Feral Cat
We return from dinner after dark to an entry faintly lit by the porch light. We open the gate: a deep shadow darts across our path and out of the fenced yard. A cat?
A few days later, a suspicious pile of feathers wafts from beneath the Jeep in the carport.
I let the puppy out for a potty break late one night. Yard lights shine into the dog yard from the house eaves. As we round the corner, a shape dashes away, and the dog follows in pursuit. It’s the cat: he escapes over the fence.
Rumor has it that the neighbor with an elderly dog two doors down is setting out cat food. The home between us sits vacant most days; the owner is part-time. I leave a package on his porch, and at my footsteps the cat speeds by-a daytime sighting.
Now, when I take the puppy out at night, I wear a headlamp and shine it around the property. Last night, I spied the intruder hiding behind my garden bicycle, his green eyes glowing in the dark. He’s learned to stay outside the enclosure. I’m glad because he’s larger, faster, and likely meaner than the puppy.
For the last several weeks, there have been no possums, raccoons, or snakes lurking about. The cat is providing good pest control. We like cats, and have had three indoor felines in the past, but no longer wish to deal with litter boxes. This fellow is welcome to remain in the area, just out of reach. No food bowl here; we don’t want him ranging too close.
Do you have a cat: indoor or outdoor? Is he tame or feral?
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[Note: illustrations in this post by Grok AI; writing original to the Author.]
