They're back!

I was so relieved to see E.T. waiting on the plot for me this morning, I hadn't seen her or Keith for over a week. 

Keith was there too and soon settled down to eat the food

Calico is back

While I was feeding Felix, Triangle and Janet at the pavilion this morning I noticed that Felix suddenly looked a bit odd.  He had spotted Calico who had apparently come over to see where I was.  Calico is always fed dry cat food on my plot but I thought she might like to try some of the meat that the Pavilion Three have so I put some down for her.  She wouldn't eat it!  I took it over to the plot and gave it to Wanda who had been inside the box shelter and she wolfed it down.

It was nice to see Calico back, but still no sign of Keith or E.T.

Where are Keith, Calico and E.T.?

For the past three days only Wanda has been at the plot, waiting to be fed.  I'm a bit worried because although I filled the two bowls with dried food only some of it has been eaten, presumably by Wanda.

She has started following me when I leave the plot, then stops halfway down to watch me.

Nice cushion!

Wanda was waiting inside this shelter this morning

Someone left cushions for the cats so I put one inside yesterday.  Wanda seems to like it and made no attempt to move when she saw me taking the photo.

Felix, Triangle and Janet are coping well with the very cold weather we are having.  Their shelters are under cover at the pavilion so they don't get the worst of it.

People have been very kind, leaving cat food and cushions for them.

Feeding in the snow

Keith ran across the plot when he heard me calling him this morning

and waited under the table while I put the food out

There is still a lot of snow on the plot but it didn't seem to bother Calico - she rolled in it before settling down to eat.

Wanda in the snow

Wanda was waiting for me this morning, she came running out of the shelter when she heard me call her.  We had heavy snow yesterday but it doesn't seem to be bothering her too much.

Touched Wanda for the very first time

I put a handful of dried food down for Wanda this morning and before I could add another, she started to eat.  I took a chance and lightly touched her on her back and she carried on eating.  This was how I started with Triangle, stroking her while she was eating.

Just a small step forward but I'm really pleased.  It is a fantastic feeling knowing that a basically wild animal has begun to trust me.

Janet

Not long after Triangle started coming for food we noticed that another kitten came with her.  She is a lovely tabby with ginger shading to the stripes.  I called her 'Janet' for no reason other than I thought it suited her.  She is much more timid than Triangle and although she has stopped hiding while I put her food down, I have so far been unable to stroke her.

Janet

Ken managed to get Janet into a pet-carrier and in mid-November she was also taken to the vet and neutered.  Again, we are very grateful to the North Birmingham Cats Protection for all the help and advice they give us. 

Janet is smaller than Triangle and we have no way of knowing if they are from the same litter or not.  Her character is nothing like Triangle's, she is still shy and wary of people she does not know but she is getting better with Ken and me.







Triangle

Triangle waited with Felix for food every morning and seemed to be getting used to me.  One day I decided to try touching her while she was feeding and to my surprise she carried on eating.

I continued to stroke her every day and she soon recognised me and Ken, who also looked after her and the other cats.  One day while I was eating some toast she came close so I gave her a small piece.  She loved it and that seemed to be the start of her becoming 'tame'. 



Ken shares his toast with Triangle

Only two months had passed since Triangle was a kitten sharing Felix's cage. It was hard to believe that this was a feral kitten which had not had any human contact before.

We kept in touch with the North Birmingham Cats Protection and they offered to help with neutering the feral cats. In mid-October we managed to get Triangle in a pet-carrier and she was taken to the vet for her operation.  She was back with us two days later showing absolutely no sign of just having had surgery.

A few weeks later I decided to try to pick her up.  I was a bit hesitant because I have not handled cats since I was a child but Triangle seemed to be getting more and more friendly so I had a go.  She didn't mind at all and started purring straight away.  We have now got to the stage where she will jump up onto my lap if I sit down.



Felix

In August 2010 we were asked by North Birmingham Cats Protection if we would consider rehoming a friendly cat which was more suited to living outside.  We agreed, and Felix came to live on the site.

Felix

When he first arrived he had to spend two weeks inside a large cage until he got used to his new surroundings.

One day when I went to feed him I had a shock to see a young kitten in the cage with him.  As soon as it saw me it squeezed out through the bars of the cage and ran away.  It was a feral kitten and very frightened of people, but not of Felix because I found it in the cage with him most mornings.




Felix and Triangle,  the feral kitten

I named this kitten 'Triangle' because of the white shape on its face.  After Felix was released Triangle soon learned that when Felix was fed, he would be too. 

 Felix and Triangle live near the pavilion and have little contact with the four cats who are fed on my plot.

Feeding and shelters on my plot



I soon realised that putting food outdoors was not very practical so I made a shelter on my plot so it would be protected from the weather.  I am not very good at D I Y but  somehow managed to botch together this one out of a large cardboard box. I covered it with an old adversing banner which had been thrown away by a local supermarket.  I put it on top of an old bread crate to keep it off the ground, and placed it under a table for shelter.

 

                

 I put the food inside every day and I know for sure that the cats are eating it because I can see their footprints on the cardboard.


We had some very heavy snow in November and December and I was worried about them getting cold and wet so I found these two shelters which people had thrown away.

I put straw inside this small kennel because I read that straw is good for bedding as it stays dry longer.

I have no idea what this was used for originally but the cats seem to like it, it gets nice and warm when the sun is out.

How it all started

I don't know exactly when the first cat came to live at the allotments but I have seen them there for at least nine years.  It is a large site with over 100 plots so there is plenty of space for cats.  They original cats probably started off their lives as domestic pets but somehow ended up on our allotments.  Over the years they have become feral and are frightened of people. 

In 2009 I noticed that one cat in particular seemed to visit my plot often.  It was white with ginger/tabby patches.  It would watch me from a distance but if I approached it it would run away.  I felt sorry for it so I decided to start putting food down ........and that's how it all began.

I named this cat 'Wanda' because it was the first cat to come for food (One, One-da, Wanda)

Wanda's friends soon got to hear about it and started turning up too...

I call this one E.T.  Some people think she is very pretty but I think she has the look of an Alien about her.

This one is Keith.  He is quite friendly, and comes very close to me when I feed him.

Calico is the friendliest of all.  She runs towards me when she sees me and rubs herself against sticks and canes.