. Sicuranza said about 200 caretakers are using the product and treating thousands of cats."

Speaking of feedings, the main ingredient to our success as a haunt for cats - the dinner menu. We get way too many visitors all at once, when we grill out. As you can see from the photo below, there are five cats, hanging out, sniffing at the grill, waiting to see what's for dinner, as if they get any of it. They would just fight over it anyway. VB is happy to see that none of them have been dumb enough (so far, knock on wood) to take a dive into the grill pit.


(Below): The apres dinner nap.

Cat House Update - Big Love Mama

You have heard of her here, and here. She's a sweet cat that used to hang around the garbage bin up at the corner, with her friends. Her friends are all gold and white. VB once witnessed a clusterbutt sniffing circle as she passed at least a half dozen of them near the bin area. The gold and whites are a tight knit group, but not what you'd call exclusive. From a great book VB found, cat vs. cat, by Pam Johnson-Bennett, who not only writes about domestic cats, but also feral behavior:

"Before rubbing, a cat usually raises her tail as she approaches. If there's another familiar cat approaching her and she also raises her tail, it's possibly a signal that both cats intend to engage in allorubbing.

Cats most often use their incredibly keen sense of smell to recognize one another. Cats living together may rub one another to create a familiar colony scent. This is a survival instinct because it helps to more quickly identify whether a cat entering the territory is familiar to the intruder. Allogrooming (mutual grooming) is part of the social structure. It's generally restricted to cats who are friendly and who will normally share napping and resting areas."

Most books VB has seen usually focus on how to catch ferals, so you can neuter them, and not so much on behavior, or they will focus just on the domestic cat, with no real reference to ferals, at all. While this book does center on domestic cats, the author does a nice job, comparing them to feral colonies too.

Here's the Mama of Big Love. She was Blue and Green Eyed Cat's best friend, as you can see below.

Here's another one of her good friends, who has not been seen lately.

The cat with the black nose was another very close friend. She can be bitchy, but for the most part she's very kind. Both her and Big Love Mama take the young females under their wing. They allow them to eat out of the same bowl, they rub and nudge each other, and they seem to be the mentors for the young female ferals. Here she is keeping warm with three kittens, none of which are hers. Another interesting quote from cat vs. cat:

"Some females in a colony may form communal nests and nurse one another's kittens...Females commonly move their kittens often if they fear attacks from males or outside predators...."

In the summer, Big Love Mama had three kittens, as seen below.

Kitten #1:

Kitten #2:

Kitten #3:

All three kittens were here at the apartment when VB left in October to return to the States. VB left feedings up to a few people close to her, who she semi-trusted. She probably could not find anyone totally reliable, so she did the best she could. Upon her return, mid-January , only one of the three was left. Disappointing as it was, the one left seemed to revel in trying to annoy Doggie. They sometimes conduct staring contests through the screened window.

Here's a more recent pic of him. Big Love Mama sleeps with him and lets him eat out of her bowl - still. They are very tight, and he seems to have picked up a healthy, loving attitude from his mom. She is still protective of him, even as he has gotten older. One cat was sniffing his tail, and had a "I don't like the way your butt smells" look on his face. Big Love Mama turned around, screeched, and nearly clawed his eye out. We believe she just had another litter, and await to see the new kittens. Another piece of wisdom from cat vs. cat, which VB has tried is:

"When greeting an unfamiliar cat, extend your index finger and let her approach for a sniff. This is similar to nose-to-nose sniffing that cats do. Don't reach to pet the cat, just leave your finger extended. After the cat does a scent investigation, she may the rub the side of her mouth along your finger or even rub her head or side of her body. This is her way of letting you know that she is at ease with you. At that point you can offer to pet her. Don't pet her until she has finished her scent investigation, and don't pet her if she backs up and stares at you."

VB has extended her index finger to this one, and he is responsive, but we have not gotten to the petting part yet. Just the fact that he has not run away immediately is a good sign.

Undoubtedly the little ones will be brought here for sustenance. Unfortunately VB leaves (or is getting shoved off) early this year, and may not be back until December. She would like to, at least see the kittens before she departs, but these girls tend to keep their little ones hidden away until they're about three months old.

Cathouse Update - Goodbyes

VB hasn't done an update on the cat situation here at the house for quite some time. She had planned on doing one last fall, but never got around to it. And, as time goes on, we have new arrivals, and more departures in the community. Currently at least four females have had kittens, all of which are still less than a month old. We won't be seeing them around for awhile, and in a couple of cases, possibly never. Two females bring the kittens to our house when they're old enough, the others either desert them, or hide them away, eventually leaving them to fend for themselves.

We had quite a few new visitors once the garbage bin, at the corner was removed too. That seemed to be a great meeting place for all the neighborhood felines. But, there must have been complaints about it. So now, we are relegated to garbage on the street corners, literally strewn about, and garbage scattered here and there. Some residents, pile anything they want up in front of their villas, thinking they have some sort of special immunity. Not so nice, especially when VB looks out her apartment window, and sees a huge pile of trash in front of a villa with a brand spanking new private swimming pool, and resurfaced garden. If you can afford all that, then you can either pick that shit up yourself, or pay someone to do it for you!

Then we have our losses. Unfortunately, we've lost some cats this past year. VB will profile a few families, so some of the losses will come later. For now, a few cats you've seen before.


(Below): This cute female has not been seen since VB's return in mid-January. She was a garbage bin girl, who ended up eating with us and her friends, last summer / early fall. We used to refer to her as "Dirty Nose," even after we discovered it was not dirt.



(Below): We named him "Eddie Munster". He's the son of "Mean Mama" and was born last spring. He was around for several months, before VB's fall trip, late October. He has not been here since her return in mid-January.



(Below): The cat with the black nose is a female. She hasn't been seen for about three weeks now. She just disappeared. She was tight with the "Blue and Green Eyed Cat", and all the other gold and white cats.(More on her later.)


(Below): "Jacques", our next door neighbor. He was a pet, who was allowed outside. He visited regularly when we grilled out. We would often see him sitting next to his boab. VB once thought he was a female. When VB returned from her summer trip to the States in late September, the boab, who speaks little English indicated that Jacques had come home, the boab put his hands palms together and leaned head over, then spread his arms out slowly like a wave, and said, "halas."




(Below): "The Golden Boy". He's the first cat VB ever fed. She gave him her left over dog food, after Doggie #2 passed away. He was just a kitten, but unfortunately, his secret hiding and eating place didn't last long. Still, it took five months before he moved on. Again, he disappeared when VB was back in the States. VB does have (semi) reliable people feeding the cats for her, but they are semi, and that's it. If you want something done right, do it yourself. That's a bit impossible when your thousands of miles away. He left December 2007, and VB thought he was dead. Last October VB spotted a cat, hiding behind the garbage across the street, watching her as she came and went. A day or so later he waited, and when VB spotted him again, she stopped in the walkway, and he approached. He sat up straight right in front of VB, as though he remembered her. She compared this new photo with old ones for markings. Apparently he was still alive, and had just decided to move on. Here he is, as of last October. He hasn't been seen since.