Tête-à-tête
...
There are two stray cats in our neighborhood who seem to have an ownership stake in our backyard. Particularly an area of the backyard Lisa calls "the Thicket." These cats, whose markings earned for them the nicknames Sleeves and Cardigan, are very shy.
They seem to use our yard for napping, stalking prey, relaxing, hunting, sleeping and napping. Usually we'll see one of them high tailing it for the gate whenever we enter the yard. Sleeves in particular is so shy of us that she refuses to even look at us or if she does it's in a way that looks like she's trying to convince herself that we don't exist. We are ghosts haunting poor Sleeves. I imagine everything was better in the backyard before we came along and she's in denial.
Today, though, a rare sighting-- two of them together (and nobody ran away). They even stayed put long enough for me to find a camera.
There are two stray cats in our neighborhood who seem to have an ownership stake in our backyard. Particularly an area of the backyard Lisa calls "the Thicket." These cats, whose markings earned for them the nicknames Sleeves and Cardigan, are very shy.
They seem to use our yard for napping, stalking prey, relaxing, hunting, sleeping and napping. Usually we'll see one of them high tailing it for the gate whenever we enter the yard. Sleeves in particular is so shy of us that she refuses to even look at us or if she does it's in a way that looks like she's trying to convince herself that we don't exist. We are ghosts haunting poor Sleeves. I imagine everything was better in the backyard before we came along and she's in denial.
Today, though, a rare sighting-- two of them together (and nobody ran away). They even stayed put long enough for me to find a camera.
Comments
~~Doublesaj & Old Blue~~
Grinch
Do what we do and have a female kitty in heat around the place! Then we get all sorts of handsome male kitties come to pay a call- and leave behind some future kittens! (We really have a rodent problem around here at harvest time with all the fields- so we REALLY need some extra cats around the place.)
We now have 3 energetic ones outside, and no tree, fence post, mouse or pile of crunchy leaves is unmolested.
At least leave a bowl of water around in the yard by their snoozing place- once they start to accept some water and or dry cat food from you, their visits to your yard may be friendlier.
Once you clean up any areas that may harbor mice they may leave you guys alone completely. But I bet their new favorite place will be your compost heap, as it is for our mighty hunter kitties! I just threw in some hay bales on top of ours, and the cats are in snooze heavan when the sun comes out.
Annalisa
-Greetings from your neighbor near the lake.