Attack cat
My cats have become more spoiled than they are already. They love the patio door, and the boys, at least, become offended if you open the blinds but not the screen door. And more offended when you don’t let them out, which is most of the time.
We have a fourth cat now, an irregular visitor who often comes to the window. I don’t always see him, though I’ve been awakened by his aftermath. A yowling from one of my cats at the window, defending his territory.
There are smeared pawprints on the other side, as if the other cat has either tried to get inside, or fought on the other side of the window.
We refer to him as Other Kitty. There might be more than one visitor, but the one we see is Other Kitty, who is like a thinner reflection of Ziggy, only with a splotch of white on his nose.
Notice he doesn’t have a real name. If I gave him a real name, it would mean that I adopted him, and then he’d have to come in. And the last thing I need is another cat.
Other Kitty often runs off if humans make a sudden move. So we watch him carefully through the blinds as he postures, or sometimes submits, rolling on the ground, exposing his belly.
Ziggy and Merlin both don’t like him. Ziggy is our pathetic attack cat. A big ball of flowing blubber that can’t fend off his smaller brother.
Ziggy stands guard, trying to defend the apartment from the unwanted intruder. It must irk him that he can’t do anything while a brazen mirror image rolls around outside.
Is Other Kitty taunting him? Does he just want to be friends, to be let in? It doesn’t matter. Ziggy doesn’t want to be friends, though he’s my most friendly and accepting cat.
I’m going to be a little sad when we leave Other Kitty. He seems to enjoy coming to visit, whether it’s to be friendly or taunt. I’ve never fed him, so I don’t worry about him starving. (Feeding a cat is another step closer to admitting responsibility for him.)
But I’m feeling a little bit better about Other Kitty’s fate.
There are a lot of sorry-looking feral cats around here, and I wonder how they can eat. A couple sleep on top of cars in the parking lot, presumably for warmth. They huddle together on a cooling hood, and scurry under the car whenever I say hello.
But Other Kitty seems pretty well groomed, reasonably well fed. And then I saw him during the day yesterday, and noticed he has a collar. Unless the collar is there from being abandoned, I’m assuming he still has a home. That’s what I’ll tell myself.
Be careful Melissa, or you will end up with another cat!!! But don’t worry. I agree with your assumption that Other Kitty has a home somewhere. Or he’s a migrating cat and others have taken pity on him enough that he’s managing quite well in the wild. Either way, he’s not your responsibility.
But I can understand you feeling bad about moving and missing him. Back in the Hoosier state, I had a squirrel that came to visit. I was stupid and fed him nuts and named him Charlie. Everyone told me that it couldn’t possibly be the same squirrel every time. But I’m a very good judge of character. I think I would know my own squirrel when I saw him!
Still, I sometimes would imagine Charlie scurrying up to the treetops and having nightly meetings with his squirrely friends and chirping, “Hey guys, give it another hour and go down to that patio door there and put your paws up on the window! She’ll never know the difference and she gives out nuts!” Maybe I was part of a squirrely plot. I’m not sure. But I do sometimes miss Charlie and/or his bushy-tailed friends.
Have you found a place?
Shel, that’s funny about the squirrel. You can’t tell them apart, can you?
I won’t end up with another cat, if only because it means spending more money on food and cat litter.
Yes, Todd, have found a place. Spent a lot of time trying to tell ourselves we were going to find somewhere else, but ended up settling on a place we’ll like a lot. Even if it means we have no souls.
If Other Kitty has a color, does he have a tag with someone’s number/address? If so, you may want to contact them to see if they are looking for him.
My youngest, Cleo, has a window friend named Zach (he is a little dog). It is so cute because she brings him toys and flirts with him and he flirts back. My neighbor, who is Zach’s daddy, says Zach is good with cats.
Perhaps they should have a playdate. . .
I haven’t tried to get close enough to Other Kitty. We mostly see him on the other side of the glass, and he’s easily startled.
I only saw him once outside of my apartment, and said hello to him. Noticed he had the collar. Just looked like a flea collar, and not one with an address tag. Could be wrong, though.
At least you know where your cat’s window friend lives. I’m worried about Other Kitty, but I’ve had more than one of my friends tell me: you can’t save them all.
It saddens me, but I know it’s true. I think that the best thing I can do is keep my three happily fed, petted and entertained.