January 30, 2011

The Interloper

Unlike Danni over at On the Way to Critter Farm who had no cats and recently acquired two, our house is quite full of the feline persuasion and has been for years.  Our numbers are down from when we moved here five years ago, and that is the way I like it.  I know firsthand that too many cats in one household can be a recipe for disaster, especially when the majority of those cats are males.  Never mind that everyone in our household is neutered, with the exception of me and Neal, dominance issues still arise in a multiple cat household.  Those issues can present themselves in the form of peeing outside the litter box, fur-flying fighting, stalking behaviors and complete withdrawal from the pack.  We have experienced all of those issues at one time or another.  There is a fine line between harmony and bedlam.  We haven't known harmony among cats in our house for years.  Just when I think we are within reach, an Interloper appears...

This morning, at the crack of dawn, our cats began howling and carrying on like crazy.  When Neal went downstairs to investigate, he found the culprit on our back patio sampling the dying catnip in a bucket.  The dogs appeared on the scene, Neal let them out to shoo off the Interloper and he disappeared.....temporarily.  The chickens were let out of their run and within minutes, they were heard squawking their displeasure.  The Interloper was back, and the hens knew this was not one of their own pack.  Smart girls!

This is not your ordinary stray cat.  Aside from not being neutered (grrr!), this cat appears to belong to someone.  He is super friendly, healthy-looking and persistent.  I kept insisting that Neal shoo him away, which he tried to do, but the cat had other ideas.  He meowed, purred, rubbed and even tried to climb up Neal's leg.  He sat vigil at our front door.  I kept my distance, closed the door and repeated, "We cannot have another cat.  No way, no how, not happening."

The neighbor kid says he has seen this cat up and down our street, and that he follows him to school some days.  I am  hopeful that he really does belong to someone who will claim him, and if I find out who that is, I will stress the neutering issue.  If that doesn't happen and he hangs around much longer, I will be getting him neutered and vetted myself and looking for a new home for him.  Either way, he will not be calling our turf his home.  No way, no how, not happening.  And that's the final word.  I can be tough when I have to.  Really I can.

7 comments:

cousin Arnetta said...

Be TUFF !!!
Ignore him !!
and don't let him become your expense !

good luck :-)

Lilla said...

Arnetta...it looks like he may have wandered on to greener pastures, thank goodness! And as for the expense, it would be well worth the money to pay for his neuter if it means he won't be out there creating more unwanted, starving kittens. Big pet peeve of mine!

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

Your interloper sounds just like Mollie Ann when she showed up at our house. She was friendly, healthy, persistent and determined she was going to live here. I tried to ignore her, but when I realized she was living in a brush pile, I just had to take her in and have her spayed. People will drop females off out in the rural areas when they get old enough to have kittens. They don't want kittens and they don't want to pay for spaying.

Danni said...

Ohhhh...but he's so pretty!!! Or handsome...or... anyway - I love your attitude on spaying and neutering!
And jeez, I'm certainly eating my words now, aren't I? "We don't do cats.." boy, they showed me, didn't they? :-)

morningbrayfarm said...

He does have a beautiful tail. :)

The Silver Age Sara said...

Oh, so sad to hear of a cat wandering around who isn't neutered. We live in the country and it seems as though every spring people dump unwanted kittens. Just very sad. Sounds as though if he did stay, you would have given him a great home. It's very hard to say no to a stray.

Razzberry Corner said...

I have a soft spot for stray kitties and seem to always let them move in, too!!! Good luck!

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