Thursday, April 23, 2009

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.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Funkengroovin - Two-Tone Madness Strikes Again!

Today VB has to leave early to get her Egyptian Driver's License. Since she's been involved with her Cathouse Updates, she didn't give too much thought to her Funkengroovin post until the last minute. So with more photos and less talk, here's another set of Two-Tone Beetle photos for your enjoyment.

(Below): Green and white Beetle found along Canal Road, in Maadi.



(Below): Orange and black Beetle found near Gourmet Egypt. Check it out. It has matching seat covers, too.





(Below): Yellow and black Beetle, found on Road 9 in Maadi. VB has seen this Beetle previously, and may have posted it on the blog, as well. The circles are a recent addition.




(Below): Maroon and black Beetle parked at Ramses Train Station.




Wild Cherry - "Play That Funky Music"

Sunday, April 19, 2009

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.