Once I started putting food outside, it wasn't long before the cats started eating it. Boris came first, after a few days - when she knew it was safe I think - Little Lady joined him. Over the weeks that followed, their visits became more frequent and we settled into a regular feeding pattern like I have with my own cats.
There was one time, with Boris that will always stick in my mind... the day he first let me touch him. He was curled up asleep in the bushes next to my car, I crept outside with a packet of smoked ham. By the time Boris woke up, I was right next to him - the closest I had ever been! Very slowly I placed a piece of meat close to him. He was scared, the fear showed in his eyes... all he wanted to do was run as fast as he could, but that meat smelt so good to him! Very slowly and cautiously he moved forward and picked up the ham. As soon as the ham hit his taste buds, a totally different look showed in his usually so scared eyes... it was a look of, 'WOW! This is yummy!'. After this, I carefully placed the ham so that Boris had to move slightly forward (towards me) to get his next piece... gradually he got closer and closer until he was close enough to touch. Each time he grabbed a piece of ham, I gently stroked his head. Although he jumped back as soon as he felt my touch, he kept coming forward for more - he even took several pieces from my hand. Boris must have got through half a packet of ham that day.
Not long after the ham breakthrough, someone abandoned an old armchair near the bushes where Boris and Little Lady sheltered. I didn't think anything of it at first, it wasn't an unusual thing to happen here. But then some local kids decided it would be 'fun' to set the chair alight. This was such a stupid thing to do for so many reasons, but the one thing that worried me straight away was something no one else thought of - what if Boris or Little Lady had been curled up asleep in that chair? Or maybe not in the chair, but in the bushes nearby? The smoke that came off it was thick, black, toxic smoke - I doubt those kids even know that burning foam releases deadly cyanide gasses. I saw Little Lady later that evening, but Boris didn't show up for food the next day. I waited and waited, getting more and more worried as time went on. But finally, two or three days later, Boris appeared outside again.
About three weeks ago Boris vanished again. This time I was especially worried because I'd heard that a local dog had killed a tabby cat. Imagine my relief when Boris appeared outside my house after five days of being missing! As soon as I saw him I ran outside with food, he was already sitting at the food bowls waiting for me! I sat down quietly and showed him the ham I had for him, for the first time since the 'ham breakthrough', he came close enough to touch. Boris had visibly lost weight and was hungrier than I had ever known him - he ate a whole can of food as well as several pieces of ham. Either he had been locked in someone's garage, or he had been chasing a queen - tom cats will often go without food when a queen is calling, they get so set on her that nothing else matters for a few days. What really made me happy was that he had come straight to me on his return. I know he just wanted food, but if you'd seen him when I first started feeding him... I only had to open my door and he'd run away.
For a few weeks I had suspected that Little Lady was pregnant, though I could never get close enough to properly see. But, less than a week ago, it became obvious that she was very heavily pregnant. What could I do? Should I try to catch her and risk un doing the work I had done so far? Or should I leave her and hope that her kittens would survive? Little Lady was already underweight, I honestly didn't believe either her or her kittens would survive unless I took drastic steps. I contacted the local cat welfare group to see if they could help, they offered me the use of a humane cat trap but did not have any room to take Little Lady in. So I contacted another animal welfare group and explained the situation, they thought that one of their helpers, Kirsty, had room available and would ask her to contact me. While waiting to hear from Kirsty, I arranged for the humane trap to be delivered that evening. Kirsty called a couple of hours later and confirmed that she had enough room to take Little Lady in, but what if Boris entered the trap instead? I'd have to release him and re set the trap to try and catch Little Lady - which would totally shatter the trust Boris had started to place in me! But that turned out not to be a problem because Kirsty said she had enough room for Boris too...
The trap arrived early that evening and we set it up next to my car. I anxiously kept watch on the trap, one time Boris managed to get inside it and eat the food without triggering the door. Little Lady was around, I saw her looking at the food inside the trap, she obviously wanted it but was frightened. I started to worry that maybe I wouldn't be able to catch her. But, at 10:30pm we heard the trap trigger. I ran outside with my torch, looked inside the trap and sure enough there she was. My husband carried her inside for me while I dialled Kirsty's number - I could hardly dial the numbers properly because I was shaking so much! Kirsty and her husband came over to collect Little Lady straight away and she spent her first night in safety...
The following afternoon Kirsty returned the trap. This time I put in the foods that Boris really loves - ham, chicken and canned food. I was worried that he might have seen Little Lady get caught and be wary of entering the trap. We set the trap up after dark and waited... and waited... and waited. I thought Boris must have crept in and eaten the food without triggering the door again, so went out to check. As soon as I opened the door, I could hear a scrabbling noise - Boris was already in the trap! How he managed to do that without the noisy door clattering shut I don't know, but there he was. We brought him inside and I called Kirsty again - once again shaking like a leaf. Boris was more frightened than Little Lady had been, so I sat and talked to him until Kirsty arrived. Although he was terrified, Boris managed a gentle purr as he rubbed his face on my fingers - I'd like to think he knew deep down that I was helping him.
Boris
Boris was neutered within a couple of days and is now at a rehoming centre waiting for the right people to come along. He is a very beautiful boy so won't be there for long.
Little Lady & Kittens
Little Lady delivered two kittens over the weekend, she is a very happy and proud mommy - looking at the photos Kirsty sent, I'm confident she understands and appreciates what I did.
Over the coming weeks I will, with Kirsty's help, update you on the cats' progress. But when it's time for them to move on to new forever homes, I'll have to let them go on without me.
