Feral Cat Fridays: Calico Cody Comes Calling
Cody was mentioned last week as one of Grable’s offspring, a member of the litter that Grable arrived with. Cody spent most of her early days in our back yard, hanging out with other cats in that sub-colony, including NoMo, Sherwood, and Stranger (left to right, hidden in the grass behind Cody).
We were usually guessing at gender when we named kittens, but we were all but certain Cody was female because male calico cats are very rare.
She earned her male-sounding name for 2 reasons. First, she had another calico litter mate that we christened Callie, and Cody completed the sorta-kinda-Calico sound when the names were said together. Second, Cody just sounded like a good name for a cat living near Bandera, Texas, the Cowboy Capital of the World.
After Cody was spayed she spent more time on the deck and in the front yard with the main colony, but she was always on alert and quick to head for her favorite sanctuary under the deck. As she matured she gradually became more comfortable with crowds, as long as the crowd was feline.
She sometimes relaxed with a crowd of other cats, like these all enjoying the warm sun on a cool morning, but she remained vigilant. Stoney, Sheridan, Lanny, MiniMo, and Mosby (from lower right to upper left) are all minding their own business but Cody (sun on her face, behind Stoney) is keeping watch on the photographer. It isn’t surprising that she is snuggled up to Stoney — he was the chief greeter and comforter of the colony.
Wonderful photos of an extraordinarily handsome cat. Of course, I’m a little prejudiced toward calicos.
Speaking of the West, if you combine Callie and Cody’s names, you get the name of the fabric that delighted the women who helped settle the West: calico.
20 year with a calico made us partial to them, too. They have a certain independent streak to them that befits their striking appearance.
I hadn’t put calico together with the West until you mentioned it, but that makes Callie and Cody even more appropriate for the Hill Country. I’ve got an entertaining series of photos for Callie that I think I’ll put up next week. She was the only calico I’ve ever seen that was essentially a white cat with calico ears.