Well, look who showed up after going AWOL for a couple of weeks!
Of course it was the peach kitty. I haven’t had a visit from him for a while, but my human saw him on the security cameras a few days before he showed up for me.
Clearly, he was ecstatic to see me! But where has he been, and why? It’s probably about time to discuss one of the biggest dangers faced by feral cats — really, any cat that spends time outside in our area. We get coyotes.
The interesting thing about coyotes is that they are a bigger danger for pet cats than they are for ferals. Ferals are hyper aware of other, bigger predators, and they’re pretty good about making themselves scarce. Locally, coyotes spend a lot of time hunting wild game like rabbits and rodents, and sadly, people’s pets. Pet cats and small dogs are very easy prey for coyotes. Because of their pampered lifestyle, they don’t know the smell and sounds of coyotes.
Ferals are a little different. Of course coyotes will catch them when they can, but it’s more likely to be the older, sicker cats, injured cats, or kittens who aren’t yet trained in the ways of outdoor life. Young adult cats like the peach kitty are generally at the top of their health and awareness. They know how to steer clear of coyotes. Which is why the peach kitty and his family have survived in our neighborhood for three years.
Lately we’ve had a pair of coyotes in the neighborhood. My human has done her best to haze them, and chase them away. They are actually pretty scared of her. They probably think she is crazy (and they are kind of right!). She can be pretty fierce. But until life gets too uncomfortable for them on our street, the ferals won’t come around very much.
My human has been keeping me indoors too, even though she always scans the area we’ll be hanging out before bringing me outside. She figures if the ferals don’t think it’s safe to be out and about, I’m not either. Which is why I got to have a visit with the peach kitty this week. She saw him and his other family members on the security cam for a few nights in a row. And no coyotes. So after scanning the area by our bridge, she took me out. And the peach kitty showed up.
He was not only glad to see me, he was happy to get some treats.
I think he was happy to see my human too, if only because she had the treat bag.
He’s also still eating out of her hand. But one thing he still refuses to do is come inside. He won’t even come into the enclosed patio for more than a few steps. Because as friendly as he appears in the photos and video, he’s still wild, and he would not tolerate being picked up or confined inside. Trapping him right now would be crueler than leaving him free. We are encouraging him to consider coming inside, of course. But it’s still a process. It has to be his choice to give up his freewheeling lifestyle in favor of a safer (and duller and smaller) existence.
Consider it: if you had a wild and adventuresome spirit and that was your whole identity, would you be happy confined to a house, never able to leave? That’s why my human won’t force her desires on him.
So that’s where things stand for now. I hope he’s able to come visit me again soon. Meanwhile, you can see the video of our visit below.